Mad (Men) Confession

A few weeks ago I had a discussion with someone (I forget who but they know who they are) about how there is a lack of stylish men on TV. For me stylish men are few and far between on TV shows, there were cast members of Josh Schwartz's creations who dressed well but there is no comparison with their female counterparts. However, it seems I have overlooked one show...I have a confession that might shock you all. I've never actually seen Mad Men. Over the past few months I have noticed countless articles on the series (a continuous lean has a mad men section for goodness sake!) but somehow managed to not read any of them...until now. The pick of the coverage comes from Valet who recently proclaimed "It is for men, what Sex and The City was for women—smartly written dialogue and extreme characters we secretly wish to be, all wrapped up in a super stylized package." The woman behind the slick Eisenhower-era styling is Janie Bryant (award-winning costume designer) who outfits the cast in both custom costumes and tailored vintage finds. For Bryant the days explored by the series "were such elegant times for America, when men came to the office in these gorgeous slim-cut suits. You know, that's a good look for a guy." My favourite quote from Bryant is this: "It was the attention to detail that made the era so iconic in terms of style". This for me is what makes menswear so exciting, why I write about it.

Valet offers the below pieces to help one and all get the look:

1.) Sterling silver tie bar by David Donahue, $40 at Nordstrom. 2.) Lemtosh frames, $169 (without prescription) at Moscot. 3.) Sidecar gunmetal briefcase by Dunhill, $1,240 at Dunhill, 212.753.9292. 4.) Bow tie by Band of Outsiders, $92 at Blue Bee. 5-7.) Ties, (from left) Mike & Chris, $83, Ralph Lauren, $125 and Shipley & Halmos, $92, all available at Blue Bee. 8.) Suit by John Varvatos Star USA, $795 at Nordstrom. Shirt by Theory, $125, at Nordstrom. Tie by Hickey, $115 at Hickeystyle.com. 9.) Wool hat by Rod Keenan, $360 at Barneys New York stores. 10.) Cotton handkerchiefs, $25 for a pack of seven, at Brooks Brothers.

I've since read how canny eBay sellers are now marketing their vintage clothes as "Mad Men-style", while on message boards ideas are swapped as to what to serve at a Mad Men party...how has this retro revival passed me by until now. Still, it's not just the thrill of retro, the "Mad Men effect" is apparently increasing the sales of everything...from tortoise shell glasses to fedoras, while the stars of the show skip from the pages of Vanity Fair to GQ to Vogue. The rest of my week will be spent catching up on this show and seeing if it has substance as well as style.

Platonic love for your fellow man

Gert Jonkers tries to read the morning paper whilst he's unimpressed by your man crush

According to the latest issue of Observer Woman Magazine every straight man needs a man crush. It is a love that has only recently found a slight murmur, barely able to speak its own name (surely there has to be a beter name for it than man crush???) : platonic, heterosexual man on man adoration. Apparently "the man crush can happen between two straights, two gays, a straight and a gay - any two men...it's based on admiration and charisma more than sexuality" (Michael Musto, Village Voice). I very much dislike the term 'man crush' but strongly believe that such a thing exists, just looks at some of the posts on this and many of your blogs and you have to concede that there are other men we admire. For GQ's editor Dylan Jones "as a British men's magazine it is incumbent on us to have a new man crush every five minutes...Our crushes go with the zeitgeist and don't last long. Men can be cruel like that." I would like to think that my affections are longer lasting that those described by Dylan Jones. Some of my own longer lasting admirations include Lucas Ossendrijver, Kanye West, Christopher Bailey, Charlie Porter, Daft Punk, Gert Jonkers...the list is somewhat embarrassingly long and includes the odd person who I enjoy a complex love hate relationship with like Pharrell Williams. Be rest assured that my notebooks aren't filled with 'I love...' but there is nothing wrong with an admission of same sex adoration, is there? From a young age we have all had heroes and posters of star's on our walls so why relinquish this when we get that little bit older? The full article by Simon Mills can be read here.

Bat hair

During my second viewing of The Dark Knight (at the Imax this time, MAN that's a big screen) I became slowly but increasingly obsessed by one thing. It wasn't an obsession with the Joker's make up this time, though I daily have to stop myself buying face paint now, or with Jim Gordon (best Gordon ever) but with Bruce Wayne's hair.

It changes slightly in every scene, but keeps a similar style: slight side parting, swept but not really slicked back using what seems to be gel (hair gel! Does anyone use that any more in this age of hair wax?). It's quite 80s, functional but slightly feminine somehow... believable for a man who needs to be able to wear a armoured cowl at any moment, but who's also a businessman and playboy.

I know this post is all a bit 'fangirl' but just be glad that I'm not telling you how to apply the perfect Joker-style warpaint. I'll save that for another post...

Oh man, I'm jealous that you've seen it again, it is on my to do list. I like the simplicity of the hairstyle. I would assume that Mr Wayne would not use hair gel...hair gel died a death in 1998, when boys the world over took a hard look at themselves in the mirror and realised they looked quite ridiculous. My prediction is that Bruce would use a hair grooming creme, my favourite is by Bumble and Bumble. The style element which has left a lasting impression on me is The Joker's getup which has a remarkable attention to detail, summed up best by the colourful patchwork socks. However, the complete look of blue patterned shirt, blue pinstripe trousers, olive green waistcoat with faded gold and black tie stylishly screams crazed super villain. My particular favourite element of the look is the fitted purple trench-coat with contrasting red lining which is awesome.