“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Has your end-of-summer stomach ache started yet? Surely, you know that feeling. It started when we were kids, that huge knot in your tummy that makes you double over in physical and mental pain. The first time you experienced it was the night before starting school after a joyous, carefree summer. It hurt so bad, you pleaded with your mother to not go to school the next day. It never worked. That end-of-summer stomach ache hits like a ton of bricks, no matter how old we get. There is an I Mean..What?!? Remedy. It’s called Laughter WHILE Shopping. But you… Read More »

No, I have not yet seen The September Issue yet…film or magazine. I’m going to do the ritual this weekend, see the movie then flip through Vogue. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, I think Anna Wintour is fierce. Anyone from Lauren Wiesberger to Maureen Dowd can say what they want about Anna, but they are simply riding her Oscar de la Renta coattails. Having worked for years in Hollywood, inside the inner sanctum of celebrity, you learn really quickly that “those” people are not what they seem. When I moved to Los Angeles, my goal was to… Read More »

Many of you must know by now that I have coined the phrase “fotz”. There ‘s many applications to this term. But, what, do you ask, is FOTZ? Etymology: What started out as a sarcastic reference to something that is or someone that “thinks” they are fascinating. So, it went from fascinating to fotzinating to fotzy balloons to fotzy to the currently, most used…fotz. Here are a few good examples. Bing is fotz. What Madonna wore to the Costume Institute Gala was fotz. George Bush was fotz…still probably is. Most Republicans are fotz. Susan Boyle’s first makeover was fotz. People… Read More »

Michelle Obama is fierce…but…not everything she wears works. Today’s New York Daily News did a pictorial on “Michelle’s Smashing Summer Style”. Now, I will be the first to say that Michelle is fierce…she has had quite a few sensational looks since entering the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List. But like every other human, one can not be flawless 365 days out of the year. Unless you are Blaine Trump or Carolina Herrera. That said, since Michelle–prior to White House duties–was a working attorney mom, she definitely proved a great sense of style, considering lawyers are known for their fashion… Read More »

Hair is probably the most complicated issue of our time. Perhaps second to universal health care…but an issue of the highest, most unprecedented order. Oh, yeah, and world peace. On second thought, hair is the number one issue for mankind and the other things follow suit. How can I say that? Well, admit it. You spend more time thinking about your hair as opposed to Obama’s heath care plan or the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Therefore…hair wins…horrendous as that sounds. These days with regards to hairstyles…everything goes. But, someone needs to be the voice of reason to prove… Read More »

Guy Trebay wrote an interesting article in The New York Times Style (?) section yesterday. The essence of the story is that men with bellies are on trend, sporting “the Ralph Kramden”. Though it’s called It’s Hip To Be Round, I think the better title is Belly Up. He explores several reasons why this might be the case, and as much as I enjoyed the article because the topic is top of mind (I have been belly conscious my entire life), what he doesn’t address are the critical health issues related to having a belly. As a fat kid, I… Read More »

At the risk of being redundant to those of you who have been following my Manzie Reports for quite some time, I wanted to take this moment to review, remind, and introduce to the new readers, “What is a Manzie?” (pronounced man – zee) and why are we reporting on it? After reviewing the recent European Men’s shows, the overarching trend was something that I hadn’t seen in quite some time, actually ever. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until I came up with the term Manzie, therefore declaring Spring ’10, the “Season of the Manzie”. To clarify,… Read More »

After my heartfelt Woodstock moment yesterday, I am breching (vomit in Yiddish) from the lead story in Women’s Wear Daily, Woodstock at 40: Fields of Fashion. First of all, the writer Sarah Haight (no doubt hired for the whole Haight-Ashbury coincidence) has very little to say about the cultural, societal phenomenon; rather, she is quick to hone in on the “unfolding of the hippie chic look”…which correct me if I am wrong…is an oxymoron. The Hippie movement rose and fell as a rebellion against the stats quo…if not, status in general. Thankfully, Valerie Steele, chief curator F.I.T., points this out.… Read More »

Looking through the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List was a bit of a head scratch-er for me. First of all, can we eliminate men from this challenge? When I think of Best Dressed lists, Mr. Blackwell’s Best Worst Dressed comes to mind as does Eleanor Lambert, who originated the Best Dressed List in 1940. Rarely do I think of men when we speak of Best Dressed lists. This year’s list in Vanity Fair had too many men, the images are lame and frankly, I don’t look to Vanity Fair for their opinions on fashion. I loves me my Vanity… Read More »

You can do all the upscale advertising you want. So, whether you are Target, K-Mart or JCPenney, get over yourselves right now, because smoke and mirrors is not going to replace better merchandise. Ever. Sure, these limited edition designer duds gets tons of attention and brings in a sought-after audience, but once that limited edition sells out, what’s left in-store is the crap that makes up for most of the merchandise in these mass marketers. So, Jean Claude Penney is coming to New York City? Big whoop. Penney has been trying for years to up its ante through free association… Read More »