Style Minute

Check out the Style Minute on ocala.com, web home of the Star-Banner newspaper. I toured a new salon/day spa owned by San Diego Chargers captain, Clint Hart.

Oscars-Best Dressed Men

Hugh Jackman, Daniel Craig, and Will Smith exuded a classic, and hopefully not lost, gentlemanliness with three distinct looks at last night's Oscars. Jackman sported a classic one-button peak lapel dinner jacket with a waistcoat, custom made from Burberry; Ford opted for an elegant shawl-lapel dinner jacket from Tom Ford while Will Smith went the natty double-breasted route with shawl lapels. Looks to these men because what they're wearing looked just as good 50 years ago. No messy unbuttoned shirt collars, no skinny ties, no trousers bunching at the shoe, no odd colors; just well cut and classic. For formal dress, wearing one of these options is a no-lose situation.

Say no crack...and visible undergarments

How about alerting the young men of America and informing them to, and I quote the always dapper Fonzworth Bentley, "Pull your ass down or pull your pants up." That was from Season 1 of From G's To Gents, great stuff. He's right though, boxers protruding from jeans which waistline hovers around the upper thigh is foul and offensive, oh yeah, it's also tacky and juvenile. It says to world that you're not prepared to enter tax-paying society; you are unable to figure out your true waist size; you believe there's a correlation to the number of women you get to how low your pants are. Wrong. Dead wrong. No man is an island, as the saying goes (my grandfather always said it, I hear) and we must all coexist in some semblance of harmony. You're not alone, therefore if I shower and put on proper fitting trousers and cover my privates, you should as well. If I take the effort to present myself in a civilized manner, so should you. Visible, soiled boxer shorts are not part of civilized society. They are for your eyes and whomever has the unfortunate task and handling your hamper. There. I said it.
On to my second point...Tank tops (sometimes referred to wifebeaters by inconsiderate cretins) are undergarments. I repeat, tank tops and undergarments. Therefore, young men of America, please refrain from wearing them to the mall without a proper shirt, further exposing your faded plaid boxer shorts. This practice is the height of thuggery. It appears that you are ready to fight by exposing your bidceps to potential opponents. This is not part of civilized society. If you wish to expose your meaningless tribal tattoo on your 'roided up bicep, please drive to the nearest beach, jump in the water, swim a great distance and stop.

Sean Penn should adjust his tie

The Academy Awards are formal. Sean Penn is a rebel. We get it. He looks bad, how about that.

Take a cue from Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman is the essence of gentlemanliness in his peak-lapel dinner jacket and shawl-lapel waistcoast at the Academy Awards.

His jacket sleeves are the perfect length; trousers are the precise break for formal dress; and if I was a white man, I would want his hair.

How about no white athletic socks

Gentlemen. Every style manual, book, magazine; every stylish man, stylish woman, store associate, ex-girlfriend has said repeatedly, no white socks at dinner. I'm not sure how many times this memo has to be passed around. Perhaps eternally. White athletic socks only go with athletics sneakers in the pursuit of victory on a court or field. End of story. I was out the other night and saw a nice looking couple; she had a relatively simple dress and he appeared to have put on his best pair of jeans and starched polo for a big Valentine's evening dinner. Well, when seated at the bar, his white athletic socks peaking out of black dress shoes said more than any accessory she had on. Black shoes, black socks.

This week's Style Minute

Click on the title for the link. This week, it's all about presidential style.

Gently used glove for sale, one owner

It's up for grabs. Moonwalk lessons are extra. But really, Michael Jackson's Swarovski crystal glove is up for auction. The expected estimate: $10,000 to $15,000. Kanye's rushin' to his phone as we speak.

It's about time Allen Iverson chopped the cornrows off. From the Sixers to the Nuggets to the Pistons, The Answer has sported cornrows and  way-too-baggy clothing for his 6-foot, 165-pound frame. The 'rows in the styles he had were just a little teenish.

Some great looks of the weekend

Some great looks of the weekend

Change All Around

So, is this truly the end of an era or do we wait and see?

Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe, has pretty much ruled the country for longer than I've been alive. He's do so with reported acts of intimidation and violence across the country. The 2008 election was the most recent evidence of his unwillingness to accept defeat at any cost. With two elections giving Morgan Tsvangirai a clear lead (but not a 50% plurality) reported violence, kidnapped media and Tsvangirai fleeing the country dominated the goings-on the economically depressed African country, Major diplomats, including former UN head Kofi Annan, attempted to foster a multilateral approach to government. Meetings were held, the situation was discussed at conference, Mugabe continued to be vilified in the media (aside from the state-controlled Zimbabwean media). Leaders banded together to send a strong statement that they refused to acknowledge his legitimacy as leader of the country. Lots of words, not much else though (Zimbabwe, unlike Iraq, doesn't have any oil reserves to warrant an invasion, freeing the people from tyranny). Parade magazine listed him on their Ten Worst dictators lists for the past several years. Mugabe was banned from entering many countries, including the U.S. and the U.K. The only vocal ally was former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who has since been ushered out of power.

Well, in September Mugabe and Tsvangirai came to an accord, brokered by Mbeki, to share power in the country. Tsvangarai was sworn in February 11, 2009 as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. Let's hope it work out.

Style Minute returns

Check out the latest installment of the Style Minute. It's my style show on ocala.com, web home of the Star-Banner newspaper. Click on the title to view.

Mrs. O in Vogue...actually the cover

Note: First Lady Michelle Obama will be on the cover of the March issue of Vogue magazine.

The originators of Swag

Rap Pack

Well executed. The "Rap Pack" of T.I. Lil' Wayne, Kanye West and Jay-Z in black and white captured that feeling, the essence of the Rat Pack.  These are the men with the most influence in music, not just hip hop. What the original five members of the Rat Pack did and the personalities they were can be linked directly to these men-with of course the evolution of America and what's acceptable. The best performers in the best clothing on the biggest stage. Sammy, Dean and Frank were about swag, which undoubtedly affected this generation. Oh yeah, M.I.A. did her thing. This was most certainly the best part of the entire telecast.

Grammy dos

Give props to Snoop Dogg for having the courage to leave the house in a suit like this...

Give props to Jennifer Hudson for a great performance and and even better look.

Call out Katy Perry on 

her lackluster, emotionless performance of what should be her only hit.

Take style cues from Death Cab For Cutie...which is far too long a name.

Let Stevie Wonder sing, ALONE. No more guest appearances by flavor-of-the-month teen idols.

Listen to Janelle Monae. She's got a great voice and very energetic.

Grammy donts

Don't do what Kanye West does. Don't wear what he wears. He puts out hit records, he can afford to be eccentric (even though he's just going back 25 years)

Don't leave a double breasted blazer open, like Kenneth Edmonds has done here. As Mr. Glenn O'Brien has often stated, it gives the effect of batwings. There's just too much fabric swinging around to look god.

$9,000 homeless outfit

Sure Coldplay is huge. Sure they've sold millions of albums, sold out out thousands of venues and made a little bit of change but do they have to look homeless? Is that the standard of dressing for a rock star? Seemingly spending no time on a carefully crafted nonchalant look. Highwater trousers, tattered jackets, and multiple wrist bands...but when you're Coldplay is just doesn't matter. They're that cool.

Grammys JT

Nice jacket JT. Justin Timberlake stepped out in a one-button shawl lapel dinner jacket a few minutes ago. It's got some sort of fantastic texture and sheen. This is the way to do black on black. Nicely done sir.

Not in drag but with bags

The NYT had a piece about men who don't quite cross dress, they add women's pieces to ensembles. I'm not sure how I feel. Yes I am. Men should, quite simply, dress like men. Check it out.

Love the voice, not the clothing choice

Jennifer Hudson looks like a pear. Her rendition of the national anthem was incredible. She's amazingly talented but, her stylist for the Super Bowl isn't, or at least wasn't for a day. To clarify for the I-love-her-so-much-she's-overcome-tragedy fans, calm down, I'm not dissing her, just the pants.

She's got some...curves. When you have a little more going on there's nothing worse than pants that taper at the ankle. Skinny pants just aren't for everyone. Trends are fantastic for stars but useless if they don't suit your frame. Skinny pants only emphasizes the middle, making it look bigger and you get a pear effect on top and an ice cream cone feel from the waist down. No good for someone so talented and normally quite stylish. A fuller cut would have been much more flattering. I'm just sayin'

Stydol-Jay-Z

It's easy to ignore the man standing next to Beyonce. But take a moment to look at what he's done to bridge the gap between a hip hop community brought up in jeans, Timbs, white tees and Jordans to the entrepreneur many now aspire to be because of he, Russell Simmons and Sean Combs. From beaver hats and bespoke dinner jackets to jeans and shell-toe Adidas he brings a variety to the sartorial table. Having Beyonce on your arm doesn't hurt either.

A style request for men

<-----Avoid this with every ounce of being.
Men, for the love of God, please try to wear some real clothes when you step out of the house for a night out. A evening out with a beautiful woman should make you want a little something more for yourself, and more for your lady. If you don't have one, you may gain the attention of one by avoiding any of the items below on your night out. 

Things to avoid

1. Jogging pants

2. Flip flops

3. Visors

4. Sneakers LeBron James wears in 2009

5. Sneakers Michael Jordan wore in 1989

6. A Steelers sideline jacket

7. Official licensed NCAA apparel of any university, college or academy.

8. White tank tops!!!

9. Exposed undergarments

10. An entire bottle of cologne

11. Anything mesh

12. Slim is good, if you're slim. Skinny jeans don't work on a 260 pound former high school defensive end. Likewise, a cross country runner looks foolish in clothing size beginning with an X.

13. Men's clothing shouldn't sparkle. It's just plain wrong.

****14. Unless you want to look like every douchebag in Miami Beach, avoid any garment with the words Ed or Hardy***

**Grow up and buy a real shirt

Dressing isn't as painful as one may believe. We should all take a good amount of pride in ourselves and this extends to appearance. Looking like you care really is minimal. What to wear

1. Blazers (nipped in at the waist, sleeves above the knuckles please and no more than three buttons)

2. Dark Jeans (simple, no ridiculously gaudy logo on the pocket.

3. Two dress shirts; one in black, one in white (shirts should not extend past the base of your wrist)

4. Gray v-neck sweater or cardigan (to wear over your white or black shirt if it's cold)

5. Vests (to wear over your white or black shirt if it's not cold

6. Velvet jackets (because it's sexy...jackets, not trousers)

7. Shoes with a leather sole and a toe box that points to something (i.e. no square toes)

8. Or try anything these gents are wearing. 

An argument for shaving.

Shaving is a personal preference. A little facial hair works, maybe some groomed stubble, a neatly trimmed beard perhaps. What doesn't work is this. Anil Kapoor, who was in Slumdog Village, was on The Today Show, in a well fitting two button, pinstriped navy suit. He even went the natty route and added a pin under the collar. Very old school, it's a great sartorial touch. What bothers me in the moustache and the stubble. It's really one or the other; neat stubble or a moustache and shaved face. When paired together it looks sloppy. A suit should bring out the class in a gentleman. 

P.S. leave the earrings to Diddy.

TF does it all

The spring ad campaign for Tom Ford will be in March magazines. The seller of $990 jeans is also, filming a movie, expanding his empire, drowning himself in luxury, and getting lots of celebs to don his wide lapels. During all of this, he found time to shoot all the shots for upcoming ads. Check out more.

More NFL style

Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner were the best of the best dressed during Super Bowl festivities. Well fitting suits, minimal pocket square action, muted shirt and tie combos. Good stuff. Note. These guys only wear the NFL licensed gear on the field. 

NFL Style?

When Santonio Holmes was a t a press conference today as the newly minted Super Bowl MVP I was a little underwhelmed. Not by his game-winning score, but rather what he chose to wear the day after the biggest game of his career. This is the best you came up with? You're the Superbowl MVP Mr. Holmes. A drab brown and white check shirt under an even less exciting argyle sweater vest? 

Holmes is a good looking guy who is now on a bigger stage. A winner does a little bit more than this casual wear after such a performance. He dresses for the moment. For comparison, look at what Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald wore after a loss. Two button suit, hacking pockets, pink v-neck sweater...He's dressed like a winner. Take a cue Mr. Holmes.