Some Men Need to Make Pocket Change
They may not admit it, but guys are reading GQ and Esquire for fashion advice. How else would you explain the large number of guys--wearing suits in the four-figure range--with their hands in their pockets?
“It’s not uncommon to see a model posed that way to create a mood for the picture,” says Matt Blanchard of Polo Ralph Lauren in Costa Mesa. “But in real life, wearing a nice suit and walking or standing with your hands in your pockets just doesn’t look great.”
Besides scrunching up the sides of the jacket and ruining the line of the slacks, hands in pockets is body language for “I’d rather be on the beach today.” That’s not the kind of message you want to send when meeting a client.
Keep the hands away from those pants pockets, at least when you’re trying to impress, and also make sure that any loose change is secured in the little change pocket that’s often sewn into fine slacks. That jingle-jangle is probably driving your co-workers nuts.
Blonde bombs: Unfortunately, because of celebrities such as Barbie and Heather Locklear, being blond has become a kind of status symbol for many women, including women who have no business being blond.
About now, when the weather turns a bit brighter, you’re starting to see women with beautiful olive skin have their rich, brunette heads dyed a bleak, stark blond. “It’s usually the women who would look the worst as blondes who want to be the blondest,” says hairstylist Karen Mauer of Laguna Niguel. “They want light hair, and they’re not going to listen to another opinion.”
If you feel the need to turn into a Barbie head but are open to looking at alternatives, try to see yourself with a lighter shade of the hair color you have naturally. It will probably go better with your skin tone, roots will be easier to hide and besides, who wants to look like Barbie?
Wild life: At smart, summer daytime parties a generation ago, when everyone munched on Vienna sausages and talked about how much they liked Ike, the well-dressed man often showed up in his Madras jacket. This raucous, multicolored plaid would have looked extremely out of place anywhere else during the button-down 1950s, but here it worked.
The old Madras died an early death when it was accused of being part of the “square” generation, but, surprisingly, it may be making a kind of demented comeback.
At some of the wilder, Generation X-type parties, guys are showing up in the same loud Madras patterns their fathers and grandfathers wore.
“It’s a cool pattern, definitely a party jacket,” says X-member and regular party-goer Dave Quincy, 24, of Rancho Santa Margarita. “You wear it with a T-shirt, some shorts, boots; you’re all set.”
You can find a Madras jacket at thrift and vintage clothing stores. But don’t make the mistake of getting one your size; find a Madras that’s about two sizes too big, and roll up the sleeves. Also, don’t pay any attention when your dad says you need a pair of white bucks to go with it.
