My name is Shahzaman Mozumder. I had the privilege of participating in my country’s war of liberation in 1971, when I was 16. Though I don’t think so, others around me thought I was brave enough to deserve a gallantry award. so, they gave me a award titled, “Bir Protik,” when translated into English it means “Symbol of a Hero.” I think it’s an apt title as I represent all those gallant freedom fighters of 1971 whose gallantry could not be recognized for various reasons.
Professionally, I have been involved with Information Technology business since 1980 and these days I manage an IT company of about 200 people.
From the very beginning, as far as I can remember, I wanted to be a well dressed individual. This urge has led me to study various aspects of men’s fashion and apply those to improve my own ensembles.
Recently, it has occurred to me that many people, particularly those that are interested in being well dressed can benefit from my knowledge.
This a website on men’s style. If you enjoy being welldressed, this site is for you. I would very much appreciate your comments. You are also most welcome to ask me your style related questions. I will try my best to answer them.
Dear Shahi
Just excellent, a very impressive and informative web-site for Bangladeshi people, most of them hardly knows how to dress, so such website will work as a panacea. I think the Government Officials must browse this website on a regular basis, who has such a peculiar sense of dressing.
May I request you to kindly suggest some dress combinations for middle structured dark person like me and most of the Bangladeshi, specially which shirt goes with which trousers. Specially, if someone neck is short and looks shorter then his height, then how he can look taller as his height.
Will wait for your reply.
Thanks
Omar
Dear Omar:
Thanks for the complement. I would like to make some suggestions in a future post about the situation you described.
Regards,
Shahzaman
Dear Omar:
Find below my suggestion for you:
To Look Taller and to elongate the neck:
• Always wear shirt’s with narrow-spread collars; never wear spread collar which will accentuate your short neck. You may also wear tailor made collars which are smaller than standard collars. Do not wear readymade shirts because their collars and made for people with average neck length.
• Wear clothes that fit well because if it’s too tight or too loose, it will make you look fatter and shorter.
• Wear solid colors, preferably in the same color range, from head to toe.
• Limit stripes to very fine, subdued, and close-together versions.
• Wear trousers at the natural waist (never below).
• Do not wear a belt because a belt focuses attention on your middle and accentuates your short stature.
• Wear suspenders with button loops, never clips. If you don’t want to wear suspenders, use trousers tabs.
• Avoid too many accessories.
• If you wear a tie, be sure your tie touches the waistband and that it is medium in width.
• Avoid busy patterns.
• Wear vertical stripes. Never wear anything with horizontal stripes.
• Your shirts should not have any pockets. If you have them, never put anything in that pocket (like pens, etc.) that can attract attention.
Your best colors are: Ivory, tan, blue, green, pink, yellow, violet.
Colors you should avoid are: Dark gray and blue.
The website seems anything but ‘uncool’. Reminds me of a couple of quotes, one by Bernard Shaw and the other Anonymous which is pretty much a popular one,” Man’s personality is judged by the shoes he wears.” So, true. I can see them come alive in you and in your own website. What Bernard Shaw once said long ago has now become a Marketer’s credo,” Fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic”.
May your journey that started with a noble cause 41 years ago, finds its mojo in the fashion world also and become truly a “Mark of a Hero” or BIR PRATIK ..
I am sure , you are working on to develop your ‘brand ideal’ and a tag line . I am particularly intrigued by the brand ideals of Louis Vuitton which embodies brands that ‘inspire exploration’. As the story goes, 200 years ago when he was old enough to travel, he braved to make a 400-km journey by foot to Paris to become an apprentice luggage maker, and only to start his own company soon, which has become a such dominant force in the fashion industry today . Now, Louis Vutton is running a powerful campaign which it has named as “Core Values”.
We all feel so inspired when we see the print ad of this campaign which features Angelina Jolie on a boat with a caption : A SINGLE JOURNEY CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF A LIFE .
Wish you good luck ,Shah Jamal!
Thank you for your comment and your good wishes for my blog.
Regards,
Shahzaman
Dear Shahzaman
Thanks a million, I followed your prescription, and the Chief Judge of my life i.e. my wife said that you look good and tall. I just started wearing shirt’s with small collar, but kindly elaborate a little more about “narrow-spread collars”:, send me photo if you have. What are the tailors that you recommend. Two things will be difficult for me to change i.e. pocket-less shirt and avoiding belts. Now keep those what can be your recommendation.
Thanks
Omar
Dear Omar:
I am glad that the “Chief Judge” approves my suggestions. Omar, at 5 feet 8 inches, you are not short. Like me, you are also medium height and a belt will not be a disadvantage for you. If you want to look taller than 5’8”, try our my suggestions.
Regards,
Shahzaman
Dear Mr. Mozumder,
First of all – great site! I like your style, and your guidelines and tips are quite effectively laid out on the site. I’ll be in Europe for a year studying in an MBA program where I’ll have to wear a suit on several occasions. As a traveling student, I cant take too many clothes with me. I would like to take 2-3 basic suits and 5-6 dress shirts. Based on your blog, I think I have a mesomorph body type. I have very broad shoulders, but have a relatively small waist and am 6 feet tall.
Given the above, what are the are the 3 essential kind of suits and shirts a guy like me should have? I would really appreciate your thoughts.
Dear Mr. Kabir:
Thank you for your compliments. I will try to answer your question to the best of my abilities.
I think you must have the following two suits:
1. A dark blue/Navy two button (as you are 6 feet tall, 3 buttons is also possible. But 2 button is better.
2. A charcoal gray 2-button suit.
Both the suits you can wear day and night. The charcoal gray looks almost black at night and should be handy during formal parties when you will wear it with a white shirt.
3. I would very strongly recommend a solid navy blazer with golden metal buttons. With this you should have two trousers, one in medium ash and the other in tan. A navy blazer is a versatile garment and you can both dress up or down with it. At night, pair the blazer with the ash trousers and use tan for the day.You can even wear the blazer with a denim.
4. I would recommend at least three crisp white dress shirts, two blue (of different light shades), and one or two light pink.
5. one brown trousers, one cream or light colored chinos or cotton trousers. Maybe one black trousers.
5. Two shoes, one black and one brown. Both oxfords or one oxford and the other derby. Wear black with charcoal and blue (navy); wear brown with navy, blue, suits/jackets.
6. A walking shoe and a sandal will also be helpful.
7. Socks to match your trousers or just buy black and brown socks. Wear black with black shoe and charcoal suits, brown with brown trousers.
8. Europe can become quite cold during the winter. You will need appropriate garments for those occasions. That you can decide when you are there.
9. You should also have some informal t-shirts, sleeping attire, etc.
I think an initial wardrobe would be quite appropriate for someone completing an MBA. (I wish I had the above wardrobe when I was doing my MBA.)
I think the above helps.
Regards,
Shahzaman
P.S: Forgot to mention, two belts, one black and one brown to match your shoe colors.
Thanks a lot for the comprehensive list! I am copying and pasting it on to a document, and turning it into a shopping list!
Thanks again.
You are most welcome
Greatly enjoyed skimming through your blog, Mr. Mozumder. Being a watch aficionado myself, the classics on your wrists were really a sight. I am trying to build up a small collection of watches myself. But as it stands, a good mechanical costs a fortune and I wouldn’t settle for a quartz. Nevertheless will try to visit your blog from time to time to get new insights into what looks good and what doesn’t.
Regards
Dear Mr. Ahmed: Thank you for reading my posts. I am very happy to know that you liked the watches. Please do visit my blog when you have time.
Meanwhile, I browsed through your blog and liked it a lot and I intend to revisit your blog regularly.
Thanks and regards,
Shahzaman
this is a must visit page for me these days … thank you sir for making this effort.
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I am quite flattered to be listed in your website. Thanks.
Zaman bhai, thanks a lot for this venture. Learned and am learning.
But one thing that visitors who haven’t met you won’t know. Your deep voice that goes with your attire making an impression that lasts a lifetime.
Thank you. I am very happy that you like what I am doing. Regards,
Hi
Just curiously where do you get your attire tailored in Dhaka. Cheers
Dhaka Expat!
It took me a few years and some wasted fabric, but finally I have been able to train one. Actually, the skills of many Dhaka tailors are quite good. With proper guidance they perform satisfactorily.
thank you. i guess without endorsing any particular tailor (although other forums such as styleforum where u are a member do endorse) would u so kind as to create a list of maybe 3 that i could approach after arriving from London? do they stock material or do u get them from elsewhere ? thanks once again ….
regards
London surgeon
I go to only one and if you go to the same tailor yourself you not get the proper service. It’s because the tailoring standard in Bangladesh is under par mostly due to lack of fashion awareness of the consumers. So, if you want to try my tailor, let me know when you are in Dhaka. I might even be able to send him to you. Regards, Shahzaman
Dear Zaman bhai,
Previously, we used to get update each working day around 11 am. Lately, its a bit irregular. Are you loosing interest? Please don’t…
just because there are not enough comments in the blog doesn’t mean people are not following it.
Best regards,
Roem
Thank you for your comment Roem. Comments make a blog interesting. No I am not losing interest. I was a little busy writing another set of blog articles unrelated to style. Moreover, sometimes I get busy and posting gets delayed. Shahzaman
As always, impressed by your prompt response even in your busy schedule. Zaman bhai, I met you only once. One of these days would definitely get a time from you to spend 30 minutes with you.
that is, if you do forgive my inappropriate attire. I am generally in casual dress most of the time.
Best regards,
Roem
You are most welcome to visit me anytine. Just give me a call before you come.
Regards,
Shahzaman
Zaman bhai,
You have an astounding collection of rare watches. How do you keep them? I mean, I have trouble maintaining my watches, so I stopped wearing them. Its hard to find a watch you like and even harder to keep them working.
Do let me know. It would help me a lot.
Best regards,
Roem
If you are a mechanical watch aficionado in Bangladesh, first you need to know a good watch mechanic. It is because you need not only to periodically service the watches in your collection but also restore the vintage watches which you would collect in the course of your hobby. Also, let me correct you–I don’t have an astounding collection. I only have a modest collection of some watches. I would be very interested to set up a vintage watch club in Bangladesh so that we can not only exchange information but also duplicate watches in our collection. Thanks for your comment.
You have a very enticing collection Zaman bhai. On top of it, yours are vintages. Finding them must be pretty difficult and requires a lot of heart and passion.
Mine were contemporary models of Kenneth Cole or Tag Heuer. And to my great agony, those are all wasted now. Because I didn’t maintain them properly.
Best regards,
Roem
Hello Mr. Mozumder,
FIrst of all I would like to say that I am thoroughly impressed by your style, depth of knowledge and efforts to share your knowledge. I didn’t know there were men like you in Bangladesh let alone Dhaka! A true connoisseur of the finer things.
I am a young man from the UK here in Bangladesh, working on an indefinite basis. I am into my fashion and style, which draws me to your blog! I am really into vintage apparel and a good suit. I am writing to you to gain some knowledge on where to shop for good quality clothing and acessories within Dhaka, I can’t seem to AND don’t know where to find shops that deal with items such as quality classic shoes such like the ones you have in your photos.
I would also like some information on good tailors in Dhaka, someone who is up to date with modern cuts and designs, is able to update classic styles OR at least someone who can understand what I want with ease. (essentially I would like a tailor who can produce a good slim fitted suit with additional alterations)
I would be ever so greatful if you could bestow your knowledge upon me!
Dear Mr. Ahmed: Thank you very much for your comment and compliments. I am also encouraged to that you are into “fashion and style.”
1. Shopping in Dhaka: It’s difficult to get good suiting materials in Dhaka. I normally get my stuff from abroad or online. One favorite site is http://www.hst.com.sg
I order online and ask them to deliver in our Head Office in Singapore. For ties and pocket squares one good source is http://www.samhober.com. I have used Sam Hober and they ship to Bangladesh. You will need an international credit card–I think you know that.
2. I have trained a tailor in Bangladesh and all my suits are made by him. I must warn you that the first few suits made by my tailor were garbage and I had to discard them. However, over time the tailoring improved and now it works for me nicely.
3. You will not get good shoes in Bangladesh. Most of my shoes are either English or Italian. I buy shoes whenever I travel.
4. If you want to try my tailor, please let me know.
I hope you find the above useful.
With best regards,
Shahzaman
Dear Mr Mozumder,
I am a male software engineer and I was hoping if I could work for you in your firm.
I would be immensely grateful and privileged.
Working for you will mean the world to me – I’ll be able to bask in your presence and relish and have pleasure in seeing you in your very enviable attire and to have a look at your collection of fine watches.
You are a sign of sophistication, a sign of a true connoisseur in men’s style, a beacon to guide men to greater style enlightenment.
Oh I wish.
Best Regards,
Mana Deys
Thank you for your comment and encomium. This is a blog which is not related to my work. This blog is a passion. I am, however, not sure how to respond to your wish to work for my company because I don’t handle employment issues. Regards, Shahzaman
Dear Mr. Mozumder;
looking forward to your email address.
Cheers!
It’s
shahzaman.mozumder@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Mozumder,
Just saw your dresses (specially shoes and watches)…And i can say a word “WOW”….Please don’t show me your collection; if i get a chance to see your collection physically then i will steal your watches and shoes.
Rashed Sorwar Rupam