Ralph Lauren Purple Label (which tops the RL hierarchy in terms of quality and price) has recently come out with a new logo, of what looks like a polo rider on a leaping horse. Izzy is no fan of logos in general (a well-dressed man never needs to advertise brands), but the new horse is so lame it deserves to be shot.
I think pre-tied regular ties (four-in-hands) are now only found on uniformed security guards, doormen, and other rental outfits. They seem to have correctly assumed the social stigma of a teenager wearing velcro shoes because he hasn’t figured out how to tie shoe laces. Are you a child?
It is indeed sad state of affairs, then, when the same knot used for your shoelaces cannot be successfully duplicated on the necks of dozens of grown men at an event known for its clothing and televised for millions of viewers.
Dear John Travolta, I ask you. I ask your stylists. I ask the designer who probably gave you that tuxedo. How did you decide on a pre-tied bowtie? And how did you decide on the most awful, symetrical, perfect, bowtie the world has ever seen?
For comparison, last year Peter O’Toole, a proper old fart, most certainly got it right.
While taking in the rarefied atmosphere of St. Moritz, Switzerland, one of Izzy’s friends encountered this well-to-do caveman. Someone tried to dump a bucket of red paint on him, but he was saved by was a representative of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of A-holes).
Courtesy of Thom Browne comes this freakish nightmare—of ironing, that is.
As much as Izzy hates wearing name tags at conferences and the like (the tags, a dorky accessory, inevitably ruin your look), he would sooner tattoo “Izzy” on his forehead than wear a tie embroidered with his name.
While suitable for Princess Leia, the world’s largest earmuffs are best avoided in this galaxy.
When you’re having a bad face day, there’s nothing better than a shaggy wig topped off with a tartan beret. At least you can’t see yourself in the mirror.
Pitti Uomo, the most important men’s fashion show, has opened in Milan with offerings like his trapper’s hat from Dolce & Gabbana. It looks strangely familiar, and not in a good way. Oh, wait.
Izzy wasn’t aware that there was a Project Runway Canada (insert toque and lumberjack shirt here) until he learned that this guy, Saskatoon designer Evan Biddell, was the winner.
While his “snakeskin” shirt is repulsive in itself, it’s his hair that truly boggles the mind—because, really, if your barber has one seizure, are you really going to let him keep cutting?
Combining roller disco, Larry Bird, and set design from Star Wars, this 1982 ad for Chardon jeans has something for everyone, except those with sartorial taste. Izzy can’t deny that the music is pretty cool, though.
Note how briefly Bird flashes on screen. Despite being immensely popular at the time, the basketball great was unfortunately cursed with a face made for radio, and a voice made for telegraph.
Izzy has no objection in principle to scarlet-letter punishments, i.e., using clothing to publicly shame criminals, but this DUI chain-gang surely goes too far. The combination of black, white, and bubblegum pink just screams 1980s, and those pants are straight from Zubaz. More important, the entire outfit defeats the message on the convicts’ shirts: No sober man would dress that way.
According to a blogger at MyItThings, Manolo Blahnik is going to be coming out with a line of shoes for men. Izzy was very excited by the news, until he realized that from the looks of the designs, Blahnik is apparently trying to appeal to the pimp-clown demographic. The Manolo, not to be confused with the Manolo, is equally devastated.
