As the weather turns, I find myself turning to coats. I understand that this isn't a revelation to anyone - it's cold, so it's logical to layer up, but this is one of my favourite times in the year. For the brief period in which it can be cold, dry, and sunny, I feel like my wardrobe comes into its full effectiveness. Of course, I have my trusted items, the ones that have been with me for years, and will stay with me until they are beyond repair, or until my figure exceeds their limits. It's rare to find another coat to add to this collection of loyal coats, but I'm glad to say that the beauty you see above, the Grey Check Overcoat from The Idle Man, has taken a well earned place among the seasoned veterans.

L'Occitane - Men's Grooming Range*

It has been a long time since I've talked about grooming. It's been a while because, being honest, I'm pretty damn poor at it. I'm set it my ways, not consistent, and I really struggle to find brands that I'm willing to invest in. But, at the end of the day, it's important. Your skin is an organ etcetera, etcetera. You need to look after it, you need to moisturise. It's worth putting a bit more money into something that your body is literally absorbing. On that note, I'm happy to say that a brand I have loved for some time (L'Occitane) is putting efforts into their men's grooming range.

Cat Footwear - Go Boldly

Autumn is here, and winter is coming. Boot weather is upon us, continuing until sometime in March, and I couldn't be more excited. You know what happens when you own a pair of solid boots - you hold on to them for years, they become battered, bruised, and beaten. Like a fingerprint, they are unique to you, and you alone. First, however, you have to start with a pair of boots that can withstand that test of time. It's almost like wine; you can leave a wine to age for years, but if you start with a bad bottle, it'll only become an older bad bottle. So it may be worth considering a pair of boots from CAT Footwear to act as your grapes... Did I take that simile too far?

Adidas Originals x Scotts - Born in Bavaria

I'm weary of posts beginning with this phrase: "I don't usually...". This is because the following spiel tends to revolve around the fact that the writer has been conveniently converted to the ways of the brand, or the style, that they have been gifted or sponsored by. There is often a slight fear of honesty in these situations, and it's understandable... don't bite the hand that feeds you. But this puts me in a tricky spot, because I really want to start this blog post with "I don't usually...", but I also don't have a bad word to say about these shoes to make it seem genuine.

I took a risk on these adidas NMD R1 Primeknits that were sent to me for Scott's Born in Bavaria campaign. Sporty silhouettes have never been my first choice in trainers, usually opting for a more sneaker-based aesthetic, but something about them called out to me. Maybe it was my inner desire to be cool? Maybe it was the temptation of wearing shoes that make me feel like I'm walking on marshmallows? Maybe both? Whichever way, I regret nothing. Since owning this pair of adidas NMDs, I now own two others; if that's not a genuine conversion, what is?

The Return of Bata Heritage // Bata Bullets High Cut

Recently, one of the more fortunate coincidences in my blogging career occurred. For a while, my shoe obsession nearly crossed the line into excessive, but I found myself searching high and low for items I hadn't seen before. Becoming increasingly fed up with the usual high street stores that peddle the same styles from the same brands, with varying levels of effort and visual merchandising, my eye turned to finding collaborations or brands from EU retailers (Colette etc), which is where I stumbled upon Bata Heritage/Bata Bullets... my interest piqued. They had style, quality, and a hell of a price point; why hadn't I seen them before?

Ofo Around Cambridge*

When living in Winchester, cycling was a feature of my daily life. Living at the top of a hill, I could get down to work in roughly three minutes (getting back up with another matter), and if you excuse the times I managed to practically embed the pedals into my shins, or the time I rolled over the bonnet of a car (think Laurel and Hardy, not James Bond), it was something I thoroughly enjoyed and truly miss.

Move on a couple of years and my daily commute is in a car between London and Hertfordshire. This literally makes me part of the problem, I know that. If more people cycled, the world would probably be a far better, healthier, and a more unnecessarily lycra-clad place. It's worth looking toward cities like Cambridge, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam for inspiration here. Hell, even London is getting better... gradually. All of this meant that I jumped at the chance to head over to Cambridge and cycle around for the day with Ofo, the new bike sharing platform to hit the city. Ofo wants to get more people cycling, but also understands the issues that cities face with an excess of bikes. Bike sharing can reduce the ratio of bikes to people, whist getting more people riding. That's no bad thing for the world and all that preachy stuff.

Competition - Win a $100 Gift Card

Yes, the title is correct, It's $100, not £100. This is because I have partnered with Nakturnal to bring you the chance to win one of two gift cards worth $100 for East Dane, a US based online menswear retailer. I have not forgotten that the majority of my readership is UK based, because East Dane happens to offer free international shipping for any orders to the value of $100 or greater (Coincidence? I think not).

East Dane has been on my radar for some time now. In fact, I worked with them once or twice in 2014, so this is a bit of a blast from the past for me. However, if you don't know of them, allow me to give you a quick summary and a list of some of my favourite brands that they stock...

San Francisco

Moraga became my home for a week. A long street in the Sunset District of San Francisco, a short walk away from the Golden Gate Park, and the actual home of Bianca. I met Bianca last year during my post-Graduation break away to Copenhagen, Denmark (see more of that here: Copenhagen in Photographs). I am well aware that the usual protocol of making friends in other countries is this conversation:

Person one: "We should meet up when you're in [insert home country here]!"

Person two: "That'd be awesome, I'd love to. I may be able to come over later this year/next year"

*Both proceed to keep in mild contact over Facebook/text/other social media but never visit*

It is safe to say that we did not adhere to such protocol.

Knomo London // Life Organised

Prologue

Do you have a friend that you don't see/speak to for months/years on end, but when you reconnect and it's like you saw each other yesterday? That's what I'd like to say about my relationship with O&U, it has been six months since I last posted and it's like riding a bike, right? Nope. Few things in my life have felt less natural than sitting down with my laptop and writing the first mildly coherent thoughts that fly into my brain. 

Is this because I have spent the majority of that time in front of my work computer typing, reading, retyping, checking, and double checking everything to ensure I don't send an email to a supplier that includes a mistake? That is a distinct possibility. Whatever the case is, I'm back. Will this mean regular posts? I'll try but probably not. I have no interest in lying to myself/you about how organised I'm going to be (There is a reason that "Underprepared" is in the title of this blog), I have no interest in putting that pressure on myself again, but I have every interest in resuming a part of my life that I absolutely love and sorely miss. 

My intention is to do more on my terms. I may start doing some posts on my style with no brand affiliations, I may start writing about what I love from the industry I work in (the watch industry), I may write more about things to do/see... who knows? Think of this version of my blog as Rick & Morty Season 3: It's been a while in the making, the details are dubious at best, and there is no guarantee that it'll live up to previous parts, but it's going to happen anyway and I'm excited to have it back in my life.

Knomo London // Life Organised

Meet the James Men's Tote Laptop Backpack from Knomo London. I will begin by saying that the name does not roll off the tongue, however to make up for that, it is both practical and easy on the eyes. These are literally my two favourite qualities; we're off to a solid start. Considering my positive disposition toward neutral colours, I opted for the Olive over the Charcoal colourway, but both look equally as awesome.

Footasylum x Timberland 6 Inch Premium Boots

Happy coincidences happen, we all know this. The most recent for me was a desire to buy a pair of Timberland boots. This desire struck me about two weeks before the opportunity arose to work with Footasylum on a campaign dedicated to how to wear the 6 inch Premium Timberland boots. Luckily I had not yet funnelled my funds into a pair, all due to an idiotic oversight from someone I used to live with, leaving me with an unexpected bill of just under the price of a pair of Timberlands. This was unfortunate, yet slots in seamlessly with the overall coincidence of the situation and the boots slightly made up for the irritating situation. So, now I have them, how exactly do I wear my Timberlands? (Other than just "on my feet").

Brand Focus: Canali*

It's been a while since I have really focused on a brand in a non-review format. What it comes down to is a desire to continue a stream of content on O&U, but a difficulty in balancing working full time and the days getting shorter, with getting photos and allocating time for everything to be done. Canali is a brand I have always loved the idea of working with, although my style over time has become considerably more casual, my passion for the tailored attire has always persisted.

The Original Breton Shirt Co.

Two months is a long time to pause writing on a blog, I understand that. It wasn't the easiest decision to make, I stopped writing around the time that it was all I wanted to do, however I am happy I bit the proverbial bullet. Now I am back, and I truly hope that you consider this to be a positive thing. Since my last post, I have started a new job, moved to London, and basically achieved a goal I set out for myself earlier this year. This took concentration on things other than the blog, sadly.

Of course, I didn't want to start up again with any old post, and luckily for me I was contacted by the one, and only, Original Breton Shirt Co. A few years ago, I wrote a post on how to capture the style of James Dean using a Breton top from them, so it seems fitting to bring it back into the fold, this time wearing one of their tops myself. I understand that I don't look quite as suave as James Dean.

Copenhagen in Photographs

Bored on the Saturday before my graduation, after dangerously deciding to treat myself, I sprawled the internet in search for something that would be worthy of a graduation present from me to me. As tempting as it may have been to opt for a new pair of shoes, upgrading my camera or perhaps even stepping up my watch game (I'm addicted), I had a eureka moment to blow all other thoughts out of the water. Explore.

Fry Family Food Meat-Free Challege

Unusual challenges and brand collaborations are always welcome with me, especially if they can have some kind of positive impact on my every day life. This is why I was so keen on collaborating with Fry's Vegetarian to go a week without meat, alongside why I worked with Virgin Active for the MyWorkoutFor Single Life campaign recently.

Henry London Watches

If you follow me on either Instagram or SnapChat (rjhnixon - shameless plug), you'll know that I decided to go on a trip to Copenhagen. When I say that I decided, I mean that I got bored on the Saturday and so I booked flights and a hostel, to leave on Tuesday (the day after my graduation). This level on spontaneity is not something I'm used to, but it was incredibly rewarding as I met fantastic people and saw some stunning places. I also thought it would be the perfect place to get a couple of images for my collaboration with Henry London.

KG by Kurt Geiger - Murray

White trainers have become my casual shoe of choice. I can't even help it any more, they simply work with everything, are incredibly comfy (if you get the right pair) and honestly, it's getting a little warm to be wearing Red Wings all the time. Furthermore, a new addition to my wardrobe is a pair of leaf green Carhartt chinos, and, as you'll see in the images, white trainers work perfectly with them. So I couldn't have been happier when Kurt Geiger sent me the Murray trainers in white.

M&S x Kestin Hare*

Honestly, I have avoided floral shirts for about four years. I had a realisation that plain clothing was the better route to take, allowing me to build a more versatile style, one that would work throughout seasons, allowing me to look into my wardrobe and always have something to wear. This is not to say that I don't love florals, and this one from the collaboration between Marks & Spencer and Kestin Hare is a new favourite.

#MyWorkoutFor Single Life with Virgin Active*

Fat, I find, is much like Donald Trump: It springs up rather suddenly, yet it is seemingly impossible to get rid of. This is particularly true of the fat that I created through four years in a relationship and four years at university. Virgin Active and the #MyWorkoutFor campaign come into play at this stage, helping me to create the #MyWorkoutFor Single Life workout and allowing me to realise just how unfit I am these days.

JOIN ME: #MyWorkoutFor Single Life - Virgin Active*

As you may know by now, I have recently come out of a long-term relationship along with finishing my degree. In no way do I regret the relationship and it will always be a massive part of my life, as will uni, but it means that I am now "back on the market" yet retaining a great mix between relationship and student weight.

I'm not going to claim to be fat, however I would definitely like to trim down a bit and generally feel healthier in myself. Being 23, I know I am still able to eat, drink and enjoy myself without worrying too much about the consequences, but that won't last forever and now is the perfect time to get into good habits. Luckily for me, this has fallen at the perfect time for a campaign with Virgin Active, which is where you, my lovely readers, come into play...

On Saturday 4 th June, I will be hosting my specially designed #MyWorkoutFor Single Life class at the Virgin Active Aldersgate Club (London). I'm looking for others to come along and support me – single or not! It’s a 45-minute high-intensity workout. So if you're based in London or there at the time, why not join me for a workout with Virgin Active?

All you need to do is tweet them at @VirginActiveUK with #MyWorkoutFor Single Life. I have 3 spaces up for grabs for you and a friend, and you’ll get a pass for the entire day so you can have a well-deserved relax in the spa post-workout. I've been to the Aldersgate Club to plan out the session and it is plush (seriously).

If you're free then give it a shot, I'd love to meet some of you and grab a coffee afterwards (again, that'll be covered). It'll be a good laugh and a brilliant workout.

If you'd like to come, head to Twitter and get a tweet out!

See you in London,

Rob.

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Terms and Conditions

• Entrants must be available to attend the class at 13.30-14.30 on Saturday 4th June
• Winners must be 18 or over and be able to participate in a high intensity circuit class
• Winners will be selected at random and allocated two places at the class
• Winners will be notified on or before Wednesday 1st June, via Twitter direct message, and will need to confirm attendance by Thursday 2nd June
• Winners will subsequently need to provide an email address so further event information can be shared
• Winners will need to cover any travel costs to get to the Aldersgate Club (200 Aldersgate Street, London)
• Filming and photography will take place on the day which you must be willing to be a part of

ASOS x Le Coq Sportif Arthur Ashe

Firstly, allow me to give my apologies for my absence of late. There have been a multitude of reasons, from going through the break up of a long relationship, being admitted to hospital, all the way to working on my final ever university project that accounts for 50% of my overall grade. It has been an incredibly eventful couple of months and I have to thank ASOS for being patient with me in regards to this post (alongside other companies who are also waiting), I am now back up and running, feeling a bit drained, but I definitely have the ability to stand awkwardly in front of a camera and then sit down and write about it. It's the little victories.

Now for the post itself...