More Bla Bla on "manzies"

Remember the movie Divorce Italian Style, the hilarious satire of male-chauvinist society in Italy? Well, move over ’cause the Manzies are taking the title for themselves. The Milan men’s shows are in full bloom and there are some Bloomsbury beauties among other mishaps and very little that screams male-chauvinism. On the contrary. It is as though some of these designers are divorced from their better judgment, or any guy that wears them will be. You tell me.    … Read More »

“They’re baaack!” Remember Poltergeist II (see clip below) and to quote another line from the film here, “You are gonna die”, but only in the way that Rachel Zoe dies…as in I D-I-E. Manzies are back with a vengeance. Just look at what Marc Jacobs more to his Louis Vuitton after party in Paris. This updated Muu-Muu gown could very well be a Miu Miu gown, since he and Miuccia are palsies. But, hey, bless his heart for walking around as comfortably as he looks, complete with Priscilla Alden Pilgrim shoes, and not an ounce of flab. I’d kill to… Read More »

Milan continues to show great collections, many are strong and colorful and leaning toward manly-man. One can only be happy for companies that design to be sold. Naturally, a few nelly ditties slip through to the cracks of better judgment to create some magic or drama or giggles. Here they are some Manzies by proxy. Follow us on Twitter.com/imeanwhat or Sally Field Us on Facebook.… Read More »

The least of Pakistan’s problems is the recent discovery that Osama Bin Laden was living high on the hog in the midst of their military retirement village. As Bill Maher so eloquently put it on Real Time this past Friday, “Let’s not call Bin Laden’s compound a mansion, it looks more like a five story tenement in Van Nuys.” One would have to agree there. No, what the Pakistanis have to be far more concerned about are their dueling Fashion Weeks. Yes, as Mercedes Benz Fashion Week has inspired even third world countries to get on the fashion stick, Pakistan,… Read More »

As we continue with the Manzie Report in Paris, I had to first mention this little story that applies to the first designer being mentioned today. I was at Penn Station (don’t ask) and noticed this guy wearing Bermuda length shorts, a suit jacket, tie and white collar shirt with leather wind tip shoes. Now as quasi-acceptable as this look is, the guy was such a nelly queen as he scurried through Penn Station, that I wondered, “Could these Bermuda suits ever take off and go mainstream?”… Read More »

Thom Browne took to the bike lanes with a breezy, cool collection for spring. As a long time bike rider, his homage to cyclists everywhere was refreshing and welcome. Usually I find more things wrong with Thom’s runway collections than right, but I am happy to report that this time around there were more wearable looks than not. Naturally, what’s a Manzie Report without a few good manzies, and with Browne’s theatrical penchant for showing more looks than necessary, there has to be a few bombs in the line-up and here they are. Calvin Klein had a few doozies, too.… Read More »

Overall, the men’s collections in Milan are pretty great. Sifting through all the images to mine for Manzies was not quite as easy as last spring. Somehow I would like to go out on a limb and take some credit, that my Manzie Reports impacted some of the designers. Seems like many of them worked overtime to avoid making Manzie Faux Pas, for fear of being included in the Manzie Reports. What I can say about Fall 10 is that there’s much ado about nothing special, since quite a few collections played it really safe. Perhaps it is a no… Read More »

It has been a while since the last round of men’s shows where we first met The Manzie, which we sometimes refer to as “The Manz” or “La Manz”. You newcomers need to be brought up to speed. What is a Manzie? (pronounced man – zee), hence, What is a Manzie Report? At last season’s men’s fashion shows in Europe, the overarching trend was something that I hadn’t seen in quite some time, actually ever. I came up with the term Manzie to capture the moment. A Manzie is not a Dandy, nor is he a Pansy, hence the revised… Read More »

Just when I thought that my Manzie Reports were getting read by all the right people, being viewed on all the right laptops, iPhones and Blackberries, comes the reality that I am not fully doing my job. I know that the Manzie Report has been a source of laughter and hysteria by many of the industry’s top taste-makers, creatives and editors. But clearly, there are several stylists and fashion designers that must be deleting the IMW Manzie Report and clicking to CocoPerez.com. Big mistake girl. He is not going to steer you in the right direction. Perez will just feature… Read More »

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the wardrobe (not the closet, relax) comes More Manzie Report.… Read More »