Manolo for the Men

Having deplored low-hanging pants before, Izzy was happy to see that communities are taking action to end the uncivil plague. Pushed to extreme measures, municipalities have criminalized the attire, which is all-too-appropriate given that the style originated in prison, where belts are prohibited. In attempt to get around free-expression Constitutional claims, the laws are aimed at prohibiting public indecency.

The New York Times’ story taught Izzy something new:

Not since the zoot suit has a style been greeted with such strong disapproval. The exaggerated boxy long coat and tight-cuffed pants, started in the 1930s, was the emblematic style of a subculture of young urban minorities. It was viewed as unpatriotic and flouted a fabric conservation order during World War II. The clothing was at the center of what were called Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles, racially motivated beatings of Hispanic youths by sailors. The youths were stripped of their garments, which were burned in the street.

Although Izzy would never encourage a riot, he would like to see a peaceful march that chants “Do not share / derriere / We can see your underwear!” And of course the placards would read “Up with pants!”

In theory, an umbrella for two sounds like a good idea.  In practice, it looks like a freak science experiment gone awry, like some mutant cells stuck permanently in mitosis.  Izzy is reaching for his scalpel…

Still fabulous after all these years, Muammar al-Gaddafi, the world leader/rock star with the most glamorous backup group/bodyguards in the business, zhuzzes up his white suit/black shirt/wrap-around shades combo with a sash and a giant brooch of Africa, which he apparently has in multiple colors.

Izzy knows what French President Nicolas Sarkozy (who has quite the narrow lapel, by the way) is thinking: Is that a botched perm?

In this panoply of celebs, only Tom Cruise looks like a normal guy.  Ironic, no?

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former General Secretary of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party, is now shilling for Louis Vuitton.  Some years ago, the one-time world leader took flak for appearing in an ad for Pizza Hut (though Domino’s would have made more Cold War sense), but at least that was an innocuous product for the People, unlike Louis Vuitton bags, which are ugly status symbols favored by the most emptily materialisitc of the elite.  And to see Gorbachev and satchel photographed by Annie Lebovitz near what looks like the Berlin Wall—well, it almost makes Izzy feel wistful for the bad old days.

The porcupine hat is all well and good—until you move in for a kiss.

In How to Lose Friends and Alienate People—the self-loathing memoir about a coke-snorting, alcoholic womanizer who gets a job at Vanity Fair magazine—we learn that one of the subtle insults at Conde Nast is to call someone’s attire “too match-y.”  But if ever there was a occasion of too much matchiness, it is this shirt and tie combination on Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe.  Perhaps it’s an attempt at suburban camouflage, but the movie Garden State demonstrated why that is always a bad idea.

“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.  

Izzy pities 72-year-old Giorgio Armani in his refusal to dress his age, which bespeaks a denial of his own mortality.

Likewise, if the clothes make the man, then François Girbaud is an angry adolescent—excepting of course his camera, which he wears like a middle-aged tourist.

The Manolo has noted outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair’s revelation that

he had worn the same pair of shoes to his weekly question-and-answer session in parliament since he became the country’s leader.

The shoes in question — an 18-year-old pair of hand-made leather Brogues that have only been re-soled once — were made by Church’s in Northampton, central England.

“I know it’s ridiculous, but I’ve worn them for every PMQs (Prime Minister’s Questions) … I’ve actually had them for 18 years,” Blair told The Times in an interview, adding that “cheap shoes are a false economy.”

As the wise adage has it: Women brag about their newest clothing purchase, men their oldest.

In constrast to Ralph Nader, who has worn the same pair of army boots for decades, Blair’s choice of footwear is beyond reproach, and certainly not evidence of an unhealthy asceticism (so common among self-proclaimed saviors). 

The Prime Minister has come along way sartorially since his Oxford days.

For the story behind this bowdlerized photograph, as well as the full original image, which is an incredible depiction of the aristocracy at play, go here.

For tasteless frat boys everywhere, this hideous pair of shorts from Matix is designed to carry a six-pack of beer in its four insulated pockets.  Combine it with a beer hat and a camel-sized hydropak, and you’ll never have to leave the couch ever again.

Vowel-challenged streetwear label UndrCrwn is selling a seersucker tracksuit, the perfect crinkly accompaniment to these sneakers. 

Although the brand is LA-based, Izzy wonders whether their name was inspired by this Czech and Slovak tongue-twister, meaning “stick finger through throat.”