The Dapper Style

Preppy Plaid

The Dapper Style — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:08 +0000

Preppy steps into spring with the return of the madras plaid. That is a plaid created with brighter spring colors. You can find it this year in shirts, shorts and this tie.

Start: Levi dark rinse slim leg jean
Add: oxford shirt in a mint
Detail: plaid tie; this one from jcp
Shoe: deck shoe is a preppy choice

Red Pop

The Dapper Style — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:00:53 +0000

It’s all about color pants this year. Well, it’s really all about color. Pop some red to fire up your style.

Start: chambray or denim shirt
Add: color pants in red; these are from jcp
Detail: red stripe knit tie
Shoe: navy & red deck shoes; these are from jcp

Craft Beer Week

Alan Rust — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:44 +0000

This weekend you get to earn your badge. It’s American Craft Beer Week guys! Head to your local tavern and try a new brew or celebrate with a familiar taste. We only ask that you don’t drink a boring no taste national brand.

We are serving up a list of recommended brews from our Dapper Team. Fire up your Untappd and add these to your Wish List. Try one or all of them this weekend.

Max Corey, our Dapper Brew Chief, recommends an Oberon Ale from Bell’s Brewery.

Alan Wright, our new Dapper Brew Bro, recommends a New Belgium 1887 and a Brooklyn Lager.

Marko Vennerholm, our Dallas Editor, supports Texas with the summer brew from Shiner called Ruby Redbird.

Morrison Conway, our new San Fran Editor, says go West coast with a Ninkasi from Oregon or a Lagunitas IPA from California.

Alan Rust, our Creative Director, supports a Lil Sumpin’ Ale also from Lagunitas or a Hop Ottin IPA from Anderson Valley Brewing.

Tweet @TheDapperStyle with #DapperBrew to suggest your best craft brew. Follow the @TheDapperStyle Untappd list for more brew suggestions from the Dapper Team.

Casual Layers

The Dapper Style — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:44 +0000

Layering up gives you style even when you can be casual. Adding a loose tie makes you look better than the rest. Make it looki like you care… add some details and create your style.

Start: color pants in blue
Add: white oxford shirt
Add: hoodie like this one from Alex Maine
Detail: cotton casual tie
Shoe: we suggest a retro sneak for this style

Summer Color

Morrison Conway — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:00:09 +0000

I brought out the salmon crew neck sweater and layers with a white undershirt for the San Francisco breeze.

Where to wear? Hanging out in the park with friends playing catch.

Start: Salmon colored crew neck sweater
Add: White undershirt to add contrast to the dark blue jeans
Detail: Black bracelets and black shades
Shoe: Brown suede oxfords

Check out more on 2thefloor.blogspot.com. Hit up @MorrisonConway wtih #2Dapper with any questions or comments.

May Meltdown

Mike Higgins — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:00:49 +0000

Hey there Dapper Fit friends, its Mike, and I’m BACK! This month I want to come to you with a fitness tip that will help you melt the fat and keep that muscled machine lean and mean. (Well, you don’t have to be mean) Today, I want to talk about a new phase in my nutrition that I am currently going through, called ‘carb cycling’. I want to tell you right off the bat that this plan is NOT for everyone, just those of you who are looking to melt away fat with a solid exercise plan.

The best way to explain ‘carb cycling’ is to say that during a 7 day week, we will “cycle” our days between a high carbohydrate day and some low days. Typically we want to keep the high days to two days, possibly three if your workouts are really intense, and the other days are low to moderate days. A high day would consist of a carb intake of 2-2.5 grams per pound of bodyweight, and a low day would be anywhere from .75-1.25 depending on how you feel on those days. The reason we cycle this way is so that our body is never in rhythm and is constantly guessing, which keeps our metabolism ramped up and always burning that fat away. Its kind of like “muscle confusion”, but for our metabolism. Here is a sample of my week with cycling based on my workouts and schedule:

Monday - Low
Tuesday - High
Wednesday - Low
Thursday - Low/moderate
Friday - Low
Saturday - High
Sunday - Low/moderate

Tweet your questions and challenges to @Mike_Higgins10 #DapperFit. Each of you should consult your physician before beginning any exercise or lifestyle change.

Summer Cardigan

The Dapper Style — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:00:35 +0000

Just because the weather finally got warmer doesn’t mean you have to ditch your cardigan. A light weight cardigan sweater can be worn all year. Layer it with a henley (button front) tee and push up the sleeves.

Start: dark rinse slim fit Levi’s
Add: henley tee in a bright white
Detail: gray slim fit cardigan
Shoe: we suggest some Converse Chucks

Stillmank Brewing

Alan Rust — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:00:44 +0000

The best part about the local craft brew scene is that we get to support our hometown communities. Max Corey, our Dapper Brew Bro, has reviewed a couple breweries in Michigan which is close to home. I am going to talk about Stillmank Brewery which you don’t know about unless you are in Wisconsin “Wisco.” This new very local brewery offers Wisco Disco and Homegrown and is growing fast. I had the chance to meet the brewer, Brad Stillmank, at a local event. He is a great guy who is very proud of his brew and the fact that it’s a local ‘homegrown’ family company.

The name of the first brew is just as great as the taste: Wisco Disco. It’s a deep amber colored beer, with rich malt and hop flavors that is a great brew if you are just stepping into craft brew or if you love it already. Brad says that it has a smooth body that is perfect to pair with cheese (of course).

The new brew is Homegrown and is created from all local Wisco ingredients and has a golden, straw color. This handcrafted rye ale is both bready, and spicy in texture and flavor. It is light, and refreshing, while the Wisconsin grown Hops provide a wonderful earthy, aromatic Midwestern punch.

What is your favorite local brewery? Tweet at us and let us know so we can support it.

Tweet @AlanRRust with #DapperBrew to suggest your best craft brew. Follow the @TheDapperStyle Untappd list for more brew suggestions from the Dapper Team.

Abdominal Training

Nick Hind — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:00:21 +0000

A shredded set of abs are among one of the most difficult things to achieve in the gym. A product of cardio, diet, big lifts and isolation work, there are many misconceptions with regards to abdominal training.

Nick Hind, PT

Although the abs do require a certain amount of volume, smashing out thousands of stomach crunches ‘Patrick Bateman’ style is definitely not the way to go. In order to hit the muscles from all angles, training must also be varied.

Lifts such as Squats, Deadlifts, Pullups and Bench Press are great for building a chiselled stomach – they require a massive response from your core in order to stabilize the body throughout the exercise, putting a lot of force through the muscles.

Cardio is also a must. After all, there’s no use building strong abdominals if they’re going to be covered by a constant layer of ‘winter insulation’. High Intensity Interval Training is great for shifting fat and burning calories. Sprints staggered with periods of rest on the spin bikes are perfect for beginners to HIIT.

Lastly, short, 3-exercise circuits that isolate the muscles are a great way to ‘blast’ the abs at the end of a workout. Perform each exercise back to back until you really feel a burn, then repeat the circuit a total of 2-3 times.

Tweet your questions and challenges to @NickHindPT #DapperFit. Each of you should consult your physician before beginning any exercise or lifestyle change.

Goose Island Craft Beer

Max Corey — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:00:41 +0000

Max Corey, #DapperBrew

This week’s #DapperBrew takes us across the lake from last week’s brewery. Chicago is home to Goose Island Craft Beer. The first Goose Island Brewpub was opened in 1988 when craft brewing was mostly just an idea. Goose Island is now served in all 50 states and has over 50 different craft brews to their name! For a taste of any of these great brews, head to the Fulton street location in downtown Chicago.

For a company born in the heart of the city it is only right to have a brew to tribute that. 312 Urban Wheat Ale is prefect for the job. This Wheat Ale pours with a bold white head that has a great retention, as it fades leaves a nice lacing on the glass. The beer itself has a cloudy pale yellowish color. A citrus kind of wheat aroma is noticed after pouring. The thing I really enjoy about this brew is it doesn’t try too hard; it’s not overly complicated with competing flavors. Just has a nice refreshing taste, a crisp wheat snap followed by a subtle lemon flavor. 312 is just a really good simple brew that does justice to the great city it was created for.

Honker’s Ale a, English Bitter style brew is another great choice from Goose Island. This brew was inspired by visits to English country pubs and reflects rightfully so. Honker’s Ale pours into an amber color with burnt orange highlights throughout. The color is complemented by a thin antique white head that fades into decent lacing. A strong malty aroma is noticed first with more caramel and toffee scents to follow. The first taste is much less sweet then then is hinted to by the scent, more of a nutty toasted bread flavor. The bitterness of this brew is fairly low, greatly increasing its drinkability. Goose Island Honker’s Ale is greatly renowned for its well-balanced flavor, a must try for brew fans.

Tweet @MaxCorey with #DapperBrew to suggest your best craft brew. Follow the @TheDapperStyle Untappd list for more brew suggestions from the Dapper Team.