Goodbye to Online Clothing Returns

Fits.me has taken a giant step in the right direction.  The company has created an online mannequin where you can input your measurements and actually see how the clothing will look before you buy it.  Now why didn't someone think of that idea early?

Fits.me was developed by the University of Tartu in Estonia with the help of Human Solutions to come up with a database of thousands of combinations of hip, chest, sleeve, and waist size.    Each item of clothing is photographed several thousand times as they go through the permutations of each mannequin.

They state on their website, "The size of the US online apparel market alone is over $4 billion – yet garment return rates average 25% for online apparel sales of which around 70% is for reasons of fit.  Measured even in this simple way, the value of garments returned because of the Online Fit Problem is $700m per year in the USA alone.”

We tested it out and the results were awesome.  You just simply input your measurements and a visual "you" is created.  Click "Show the Visual Me" and all of a sudden a mannequin form of you shows up wearing the garment.  The idea is pure genius.

Once the garment is on, it shows you the different sizes they have available and how it will fit by pointing out areas that are too loose or too snug.  Go try it out for yourself and see what you look like!

NYFW Fall 2014 Day 1

Fall/Winter 2014 Fashion Week started yesterday and already the Fall trends are starting to emerge. It seems like dark, mysterious colors are here to stay. And we are having major coat envy from the collections. Here is a brief overview of the collections that have been shown so far. Also take a peak at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week schedule below.

David Hart NYC: 

Started working the the fashion world at 17 and launched a neckwear line in 2007.  In 2013 he launched his first ready-to-wear collection.  This season his looks are crisp and tailored to perfection.  Any man who puts Hart's clothing on will instantly feel put together.

Nicholas K:

The brother and sister pair have created a dark and stormy collection for Fall 2014 and we can't wait to get our hands on it!

-A

Details Magazine "The March Issue" Party

Last night, Darring USA had the privilege of attending Details Magazine's "The March Cover" Party.  The event took place at the Stephen Weiss Studio in the West Village and was packed with gorgeous people.

We spotted some amazing male models while we were there as well as a couple celebrities.  Check out Chris Nonn, wearing the Octane Motorcycle Jacket by Darring USA, and Joe Jones posing for the camera.

Joe Jones and Chris Nonn

 

At the event Details Magazine showcased their new March cover which was the top 10 male models currently in the industry so you can only image what the room was like!  Everywhere you looked, pretty people stood. 

Sean O'Pry and Rohn Padmore, Joe Jones and Rohn Padmore

The issue will be released on February 10, so look for it on stands then.  The biggest theme of the entire event seemed to be black clothing with dark hair, although there were a couple of people who stood out in more daring clothing chooses or bolder hair colors.  

Ade and I

  

What are you Wearing Wednesday

In this week's edition of "What are you Wearing Wednesday," we interviewed two  football players, brothers;  JD and Malcolm Griggs .  JD Griggs is 23 and Malcolm is 21.

JD played Defensive End and Linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars while Malcolm is a current NFL hopeful, training hard for try outs.

Both of them grew up playing sports and started playing football at the age of eight.  The boys started playing basketball at the age of four and it seemed like sports were in their veins.  They were born in Jersey City, NJ and moved to Piscataway, NJ when they were younger.

How did you get started in football?

• We grew up in Piscataway which is a big time football place.  We were kind of thrown into the sport because we liked it and also because of the town.

JD and Malcolm also grew up playing baseball and ran track as well.  So it seems like sports is just a natural thing for these two talented brothers.

       "We have a big back yard and when we were younger we would actually play against each other" -JD

The brothers were fortunate enough to play together in high school when JD was a senior and Malcolm was a sophomore.  They told Darring that it was nice to have a brother beside them because it made training easier.

JD's Career:

• He started playing football at the University of Iowa and then went onto the University of Akron.


• He is a hybrid defensive end, capable of shifting over to a linebacker if the scheme dictates.


• He came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent


• He competed in a rookie try out with 40 other athletes and only two were picked to join the team.  He was one of them.


• He played the 2013 pre-season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.


• JD now plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Canada, where he resides from May to November.

Malcolm's Career:

• He currently plays for Nassau Community College and is in his last semester there.


• He is a safety but can also play quarterback.


• Malcolm is pretty fast, running a 4.4 in the 40 dash.


• He is confident in playing for the NFL and is currently training to be the best football player he can be.


• In his spare time he likes to play sports related video games.

The Griggs's transformation from their street clothes to Darring:

In New York City this past weekend, football fans from all over came to watch the Seattle Seahawks take on the Denver Broncos.  The game might not have turned out the way some people hoped, but the commercials definitely lived up to our expectations.  Take a look at this list of the top 10 commercials featured in the Superbowl... http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/10-best-ads-super-bowl-xlviii-155441 And we all know how the game ended... so we will just skip that part. Also, we had Michael Hickman reenact a iconic photo... see if you can recognize it below! 

We are excited to start our new blog series featuring men off the streets of NYC who need a little revamping in their wardrobe.  The idea behind this series is to take an every day guy and make him into a Darring man.  When we are traveling, we’ll be sure to grab people off those streets too and show them how they can change their style. 

Our first target: Michael Hickman. 

Michael grew in as an only child in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He played four sports in high school including football, basketball, volleyball and track and field.  He then went on to Fordam University where he was offered a football scholarship.  Michael graduated from Fordam with a Business Administration degree in Accounting and Marketing.  After graduating, he started personal training at Crunch.  He recently was promoted to Assistant Fitness Manager.  Michael did his first professional photo shoot for L’Oreal at Magic in December of 2013.

We decided to put Michael into three different looks, one everyday look and two business casual look. For the first look, Michael is wearing the Slash Pant Slim Fit Herringbone Twill in German Steel.  We paired it with the Mechanics Colorsprayed Woven shirt in Burnt Olive.  The look is a classic outfit that would be perfect for date night or a night out with the guys.  Shop the look below.  

[http://store.darringusa.com/slash-pant-slim-fit-herringbone-twill-german-steel/] 

[http://store.darringusa.com/jacks-go-shop-t-shirt/]

 [http://store.darringusa.com/mechanics-colorsprayed-woven-shirt-burnt-olive/] 

The second outfit is a more day to day outfit.  He is wearing the Slash Pant in Light Green Camo with the Peace and love T-Shirt in Flint Grey and the RPM Quilted Sweater Knit Jacket in Burnt Olive.  This outfit is perfect for a causal day walking around the city or hanging out around town.  Shop the look below.

[http://store.darringusa.com/rpm-quilted-sweater-knit-jacket-burnt-olive/] 

[http://store.darringusa.com/peace-and-love-t-shirt/]

 [http://store.darringusa.com/slash-pant-light-green-camo/]

 For the third outfit, Michael is wearing our classic sherpa lined zip hoodie.  He is also wearing one of our favorite graphic t-shirts.  He would be able to sport this outfit on a day to day basis.  Shop the look below.

[http://store.darringusa.com/admiral-camo-sherpa-lined-zip-hoodie-navy/] [http://store.darringusa.com/slash-pant-midnight-camo/] 

The Right Mind Set

Lately I've been thinking about what it takes to make it in this crazy industry, and I've discovered you just have to keep pushing forward in order to really get ahead of the game.  My good friend and gorgeous model was in town this past weekend and she definitely opened up my eyes to a whole new set of ideas and thoughts.  I never realized that with all the free time I have, I could be doing something productive, like getting ahead of my career.  Her number 1 point was, what happens when I win Miss New York USA and I want to tell people, "oh hey, i'm a stylist" and yet I have nothing to show for it?  Well I guess that needs to change, right?

So here's to hoping I can do just that.  Dani and I had an amazing photo shoot this past weekend as well.  I can't release images yet because we are going to try to get them published, but trust me when I say, they are to die for.  Never have I seen more amazing images that truly tell a story.  Dani went from sweet, innocent girl, to badass russian chick.  It was pretty amazing and I was lucky enough to do the hair/makeup and styling. We shot in an amazing location as well and the photographer was fantastic!  Stay tuned for that post!  You will be blown away.

Also if anyone wants help revamping their wardrobe, let me know!  I want to get some of that on film and take photographs, kinda like a beyond the closet type thing, so if you are interested let me know!

xoxo,
A