I hope that reading this doesn’t teach you anything. Haha, I say that because today’s post is all about loyalty. I hope it’s not teaching you anything because you’re already as loyal a person as possible and you don’t need these insights. I’m talking about loyalty in the sense of following through with what you say you’re gonna do.

Backstory: a couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of hanging with some of my best buddies whom I hadn’t seen in far too long. They’ve been following along with the blog in my absence, which makes me ever so happy. They saw that I had asked for suggestions and input at any time and thus decided to challenge me to wear a bubble vest and post about it. I’m a pretty confident guy when it comes to fashion, but I definitely didn’t previously consider myself the type to wear a bubble vest. Regardless, my response was “Absolutely!” Not until the next days did I realize that this was going to be a bit tougher than I originally imagined. After all, not everyone likes a bubble vest (myself included prior to this look).

I went to Nordstrom, I went to Uniqlo, they all had vests that I loved but just couldn’t pull the trigger on. Finally, I found Thing Thing, a New Zealand brand that’s designs are quickly becoming some of my favorite. Red and blue, no matter the shades, are two of my favorite colors to combine. I think it’s my patriotism, but maybe it’s just because they balance so well. This vest was the obvious choice to satisfy my friend’s request.

I decided that the vest needed to be the central point of my outfit, so I built around it. By adding this blue oxford shirt from Brooks Brothers, I have a classic preppy aesthetic up top, which means I couldn’t possibly match that on the bottom. Cut off jean shorts were the obvious choice, thus needing something summery on my feet/ankles. I have these new shoes from Volley that are crazy comfortable and lightweight, perfect for summer. Also, I’ll never skip on an opportunity to wear some 70’s tube socks, especially when they match so beautifully. Overall, it’s a simple outfit but what I like most about it is that it sticks out. It’s not something you’ll see every day and that’s what my goal is on a daily basis for myself, looking good (in my own eyes) and therefore feeling good too.

Thus by being loyal to my friends’ request, I had to push myself outside of my comfort zone, which then led me to realize that I can do things that I normally wouldn’t have even considered. Even something as (probably) silly as wearing a piece that otherwise would’ve never been on my radar made me feel great and open my mindset to other things and possibilities. Loyalty leads places, gents. By doing what you say you’re going to do, it reinforces your friendships and relationships while also pushing you to new heights.

See, isn’t fashion cool?!?

What are some of your favorite ways to try something new??

Stay smiling, my friends!

PYS

Check out http://www.thingthing.co.nz/ for some pretty unique stuff that’s going to make you feel great too! I have some more work coming in the near future in partnership with them, be on the look out.