Trendspotting: Knock Off Coming Soon

 

It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Then there's the knock offs. 

As I peruse through Philip Lim's Spring 2013 Ready to Wear collection, I noticed this cool and hip look that is gender neutral like a bisexual at a mixer. It taps into my hip hop R&B style sensibility. It also provides a nice way to transition from my goth fall 2012 look to my spring it's black and white Michael Jackson look that I've committed to (granted, I will mix it up with Arab chic...see next post for context).

But Philip Lim's "I Heart Nueva York" tee also made me think of two things. Should I buy it at his store and spend the $200 or should I just wait for the Urban Outfitters $20 version? Or should I wait a couple of more months for the $5 Chinatown version?

It's a common question many consumers encounter every day. It's also something that transcends fashion. Is the Kleenex tissue that much better than the CVS brand box of tissues? Can your guests even tell the difference especially once you put a decorative box on top of the box of Kleenex? Aren't you better off just buying the cheaper CVS brand and calling it a day?

This every day conundrum also finds its way to fashion. My philosophy has always been to buy what I love and pay extra for quality. Truth be told, this applies more to food, hotels, spa services and alcohol than it does for buying basic clothing items like underwear, socks, t-shirts etc. But when it comes to real fashion, I will definitely spend the extra based on design. A bomber Balenciaga jacket that's one sized too big but has these cool rounded sleeves is totally worth it. The Burberry Prorsum trench coat with gold buttons and classic plaid lining..it's a lifetime investment that I will pass on to my extended family. And all of my Alexander McQueen clothes designed when he was alive are considered to be collector's items especially after the Met exhibit. But on the flip side I've never believed in the $500 denim jeans craze. And t-shirts shouldn't cost me hundreds of dollars when I can buy soft pima cotton tees at Zara for $20. Unfortunately that's the category where this Philip Lim tee belongs. Even though I think that his recent look is cooler than an icee pop in a winter snowstorm, it is just a t-shirt with snazzy words on it at the end of the day. It's not something I see myself wearing in perpetuity. Plus the holes in the shirt can be achieved at home with a hole punch.

So what's it worth to you to get his look? Because for me, it's worth $20.

YES: You can hate on me if you're Philip Lim and you see me on the street with a H&M knock off

NO: You don't have to buy the knock off if you're a Hilton sister and you get this kind of Shiite for free

MAYBE: All of fashion is irrelevant and taken to seriously, but I'm not a philosopher, I'm just an average consumer     

Arab Sheik for Spring 2013

Even though I haven't even revealed my new Goth Chic look for fall 2012 just yet, I'm already looking ahead to spring 2013 and how I may want to dress.

This past spring/summer, I reconnected with my hip hop R&B side. But I ever really did ever let that part of my look go. High-tops, athletic shorts and baseball caps have always been in the mix. They were just temporarily overshadowed by my uber preppy phase from the year before.

For next year, I look to Alexandre Plokhov's spring 2013 collection for inspiration. In a world that's becoming more black and white (think Romeny versus Obama), Plokhov's collection offered smartly tailored and layered clothes in two primary colors.

The long tunics worn underneath boxy suit jackets made me think of a traditional kurti, a simple long sleeved shirt worn down to the knees.If you add a turban to this look, you would have a definite sheik look.

I've been toying with the idea of wearing a man's tunic for a while, but pairing it with my classic high tops for the street look that I strongly identify with. As a person of color, it's also something that I'm allowed to do since I could pass for someone who prayed to Allah although I was raised Roman Catholic.

But I foresee that as I move out of my black phase next spring, I may not be ready to fully embrace color again and white may be the only interesting option I will have.

YES: I will not be showing camel toe next year
NO: The tunic is not for you if you are fresh off the boat European descent
MAYBE: You can pull off the tunic if you can grow one of those long dirty beards the Williamsburg hipsters are sporting

It's Circa 1991 via Azaelia Banks

I've pointed out for a while that the nineties is making a fashion comeback since the kids who rocked the eighties harder than the people who actually lived it are now old. They are either in their late twenties or worse, early thirties. And when it comes to fashion, we all know that once you hit 25, your sartorial point of view becomes irrelevant in an industry that lives off the energy of youth, organic butter lettuce and botox.

Since the kids who vaguely remembered the eighties have aged out of MTV's target demo, which is 26 years old if you wanted to know, the next generation of kids have no connection to the eighties and are now primed to make their own mark on culture. Because America as a whole is stuck in the past...think TV reruns made into movies or the same boy band formula but different boys...the new generation of kids who are coming up are bringing their nineties references to the forefront. 

This is why I think that Azaelia Banks fits that mold. Her music isn't ground breaking, but she resonates with a large audience of people who are now in positions of power who probably peaked in the nineties. Of course, they are drawn to her Neh Neh cherry charms and C&C Music Factory beats with her Naomi Campbell hair extensions. And as we work our way out of this Great Recession, I think that people are ready for a new sound that's more upbeat and hard compared to the fantasy pop we've had to endure from Katy Perry's firework bossoms or Lady Gaga's born this way sideways vagina.

So I'm going to ride the wave and try to find my Pearl Jam CD, flannel shirts and Rave glow sticks.

The great nineties Disney animated film The Lion King sums it up best...it's the circle or life. 

YES: In another ten years, hip hugger jeans will be back

NO: You don't have to jump on the nineties bandwagon if you never left it

MAYBE: There will be a movie version of the Ally McBeal TV show starring Elizabeth Olsen

I Want to Lace It Up!

Although most people rightfully had a WTF moment when they saw Marc Jacobs at the Met Gala this year wearing his sheer lace dress.

I instinctively thought, "oh, the underwear ruins the look." Seriously, if he wore matching black boxers or briefs, it wouldn't have been so bad. He also could have belted the dress to accentuate his figure. I also would have preferred that he wore some kind of diamond jewelry to accentuate his point that men's and women's clothing is beginning to blur.

Having been to a suburban mall or two, it's a fact that even normal every day heterosexual and God loving Americans are starting to dress like the opposite sex. Women dress in polos and khakis with their short and easy to style mom cuts are indiscernible from the equally zaftig men who are poured into their dockers and polos. Slutty men and women have equal propensity to gravitate towards ill fitting spandex clothing.

At some point, we will all be wearing the same make shift tunic and will only be distinguishable by buttons that say whether or not we are male or female or both.

Because I live in a highly imaginative world, looking at Marc in lace wasn't such a shock. In fact, I'm in search of a men's lace shirt. Although I'm less likely go full Johnson like Senor Jacobs, I think that a more covered up lace version of his shirt would be a great transitional seasonal piece that I could layer under sweaters and cardigans. In my head, I imagine wearing a black lace shirt underneath a black cashmere sweater with a silver tie and black blazer. Yes, I would wear pants too.

YES: Lace is for you especially if you're a founding father since it was all the rage at Constitution Hall
NO: Avoid lace if it means raiding your wife's Victoria's Secret collection to patch together a shirt
MAYBE: Using your wife's lace underwear as a pocket square could be a nice touch to a suit.

I'm Going Goth for Fall 2012 Y'ALL

You could say that it all started out earlier this summer when I bought a Rick Owens trench coat that inspired me to go Goth Chic this fall. It's definitely not because the Twilight movie series is coming to an end and I want to pay homage. Aloof teen vampires don't do anything for me.

The Rick Owens trench looks like a wrinkled Hefty garbage bag, but it's the most beautiful garbage bag that I will ever wear on the streets of New York. There's something very strong and soft about this trench coat with its triangular hem and billowing back.

It may shrink as soon as it makes contact with the rain or keep me perfectly dry better than a reinforced Burberry trench made of rubber and the world's rarest silica. But this piece of Rick Owens vision definitely pushed me to go all black this fall/winter...and like the old saying, I may never go back.

Going back to my old preppy pastels and ironic geek chic look might be things that I used to do when I was idealistic and not fully formed yet as a full-blooded New Yorker. For years, I avoided an all black look because it seemed cliche and expected. Plus, I've always been afraid of being run over by a taxi cab who can't see me crossing the street since my skin tone is also on the dark side...like my soul.

Okay, I'm no Beelzebub, but I have been buying a lot of black lately for this upcoming season. There are the black Zara tees, black Theory pants and dress shirts along with the black T by Alexander Wang hoodies I've amassed.

Thinking about it even more, I realize that as I get closer to turning 40 in the next couple of years, I'm forced to face my own mortality.  As I try to come to peace with this event, I realize that dressing in black and looking to Goth culture is the perfect representation of death. Although, the black eye liner isn't a part of my equation since I'm not a drag queen or a member of the music group, The Cure. In a way, the black phase is my metamorphosis to shed my boyish past as I try to accept my inevitable mature future.

YES: If you want to explore your dark side of the moon
NO: Don't wear all black just because you want to hide your fat areas...there are other ways
MAYBE: You could still add a pop of color to your black ensemble like I will because I need to make sure those Pakistani cab drivers can see me a block away before they make a turn on the corner where I'm crossing

I Can't Quit Yoox

I was watching Brokeback Mountain the other day and the line "I can't quit you" kind of stuck to my brain like an annoying piece of white statically charged lint that refuses to leave your perfectly pressed black ensemble.

In a non-homoerotic kind of romantic way, that's how I feel about Yoox.com.

Sure it's odd. Let's face it. Most men only use the web to:

1. Look at porn
2. Check their bank accounts
3. Find out the score of a game

The last thing most men do is check out an Italian based online retail site to see if they can score the last Costume National shrug in a size small since it would make the perfect gift for their moms.

This is what I've been sucked into doing the past couple of weeks since Yoox.com has heightened their online sales.

Since I've always been a pragmatic holiday gift shopper whose agoraphobia kicks in the day after Black Friday, I've been stuck on Yoox like it's my job. So far, I've bought my sisters' birthday presents, my mom's birthday and Christmas presents along with my dad's gifts. It's the site that keeps me clicking.

But once I exhausted all my time and decide that I've bought gifts for everyone in my immediate family, I figure that I can quit Yoox. This never seems to be the case. Their consumer targeting must have been built by Steve Jobs because they always seem to pull me back in to check out the site for more. There's the free shipping, the additional discounts made available only for members or the 24 hour flash sale on new arrivals that tempts me to come back to visit again like the best little whorehouse online. It doesn't seem to be a problem because I never spend more than I can afford, but it does strike me as funny. I laugh at how much of a sucker I am for a bargain. And the fact that I never have to go to a store to be bothered by pushy people, aggressive sales clerks or disappointed by never finding my size in-stores makes my time spent with Yoox all seem worthwhile.

I've even started buying gifts for next year's birthdays, Father's Day, Mother's Day and christenings. I am an official gift hoarder. I hope my nephew who is scheduled to be born in February will fit into the Baby Dior onesie I already bought.

So long as I keep a financially healthy relationship with Yoox, I think that I'm okay. It's my online Barney's without the hike up to midtown. And with the amount of orders I've placed in the past couple of weeks, I know for a fact that Yoox loves me back. You can't say that about a lot of stores you shop at.

YES: When I say I want a Yoox gift card, I really do want one
NO: You won't end up buying something that everyone else has (well the odds are against you since they ship their inventory worldwide...so maybe you'll see it in Tokyo)
MAYBE: Yoox isn't for you if you prefer to try things on before making a decision

Sock It Up

Socks used to suck and came in five basic shades of boring. There's black, 
brown, navy tan and some random color tied to a holiday. 

But today's socks come in all shades of the rainbow. It's amazing how many 
stripes, dots, plaids, skulls and everything else that people have put into 
socks. They even have the socks which hug each toe of your foot. They're like 
gloves for your little piggies. 

You may want to delve into the world of crazy socks but are unsure of how to 
make it work with an outfit without looking like a toddler. Here are some basic 
guidelines.

Loud  Colored Solid Socks: need to be paired w sedate outfits.
Plaids: Should be matched to the color of your trousers. Navy blue pants get 
paired w bright blue
Holiday Socks: obviously you know the answer to this.