Feral Minutes

Fantastic Man

2008-08-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Man is a "gentlemen's style journal" that suggests that life doesn't truly begin until 30, clothes are things worn by people and not by hangers and/or mammals that might as well be hangers, and that these clothes are personal, influenced by the season but dictated by the wearer. The magazine starts with the man and his personality and maps personal style from that essential starting point. What you end up with is a magazine about men in clothes, not models in fashion.

Dreamt up by the designer Jop van Bennekom and the journalist Gert Jonkers (also the double Dutch pair behind BUTT Magazine), Fantastic Man currently has 7 issues in print with "super gentleman" Mr. Tom Ford on the cover of the spring/summer 2008 issue. Discussed: Scott Schuman on why he is the Sartorialist, plants, the art of writing letters, ways of packing, and pyjama looks (now there's one I can get behind!).

Could we get a Fantastic Woman, please?

Snap Judgment

2008-08-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ellen and Portia Legally Weave Lives, Bodies

Playing Dress Up with the McCains and the Obamas

2008-08-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because I just couldn't get into the Tyra Banks-as-Michelle-Obama stunt over at Harper's Bazaar. Or maybe it's because I like fantasizing about First Families in first-class outfits. And then dressing up paper dolls that look like the president's family members in paper representations of those outfits. Tom Tierney seems to be the man for the perennial job, cooking up quasi-realistic portrayals of the presidents and families and the attendant wardrobes. (Adolescent Chelsea here is especially charming -- history has been good to her, despite McCain's joke that the nation's newspapers thought was "too vicious to print." She looks great in '08, that's for sure.) I was preparing to spend my afternoon cutting out D.I.Y. dress patterns so I could play dress up with Michelle and Cindy. This was before I realized that the good people at Dover Publications and Tierney have already developed prototypes of the candidates for their paper doll books. They haven't showed us the goods on the wives and kids yet, but I am assured that they've developed authentic patterns for outfits actually worn on the campaign trails for both candidates and mates.

Now that Hillary's out (and with her, our chance for another Clintonian paper doll book...for now), I can muse on the candidates' outfits without fearing that I'm actually a sexist.

My Recommendations for Obama

Assuming that these are finished versions, Obama is svelte and old-Hollywood glamorous:

The thing about Obama is that his paper doll book is just going to rule a lot more than McCain's. It's not just his pretty mug and relaxed stance here -- Esquire, GQ, and Vibe, and a slew of other fashion and news publications have either put him on the cover or called him out as a best-dressed. Obama has obviously got a great tailor on his side, so the American electorate isn't always aware that he's as thin as a rail. His suits fit him perfectly, and that's one electable trait.

To be included: a traditional but slim-cut suit with the option to remove the tie; a black, not navy suit; swim trunks to evoke Hawaiian high tide vacations; shirts with rolled-up sleeves; khaki pants

Cut it out: the goofy Harvard sweatshirts that Harper's Bazaar fantasized he and Michelle wore to bed at night (full sweatsuits?! What, the White House doesn't have central heating? I mean, even if they do...we're keeping this a chiefly daytime affair).

My Recommendations for McCain

McCain, well, ah...is it just that the tuxedo is ill-fitting? Or has the artist just made him really old? Why's he clutching his fists? McCain could also really use some contrapposto here for a more natural balance:

Nervous, Maverick?

The clothing illustrator has to be aware of the sartorial struggle this one's going to be. Just look how much less comfortable McCain looks in his tux. That expression isn't going to change once he's in Bermuda shorts, either.

To be included: straight-up power suit, with solid shirts and striped ties to switch up the look; a casual sweater (to layer underneath suit jackets, and for him to remind us of our grandfather); a V-neck sweater over a white T-shirt (to commemorate that awesome time that McCain got pissed at his handlers for convincing him to wear this "gay" look); one wide tie; a leather bomber jacket; golf garb

Style Blogger at NYT Openly Envies the Preternaturally Hip Among Us

2008-08-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

The New York Times Style Magazine T arrived this morning, barely fitting into the blue delivery sack in its 302-page heft. In this issue, Elizabeth Spiridakis -- yes, the very same Spiridakis who writes the very hilarious weekly free-association column "Very" on The Moment -- admits in "Post Adolescents" that the pre-teen nascent style bloggers...well, they inspire her, an almost-30-year-old style blogger.

The piece is basically an homage to youth and the kids' naive appreciation of fashion, as of yet untarnished by hyper-branding and buckets of cash (well, so far, until Urban Outfitters or another teen-mongering company suggests they hawk hoodies). All of the tween-teen fashion blogs referenced in "Post Adolescents" are personal style journals that show off the young author's daily interpretations of high fashion culled from D.I.Y. experiments, thrift stores, parents' closets, and H&M/Urban/etc. (This is where I imagine one of their dads whistling, "Whooey! Champagne taste on a beer budget, kid!")

Twelve-year-old Tavi of Style Rookie introduces herself thus:

Hi there! I'm Tavi, but when I make typing errors I'm Ysbo. Throughout my blog you will find small references to 80's films, as well as inside jokes that will at first come off as creepy, but will not compare to the creepiness of my Van Montgomery-esque smile. My dream haircut would be some type of cross between the YSL bowl cut and the hair of Daft Punk music video characters, with a little Bob Dylan. I'm married to a high schooler pirate. I am not a Harry Potter fan, but I totally dig his specs.

Tavi in a frustrated moment:

You know, I've been thinking. I am making a vow not to do any more posts dissecting runway trends because I am becoming a MINDLESS trend-follower and it's making me lose sight of what I myself like! And just, agh, DOGGONIT! THAT IS IT! NO MORE! I AM WEARING WHAT I WANT BECAUSE I LIKE IT, NOT BECAUSE THE PRINT REMINDS ME OF CHANEL OR THE SHOULDERS HAVE THAT EXAGGERATED SILHOUETTE THAT'S SO HOT THIS SEASON!! ROARRRR. OKAY? OKAY. OKAY. OKAAAAAAY.

Tavi, thinking Japanese street fashion and the clashing technique, bringing it:

(BTW, Dress/gloves/glasses/key shoelace necklace/bloomers/tee/purse are all vintage. Belt, Claire's. Skirt, Gap Kids. Shoes, Converse.)

Check out more preternaturally hip tween 'n' teen musings on Yves Saint Laurent and yesterday's bullshit calculus test:

Style Rookie
Childhood Flames
Fashion Robot
fashiontoast
Fashion Pirates
Galliano is God

TTYL.

Rag Trade

2008-08-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

New Juicy Couture ad: Let Them Eat Tracksuits. What the...? [Juicy Couture]
WWD Features Writer Jacob Bernstein usually likes women's sports (well, unless the Venus sisters are out there making it no fun). His slew of complaints about the women's gymnastics team: "the perfect little ponytails"; the routines looking all the same; that they can't dance for shit. He identifies their specific infractions: the funky chicken, the "Britney Spears rump shaker move," the "gangsta-lite shoulder bop," the running man. My take: these are strange criticisms indeed for our athletes, young women who are not exactly vying for the prize of the girl you're checking out for keeps on the dance floor. These are Olympians. Furthermore: USA! USA! USA! [WWDb]
Hips are hip again. Only prerequisite: be a size 2. (Thanks for nothin, Miz Weber'!!) Caroline Weber outlines reasons to support the sillhouette of the season: First, stop traffic ("Just imagine the figure you'll cut wedging your way onto a crowded N train in your new McQueen tutu"). Second, protect your personal space by avoiding the unsolicited touch. Third, skip the gym. Fourth, cool off...with a hooped skirt. Fifth and finally, "lie back and think of Darwin." No explanation required. See you in the maternity ward. [T Magazine]
The hipster in 2008 has received a bevy of hyperbolic interpretations in the past few weeks. You pick! [The Independent, Adbusters]
Copenhagen Fashion Week (There's always a Fashion Week somewhere...okay, okay) turns out to be more fun than other fashion weeks. Photographer JD Ferguson writes: "In Milan and Paris you usually get one or two cute Danes to gawk at backstage. But not this week, not on their home turf. They're all here." Yes. Oh, yes. [V Magazine]
A writer for the NY Daily News actually wrote this sentence: "Ford Models is suing a rival firm for allegedly poaching a Brazilian beauty and a Danish delight from its stable of lovelies." (Emphasis all mine.) Somebody got a case of Friday afternoon misogyny... [NY Daily News]
Breaking news: buying luxe on the cheap is in! Saks and Neiman's expand their off-price offerings; Baccarat opened its first outlet this summer. [WWD]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2008-08-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles party-, self-promoter Allison Mellnick opened the Apple Lounge on Thursday night in West Hollywood, telling the Los Angeles Times, "I'm not here to compete, I'm here to prove." I'm not sure what that means, but I am looking for signs of her native city -- New YORK City -- that Melnick seeks to channel with the Apple Lounge. The only seeming suggestion of early-1990s NYC is that the club is tiny, holding only 150 revelers. Suddenly it feels like 1995 again! (While we're in 1995, can 90% of the guests borrow your fake ID?) The soft opening attracted enough of Mellnick's sparkly friends -- Samantha Ronson DJ'ed -- to appease glitter-hungry photographers outside. Moths to flames follow.

The Good

I know you're not really pouting, Sam, and that's the face you show the photographers. And, Lindsey...oh, Lindsey! Your strawberry blond locks! Your pinup-girl cuteness! Your earth tone bronzer! (Clarins?) Everything about this is working. Working me, that is.

Actress Sara Payton clutches her...clutch, reflects on the evening's success.

The Bad

Metallic heels + eco-natural newsboy cap + sailor-inspired blouses + jeans do not one outfit make. It makes four outfits, here tragically superimposed onto one body.

The Shiny

There can just be no reason to look so grumpy when you were so funny-or-die just last week, Paris. Let the sun shine in, not just reflect off of your dress.

The Ugly

When you're Tila, you can pull off outfits intended for fourteen-year-olds...or, God knows who this outfit is intended for. This remains in the "ugly" category because we're not all Tila, and the rest of us have lessons to learn.