Not to be misconstued as a norm, taking photos inside store premises is almost always not allowed. The photos featured in both Parts 1 and 2 of my “Great Finds from Robinsons Place Manila Midtown Wing Stores” posts were taken with a special arrangement from the management of Robinsons Malls and participating featured brand name stores.

The hunt continues. The next three stores in our line-up are an interesting mix: 7 For All Mankind, TopMan, and Florsheim.

7 For All Mankind. 7 For All Mankind proves to have the priciest articles of the stores we got to visit Sunday. Some people have the propensity to go for the brands they trust while others with what works plus gut feel, depending on the look they’re going for. Some others, however, go for status associated with the brands. With owning premium articles comes the luxury of being adorned by someting onlookers might swoon over not necessarily because it compliments the proud owner but also because of the cult status the brand manufacturer has managed to achieve. Well known brands speak for themselves. Well known PREMIUM brands might as well shout loud and proud and you don’t even have to do anything more than wear them.

While going through 7 For All Mankind’s clothes, we chose the Java Jacket because of these details: zipper front with buttons, fine corduroy fabric, rich brown color, slim cut, and the subtle leather detail on the right above the cuffs that compliments the overall look quite well. For 7 For All Mankind to pull that off without shouting redneck or ukay was a big plus. We had that on a long sleeved white polo and washed dark jeans. For the second set, we chose the hooded striped jacket because of its material (perfect for casual wear in the tropics because it is not too thick) and faded washed jeans.

Java Jacket PHP20,998, Dark Blue washed jeans PHP10,498, White Long Sleeved Polo PHP7,498, Faded Washed jeans PHP10,998, Jacket Hoodie PHP9,498

TopMan. Have you seen that music vid where all the members of a KPOP boy group all had faded jeans and jackets on? When I first did, I went “stab me now, please, if that’s going to make a comeback.” When I heard that animal prints are being worn by men on magazines, I went, “Give me those denims STAT. I’d rather those than be caught dead with these!” mahahahaha! It may be a common conception that TopMan clothes are made for the metrosexual and gay man because of the cut: skinny jeans, plain flat canvas sneakers, slim fitting shirts, and slimmer fitting jackets. Even the ties they sell are slim. No, super slim.

Looking around the store, seeing that they have different cuts and fit for both jeans and shirts, observing the shirt design and patterns, and having the two shirts I bought from TopMan before as basis, we can safely say that this allegation is not entirely true. Just get clothes that are not too tight fitting like those straight cut jeans and comfortable fitting shirts and jackets. It’s the person wearing and not the clothes that make the man, after all.

Another great thing about TopMan is the material of their shirts. You can feel your body breathe through them. You can see that the cut, design, detailing in their shirts, jackets, jeans, and even suits are all current even if some shirts are designed to look vintage.

Having said that, Josh hand picked one statement shirt for the shot while I gave him a denim jacket. They say silver will highlight just about any color and those grey jeans did just that. Next is a zip up black jacket with a rockstar vibe about it. Can’t get a better shot of the full frame since we can only shoot inside the fitting room. Still, it’s all good. A fitting room’s actually a good place to shoot because they’re always well lit.

Statement shirt PHP1,295, Grey Jean Jacket PHP3,195, Light Washed Jeans PHP2,495. Black jacket is PHP3,195 (shades, photographer’s own).

Florsheim. Men’s leather shoes are much more expensive than women’s because we commonly seldom buy more of one kind for a particular purpose. One formal shoes, one rubber soled shoes, a sneaker, and sandals or flip flops and we’re a happy camper. It was fascinating to find these in Florsheim. The formal brown shoes, in particular, I would have definitely gotten if only I didn’t have brown formal shoes yet. They’re like clouds on my feet. Yes, MY because those are my feet you’re looking at right there. Horray!

Casual Shoes (Black, 65073-101) PHP6,890. Formal Shoes (Brown, 65068-102) PHP7,190.

That’s it! Thanks Robonsons Place Manila for letting us have the ultimate window shopper’s experience with the stores at your Midtown Wing. Until next time!