We’ve wanted to talk about style consulting for a while now, and the benefit of visiting a style consultant. Fashion advice for men is something, which is now widely available thanks to the big old World Wide Web, and we now easily get answers to our style queries. But as with anything, the advice you receive on a PERSONAL level is always going to be the best advice. It’s going to be tailored towards your needs, tailored towards your aims and most importantly your shape and size. Fit is something which is extremely important in style, and fit is something 90% of men get wrong. So a good old fashion personal style consulting session is something all of us guys should experience.

Topman recently launched a free personal shopping suite within their London Oxford Street store, where you can book a free style consultation with one of their experts. This is a great idea and is defiantly something you should check out if you’re based in the UK, it’s free and the advice is personal. Yes the clothing picks are from Topman, but you don’t have to buy anything-just take the advice given and the implement them next time you’re shopping. Brighterman have launched an online style consultancy, where you can book an appointment to speak to one of their experts. Again this is a great platform to get personal advice from, as you can ask any questions tailored to your own personal style. Send measurements and photos and you’re response is going to be more tailored to your needs.

Introducing Aaron Marino

Aaron is someone who we’ve been a huge fan of for a while now, as he has taken online personal fashion advice to another level and most importantly another media… Video. Aaron’s Youtube channel is the most popular around currently for men’s fashion advice, hands down. He talks about general fashion problems and gives handy fashion tips on a weekly basis, and adds a touch of humour and light heartedness within his videos. Focusing on the modern day man, Aaron really keeps things at a basic level and doesn’t tend to discuss trends and fashion collections. He discusses timeless style, jewellery and grooming and work out tips. It’s free style consultancy at the best level, as the simplicity and form of media really works well together.

From Fitness to Fashion – A Short Story From Aaron Marino

If you would have told me 10 years ago that helping one of my gym members get ready for a hot date would be the foundation of an incredibly successful men’s style and image consulting firm…I would have doubled over in laughter….but that is exactly what happened.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have always been style and image conscious, some may even go as far as to say vain.  I like to think of it less as a personality flaw and more about being focused on achieving a certain degree of aesthetic excellence.  My earliest style statement was convincing my mother to let me use a role of tape and tightly tape the ankles of my pants.  I guess I was not a fan of the bell bottom type of pants that were still being thrust upon little boy’s who weren’t old enough to dress themselves back in 1982.  Fast forward to my senior year in high school, I was voted best dressed.  This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but given the fact that I was raised by a single mother and we struggled to make ends meet, the fact that I bought all of my clothes at thrift and second hand stores makes the title a little bit sweeter.  Fortunately I have more money these days but still believe you don’t have to spend a lot to look like a million bucks!

Style was a hobby but fitness was my passion, so upon graduating from university I set out and opened a fitness center.  One day I was in my office doing paperwork when one of my clients and friends approached me and asked if I would take him shopping because he wanted to look great for  his hot date.  Not only did we go shopping for a fantastic outfit, we took him to get his hair freshly cut and styled and spend some time trimming his nose and hear hair.

Fast forward 3 years and I had the opportunity to sell my fitness center, so sell is what I did!  But now I was faced with the reality that I needed a job and fast.  I had a sneaking suspicion that there was a market of image and style hungry men who would pay good money for someone to help them look better.  These men were not concerned about high fashion or style…they just wanted to get laid!  In 2006 I founded Alpha M Image Consulting and as luck or instinct would have it…I was right!

At first the majority of my clients were recently divorced men who were looking to get back into the dating game, so I developed unique services to cater to their unique needs.  Regardless of if they needed a complete style and image overhaul or if they wanted to participate in my “Virtual Don Juan” where I craft unbelievably perfect profiles for their internet dating sites…we have it all.  My services and fees are not cheap, I do charge a nice amount for my services, but I realized that there was a whole other world out there who could benefit from my unique real world style and fashion advice.

I decided to upload a few YouTube video’s on men’s style, grooming and image.  Well what I thought was going to be a handful of video’s has turned into a cult like following of men of all ages and ethnicities from around the world.  Each week I post a new video and try to keep them both educational as well as entertaining.  The response has been mind blowing and so I have embarked on yet another business venture, www.IamAlphaM.com is a men’s life/style and personal development site that is going live in January 2012!   

Favourite Videos

We wanted to showcase some of our favourite videos from Aarons channel, to give you a good idea of what he discusses. His an American guy with a good teaching manner, and most importantly, a decent sense of humour!

So make sure you check out and subcrube to Aarons Youtube Channel. Keep your eyes peeled for the launched of IamAlphaM.com and don’t be afraid to send across a question tailored to your needs! The most important factor when it comes to image consultancy is how you connect on a personal level, and Aaron is a great person to discuss things with and his friendly nature is going to defiantly enhance your personal appearance.

Links:

Alpha M Image Consulting Youtube Channel

Alpha M Image Consulting Website

By Paul McGregor