“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

“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 »

Many of you know that I love The Party’s Over, which is my reportage on events that consist of a big batch of people, that nobody knows…well…or as I like to refer to this segment, The Nobody News. Since I have been up to my eyeballs in World Fashion Week…still am…but need a little break…I thought…what better way to bring a smile to our lips than by doing the retail edition of The Party’s Over…or The Nobody News…because as you will see…both titles apply. Actually there’s a secondary theme here, which is the obligatory Saks Fifth Avenue in-store appearance party.… Read More »

Now we see that there is a global consciousness to dressing manzies. Sure, I mean…what?!? may have been the one to coin that phrase, but let’s face it… designers have been hell bent on feminizing men for centuries. Look no further than the French courtesans. As London Fashion Week wound down, it was not easy to find a lot of menswear designers until thanks to Zimbio, boy did I find a doozie. The show was called Man…which was to promote Topman. Let me say here that I use that term loosely because ain’t no man I know gonna wear this… Read More »

OK kiddies. Gather round. Uncle Abe is going to tell you a story. It’s a fairy tale…because clearly, plenty of fairies are involved in this story. It is the story known as Madrid Fashion Week. Yes, some of this story is very scary. Like a horror movie. And other parts are really funny…because scary and funny make for a good story. Now, there not much else left for me to say because this is a picture-book story. So…once upon a time…in a land far away…there was a land called Spain. Spain is known for many things, like hot Latin men,… Read More »

“Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” Somehow, that signature quote from the soap opera Days of Our Lives came to mind this morning as I was looking at the last few bits of this season’s men’s shows. It feels like time stood still this week with excitement everywhere…and yet…nowhere. It was like watching a soap opera, no? There was so much anticipation leading up to this week. Yes, Fashion’s Night Out kicked off the week with a bang but there were serious questions hovering over our heads. Was the ailing economy going to be… 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 »

Yesterday was uneventful as far as Manzies go. The women’s collections are in full bloom. Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Charlotte Ronson, William Rast, Rag and Bone, these are the collections with all the heat. That said, there was little if anything interesting going on in menswear. And when I say uninteresting, I don’t lie. I am still trying to figure out why Lacoste does a fashion show. I’d imagine their retailers would buy that in the showroom, and clearly, if they were in the 21st century, with a basic collection like that, they could handle their seasonal order and reorder… 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 »

We all know that action speaks louder than words. But pictures speak volumes. Sometimes loud is just annoying…as in the case of loud talkers…you know who you are. But with pictures…now there’s a tale that is told with a simple glance. On days where time is of the essence, I give you what to look at. Have a great day.… Read More »

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 »