“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Everywhere I turned today, there was some visual or written reference to Mad Men, and how it has “changed” fashion. Look, I know how dire things are at retail, but please, that story seems week to me. I am sure that Mad Men is impacting the editorial landscape, which in turn, some people’s fashion  choices. Style is definitely created by the few and worn by the many. Cases in point: Kurt Cobain made “The Grunge Look” a household word and Marlon Brando and James Dean gave new meaning to the white T-shirt, while the Rat Pack, the original mad men…and… Read More »

Anyone who is anyone that reads I Mean…What?!? knows my opinion on the fashion phenomenon called World Fashion Week. New to town? Let me explain. Just about every city on Earth except Peoria, Illinois, ‘has been’ hosting their version of a Fashion Week. Sure, we all are obsessed with New York, Paris, Milan and London…Tokyo even. But this year, there seems to be an epidemic of Fashion Weeks spreading like the H1Ni Virus. I have reported on Los Angeles Fashion Week, Madrid Fashion Week, Lakme Fashion Week, New Zealand Fashion Week, Pakistan Fashion Week, Arabia Fashion Week, Dubai Fashion Week,… Read More »

Oy, talk about a flap…and I mean the flapping mouth of Douglas Hannant regarding his (possibly) out of context statement about Michelle Obama, “Everyone compares her to Jackie O–she is not the next Jackie O.” Naturally, these words were met with gasps. No one in the fashion industry is allowed to say anything bad about the First Lady. Oscar de la Renta took a little heat when he dished Michelle for her wardrobe choice when meeting Queen Elizabeth II, “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater.” The issue here is not what Douglas said or Oscar, and I… Read More »

The article of the week is by Eric Wilson of The New York Times Style section about the Berlin based fashion label, VONROSEN. Thank you Eric for introducing me to probably the most annoying new “luxury brand” on the planet. Get this…you have to apply to get access to their website, which is the only place to peruse their schmattas…I mean collection. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love good snob appeal, a.k.a. the entire luxury goods business. But when some uppity fashionista thinks that the Studio 54 philosophy of marketing applies to buying a nothing special cardigan sweater for… Read More »

Ladies, get out your underwear. In light of the hard hit economy, and the teetering luxury goods business, there’s a great way to be up to the minute in fashion without buying a thing. The answer? Wear nothing. I kid you not. I am not saying buy nothing new. I mean wear actually nothing. Now you can  prance around in your skivvies AND be in vogue. How fantastic is that? I’m a little jealous because men cannot get away with that, whereas women can. I have been grappling with myself (schizophrenia) about this lingerie as outerwear fashion trend that has… Read More »

All the News About Nobodies That’s Fit to Print. This surely has become one of my favorite I Mean What?!? entries. The phenomenon that is “People in the News” has been so watered down, that we are now desensitized to actual news about people that are really interesting. Anyway, I’ve explained The Nobody News countless times. It’s just a fact of life that the fast lane is so crowded with wanna be’s.… Read More »

Is it just me or is there like some weird energy going around? Maybe it’s the economy, or the loss of key Democratic states so soon after President “Change” Obama took office, proving that Americans don’t really want change. Or perhaps it is the pre-holiday blues. Hell, now that retailers are bringing Christmas in so early, why not move up those holiday doldrums, too. Anyway you slice it, this mid-season funk does not make anyone feel sexy. Introspective, yes. Sexy, no. Take the following IMW WTF Is Wrong With Me Test, (move over Rorschach or Minnesota Tests) to see if… Read More »

“Menswear should take cues from womenswear, and not just the other way around,” says Muccia Prada in BlackBook. Now, you all know how much I love to trash a good manzie (click to get official meaning). It has been eons since I did a session on that “look”, which confuses many of my readers, while providing many good laughs. “But, Muccia, what items in womenswear can men pull off without looking like big, nelly queens?”, I Mean…What!?! wants to know. Leggings for starters. Leggings have been on trend and a huge best-seller for the past few seasons. But on guys?… Read More »

Men, we’ve come a long way since Fred Astaire and the Golden Age of Hollywood, when slicked-back hair, a clean-shaven face, spats, a top hat and tails were in vogue. Today that combination sounds more like a costume than a reality. Through the years our wardrobe has become much more casual, hair lengths went from the top of the ear down to the middle of the back, while beards and mustaches adorned our faces in countless variations. Fred was Elegant Chic and now we have Casual Chic, a term that is readily bandied about. This look could even be a… Read More »

It’s astonishing how unimportant Los Angeles Fashion Week is when you think about Hollywood once ruled, and how Adrian, Edith Head and Orry-Kelly and many others were major influences. Somehow, the Los Angeles fashion scene fell short and all the other major fashion cities excluding Madrid reference Old Hollywood all the time, as in the case of John Galliano’s amazing Spring 10 collection. By the time the last dress sashays down the runway in Paris, nobody wants to see another dress…like ever again…at least not until next season. But alas, there’s Los Angeles Fashion Week-let. And a sad little market… Read More »