“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Please note: This Entry First Appeared July 12, 2009 Who’d have thunk that when I MEAN…WHAT?!? coined the phrase Manzie Report, and pointed out the horrendousness of some of the things that everyone’s favorite Manzie is wearing, that lo and behold, Time Magazine, yes, that magazine that puts Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin on the cover, has an entry about Mancessories. So, now that the Manzie has been adulated by the general media, I am thrilled to say my prescient observation of this uncanny trend has now been substantiated and I am officially anointing Time Magazine with… Read More »

Since I Mean What established the expression, Manzie, people have been sending me emails asking what is appropriate to wear for fear of not looking like a Manzie. Now that we are drenched in the middle of the August heat, the topic of Men In Shorts came up from a guy named Bruce. Hey Abe, About the Manzie thing…I was wearing a pair of shorts the other day and because I’m not tall a.k.a. short, they were a little long and I was worried that that were looking like men’s capris!! I may never be able to wear those shorts… Read More »

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnc7mpYHK-Y Last night at dinner, my friends and I got into a heated discussion on the difference between “yikes” and “eek”. These are two of my favorite expressions, with eek being the more recent entry to the list of Abe-isms. They both apply to various situations that express discontent with a situation or person. When using yikes, there must have a hint of humor in the situation at hand. Celebrity fashion designers are yikes. Whereas some celebrities, like Charlie Sheen, are an eek. Comprendevous? Anyhoo, speaking of yikes and eek, I watched one of the Karl Lagerfeld videos for Magnum… Read More »

Tom Ford, that handsome renaissance man, went on record with a few of the by-laws that make up The Tom Ford Doctrine. Jefferson Hack interviewed him for AnOther Man about being a gentlemen. Let’s just call it the modern day Gentleman’s Agreement. I must say, we do see eye to eye on most things. He believes that: You should be the best that you can be. Check. (I took that suggestion from the Army ad song.) Gentlemen should work. (Check. Even if I had a Sugar Daddy, I would continue with I Mean…What?!?) Manners are very important such as opening… Read More »

Last night was the big kahuna of the New York City social whirl, The Costume Institute Gala, a.k.a. Anna Wintour’s Playground. If you were not there, then you do not exist. If you are not on Anna’s guest list, you might as well just curl up and die. If you are not BFFs with a top fashion designer, then you might as well just call it a day and move out to the suburbs. Sounds harsh? Perhaps…but it is true. The theme this season was American Woman. There’s all sorts of good reasons for this theme since America’s schmatta business… Read More »

What has become of us? Who are we? Has our nation’s pastime become golf? Is baseball passe? So last season? The brand that is golf is having such a hey day, that I actually started wearing my old Izod shirts again. Somebody help me. Take me to a Golfers Anonymous meeting. Surely they exist. There are 12 Step meetings for everything on Earth (i.e., Mistresses Anonymous and Horndogs Anonymous). Since the Tiger Woods and His Band of Merry Hookers fiasco, we have become obsessed with the minutia of the sport and his penis. It is the cover story of every… Read More »

I have not talked about politics for quite a while. And there have been moments of absolute horror while reading the Huffington Post about the goings on in Washington, DC. Much of what was happening within our democracy over the past year had me dumbfounded. I began to loose faith…I closed my eyes…I turned the other cheek. When I became horrified…correction, mortified at some of the libelous and slanderous things that the nay-sayers…correction, Tea Partyers were saying, did I voice my concern? No. I am guilty as charged for frolicking through the fabulostiy of fashion and calibrating the crunk of… Read More »

Yes, there is a definite shift in the air since Spring, when nelly, prissy, fembots ruled the men’s runways. There is a butcher tone overall, but Lord knows not exclusively, as that would render me out of business. Surprisingly, Junya Wantanabe, Viktor and Rolf, and even Gaspard Yurkievich all had smart showings. It’s not like I am disappointed that I can’t find what to poke fun at, I would frankly rather not have ever started this Manzie business. I am a bit Pollyanna in that I want every designer to do well. Rather than leave a hole for yet another… Read More »

Somebody stick a fork in me to see if I am totally cooked. The Story of the Week in Women’s Wear Daily is Fashion Video Games Target Female Customers. How depressing is that? The big news, in addition to the fact that it’s bad news from my vantage point, is that Project Runway is doing a video game. Yes, now you too can have hours of fun booting people out of the house, designing nonsense, and hearing Hedi Klum say “auf wiedersehen” from the comfort of your couch…all day long. Don’t get me wrong, I love Heidi and the TV… Read More »

Somebody please help me understand this event that recently happened in West Hollywood called Heel Hate, One Stiletto At A Time, which apparently was a benefit for the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Now, I applaud anyone who wants to help draw attention to the critical work of the foundation whose “Erase Hate” Initiative is at the heart of the organization’s work and mission. Judy and Dennis Shepard created the Foundation shortly after Matthew’s death, with a goal to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion & Acceptance”. They are amazing, and I am proud to support their work. So, just work with me… Read More »