Occupy Wall Street: Free Suits & Haircuts to Those in Need

Hackett

For the second weekend in a row, I ventured downtown to check out the Occupy Wall Street scene at Zuccotti Park in NYC.  This time, I stumbled upon something that hit me, touched me, moved me...One of the groups populating the park had raised money to purchase men's and women's suits that they altered on the spot in the park for anyone in need. They were also giving free haircuts. I didn't know it at first, but when I ran into my friend Chris Hackett, I learned from him that the effort was organized and executed by his group, The Madagascar Institute.  He told me that they had bought the best suits from thrift stores in Brooklyn and Staten Island and were able to alter and give away 100 men's suits before 1 p.m.  Amazing.  The ultimate in Guerilla Shopping. Power!!

Men Frantic For Finds on Final Day: Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones

An informant has shared intel on this sample sale. Men be forewarned - no official try on rooms. If you want to try on pants, head to the back of the big floor, where men have carved out  a space on the left where they can be slightly concealed from the crowds. Ladies - no peeping! Scoot over there before lunch if you can. What kind of breaks can you expect? A $1400 suit for $430. Second or third markdowns!   
317 West 33rd St.

/nancy brenner

Century 21: Men's Suits on Sale, April 16-19

Century 21

Make Him Cool, Ted Baker & John Varvatos

I feel like Ted & John create special items for men that are modern classics. Keep in mind that neither are inexpensive. Neither are for ultra conservative folk. And I wouldn't recommend anyone wear full Ted or John garb on a regular basis (overkill!). But if you are in need of something special or cool and have some money burning a hole in your old, boring pocket, I suggest checking these two stores out. Here's my p.o.v.:

Ted Baker 107 Grand Street - As I meandered the fashionable downtown streets on my day off, I visited Ted Baker for the first time in years. Not only have they expanded their square footage with a full section for women, but they have also held their own for the men. This UK-based outfit is fun and always incorporates a bit of colorful surprise into each piece. I really like their suits (see photo, left) although some of the flowery print shirts may be a bit too over the top for the American boys. But remember, these chaps hail from the motherland, so try to go with the flow. And if you shop online now, you can get 30% off some items for men and women - although I can't tell if that applies to deliveries to the U.S. The Web site does not do the brand or the stores justice - so try to ignore the discount retailer look and feel. This brand is anything but.

John Varvatos 315 Bowery (ye olde CBGBs) - I visited this shop the day it opened, loved it, and thought I'd make another pilgrimage last week. It's really cool. Yes, totally overpriced, but I am a sucker for marketing in this case. If you have a rocker's look and/or attitude, you can pull this stuff off at any age. If you don't, then you can still buy a jacket or a shirt and start to transform yourself into the rock star you've always wanted to be. The current campaign with Perry Farrell does it for me. As does all of JV's advertising. Yes, yes, I get that it's flying in the face of what rock and roll is supposed to be about, but let's get serious -- everyone from Janis to Diamond Dave have been paying out the waaz for their cutting edge outfits for decades, so be honest with yourself (unless you subscribe to the Grateful Dead's approach to tie-dyed T-shirt fashion, bleh).

WSJ: On Style: Law Without Suits: New Hires Flout Tradition

Basically, get with the program youngsters. You aren't as inexpendable as you think. And if you don't believe me, just wait for the economy to continue crashing...

Style -- On Style: Law Without Suits: New Hires Flout Tradition --- Young Attorneys' Casual Attire Draws Criticism at Big Firms; A Crackdown on Ugg Boots
By Christina Binkley
31 January 2008
The Wall Street Journal

One of the lifestyle perks law firms increasingly offer young lawyers is the chance to dress comfortably at the office. With "business casual" as the new dress code of record, ties hang in closets and jackets await their day in court at home.
There's just one problem: It can be difficult to get young associates to shift gears and don traditional dress when the need arises. A decade after the dot-com boom made casual Friday a weeklong event, many people under 30 have never witnessed a suits-only office.
Older people have long complained about the sartorial sloppiness of the younger generation. But the divide is stark in the legal profession.
"I share the lament and disgust about the general level of associates' attire," says Tom Mills, the 60-year-old managing partner of the Washington office of Winston & Strawn LLP. "I think it's abysmal."
For young men and women, a business suit is an uncomfortable yoke to be dusted off for special occasions. "Getting up in the morning and putting on a suit is hard," says Sara Shikhman, a 26-year-old legal associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in New York. She says she hasn't worn one in six months.
When associates show up at work in suits, their peers think they have a job interview, Ms. Shikhman says. "Guys don't really polish their shoes," she adds. They go for cool, rather than traditional. "They wear shoes like you might see Johnny Depp wearing to the Oscars." She recognizes that her firm's partners "definitely look more put together than associates, but they also get more sleep than the associates."
Yet in lawyering, half the battle is the posturing. Many experienced lawyers see their wardrobe as a tool to win the trust of clients, juries and judges. Legal associates who aren't sartorially prepared may not be invited along to a new-client pitch or to take a leading role in court, regardless of the office's stated "business casual" dress code.
Mr. Mills says he is partial to well-fitted Brioni suits for himself. He notes that the going rate for new associates in New York, Los Angeles and Washington is $160,000 a year -- enough to buy suits while paying down school loans. Yet all too often, associates show up at work in jeans -- attire that he doesn't condone "unless it's moving day."
When it came time to pick a point person for a plum assignment at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips recently, the New York law firm chose "a polished, professional-looking associate" over a "brilliant" and experienced associate who had been counseled, to no avail, to improve his grooming and attire, says Renee Brissette, a partner at the firm.
The firm opted for someone more presentable to the client, says Ms. Brissette. She notes that associates are often loath to believe their attire could affect assignments or promotions. "Young lawyers don't like to hear that it's anything but their intellect," says Ms. Brissette. She notes that for women, being professionally attired doesn't require a man-suited look: She has a wardrobe of Nanette Lepore suits that are unmistakably feminine without being inappropriately flirty.
Brad Tobin, 25, who is working at a midtown Manhattan law firm, says he is certain that clothes don't affect job assignments at his firm. "Not at all -- it's really based on work product," says Mr. Tobin, who is working part-time while he completes law school. He says he owns suits but doesn't bother to wear them at work.
Law firms are attempting to raise the bar. Some associates at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft this winter received a note asking employees to change out of their snow boots after young associates began wearing their Ugg boots all day at work, says Ms. Shikhman. A Cadwalader spokeswoman says she wasn't aware that such a note had circulated.
Winston & Strawn brought in a personal shopper from a local department store last year to address associates on how to shop and dress for work. Mr. Mills says that when some associates do make an effort to dress up, they seem to base their look on Hollywood. "You get the TV-woman lawyer look with skirts 12 inches above the knee and very tight blouses," he says. "They have trouble sitting and getting into taxis."
The firm also hired etiquette consultant Gretchen Neels, a former executive recruiter, to give lectures on grooming, dress, and etiquette standards such as where to place one's napkin at dinner.
She says many members of the so-called millennial generation have never been schooled in the traditions that previous generations learned at their parents' knees. Yet these 20-somethings are still being evaluated by old-school bosses and clients. Many members of this generation not only "don't own a watch -- they've never owned a watch," says Ms. Neels. In many white-collar professions, an expensive watch signals success, while a cool cellphone or iPod, though it tells time, signals hipness.
Ms. Neels, founder of Neels & Co. in Boston, has been making the rounds at law firms, as well as law and business schools at Duke, Harvard and other universities. She hears all sorts of complaints from scandalized partners: One young attorney wears yoga pants to work. Another associate blasted out a firmwide email searching for a size-32 belt when an unanticipated court appearance required him to dress up midday.
Ms. Neels notes that business-school grads share law associates' casual sartorial attitude, and she tries to connect the dots between what they wear and how they come across. When she was coaching M.B.A. graduates at Harvard last weekend, she says only about half came in a suit. One young man showed up in cargo pants, and his cellphone rang during the interview.
"What I'm getting from you is that you're a jerk," Ms. Neels told the student as part of her feedback. "Can you see how I'd get that?"
"Yeah, I guess," he responded, she says.
Trial attorney Rosemarie Arnold says young lawyers need to learn that "courtroom drama is all about control." Ms. Arnold represented Joran van der Sloot, one of three men who were with student Natalee Holloway before she disappeared in Aruba. With courtroom appearances in mind, Ms. Arnold spends $150,000 a year on clothes, she estimates. She is partial to Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana in particular and black suits in general.
"Trying a case is like a movie," Ms. Arnold says. "Wardrobe is everything."
---
Email Christina.Binkley@wsj.com.

Club Monaco: Cheap Suits

I know, I know. I am obsessed with Club Monaco. Scorn not, novice Guerillas, for I am doing this for the greater good.

Among many other fine gifts, the Guerilla Parents presented me with a gift card redeemable at Club Monaco, so really, they are the enablers. Anyway, as I had written a few days ago, there is a big fab sale going on at "the Club." So run, don't walk.

For example, I purchased this suit for $70! The jacket had cost $199, I got it for $39.99. The skirt (which has to be tried on to be fully appreciated) had cost $109, but found its way into my home for a mere $29.99. There are two other colors also available - blue and greyish/black, but I am ever so grateful to have gotten it in brown as my other brown suit was eight years old and boasted big shoulder pads of "Working Girl" proportions. Not the most flattering look.

Once again, C.M. saves the day...