“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Mr. Browne’s collections featuring outfits so “shockingly wrong” that a new category of mens clothing was born…The Manzie. But all that aside, I have come to terms to say that I Love Thom Browne!… Read More »

You have designers like Kris Van Assche and Kris Van Assche showing perfect menswear collections and then there is Thom Browne, using Paris to show his US brand of retardo fashion. Whenever we go there it is never a good thing. Case in point Zac Posen. I don’t even want to go on and on about how pretentious the Thom Browne collection is. I have said it all before and will sadly continue into the future.  Browne is so hell bent on replacing John Galliano’s fashion bad boy reputation in light of the him missing from the scene, that it… Read More »

As I started reading Tim Blanks‘ review of the Thom Browne collection on men.style.com, I thought I must have landed in the Fashion Twilight Zone. Having read the Women’s Wear Daily review and judging for myself based on the images, I thought, “What is Tim drinking backstage…Thom Browne Kool-Aid?” There is little to say. WWD wrote, “The clothes were ridiculous.” Whereas Tim Blanks says things like, “Browne’s clothes felt refreshed, confident, and as upbeat as the soundtrack of Beatles songs.” Or how’s this, “He just loves polka dots and Darth Vader.” Fotz. You judge for yourself. This is a bi-polar… Read More »

Comme des Garcons captures the essence of today’s Manzie Report. If Ding Dong the king is dead, the long live the Queen who would wear any of the looks from today’s Manzie Report.… 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 »

What is a Manzie? Well, it’s part man, part Pansy and part Dandy. A Manzie is someone desperately trying to be “on trend”. They can be a straight man trying too hard to be stylish or a straight-acting-gay man who acts extra butch in his “quirky” fashion choices to compensate for his nelly-ness. And now there’s a bunch of new options.… Read More »

Q. What is a Manzie?
A. A Manzie is not a Pansy or a Dandy. A Pansy doesn’t necessarily dress effeminately in order to be teased by a bunch of blokes. A Dandy dresses like a proper gentleman adding a special touch of avant-garde styling. A Manzie is a guy desperately trying to be “on trend”. He can be a straight man trying too hard to be stylish or a straight-acting-gay guy who acts extra butch to compensate for his quirky fashion choices. Bottom line: A Manzie will wear any of the outfits featured here. … Read More »

We received this Letter to the Editor:

Hey Abe,
Is it OK to wear shorts around Paris? Your insight into what would be the best way to proceed would be much appreciated. Any info much appreciated. Thank you very much. Thank you.
–Paul… Read More »

Vivienne Westwood gave us the poor thing. The New Colossus Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!  – Emma Lazarus 1883 Who would have thunk that these beautiful, prolific words would one day come to represent the menswear fashion shows in Europe circa Fall ’12? Jean Paul Galtier gave us the tired. Adam Kimmel gave us a hudled mass person. Umit Benan gave us the homeless quotient. And Nicola Formichetti for Mugler gave us… Dracula?… Read More »

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bid a fond farewell to The Manzie*. (*See below meaning of Manzie for those of you new comers.) What was once a vibrant, hysterical fashion statement that captivated the runways of Milan and Paris—heck and New York for that matter—looks that left us speechless, or gagging anyway, have now gone to that great fashion graveyard beyond… Ebay. Who won’t miss those retarded styles by Thom Browne, or some of those collections from Rick Owens and Walter Van Beirendonck’s Big Bird ensembles from Spring ’10? And surely we can never forget that madcap John… Read More »