Goth-ica

This is my new Goth Chic look. It's all based on this amazing Rick Owens rain coat I bought recently. To complement the coat, I paired it with a +J button up, black Theory wool pants, black Calvin Klein tie, T by Alexander Wang v-neck sweater, Bikkemberg lace up boots and a Prada backpack.

My friends and co-workers said that I looked like a cast member from the Matrix. That's all right. I believe that it looks cool and new. Life's all about trying new things, even if you're plugged in to the Matrix.

A Man's Little Black Suit (LBS)

Women have the little black dress because its slimming and always appropriate 
for an evening out, a business meeting in the office or an event without a dress code. The LBS is their go to solution to getting dressed for anything and everything

In the same vein, men also have a little black suit which can go from a day in 
court, a Reservoir Dog style group killing or a formal black tie dinner. Just like the ladies, men have several opportunities to wear 
out a black suit. 

With everyone dressed in black, I've been to some parties where it looks more like a funeral home more than a 
lively event. But at the end of the day all of these events aren't for men to be noticed 
but more about the women. The only person who remembers the color of a groom's cummerbund at a wedding is the bride. 

And that's just it. Your wife, partner or whatever it is attached to your arm is the best accessory to have at any event. Whether you're fat, old or 
ugly nothing looks better on a man than a hot date. Hugh Heffner aka the Heff 
knows this truth better than anyone. He's put this into practice since Moses 
brought the 10 commandments down the mountain to us lay folk at the Playboy mansion. 

But I guess that if you can't score a hot date, you can always have a good fitting little 
black suit. 

YES: It's the one thing in your closet you really should spend good money on

NO: Navy is not the same as black

MAYBE: You can get away with a military uniform but there better be medals attached to it  

Happy Slut-o-Ween (aka Halloween)

Halloween is a celebration of a lost childhood. It's reconnecting with the time when you carried a cheap plastic pumpkin pale around your neighborhood collecting candy from your neighbors. It was the purest and simplest form of childhood joy.

But grown-ups are corrupt so adult costumes are borderline obscene. Everything is hyper-sexualized. There's the:

• Sexy nurse
• The slutty nuns with a habit
• Naughty school girl
• Pole dancing Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz strip club

But where's the slutty men? As women inch up in the pay ladder and outpace men in terms of college enrollment, graduation and just about everything else, I think it's time for men to get into the Slut-O-Ween spirit and rock a slutty costume.

Pole greasing fireman
Sleazy sailor
Dirty pirate
Beer sucking vampire
Puts the tool in toolman
Handcuff Harry, your trusted policeman

YES: Get your slut on and you might meet your matching slut at the party
NO: If you're a parent walking your kids around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat
MAYBE: You just keep it in the bedroom where most of these costumes belong

Ethnically Speaking

 

It struck me that today is Columbus Day. Although it's a cause for celebration for the Italian American population across the nation, it's also a day of mourning for the Native Americans.

The history is pretty clear. Europe sucked, Columbus had three boats, got lucky, landed and then plotted to conquer the very same people who welcomed him to the not-so-new-to-them continent. Nothing like waking up the next day and have your house guest turn you into a plantation slave. But I'm not a moralist. I'm a blogger who's fascinated with how cultural identities are still being taken.

Even though designers have no cultural ties to certain African tribes (see image), they happen to take a luxe safari to Africa once; and they just loved how the Masai warriors made a mean knitted sweater/scarf. The kernel of inspiration is what inspired the entire collection. Some of it is truly inspired but most of it just looks out of place especially when a blond blue-eyed Swede from the mountains is trying his best to rock his fiercest Masai warrior. The spray tan helps but is still unconvincing.

The only point I want to make today is that we are ravage consumers who will take what we can if we can do it without punishment. Chanel once tried to make dresses with phrases from the Koran but were quickly threatened with terrorism. But put the ancient print of a Native American tribe onto the latest tote bag and the kids at Opening Ceremony just can't get enough of it.

Okay, my tote bag is from Ralph Lauren.

YES: It's okay to be a hypocrite, just be aware that you are being one
NO: You should limit yourself to only subtle uses of a tribal print or you'll look like that random white guy in the rap video
MAYBE: You can wear the tribal print head to toe if you are from that tribe holding the spear

Is Casual Friday Redundant?

In Hawaii, it's called Aloha Friday. It also has cultural resonance since the women don their mumu dresses and men wear their best Hawaiian shirts. Mine is a midnight blue silk number with palm trees set against a night sky. It was my Friday uniform and it was a refreshing break from the stuffy dress shirt I had to wear at a retail store every other day of the week.

Today's Casual Friday tradition owes its roots to Aloha Friday, but isn't every day in America Casual Friday?

There are certain jobs that will always require people to dress in a uniform. Lawyers wear suits or fear losing credibility, bankers wear Hermes ties because they can afford it and McDonald's employees have to wear that polyblend button up with the golden arch accents. But for everyone else, it seems like they have taken the Casual Friday look to every day.

Once when I met with clients in Chicago, my team and I were dressed in suits like a bad version of Reservoir Dogs. Eager to do business, one of our clients entered the meeting wearing a velour track suit complete with gold necklace, diamond studs and UGGS. I couldn't tell if she were there to talk about retail placements and strategy or to take a nap. The meeting was on a Wednesday. The rest of her team wore jeans and a t-shirt. I wish the invitation included a dress code, which would have been "anti-semi formal."

This trend continues on as more and more people in the work place dress for work like they would dress for the weekend: jeans, t-shirts, flip flops and baseball caps. Even I have succumbed to the trappings of wearing more casual clothing. BUT I always put an effort to look buttoned up in the office. That's why I would never wear a baseball cap to a meeting, a shirt with a hole or armpit stains to a luncheon or sandals in the office. It's just not appropriate.

So I challenge America to enjoy its casual style of dressing, but for the loves of Hay-sus "Pull Yourself Together!" Do it for your country! Do it for pride!

YES: Put some effort into ironing your clothes or wearing something a little bit more pulled together especially if you are meeting business partners
NO: A designer t-shirt doesn't count as being dressed up
MAYBE: You can get away dressing like a shlub because you work at a Dot com and that's how they roll

Stick Your Neck Out

 

Wikipedia taught me that ties have a long history that date as far back as China and ancient Rome. They were used by soldiers as a way to identify themselves on the battlefield. The Croatian mercenary soldiers marooned in Paris several hundred years ago made them popular. From there a simple trend went through its style evolutions. From a simple red cravat to its complicated lace iterations to its current knotted form, the tie remains a staple in the man's style repertoire. 

GQ and Details and Esquire and Men's Health, Journal, Playboy etc will tell you how to tie one on based on how small or fat your neck is, but no one ever explains what your  tie says about you. A poorly knotted tie says you don't have a clue. A cheap tie is worn by a man who's got no goals. And a well made tie only means you get paid well but doesn't make you more of a man.

Moreover, a tie is a historic link to what makes a man a man. Because even after our own soldiers have stopped wearing ties in the battlefield, the tie is still a powerful symbol for the tribe of men. 

YES:  Tie one on once you figure out which role you play in the man tribe, but please try to show that you give a damn (see your latest GQ for details)

NO: A tie is not for you if you're against the man

MAYBE: You're the kind of guy who only needs a tie for weddings or when you have to say "yes, your honor"