“Warning: To avoid danger of suffocation, keep this plastic bag away from babies and children. The plastic bag could block nose and mouth and prevent breathing. This bag is not a toy.” Although this pullover is perfect for watching Gallagher from the front row, it may just kill you. And there is no sadder place to commit suicide than at a prop comedian’s show. Â
In a reverse of the Norman conquest, British tailoring has successfully invaded France. The Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the nefarious-sounding organization that legally controls what may be termed “haute couture” in France, together with Great British Bespoke, is putting on an exhibition showcasing the work of 12 Savile Row tailors. According to the Daily Telegraph (whose website provides a video of the show):
the exhibition features original court regalia, military uniforms, morning suits and formal dress.
Designs by Ede & Ravenscroft (est.1689) include the late Duke of Norfolk’s court dress as Earl Marshall, while those by Henry Poole & Co, est. 1806, include state livery for George 111, uniforms for Napoleon 111 and the financier, J. Pierpoint Morgan’s court dress for Queen Victoria.
These contrast with the black sequined and white sequined evening suits made for Bryan Ferry’s 2006/2007 tour, by Richard Anderson, the bespoke black cocktail suit made for Pete Doherty, lead singer of Babyshambles, by Richard James in 2006, and the black-beaded peacock evening coat Huntsman tailored for the designer Alexander McQueen in 2002.
Nearby is the morning suit, controversially worn to Royal Ascot with a striped shirt and polka-dot bow-tie, by the then Prince of Wales, later Edward 111, in the 1920’s by Davies & Son, while a black and white portrait shows the American designer, Tom Ford, wearing his tailcoat made by Anderson & Sheppard in 2005.
For those who can’t make it to Paris, the exhibition will eventually make its way to London and Tokyo.
Back when Izzy recounted one of his favorite Jewish jokes, little could he imagine that there existed a necktie actually depicted the subject, a dirty old man.  Just when you thought it was so difficult to find a gift for the neighborhood sex offender…
Thanks to the black piping on his shirt collar, actor Rupert Everett, who was so handsomely costumed in The Importance of Being Earnest, avoids what could have been yet another ho-hum all-white outfit.
So as to celebrate July 4th in full patriotic regalia, Izzy yesterday wore a white linen shirt, blue linen trousers, and these red-and-white striped socks from J. Press. He won’t go into why he even owns the eye-popping pair—all he’ll say is that it’s a bad idea to shop on eBay while intoxicated.
He is, however, proud to report that two strangers on the street complemented him on the socks, so evocative of Old Glory. He did admittedly get, er, ribbed about them at an Independence Day party, to which he responded that he’d pried the pair off the carcass of Ronald McDonald.
Izzy once wrote of finding a profession that would allow one to wear pink silk stockings and shoes with ribbons on them, while at the same time being adulated as the manliest of men.Â
For Galliano, two out of three ain’t bad.
Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic jaunt to Kennebunkport, Maine, has made for some intriguing sartorial comparisons, of no doubt geostrategic importance. Here, the Russian leader can be seen wearing a shirt with a very high, fashion-y collar accented by double button holes sewn with contrast stitching, in contrast to the more traditional shirts worn by the Presidents Bush (indeed, the elder’s shirt looks worn in). Putin goes with a three-button suit with a stiff front, gauchely unbuttoned, while the American bookends both wear two-buttoned sport coats of a softer, more relaxed design, kept buttoned of course.
Could those be black shoes with a brown suit? At least the Russian loves his doggies, too.
In white (linen?) jeans (which Izzy hears are the rage among fashionistas), Putin takes an unwise risk given the potential for guts and gore on a fishing trip. But at least he maintains the dignity befitting a world leader.
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