Personal Shopping: Michael Sheridan

Michael Sheridan trying on dress shirts at Mexx.

It’s no surprise that I love shopping. I love shopping with men even more. And I love making men feel great about themselves in the process.

On September 19th I had the pleasure of taking Michael Sheridan shopping. Michael has just recently changed jobs within his department at the Canada Revenue Agency, which means an increase in pay, travelling for work (he’s in Summerside at the moment), and giving training to employees. All of which mean it's time to step it up in the wardrobe department.

I’ve known Michael since 2004, and his personal style has definitely evolved in that time. When I first met him he wore mostly faded jeans, beat-up Blundtstones, and paisley shirts over band T-shirts. His style now is much more refined, while keeping the same cute, casual aesthetic he’s always had.

First on Michael’s list was dress shoes, and while we were making our way toward the men’s shoe department at The Bay at Bayshore, we came across a rack of ties that were 30% off. Michael and I pulled out seven slender Ben Sherman ties, and we winnowed that pile of ties down to four that he liked best.

Michael was reluctant to look for shoes at The Bay since he claimed that he had looked there before and hadn’t found anything that he liked. I convinced him to let me take a look “with my eyes”, he agreed, and I zoned in on these Calvin Klein beauties:


Calvin Klein shoes–hot.

Michael tried them on and fell in love*.

Following The Bay, we headed to Banana Republic. Michael had been browsing their website and since he was in the market for a suit, he thought that they might have one that would work for him. While we were there I pulled some additional items for him to try on, including this sweater:


Look how handsome!!!

Because I’ve known Michael for so long, I have to admit to getting a little misty over this outfit. He looks so nice. If you’re a nice girl reading this blog, he’s single! What a catch!

He also tried on a white and a grey long-sleeved T-shirt to wear under long-sleeved shirts in the winter–the white was far too sheer, but he did pick up the grey.

However, he was looking for a suit. So when he tried on the one he had been looking at online, he was hoping that it was going to work for him. Unfortunately, because Michael is on the shorter side, the proportions of the jacket were wrong for him. The top button was quite low on the torso, and the jacket was too long, making it look like he was a little boy playing dress-up in his father’s suit. Michael was disappointed but I knew we would find him something else.

And find him something else we did! We spent a good 45 minutes browsing the racks at Mexx, sending Michael off to the dressing room with a very large pile of things to try on, including this suit:


Winning suit!

The fit of the jacket was perfect through the chest, and the only tailoring that needed to be done was to hem the pants and take up the cuff on the jacket slightly. This was the suit for him.


Tailoring is important.

Michael is fortunate to be a bit of a clothes horse–it’s pretty rare that he will try something on and have it look strange. Case in point, every item he tried on at Mexx was golden. He ended up buying the suit, a pair of dress pants (grey windowpane plaid flannel), a belt, and six dress shirts. Maybe he bought more? Probably. I don't remember. I’ll have to arrange a time that he and I can get together to take some pictures of him in his suit once it’s back from the tailor’s.

We had a great day. What do you think of Michael’s purchases? Tell me in the comments!

*He has since e-mailed me to tell me he has worn them to work and they have proven comfortable, albeit a bit pinchy during the breaking-in process.

Meet the Newest Apartment 613 Columnist!

During the Fringe Festival, I had the opportunity to meet François Levesque of Apartment 613 at the bloggers' meet and greet. We chatted a while and connected, and I approached him a few days later about doing a column for them. I was thinking fashion advice.

Well, they totally went for it! I was stupidly busy with moving and the like for the remainder of the summer (also why the blog has been neglected for a while), but I am pleased to announce that my first Apartment 613 column comes out next Tuesday, October 5th! It will be appearing the first Tuesday of every month. And I’m having a contest!

Whoever can come up with the best name for my Apartment 613 column will win an as-yet-to-be-determined prize! I really don’t know what it will be, but I promise it will be cool! To enter, leave a comment with your idea for what my fashion advice column should be called!

Also, please don’t hesitate to comment with your fashion dilemmas and questions, or you can email me at yoursweetbippy (at) gmail (dot) com. I am so looking forward to this new adventure!