Get the Saint Laurent Floral Shirt Look for Less at Uniqlo

After years of just being something that your middle-aged uncle from Miami would wear short-sleeve floral-printed shirts became a big thing last summer. I posted some of my favourite styles about a year ago on the blog prompted by the success of the ubiquitous Saint Laurent floral shirt. I found myself quite into the idea of including it in my wardrobe but at over £500 a pop it didn't seem like the wisest choice.
Despite it being quite a trendy piece that you might get tired of quickly it can easily become that summer staple piece you throw on with a pair of jeans and a cool pair of sneakers to really stand out. Luckily, the way fashion works means such super trendy pieces will inevitably trickle down to high street shops for us mortals to have a chance at trying them out. And that's exactly what has happened. Uniqlo recently launched a mini collection of floral shirts so evidently inspired by Saint Laurent's styles that you might just think you're wearing the real deal – and it will only set you back £19.90 so you can have more than one style to vary.

You can shop the red style here and the black version here.

The Best 8 Printed Shirts to Wear this Summer

1. Gitman Bros. Vintage Chiquita shirt, 2. Saint Laurent printed silk shirt, 3. Carhartt Cayman shirt,

4. Gitman Bros. Vintage Bahia Shirt, 5. AMI botanial-print shirt, 6. Officine Generale plaid shirt,

7. Sandro printed shirt, 8. NN.07 Derek shirt.

Even though we don't seem to be enjoying much of a spring – in London anyway – I have a feeling that summer is creeping up on us and trying to catch us off guard... I am not the greatest fan of summer wear for men because it leaves very little room to change things up day to day. Luckily, the last couple of seasons have seen the rise of the short-sleeved shirt, which has come back to be cool. Particularly this season, they come in all colours, collar styles and prints. And it's the latter than I am crazy about. A shirt always looks better than a tee or a polo and when they're as fun as these, they become the perfect addition to classic denim shorts. You can easily dress them up or down and they guarantee a lack of boredom in your summer wardrobe. These above, are my favourite 8 picks.

Introducing... Evocha: Original Luxury

One of the things I love the most about menswear – apart from the fact that I get to wear it every day – is how steadfastly it has been growing over the past couple of years. It is doing so in such a unique way, with new brands being born every few months inspired by very focused points of view.
Such is the case of Evocha, a British-founded name who came to live exclusively online on July 30th. They are championing a much-needed concept of high-quality clothing cutting the 4x markup of designer brands. They believe in simple, classic, elegant designs to provide the essential luxuries a man needs without disregarding the values of quality, ethics and craftsmanship. Kickstarting their launch are the Henry, Francis and Carnaby that make up the Oxford Collection. Each of the pieces are made with the finest Egyptian cotton woven in Italy and hand-sewn in Britain and toped-off with mother of pearl buttons.
I was lucky enough to get a 'Carnaby' all for myself and I can't recommend it enough. The quality of the material beats even that of the made-to-measure designer shirts I have bought in the past. The body and sleeves are light as a feather and feel soft on the skin. The collar and cuffs have been structured to perfection and sit just as nicely under a tailored jacket as they do under a casual loopback jumper. I have worn it everywhere form work to drinks out with friends and I couldn't possibly have received more compliments – especially from my male friends, who were impressed with the quality and envious that I was the one wearing it. At £85, the Evocha Oxford range is the perfect example of an investment one should do in quality wardrobe staples. They come in the classic white, blue and pink so they easily adapt to any situation and are that perfect subtle statement a man likes to make with his personal style.

I also invite you to watch the video below, where you can observe the entire process of making the Oxford Collection pieces. If this and my keen words are not enough to push you to buy one, Evocha is offering Fashion, Frankly readers a 20% discount across their products (that'd make your shirts £68) – which also include incredible cashmere scarves and womenswear pieces. Just enter the code FASHION-FRANKLY at checkout to get your discount. The code is valid until October 1st. Click here to shop.

Courtesy of Evocha

SS13 Trends to Try Out: The Cuban Shirt

Clockwise from top left: Sandro floral shirt, Acne Oahu striped shirt, Dolce & Gabbana jacquard-woven shirt,
Dolce & Gabbana striped shirt, Lanvin panelled shirt, Dolce & Gabbana micro-dot shirt, Reiss pique shirt.

Until Dolce & Gabbana and a few other designers like Acne and Lanvin decided to include 'Cuban shirts' in their SS13 collections they were a marginalised garment we knew of thanks to Tony Montana in 'Scarface', McDunnough in 'Raising Arizona' and Raoul Duke in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'. I guess none of us ever saw themselves wearing one because of the awfully loud and often tacky prints. But you can always trust a fashion designer to take something before undesirable and turn it into a season hit.
I have been eyeing a few of the pieces available online, amongst which I favour the quiet pique take of Reiss and the micro print silk option by Dolce & Gabbana the most. After Dave Franco's editorial debut, I was thrilled to see Zac Efron sport another of the Dolce & Gabbana pieces. He wore it to the MTV Movie Awards and paired them with a slim pair of washed dark jeans and lace-ups.

JustJared

Dave Franco wears a SS13 Must: The Dolce & Gabbana SS13 Shirt

Dave Franco covers the new issue of Wonderland – out tomorrow – as part of his promo tour for the film 'Warm Bodies'. The actor looks super fly wearing some of the new SS13 trends. My favourite is his shot in one of my favourite striped shirts from the Dolce & Gabbana SS13 collection.
Some of the new shirt models are already available online in preparation for the spring. My favourite so far are the burgundy number with the spotty micro print and the silk model with the geometric print. Such a cool way to keep your outfits interesting and staying fresh!

JustJared, Why-YouMad.com

Devoted to Dolce & Gabbana F/W13

Dolce & Gabbana was my first show this season in Milan. I knew because of the vibrant colours of the Baroque flowers on the invite that I could expect a collection full of energy, which I very much needed after my 5am wakeup call.
The FW13 collection is very aptly entitled 'Devotion'. It was a love letter to Sicily, its traditions and its people. Just like the season before the 82 men and boys who walked the runway had been cast from Sicilian towns – Taormina, Palermo, Siracusa...
This season Domenico and Stefano played with different graphic motifs such as religious buildings or different images of the Madonna but, mostly, their intention was to make a signature of their florals so that just like leopard in their womenswear they can become the unequivocal symbol of the Dolce & Gabbana man. The flowers carefully painted over silk blazers of the first part of the collection soon gave way to needlepoint flowers, which gave life and texture to velvet jackets, wool coats and suede shoes.

The new collection was also surprisingly strong in terms of the more 'traditional' tailoring. The statement jackets covered in flowers were accompanied by the most stunning white crisp shirts in a number of different collar shapes and all finished off by hand-sewn lace, which can usually be found gracing the dining tables of Sicilian homes.
The more classic pieces had this beautiful flavour of the past brought to our time by slim silhouettes and luxurious details like satin-covered buttons and printed jacket linings. For the evening, the main focus is still velvet in blacks, greys, deep greens and rich burgundies all with satin-finished wide lapels and accompanied by the coolest velvet lace-ups a man could ever own.

Dolce & Gabbana lifted my mood and filled me with energy. Milan Fashion Week had officially started.

Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana, Fashion Frankly

Neil Barrett & Phillip Lim: Dip dye face off

Luisaviaroma, My-Wardrobe

I am currently on shirt-buying mode. For the last two weeks I have been incessantly looking at all my favourite e-tail websites trying to find the best buys for this summer. I am usually a very basic guy when it comes to shirts because I've always been afraid of buying pieces with "too much character" that I will get bored of.
However, I always tend to do the opposite in the summer. Since men's summer attire is reduced to a tee/polo/shirt and shorts I try to make an effort injecting my outfits with something interesting. But so far I have been terribly unlucky. Yesterday I ventured into the world of Top Man on Oxford Circus and tried on lots of shirts I loved but the fit was so off – screw you skinny tall British men.
So I have gone back to the original strategy of looking online. I might end up spending more money but it'll definitely be worth it! One of my latest finds I am still debating on is 3.1 Phillip Lim's dip dye shirt, which I find very chic. The only con I can think of os the fact it's short sleeved.
While looking some more I found this other Neil Barrett shirt from last season. I don't like the reversed dip dye effect as much but it's long sleeved.

What do you think?