Men have great options when it comes to shoes that transition from work to weekend.  One of the fall trends in men’s footwear is the chukka boot.  Chukka boots are ankle-length boots with two or three pairs of eyelets for lacing.  It combines understated style and comfort.  The body of the shoe wraps just below the ankle to provide the solid support of a high top and the freedom of a slip-on.  Some boots also include an extra padded collar and durable double stitch construction.  Chukka boots are usually made of calfskin or suede, however, some designers have a more exotic version using materials such as crocodile.

John Varvatos Filmore Chukka Lace-up Boots, $369

Frye Hudson Chukka Lace-up Casual Shoe, $168

Polo Ralph Lauren Lander Chukka, $59.00

Vane by Sebago Penny Keeper Chukka Boot, $150

FRYE Men’s Alex Chukka Boot, $157.95

If you ever played sports in grade school you are probably familiar with the term “walk it out.”  One time, I got a tennis ball spiked straight into my neck…walk it out.  No ice packs or kisses to make it all better.  But alas, I strolled around for a few minutes — started thinking about dinner, went a bit farther towards the girls’ courts, wondered why girls don’t wear pleated tennis skirts even when they aren’t playing tennis — I walked it out.

I am hereby coining the phrase “shop it out” for men.  It goes like this:  I am going to show you a batch of pretty stylish sneakers for men.  They are all available for purchase, but not very easy to find.   (This is the moment where you sway your head slowly from side to side as I deepen your need for these shoes).  You are going to want the biting feeling of barefoot fear to go away… you must SHOP IT OUT!

I’ll give you 3 solid starting points:

1. Polo Ralph Lauren Harold Classic Canvas Sneakers, $39.99

2. Chuck Taylor All Star “The Ramones” Rock Legends, $50

3. Vans Chukka Low Skate Shoes, $60

Clockwise from top: Ralph Lauren, Chuck Taylor, Vans

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Chace Crawford/Photo by Bauer Griffin

Spotted. C and P (Chace Crawford and Penn Badgley, that is) brave the wet and chilly weather to film scenes for Gossip Girl. I love how Chace is donning one of spring’s biggest trends for men: plaid. The amazing part is he manages to pull off  this trend-conscious ensemble without looking like he meant to. You can, too. 

To get same look as Chace’s plaid shirt, try these two options by Ralph Lauren and Martin Gordon. Next, throw on this amazing look-a-like brown jacket from French Connection. You definitely need a pair of jeans with a dark wash, like this amazingly affordable pair by Levi’s. And you can’t forget those dapper shoes he’s wearing, they totally make the look. With these Allen Edmonds Oxfords, you’ll be the next big thing on the Upper East Side.

Many of us find our most unique fashion pieces at trendy, hidden boutiques.  Trouble is, when life gets busy, we don’t always have time to trek to these places to score the newest items when they first arrive.  I love the idea of being able to shop for all of my favorite boutique items in one place.  Lucky for me, the people at farfetch.com share a similar vision.

I spoke with Marketing Director Paul Brine to find out what farfetch.com has to offer, as well as some of his personal “must-haves” for this year.  Herewith is what Paul had to say:

Q&A:

beso: Tell us about the farfetch.com philosophy and the idea behind the site.

Paul Brine: In 2001, farfetch.com founder José Neves helped open a boutique in London called b Store.  He found that when entering the world of e-commerce, marketing a smaller store wouldn’t be easy.  José came up with the idea of a site that would pull all the boutiques together, because they all had a different voice.  farfetch.com began with just 20 stores.

b: Luxe, Lab, and Cult are three ways to shop farfetch.  Tell us how you came up with the idea for these categories and what treasures we would find in each.

PB: These [categories] were Jos’s idea.  We had a massive list of over 200 labels, in which some were casual and some avant-garde. We needed a way to separate them.  Luxe is high-end, well known designers.  Lab is up-and-coming and avant-garde designers.  Cult is more casual, like denim and diffusion lines.

b: Are there any plans to expand farfetch.com to include more than U.S. and European boutiques?

PB: Yes, we are working with Brazilian boutiques right now.  We plan to have these out within the next six months.

b: Your site not only carries exclusive designer fashions, but also lifestyle items.  What are some of your favorite pieces?

PB: I like the Snake and Skull Candle by D.L. & Co. because it’s very gothic.  I also like these prints by a company called Jaguar Shoes, which feature various artists’ work.

D.L. & Co. Skull with Snake Candle

b: What are some of your favorite fashion “must-haves” right now?

PB: For women, Pierre Hardy shoes.  They have these silver metallic wedges with lots of straps.  There are also these brass cuffs made by Givenchy.  For men, Henrik Vibskov sweaters, which are colorful and have big faces on them.  I also like the Opening Ceremony Desert boots.

Pierre Hardy Wedge Bootie Sandal

Givenchy Stud and Brass Cuff

Opening Ceremony Brown Leather Boots

b: What hot men’s accessories are key for summer 2010?

PB: Sunglasses.  The Zanzan Zazou sunglasses are very retro and handmade in France, so they are great quality.

b: Who are some of your favorite designers?

PB: For women, it’s Christopher Kane.  For men, I like Martin Margiela and Robert Geller.

b: Name the one item you have acquired from farfetch.com that you cannot live without.

PB: I have a shirt by Blaak Homme.  It’s a navy shirt with white polka dots.

b: Who would be your ideal celebrity spokesperson for farfetch?

PB: It’s hard to pin it on just one.  We would love to have Lara Stone.  She is a Dutch model who has a lot of personality.

b: With over 400 designers on the site, can you tell us some of the most popular lines right now?

PB: Right now the top is Alexander McQueen.  Although he has always been a top designer, with his recent death we have seen an increase.  Opening Ceremony is big, too;  we have a lot of their shoes on the site and they sell very well.  Henrik Vibskov’s whole collection is on the site and has become a real cult label.  All of these items are hard to find.

Alexander McQueen Yellow Heart-Shaped Peep Toes

b: What do you think it is about your site that keeps people coming back for more?

PB: The sheer amount of products found here.  You can get lost in there for hours!  We add new items every day, so you can come back next week and find all new things.  Also, we have many exclusive brands that you just can’t find anywhere else.

b: Lastly, we’d like to know — What’s your beso?  My beso is “be so unique.”

PB: I’d say our beso is “be so individual.”

- Dana for beso

In June Reebok came out with the Pump “Perfectly” Collection, the theme was all white.  Now they are continuing the idea with the Perfectly Grey collection.  The lineup includes three models: the Pump Omni Lite, the Court Victory 2 and the Insta Pump Fury. Here they are:

Now, are they cool?  I will answer that question with a piece of art.  In the 7th grade I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my class.  Of all of the famous paintings we saw that day one really stood out to me, the minimalist Blue Panel by Ellsworth Kelly (below):

It really blew my mind.  Everyone was bashing it, laughing at it, saying how lame it was.  All I could think was how I used to make this exact thing every day in nursery school and my teacher told me that I wasn’t painting.  She told me I was wasting paint!  I even made a black panel, a green one, whatever paint I found.  It was fun for me.  And now I see it in one of the most famous galleries in the world; have I been robbed of my due credit, I think so.

My point is, get over the grey theme and decide if you like them.  Personally I think they look like space shoes and last I heard those aren’t so cool.  But hey, give Reebok a little credit for trying it out and for going the minimalistic route. Oh, and if white and grey are not your colors the Home Depot has a great selection of spray paint.