From today's Wall Street Journal. A reader asks Teri Agins if he should keep his ascots in the event of a fashion renaissance. I had a boyfriend who wore them from time to time. But he was English...
Style: Ask Teri
By Teri Agins
21 June 2007
The Wall Street Journal
[Fashion reporter Teri Agins answers readers' questions]
Q: For a non-fashion-conscious retiree with an abundant supply of ascots, what do you forecast? A resurgence? A terminal demise? Or should I use them to polish my car?
-- T.B., San Mateo, Calif.
A: Dapper actors Cary Grant and Fred Astaire wore their ascots with panache. But often, an ascot will elicit snickers, as did Thurston Howell III, the pretentious tycoon stuck on "Gilligan's Island." In 19th-century England, the thick-knotted wide silk tie secured with a pin and worn as formal day wear got its name from the hat-and-glove set at the Royal Ascot horse races. In America, ascots became the badge of old Hollywood and the yacht-club crowd as folded neckerchiefs worn inside an open shirt collar, usually with a blazer. Ascots never went out of style, but they never really caught on either, because men derided them as foppish -- or feared they couldn't pull the look off.
Indeed, ascots, like berets, belong on confident men who dress with individual style, such as designer Tom Ford, who wears a sliver of untied polka-dotted silk inside a white shirt collar. The ascot looks dashing when it just peeks out, as in the 1955 classic, "To Catch a Thief," when Cary Grant flashes an inch of printed silk from his crew-neck sweater. Ascots work best when an occasion -- such as country-club cocktails -- calls for dressy sportswear.
Ascots still sell at specialty retailer Paul Stuart, which says that at least three men a week come to its Manhattan store in search of ascots (but far fewer in its Chicago branch). About a third of the shoppers are in their early 30s -- often first-time wearers who are eager to practice "the art of how to fold and to fluff an ascot," says A. Sandy Neiman, director of merchandising at Paul Stuart. The ascots come in silk, cotton or linen blends. Navy with cream polka dots is the top seller.
Today's casual times beg for original flourishes. To the reader who obviously cherishes his stash of ascots, I say: Why not tie one on again?
---
Email questions to askteri@wsj.com.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Equinox Spa
I went to the Equinox Spa this past Sunday to use the gift card I had received from family friends. I am not a consistent spa-goer, but I have been to a few including Soho Sanctuary, Bliss and Mario Badescu. I tend to get facials, mainly, with the occasional relaxing bikini wax.
I was excited to check out what Equinox had to offer - they offer 10% off on all services to members, which I am. So I signed up for a short facial with a collagen eye treatment and a spa manicure/pedicure. When all was said and done it cost $207 (with tip). I guess I'm not cut out for this type of thing because that seemed pretty steep to me for what was fine, basic service. The people were nice, the services fine, but nothing really to remember. I would recommend the other spas I mentioned, with the Soho Sanctuary on top of that list.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Lands' End: Searsucker Sport Shirt
I bought my dad a green striped short-sleeved searsucker sport shirt for Father's Day from Lands' End, but I wouldn't give it to him until he said, "short-sleeved searsucker sport shirt" 10 times fast. He's still trying.
Meanwhile, it looks like they've sold out of the green stripe - but you can still get the blue for $24.50.
Meanwhile, it looks like they've sold out of the green stripe - but you can still get the blue for $24.50.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Margo Farin shoes
OK, so sue me. I broke my own rule regarding how much I was willing to spend on flats. But I couldn't help it. I was desperate! And then I walked into Eric on Madison & 86th St. and found myself amidst an array of flats -- all on sale! Thirty percent off the first pair and 40% off the second...so of course I had to buy two. And here they are. Lovely COMFORTABLE Margo Farin flats...allowing me to get rid of two other pair that I drove into the ground.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Republic: Asian Basil Lemonade
I am - and always have been - a fan of the food at Republic in Union Square. But I never had the Asian Basil Lemonade until this past weekend. It is a perfect combinaton of lemons and basil. Oh, and water and sugar. I am pining away for it right now. Go and get some. It tastes better than it looks, which is why I have no photo of it.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
WSJ: Cracking the Dress Code in L.A., New York
Somewhat interesting story from today's Wall Street Journal on how to dress in business: LA v. NYC...and a few of those other cities in between...
Being an NYC loyalist, the whole "California dress code" always kind of annoyed me. In fact, I'm not even a conservative dresser but I get great pleasure out of breaking out my most conservative navy-blue pinstriped suit when I go there just to make things clear. We know who's really in charge over here...
Style -- Fashion Journal: Cracking the Dress Code in L.A., New York --- Business Travelers Still Need Two Wardrobes to Span Gap; Your Suit's Hidden Message
By Christina Binkley
14 June 2007
The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
The other day, I got my coasts mixed up. I wore one of my New York dresses -- a trendy maroon wool jersey job -- to my Los Angeles office. The arched-brow compliments -- "My, you look nice today," -- said it all: I'd overdone it.
In New York, I'm always underdressed. Those who travel from coast to coast will recognize the dilemma. Even though we can buy the same shirts at the same stores in New York, Seattle and Timbuktu, important regional variations in dress codes remain for women and men. In fact, now that dot-com casual is over -- particularly on the East Coast, where more companies are enforcing dress codes -- some of these differences are becoming more exaggerated.
We are all influenced by subtle signals of power and confidence. Off our native territory, it's easy to flash the wrong sign. The more widely we travel -- and business travel is soaring these days -- the more ticklish things are.
My friend David Goldhill -- a native New Yorker who lived in Los Angeles -- shuttled for several years between the two cities as president of Universal Television Group. "If I wore a suit in L.A., I'd be the New York guy. If I didn't wear a suit in New York, I'd be the L.A. guy," says Mr. Goldhill, who is 46. "It's about wanting people who work with you to feel like you're part of their world."
Of course, neither coast has a lock on fashion: Parisians think all Americans dress clumsily. And the differences extend beyond New York and L.A. The Midwestern U.S. tends to be more conservative and preppy than either coast -- there's a little bit of Washington, D.C., in Chicago sensibilities. In the South, there's more focus on color for men and women.
But the clash between the coasts is particularly strong. People from the West Coast often fail to perceive the importance that Easterners place on dressing up. Shortly after a colleague of mine relocated from L.A. to New York, she wore a pair of neat khaki pants to lunch with a woman who works on Wall Street. "You're still dressing like L.A.," the woman chastised my colleague.
New Yorkers, for their part, often miss the subtle power signals being conveyed in Beverly Hills, where a man's single-breasted suit and tie indicates that he's not the most powerful guy in the room: He's a worker bee -- somebody's accountant or agent. Nothing wrong with that -- unless he's aiming higher.
"A blazer and an unbuttoned shirt makes a much better statement when you're lunching at the Peninsula," says Allison Storr, a New York consultant whose clients hire her on both ends of the country to help increase their social status, meet new people, or try on a new lifestyle. In Los Angeles, the Peninsula is a heavy hitters' hangout known for the posturing of its clientele.
Double-breasted suits are loaded with subliminal messages. A man wearing one in Manhattan looks smart. In the Silicon Valley or Southern California, the same look suggests he's trying too hard.
In the Northeast, the hedge-fund guys have been importing their own version of West Coast style -- they're the ones who show up in a Loro Piana sweater and Seven For All Mankind jeans. Yet for the most part, Boston, New York and parts in between are old-school. Rubber-soled shoes in the East say it's Saturday -- or you're not quite pulled together. Unless you're Sam Zell, who has the creds to make blue jeans his personal statement.
For women, trendy clingy fabrics and trapeze summer dresses can look on-the-mark on the West Coast but overly casual for an East Coast workday. In L.A., a woman decides to wear hose, whereas in Washington, D.C., she decides not to wear them.
These differing sensibilities are why Azzedine Alaia, a designer known for his sexy figure-hugging women's ready-to-wear, is bigger on the West Coast than the East, says Susan Dresner, a New York wardrobe-management consultant whose clients tend to be professional women. Ann Taylor is bigger in the East, she says, for the same reason. "New York is more smart, go-to-work," she says. "L.A. is more body-conscious."
Black clothing says "smart" in New York but "hipster" in parts of the South. Without understanding the nuances of wardrobe signals, Easterners struggle to distinguish when it's appropriate for a Californian to wear flip-flops. (Same as New York: casual only.)
It can be disconcerting to venture beyond our boundaries. Peter Low, chief executive of Griswold Co., which operates a brokerage firm on the New York and Nasdaq stock exchanges, makes very few departures from his daily uniform of Brooks Brothers suits. But "when I go to Chicago, I'll wear dark slacks and a navy blazer," says Mr. Low, 65. On a recent trip to a conference in Los Angeles, he skipped his normal spread-collar shirt for a more casual button-down.
Brian Koppelman, the New York-based producer/screenwriter behind Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders and The Illusionist, lives in two worlds simultaneously. In L.A.-style screenwriter mode at his office, Mr. Koppelman wears Air Jordan T-shirts and his favorite John Fluevog shoes. As a dad in Manhattan, he wears a suit to functions at his children's private school. "If I'm in the New York world that way, I will dress right so as not to embarrass my kids," he says.
As near as I can tell, the last restaurant in L.A. to require gentlemen to wear jackets was L'Orangerie, and it's closed now. This helps explain why Mr. Koppelman was warned to include wardrobe clues when inviting a well-known Los Angeles film producer to dine at New York's Cafe Boulud recently. When he proposed inviting the producer to join them, a mutual friend responded by email: "Love for him to come. Tell him to dress decently."
Being an NYC loyalist, the whole "California dress code" always kind of annoyed me. In fact, I'm not even a conservative dresser but I get great pleasure out of breaking out my most conservative navy-blue pinstriped suit when I go there just to make things clear. We know who's really in charge over here...
Style -- Fashion Journal: Cracking the Dress Code in L.A., New York --- Business Travelers Still Need Two Wardrobes to Span Gap; Your Suit's Hidden Message
By Christina Binkley
14 June 2007
The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
The other day, I got my coasts mixed up. I wore one of my New York dresses -- a trendy maroon wool jersey job -- to my Los Angeles office. The arched-brow compliments -- "My, you look nice today," -- said it all: I'd overdone it.
In New York, I'm always underdressed. Those who travel from coast to coast will recognize the dilemma. Even though we can buy the same shirts at the same stores in New York, Seattle and Timbuktu, important regional variations in dress codes remain for women and men. In fact, now that dot-com casual is over -- particularly on the East Coast, where more companies are enforcing dress codes -- some of these differences are becoming more exaggerated.
We are all influenced by subtle signals of power and confidence. Off our native territory, it's easy to flash the wrong sign. The more widely we travel -- and business travel is soaring these days -- the more ticklish things are.
My friend David Goldhill -- a native New Yorker who lived in Los Angeles -- shuttled for several years between the two cities as president of Universal Television Group. "If I wore a suit in L.A., I'd be the New York guy. If I didn't wear a suit in New York, I'd be the L.A. guy," says Mr. Goldhill, who is 46. "It's about wanting people who work with you to feel like you're part of their world."
Of course, neither coast has a lock on fashion: Parisians think all Americans dress clumsily. And the differences extend beyond New York and L.A. The Midwestern U.S. tends to be more conservative and preppy than either coast -- there's a little bit of Washington, D.C., in Chicago sensibilities. In the South, there's more focus on color for men and women.
But the clash between the coasts is particularly strong. People from the West Coast often fail to perceive the importance that Easterners place on dressing up. Shortly after a colleague of mine relocated from L.A. to New York, she wore a pair of neat khaki pants to lunch with a woman who works on Wall Street. "You're still dressing like L.A.," the woman chastised my colleague.
New Yorkers, for their part, often miss the subtle power signals being conveyed in Beverly Hills, where a man's single-breasted suit and tie indicates that he's not the most powerful guy in the room: He's a worker bee -- somebody's accountant or agent. Nothing wrong with that -- unless he's aiming higher.
"A blazer and an unbuttoned shirt makes a much better statement when you're lunching at the Peninsula," says Allison Storr, a New York consultant whose clients hire her on both ends of the country to help increase their social status, meet new people, or try on a new lifestyle. In Los Angeles, the Peninsula is a heavy hitters' hangout known for the posturing of its clientele.
Double-breasted suits are loaded with subliminal messages. A man wearing one in Manhattan looks smart. In the Silicon Valley or Southern California, the same look suggests he's trying too hard.
In the Northeast, the hedge-fund guys have been importing their own version of West Coast style -- they're the ones who show up in a Loro Piana sweater and Seven For All Mankind jeans. Yet for the most part, Boston, New York and parts in between are old-school. Rubber-soled shoes in the East say it's Saturday -- or you're not quite pulled together. Unless you're Sam Zell, who has the creds to make blue jeans his personal statement.
For women, trendy clingy fabrics and trapeze summer dresses can look on-the-mark on the West Coast but overly casual for an East Coast workday. In L.A., a woman decides to wear hose, whereas in Washington, D.C., she decides not to wear them.
These differing sensibilities are why Azzedine Alaia, a designer known for his sexy figure-hugging women's ready-to-wear, is bigger on the West Coast than the East, says Susan Dresner, a New York wardrobe-management consultant whose clients tend to be professional women. Ann Taylor is bigger in the East, she says, for the same reason. "New York is more smart, go-to-work," she says. "L.A. is more body-conscious."
Black clothing says "smart" in New York but "hipster" in parts of the South. Without understanding the nuances of wardrobe signals, Easterners struggle to distinguish when it's appropriate for a Californian to wear flip-flops. (Same as New York: casual only.)
It can be disconcerting to venture beyond our boundaries. Peter Low, chief executive of Griswold Co., which operates a brokerage firm on the New York and Nasdaq stock exchanges, makes very few departures from his daily uniform of Brooks Brothers suits. But "when I go to Chicago, I'll wear dark slacks and a navy blazer," says Mr. Low, 65. On a recent trip to a conference in Los Angeles, he skipped his normal spread-collar shirt for a more casual button-down.
Brian Koppelman, the New York-based producer/screenwriter behind Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders and The Illusionist, lives in two worlds simultaneously. In L.A.-style screenwriter mode at his office, Mr. Koppelman wears Air Jordan T-shirts and his favorite John Fluevog shoes. As a dad in Manhattan, he wears a suit to functions at his children's private school. "If I'm in the New York world that way, I will dress right so as not to embarrass my kids," he says.
As near as I can tell, the last restaurant in L.A. to require gentlemen to wear jackets was L'Orangerie, and it's closed now. This helps explain why Mr. Koppelman was warned to include wardrobe clues when inviting a well-known Los Angeles film producer to dine at New York's Cafe Boulud recently. When he proposed inviting the producer to join them, a mutual friend responded by email: "Love for him to come. Tell him to dress decently."
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
La Boutique Resale - Madison Ave.
One of the best things about being a woman living on the Upper East Side - or so I have been told - is the easy access to scores of resale/consignment shops filled with last season's top designer castoffs.So this past weekend among the Puerto Rican Day parade, I did my own parading along a few Madison Avenue blocks. After perusing Dolce & Gabbana (where, incidentally, there's a 40% off sale on shoes, bags and 'ready-to-wear') and falling dangerously in love with a pair of $275 sunglasses, I came upon La Boutique Resale. I think that is French for "The Resale Boutique."
Located on the second floor of 1045 Madison Avenue, LBR immediately struck me as particularly well-organized, something I very much appreciated. It is basically run and set up like a real-live retail store, making it very easy and enjoyable to peruse...and ultimately BUY. A brilliant marketing tactic, indeed.
While many of the choices seemed a bit "old" at first blush, a bit of digging revealed some fresh gems. I scored the pictured Nanette Lepore skirt for $47.20 and Fendi shoes for $74.40. I also purchased a brand new Andrew Urbain top for $35.40 - who knows how old it actually is, but it goes with the outfit! So for a total of $157 I own my first Fendi anything, my first Nanette L. skirt and my first (and probably last) Andrew U. anything. Not a bad accidental score.
Other locations include: 803 Lexington Ave. @62nd St., 2nd Fl. and 160 W. 72nd St. near Broadway (for men & women). The store manager explained that the west side location has "younger" styles and that I should go check it out. Bless him.
I always feel like...The New York Times is watching me...
No, I swear - check out the posting from Wednesday's "Urban Eye" and then look at my posting from last week on Fette Sau in Williamsburg. Photos look familar??? I would say so. Sue everyone.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Jill Anderson: Wearable Wedding Wear
It's wedding season gals (or so I've heard)! Are you getting hitched this summer? Are you the David's Bridal or Vera Wang type? If you answered "yes" and "no" - in that order - you may want to check out Jill Anderson on E. 9th St.Ms. Anderson is offering "Wearable Wedding Wear" to those women who would probably be a bit more low key than perhaps the typical image of a bridezilla. One of the theories behind the customizable "Parachute Dress" (pictured here), is not so much that you should breakdance or skydive while wearing it, but more that you can and will wear it again. And maybe even again and again. Make it longer, shorter, fuller, lined, red, green, blueindigoviolet. It's your big day damnit!
Ms. Anderson's shop also features the handcrafted leather sandal designs from Jutta Neumann as well as Joan Max Reinmuth jewelry. I was really intrigued by this jewelry, which was politely hard core using bike chains and other kinds of industrial materials, but not in a St. Mark's-I-am-going-to-kill-you kind of way.
However, I think the jewelry from Ike Designs would be more appropriate for brides-to-be looking for something special to wear with their Wearable Wedding Wear. My advice would to be contact Dori O'Dea, the designer behind Ike, as her Web site only reveals a small portion of her delicately lovely wares.
I do. Do you?
Monday, June 11, 2007
Fruitful Shopping Weekend: Hair & Coat
This was a most fruitful shopping weekend - I managed to get my hair done on the major cheap, while also doing some significant research of great consequence, for you, my readers...(as well as for me, myself, and I).Stop #1: My usual fantastic hair man, about whom you have read on these e-pages before (Helik at Dop Dop Salon), was unavailable to attend to my shouting roots. Yes, I may look like a natural blonde, and indeed I feel like one, but I have finally accepted the fact that it takes a lot of hard work to feel like a natural woman. So I was referred by a friend to Sam at Head Quarter Hair Colour Group on 2nd Ave. between 12th-13th Sts. Not only was it a successful outing (hair in photo was taken a mere hour afterwards), but it was CHEAP CHEAP CHEAPedity cheap cheap. Single process, eye brow tinting, cutting and blow out/styling for...$88. I will spell that out, in case you think it may be a typo: EIGHTY EIGHT DOLLARS. I was so thrilled that I tipped in excess of 20%.
So not only was it cheap and good, but it was one of those real "only in New York" experiences. Sam and all but one of the stylists and assistants are group of incredibly hip Japanese boys. Hair, clothes, tattoos - the whole nine. These guys are on point and it worked for me. Is Japanese the new black? Anyway, the salon is completely non descript and un-trendy - white Formica and fluorescent lighting. Quite horrible, in fact. But one way they keep a low overhead, I am sure.
And if that isn't enough, there was another "heeuuuhh?" scenario. There was one middle-aged female stylist in the back corner - I couldn't catch the accent exactly, but she may be Eastern European - and ALL of her clientele were "mature" white women, seemingly from Stuy Town...cruising solid into the East Village on their canes and walkers.
While my explanation may be completely edging on offensive and non-PC, I couldn't keep it to myself. Cheap+Hip Japanese+Old Ladies+white Formica+fluorescent lighting=New York just has to be the greatest place in the Western World.
Stop #2: I have written good and bad words about An Ren - at 315 East 9th Street - on this blog before. But ultimately, she has incredibly unique styles, fabrics and designs...and she did not disappoint me on that front this weekend either. I just can't get enough of her coats and jackets, and might be more inclined to buy them and her other wares - but I am a giant American with the shoulders and back of a swimmer. This seems to limit what I can fit into when it comes to the downtown indie designer set.
However! I managed to fit into the coat pictured here - and I love it. It is a bit more cash than I am interested in spending (about $325), but the material, colors and design is really like nothing I have ever seen. It could arguably be worn as a dress in a bit cooler weather.
Stay tuned for more shopping triumphs from the weekend...
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