Cashing In Style

Photography by Alicia Mara

Cashing In Style Sponsored by Square Cash

Plaid Shirt - 7 For All Mankind (Similar) | Windowpane Vest - H&M (Similar) | Jeans - Uniqlo (Similar) | Shawl Cardigan - H&M (Similar) | Watch - Fossil (Similar) | Desert Boots - Clark's

Christmas is just around the corner and I am loving this time of the year! It's been such an amazing weather in NYC especially in comparison to the past two winters of freezing temperatures. I spent my past weekends with my friends grabbing lunch and doing some shopping for Christmas. Here's a sharp casual menswear look incorporating a shawl cardigan with a windowpane vest and jeans combination. Finish off the look with the essential Clark's desert boots and leather watch.

I discovered this app called "CASH" by Square recently and it has been a game changer. My friends know I hate carrying cash because 1. I use credit card for everything (bonus points & air mileages!) and 2. I hate carrying bulky wallets. I usually use a slim six card slot wallet so it's not bulging in my dress pants or jeans. This is where Style & Tech meets in a great practical sense.

But there are plenty moments when cash is king and in this feature, I'll show you just a few ways Square Cash has really come in handy for me (pun intended) and I'm sure you'd agree with me on these real life situations.

Cash Scenario 1: Sunday Funday brunch with my friends in the city. Whenever I am dining in groups, not having cash to pay when splitting a bill is always a hassle. Square Cash has really made it easy to quickly exchange money with friends. It's also a much better option than Venmo since there's not a "cashing out" period so MY money goes straight to MY bank account.

Cash Scenario 2: Gift shopping! Especially around this time of the year, sometimes it's worth pooling money together to get someone a better and nicer gift. Square Cash has come in handy again for me to quickly exchange money instead of "oh I'll pay you next time in cash" which can turn into "oh I forgot...next time!" It just makes life so much easier and less hassle.

Style Tips:

* Layer Game - Plaid shirt for the season with a different scale of pattern in the windowpane vest. Top it off with a chunky cardigan sweater for that perfect balance of sharp casual.

* Comfy feet - Clark's Desert boots are the essential casual shoes that are perfect for the weekend. You can also substitute this look with sneakers or wingtip boots.

* Slim down - Get a slim card wallet and ditch the bulky wallet. You don't really need all those membership cards, random receipts, and a bunch of cash. I challenge you to try it for a week.

Let me know what you think of the look in the comments!