Sunday, March 25, 2012

Event: Diesel store housewarming party!

On March 22nd 2012, the Diesel store in Antwerp officially re-opened its  doors, after two months of hard work and redecorating!
The store looks really, REALLY great! It’s a whole new approach to the brand. Diesel reveals its new premium retail concept, which accompanies the new premium strategy that positions Diesel as the alternative to luxury.

The store is a lot roomier than before, and resembles a luxury apartment, with the different areas of clothes and accessories as rooms. The store in Antwerp is the first one with its ‘new outfit’! The Diesel Interior Design Team did a really good job! The housewarming was celebrated with an exclusive invitation-only high tea and cocktail party.

Diesel first opened its doors at the Meir in August 1999 and it proved to be one of the most successful stores in Benelux. But the year 2012 is the start of a new era for Diesel. Not only the look of the store has changed but, according to the lady in charge of the online boutique, the style of the clothes has changed as well! And we agree, the looks are much more mature!

We had such a great time! Check out our pictures below!
Nino was wearing a Topman blazer, Benetton shirt, Alexander McQueen skull scarf, Nudie Jeans and Dolce & Gabbana sneakers.




Courtesy of Tan Dem PR





Courtesy of Tan Dem PR - me and fellow bloggers, fashionfabrice!





You could get a tattoo, exclusively designed for Diesel by San!

Hot DJ duo!

All images courtesy of mentrend.blogspot.com
Men Trend



Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Fake, for real?!

Have you ever been on a vacation where people tried to sell you a fake Rolex, a knockoff handbag or maybe even faux perfume? Of course you have!
You see more and more fake accessories in the streets nowadays. Maybe these people don’t care that they are wearing fake or maybe they think we can’t tell the difference between a knockoff and the real deal. But what upsets me the most is that some of these people may have been tricked into buying fake, believing it was a genuine product, but at a lowered price! We all know tourists get ripped off easily…
I want to show you some easy tips & tricks that will help you distinguish the fake from the real stuff when you are planning to buy a designer piece and you are not quite sure about the authenticity of the product you want to purchase. If you already have a trained eye, you won’t be needing these tips. You might even know some more, so feel free to comment below! I will explain them on the basis of examples, but these rules are quite general so they’re applicable on all designer brands.

Rule n°1: location, location, location!

Most luxury brands have their own flagship stores. If you would like to buy for example a Louis Vuitton bag, check their website if there is an official store near you. Some designers, for example Chanel, only sell their goods in official stores or certified corners in department stores (e.g. Harrods). In this case, you can be a 100% sure you are buying the real thing. Other designers, for instance Alexander McQueen, collaborate with a lot ‘local’ retailers and various online shops, which makes it more tricky for you to determine the authenticity of the product.
If you don’t go to at an official store, take a look around at the atmosphere and the interior of the store. The luxury of the products should also be found in the design of the store, even in the personnel working there.
For instance: places like Canal Street in NYC or markets near a tourist attraction, where men sell designer bags and wallets out of a cardboard box on the street, aren’t places where real Chanel handbags are sold. Just go with your instincts on this one!
Rule n°2: don’t forget about the price tag
Always remember that you are buying a designer piece. They won’t be sold off for next to nothing, unless there is something wrong with it. Do your homework and try to find the original price. Outlets, second-hand stores, … are OK, as long as you use your common sense. For instance, a new (with tags,…) LV bag sold for 40 dollars is probably a fake. LV doesn’t have official outlets and doesn’t produce bags with flaws. If you are able to buy a Vuitton at 50% off, you probably already have a very good deal! Anything below this price is questionable…  FYI: always keep in mind that official stores of LV don’t do sales, ever. So if you buy LV with discount, it’s a used of fake item.
Rule n°3: it’s all in the details
Luxury goods aren’t expensive without a reason. Lots of big fashion names stand for years and years of craftsmanship and quality products. This rule is very, very important! Fakers never manage to make an exact copy or use the same materials; otherwise their products would cost the same as the original ;-). Some things you need to keep in mind:
-packaging: counterfeiters not only fake bags, but also boxes, dust bags, receipts,… so don’t be fooled by the extra’s!
- presentation: expensive bags will never be wrapped in plastic by the brand itself. Furthermore, LV never has price tags on their goods!
Genuine Louis Vuitton boxes and bag
-finishing touch: LV usually uses their monogram on everything (buttons, zippers, locks,…); most high fashion brands do this. Only real leather is used, trimming should be flawless,…  Louis Vuitton NEVER cuts off a monogram at a seam!! Also, the light brown leather, frequently used for handles, gets darker over the years. So vintage pieces should have tanned color; if they don’t, its fake.

Top belt: fake, baught on Canal Street. Notice the silver button; that should not be there...
The bottom one is a real Inventeur, baught at the LV store in Antwerp.

The real belt has a seeming, the fake one does not. The direction of the stripes is also different.
The real one has nubuck lining, the fake one is 'Damier' on both sides.

Quality? Don't think so!

Top: fake, bottom: real

Definitely fake!! Bags should also be symmetrical.

Poor lining...
 
The real button says 'Louis Vuitton', the fake wallet has a random silver button on it.

 -technicalities: Louis Vuitton Paris nowadays also fabricates their goods abroad, e.g. Spain, USA. So don’t worry if the stamp inside your product doesn’t say ‘made in France’. All products should have a serial number, which can easily be tracked by an employee at LV.

  
Top: fake; bottom: real.
Finally, let me just say that buying a fake is never the answer. If you’re interested in fashion but you can’t afford the luxury brands, buy clothing and accessories from a cool brand you like and can afford. Supporting counterfeiters is a lot worse than wearing H&M! 

All images courtesy of mentrend.blogspot.com
Nino by Men Trend


Monday, March 12, 2012

In the picture: Christophe of Men Trend

This is Christophe speaking! Let’s take a look ‘behind the scenes’ of my personal life.
In my spare time, I sometimes like to do modeling jobs. I’m not trying to make it my profession, but it is just fun to do beside schoolwork and all the usual boring stuff that has to be done in life!
I know the photographer for quite some time and the female model too: she’s one of my best friends.
Her name is RenĂ©e Van Osta, I love that girl so much! She’s also a blogger.
Make sure to check out her lifestyle blog, Mellow Yellow! Hope you like the pictures!

 




All images courtesy of lakker.be 

Christophe of Men Trend


Monday, March 5, 2012

Charlie the fox

Until recently it was really cold in Belgium, so I started longing for really, really warm clothes. One day I was walking home and I saw this amazing fur scarf in the window of a beautiful boutique in Antwerp. I usually stop and crave, because the clothes are always very cool. The flagship store and brand are called ‘Les Hommes’. If you want to read more about this fabulous Belgian brand, click here.
When I went inside to take a closer look, I met Maaike, the designer’s sister. She has a great personality and was very patient with me, even when I couldn’t make up my mind and returned 2 times before buying! She kept it aside for me for over a week, aaawwhh.
I’m really glad I bought this scarf, even though fur is a controversial subject. I get many positive comments, but also a lot of negative ones. My answer to people who are against fur is always the same: I’m free to wear whatever I want, and if you don’t like what you see, just avert your eyes. I respect their opinion, but they should respect mine as well.
Anyway, enough seriousness! Do you like my scarf? It’s silver fox, in case you were wondering. I’m not quite sure, but I believe that this scarf, manufactured for Les Hommes, is one of a kind!
Courtesy of Les Hommes facebookpage






All images courtesy of mentrend.blogspot.com
Nino of Men Trend


Saturday, March 3, 2012

'Watch' me work it!

On the 22nd of February, I turned 21! I’m officially old haha. I had a wonderful day planned with a lot of surprises and one hell of a birthday party afterwards.
Wondering what I got? I’ll give you a foretaste! I’ll post my other presents later ;-)
My parents gave me my first “big boy watch”: I got a RADO watch! Never heard of this brand? It’s a reputable Swiss manufacturer of watches. It’s famous for its use of scratch-proof materials. I tried on a lot of other brands, like Cartier, Omega, Baume & Mercier,... but this one was very special.  My parents took me to ‘Slaets’ as a surprise, a well-known jeweller in the centre of Antwerp.

Below you can see my watch for yourself. Let us know what you think of it!


All images courtesy of mentrend.blogspot.com

Christophe of Men Trend


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