Stylish Saturday: Dressing Up While Dressing Down

I have the esteemed pleasure of being Fashion Director over Harlem’s Fashion Row for an event TONIGHT  in Memphis, TN at 409 S. Main Street starting at 7 pm. This week I’ve have been extremely busy…. but I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world! Yesterday morning, HFR CEO Brandice Henderson was interviewed on Fox 13 “Good Morning Memphis” and I assisted with styling for the men fashion segment.

Mobile Upload: Backstage in Fox 13 News Station with model, Morgan.



To discuss the elements of Morgan’s attire, I wanted to dress him up by dressing him down so I added three (3) causal accessory  elements to his ensemble to give a more street style appeal.


The first causal element is the scarf. Due to the winter weather, infinity scarfs are the PERFECT ready-to-wear add on when needing extra warmth and also the PERFECT additional element of style when added to any outfit. I live by them during the colder months! The extra material around the neck always adds so much dynamic to any wardrobe piece you have in your closet. I caught this gray and black textured scarf at Urban Outfitters on sale for $6.99.

The second and third causal elements added were studded military combat boots and a fox tail. Combat boots are all the rage this season styled as runway shoes across the world. I took these simple black boots from retailer H&M and made them street by personally adding metal pyramid studs to them. Studs can be purchased at any local leather goods store. To really bring in the focus of street style, I added the fox tail. By adding this largely haired tail to any ensemble you are sure to turn heads as you walk by. The larger fox tails can range anywhere from $60-$150 online. I was able to snag this one at ALDO for $40. I purchased a woman’s purse that had this fox tail attached to it and ended up giving the purse right back to the cashier to keep, I just needed the tail! However, ALDO also sells smaller fox and raccoon key chains tails for $12 that can also help achieve this look.

To dress Morgan’s attire up I added an oriental pocket square for a pop of color. Personal style secret: use fabric. To save money I suggest going to your local fabric store and cutting a forth of any material you desire to make a man’s pocket square. This can average around $2.00 opposed to retail stores for $20.00. Pocket squares add a very personal element to your wardrobe and will help to spruce up any old blazer you have lying around. For a styling tip when deciding how to wear the handkerchief you can “bunch it up and blouse it out” in your jacket's pocket to give a round effect or fold it and “square it off” to give a cleaner appeal.... it’s up to you.

Additional wardrobe elememts: Gray textured tuxedo dinner jacket with black lapel- Asos Men, Black skinny tie and white dress shirt- Express Men, black skinny jeans- H&M