How many pairs of shoes do you have? Five? Seven? More? But how well do you know each style? We take a look at the different styles and their evolution.         The Oxford shoe The oxford shoe gets its name from a shoe called the Oxonian that was popular at Oxford around the 1800s. The Oxonian was a half boot with side slits. The side-slits soon evolved into a side-lace and eventually the side-lace moved to the instep. The cap-toe oxford was mostly worn on formal occasions and to work, but today, it is made from a variety of materials and in numerous styles, and is also part of the casual attire.     The Blucher The Blucher is named after Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher, who, before he fought Napoleon at Waterloo, commissioned a better-built shoe for his troops. In the mid-1850s, the blucher was worn as a hunting shoe and it later evolved into a town shoe. According to Alan Flusser’s Dressing the Man, the Blucher was “distinguished from earlier shoes by the forward extension of its quarters over the vamp…it often has a tongue cut in one piece with the forepart”. The contemporary blucher complements both formal and casual occasions, and is considered to be slightly less dressy than the oxford.   The monk-strap This style of shoe was first worn by friars in Italy in the 15th century, and it travelled to England, thanks to a visiting monk who was highly impressed with its construction. A contemporary monk strap has an upper made of three pieces, and is available in different avatars, including brogue monk straps and suede monks. Modern monk straps, including the double monk, which, essentially, is a monk strap with two straps, slot somewhere in between a lace-up and a slip-on and can handle both work and leisure.   The chukka boot The original chukka boot was a two-eyelet ankle boot, and, despite numerous interpretations, it still remains the most stylish. The chukka boot was popular among polo players during the Raj, and the British named it after the ‘chukker’ (a period of continuous play that lasted around seven minutes). Chukka boots are generally made of suede or calf-skin and are quintessentially casual.   The wing tip brogue The brogue is a low heeled oxford that features perforations known as broguings. Brogues were first worn in the Scottish highlands and by the Irish, and the elaborate punchings that adorn brogues today were once actually holes punched into the shoe to drain water out in the Highlands. The wing tip brogue is considered less dressy than a cap-toe oxford brogue.   The suede shoe The suede shoe first made its mark when it was worn in 1924, in America, by the Prince of Wales. And its first sighting, at a polo match at Long Island, left many aghast. The Prince of Wales had worn his suede shoes with a suit no less, and for a long time, suede shoes weren’t considered to be proper attire for real men. Today, while suede shoes are essentially considered casual wear, it is not uncommon to find stylish men who team, say, suede brogues up with a good suit.     The Slip-On Moccasin/Loafers The moccasin evolved from the simple shoddings stitched by Norwegian fishermen. Over time these shoes were worked on by Norwegian designers and exported to Britain and Europe. The Norwegian designers, in fact, were inspired by Native Indians who, according to Flusser, inserted a plug of leather to cover the forepart of the foot and hand-stitched it to a combination sole and upper. The Norwegian design has seen numerous interpretations, including the penny loafer, the tassled loafer and the Gucci loafer. Loafers or moccasins are worn by both men and women with jeans, chinos and trousers. They should be ideally worn without socks. Out here, we should also mention the Dress Slip-On, a lightweight, more difnified Italian interpretation, that was once, and, at times, is still seen in boardrooms in America.

Men wearing socks with sandals. Or white tennis shoes with black socks. If you really love white socks, wear them with sports shoes when you go running/walking/to the gymnasium. Apart from that, stay away from white socks. Men with small wrists and chunky watches. If it doesn’t look right, leave it alone, boss, and instead, buy a classical watch. In case you didn’t know, the vintage style – small-ish, clean, un-flashy – is back.   Men who use too much of the same colour in an outfit. For instance, think grey trouser and grey-ish shirt. What does that do? Well, it makes you look way larger than you really are. And in the case of the gent who wears grey and grey, he’ll look like a thundercloud.   Men who wear pleated shorts. You only wear pleated shorts if, 1. You are off for a round of golf, or two, if you are a granddad.   Blokes wearing cargos and tucking in their shirts. Wear cargos with T-shirts, and if you are teaming it with a casual shirt, do not tuck in your shirt. Plus, one more thing, if you are over 25, look for cargos with smaller pockets. Cargos with large pockets are generally considered a teenage thing. Men who don’t button the bottom button of their blazer or suit jacket, and men whose outfit features two articles of clothing with the same pattern. Men who wear watches with rubber straps with a suit. Men who keep talking about brands. Dude, we know you’ve got a nice, big wardrobe and some good threads, and are clued into the fashion scene, but there’s only so much a man or woman can take, OK? Gents who spray too much cologne. Gentlemen, spraying a bit on your pulse-points – wrists, just below your Adam’s apple – is more effective than actually spraying the perfume on your shirt or under your arms. Dudes who wear duplicate Ray-Ban Wayfarers. Boss, it looks sad and cheap. Chuck it now. Men who don’t match their belt to their shoes or their socks with their trousers. Jokers who (still!) wear square-toed dress shoes. Blokes who wear ill-fitting clothes, and at times, stuff that doesn’t belong to them. Men who preen. Men who don’t read the Fetise Manual.

If you are as particular about your undergarments as you are about your trouser or watch, you would know that Calvin Klein Underwear is among the world’s top underwear brands. Launched in 1982, Calvin Klein Underwear was the world’s first designer underwear brand, and it celebrated its 40th anniversary late last year with the launch of a special men’s underwear line that features an updated fit and more contemporary fabric and palette. The pics (above and below) will fill you in on what the new range looks like, but this piece, though, is not just about Calvin Klein Underwear, rather, it is about underwear in general and about how little attention most men pay to it. When they walk out the shower every morning, most blokes pick the first undie they can lay their hands on and boom, the job’s done. Choosing the right underwear is as much about hygiene and grooming as it is about comfort. And, as men who swear by their underwear will tell you, a good, comfy underwear makes a lot of difference. Find a brand you like: Because your best friend wears Aussiebum or Calvin Klein does not mean you must too. Look for a brand that fits you perfectly, ensures that you and your tools are comfortable and that the underwear feels like second skin. Stick to the brand no matter how tempted you might be by the leopard skin Roberto Cavalli. Stock up: You need to change your underwear everyday. Period. And if you shower twice a day, wear a fresh one each time you shower. Going by this rule, you should have at least a dozen underwear in stock at any given time. Now you know why brands sell them in packs of three. Variety: Are you a boxer person? Great, but don’t wear boxers under your formal trousers. Boxers add bulk and you don’t want them bunching up under your trousers and ruining the fit. Instead, pick up some thin form-fitting cotton briefs or boxer briefs that will look seamless and yet, provide enough support. On the other hand, when you change after a long tiring day, a comfortable cotton boxer is great to relax in. And remember, heavy-duty workouts needs special underwear: jockstraps. Keep a couple of them handy as well. Rotate and update: An underwear is the one item in your wardrobe that goes through a lot of wear and tear and that’s why you must rotate your underwear rather than managing with just two sets. Every couple of months look for snags, minor holes and rips and throw them out of your closet. You never know when you’ll need to undress and there is no greater turn off than bad underwear. Images courtesy Calvin Klein Underwear