The Essential Man.

An Eco-friendly Footprint

the essential man — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:10:41 +0000

I have been fan of Happy Socks for sometime now, and just when I thought it was nothing left for them to do with a sock, they decide to go green. Just recently they introduced their “Hemp & Recyled Yarn“ collection, which are “made of industrial hemp plants grown in Egypt, mixed with recycled yarn remains.” I picked up my first pair the other day, and they have definitely been added to my “Fall Essentials“.

-LD-

A Moment of Reflection

the essential man — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:02:02 +0000

It use to happen all too often that by me being a quiet slightly reserved person by nature that it was misinterpreted as something negative and furthest from the truth about me. And before I would get really effected by it, until I grew older and realized that it was ALL apart of life and growth; there is always going to be people judging you no matter how good you are doing, I just had to learn how to take the good with the bad!

-LD-

Style Guide: Fall 2010 pt.1

the essential man — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:51:19 +0000

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! As for me, my weekend was spent casting brands (shopping) to star in my “Fall Essentials” and I am pleased to say that my starring cast (the items I will be wearing) is finally complete. I can definitely relate to the wise words of Dr. West when he says, “I’m bout to put fall in the hospital…Ima hurt the season” because that is exactly what I am about to do! This year, I am pretty confident that the direction I have decided to take for fall is a very good look. I am still sticking to the same formula as last year with keeping a very subtle color palette, but this time around I am mixing more neutral ~~earth-tone~~ colors. Below is the style guide I have created of some of my favorite pieces from/for this season that will be contributing to some of my great looks for fall.

The reason I selected these items are besides the fact that they all look great but because they are also timeless-essential pieces, and they will still be relevant next fall, and the fall after that! What I love most about my selection is that none of the items are branded, but they all leave a lasting impression through their execution in intricate detailing, which is something I strive to achieve most in my lifestyle. To make a long story short, the ultimate reason I selected these pieces is because they represent me best as The Essential Man. See you this fall!

-LD-

The Blueprint

the essential man — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 09:43:25 +0000

Since I began this blog, people have been asking questions like “what made you start your blog” or “where did the idea of your blog come from” and I feel like I give a different answer every time *shrugs*, but in actuality it is only one answer; The Essential Man is simply an extension of the “Essential Pieces” style guides that I would always create for myself every season as a reference of what to wear, and like every idea, it expanded over time!

This is one of my first style guides I did a year ago; I shall have a new one coming soon!

Life at Work.

the essential man — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:45:35 +0000

Earlier today I was shopping around for some fall essentials, and in passing I couldn’t help but notice Banana Republic‘s refreshing new fall 2010 ad campaign, “Life at Work” starring everyday people wearing items from their new collection. These types of photo shoots are my personal favorite, seeing “ordinary” people owning an image and not selling an image, as seen in most high-end editorials.

*click on each image to enlarge*

With me, they accomplished every store’s window display goal…to attract customers; I went in the store anyways knowing the end result, forgetting about the many times I had walked out empty handed, and not because I didn’t like the clothing but simply because it never seems to fit me well. Today’s trip was just an extension of my relationship with Banana Republic, a broken promise; everything I liked and tried on just did not fit me well! Nonetheless, their new collection is amazing, and I will be referring many people to them this fall.

-LD-

Decisions…Decisions

the essential man — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:45:23 +0000

If you happen to follow my twitter, you probably remember when I tweeted about breaking my camera screen, and if you are a blogger, you can relate to how devastated I was. Seriously, it has been a huge adjustment taking out my phone to capture moments instead of my camera. Now that the time is approaching where I can finally purchase a new camera (yeah- i’ve been saving), I am torn between buying the Canon EOS Rebel T2i or the Canon Powershot G12. From what I am told they are both #essential cameras to own for many different reasons, which means I can’t go wrong with either one of them! This should be interesting to see which one I decide on! Please comment if you have any suggestions.

-LD-

Experience

the essential man — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 07:10:28 +0000

People ~~assume~~ ask me all the time if I’m a “stylist” and I always reply “No, but I DO have experience in creating looks for people!” Last weekend was just an example of that when I was blessed with the opportunity to style and create the concept for the photo shoot of my good friend Sameer and his production (music) partners; I was approached for the job because they needed images for their official introduction to the world as the production group, Blackjak. Thank God I had worked with Sameer before on a similar project, and he was confident enough in my “experience” to put the responsibility of their image in my hands! Also, a big shout out to my fellow gent, Maceo Paisley, for coming through in the clutch with the photography; it is always a pleasure working with you sir!

Behind the Scenes with Blackjak

( l-r: Jason, Sameer, and Keith [hidden behind me])

Be on the lookout for Blackjak, they have a very diverse, yet refreshing sound with the instrumentals.

-LD-

heardemsay™

the essential man — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:43:53 +0000

I just realized that I fail to mention that I have an art collective company by the name of heardemsay™ which I happen to ~~officially~~ start November of last year. I will be the first to tell you that becoming a young entrepreneur has been nothing but a VERY beautiful struggle for ME; from financing everything on my own, to sourcing the right materials, to finding reliable people to work with…let’s just say that NOTHING about this journey has come easy! But to be perfectly honest with you, I prefer it this way because all of my obstacles have brought upon growth, and has ultimately prepared me for my long term goals.

Looking back a year ago when heardemsay™ was ONLY a dream, I am very blessed to SEE so much progress in almost a year’s of time; I have literally turned my dreams into reality, and I still have a long ways to go! Below is the first campaign video for the company…please enjoy, and tell me what you think!

-LD-

Trip Down Memory Lane

the essential man — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:23:42 +0000

A few weeks ago while cleaning up to prepare for my recent move to Los Feliz, I had came across a ziploc baggy shoved at the bottom of a drawer filled to capacity with hang tags. It was during my days as a “collector“ ~~hoarder~~ that I began to keep my hang tags after purchases; I’m not sure exactly when I ended this trend, but I was good to see how my style had evolved over the years; I have worn everything from Tokidoki to WESC to PRPS to Gilded Age. Going through the bag of hang tags was equivalent to looking through an old photo album of me; I knew exactly what stage of my life I was in by the brands that I wore at the time…and the most beautiful thing about this is that I am still on the journey!

-LD-

Fall Essentials #1

the essential man — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:22:04 +0000

Every year I cast brands to star in my Fall Essentials, and this year I think it is safe to say that Nom de Guerre may be getting the leading role. If you know anything about me, you know that I am very subtle with my color selection. In my humble opinion, Nom de Guerre always have the best color palette using mostly black, white, grey, khaki, and blue (navy), and their attention to detail is very accurate. Below are a few of my favorite items that I will be getting for Fall! The glasses and shoes are my personal favorite!

*click pictrure to enlarge*

-LD-