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Craig Twist Fashion Correspondent

There is something special happening in the fashion world, apart from September being the month of weddings, parties and birthdays.

With the new moon and obviously the start of new seasons- summer in the southern hemisphere and Autumn in the west- we are expecting a lot.

Fashion shows have reopened again after months and months of lockdowns and are taking place  back to back, from New York Fashion Week, to London, to Paris with hundreds of designers taking it to the runaway with their new collections.

Interpreting fashion on the runway is bit hard and requires trained eyes to decipher but at-least we will see some new designs which are eco-friendly and have the environments best interest.

Like for example, lately we have seen clothes have been coming with “100 percent recyclable polyester” tags on them or “100 percent natural fabric” which is ground breaking in this modern day, evidence of the advancement of technology in the textile industry and fashion at large.

Just when we thought we were done with September then BOOM!! Met Gala. The theme was: In America: A lexicon of Fashion and In America, which basically means all things Fashion was one of the most, if not the most, anticipated fashion event of the year given the fact that last year’s one was cancelled and this year’s one was postponed.

It was nice to see some of my favourite actors at the Met Gala in the likes of Daniel Levy, who plays David in the Netflix series Schitt’s Creek, dressed in a “many shades of blue” outfit with symbolism of pride.

Pharrell Williams was in an all-black leather outfit together with his girlfriend which was given the Native American vibe.

The style icon, Mr Tom Ford, graced the red carpet with his not-so-chick but sophisticated look of a TF velvet tuxedo, black tux trousers, a white shirt, bowtie and patent oxford pulling off the proper gentleman silhouette.

Kim Kardashian stole the limelight with her all black on.

Speaking of September, which is basically summer in Zimbabwe, we all know it’s time to take our scarves, coats and other layers.

When I did my research and read feedback from my clients and followers alike, I am going to highlight three key clothing pieces that men wear and women hate.

Flip-flops

Again, I know that our feet need to breathe after 3 months or so of thick socks and winter but there is nothing appealing about a man wearing flip-flops unless they are going to take a shower, swimming or maybe at the lake with friends other than that it’s a no. Most men don’t go for pedicure or foo-trub massages or any other form of extra care, however most of our feet are ashy and in bad shape so why expose them?

Three-quarter shorts

Cargo shorts are still in the game and we have noticed they have been trending over the last few years, in all fairness they are here to stay but what is changing is the drapes and silhouettes.

We will notice a lot of swim shorts as well in the street which have been trending lately and been stocked by big brands and high street shops.

With that being said, Let shorts be shorts. It’s unflattering to wear shorts that go past the knees like you are stuck in time, the 90s hip-hop era, it puts ladies off.

Shorts this summer should make you flaunt your thighs but like we said before, they should not be too short that they become obscene or too long that they pass your knees by a mile like the “Tezvara” shorts that trended a few years ago when a father in law attended a funeral in these baggy shorts and it went viral.

Dirty shoes

You remember in the film FORREST GUMP when Forrest (Tom Hanks) says to the woman he was sitting next to on a bench, “there is an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes..?”

Well, naturally, women get drawn to your shoes (and bag) the first few seconds of meeting you however there is nothing that turns them off than dirty, worn out shoes.

We all have some items in our wardrobes, especially shoes that have sentimental value to us or they are so comfy that we take them everywhere, it’s about time we get rid of them this summer.

White trainers never go out of style, whether worn with jeans or shorts but wearing dirty white shoes on a bright summer day is a big no.

◆ Craig Twist is the owner of a UK based brand, Mr Rocca, which does personal shopping, style consultancy and wardrobe editing. You can drop him an email on [email protected] or follow him on Instagram for outfits inspiration and tips @mr_rocca