Recently, I gave up wearing anything over a 4-inch heel. And with good reason. Said reason (or reasons) are aptly demonstrated by Melissa McCarthy in the opening monologue for this past week’s Saturday Night Live…..
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The Guys of Mad Men Season Six: Ban-Lon, Bow Ties and Bulges
4 AprAll right…so by now we’ve all heard about John Hamm’s trouser troubles,* and while that is for some of us a lovely, period-perfect distraction, there’s a lot more to Mad Men’s Season Six fashions then…well….
As with each season, costume designer Janie Bryant has done an incredible job this season by bringing the cast into a mid-1960s mod aesthetic, while letting the character’s personalities shine through (literally and figuratively.) The first thing I noticed in the Season Six promo pics that are circulating is the variety of bow-tie styles in Men’s Eveningwear
the many styles of bow tie ties…
In this pic, we’ve got both modified (or narrow) butterfly bow ties, and traditional thistle bow ties with pointy ends. Obviously, these are hand-tied and not clip-ons. No one in this bunch would be caught dead with a clip-on. Not while Roger Sterling’s around! (here’s a little bow tie history from Wikipedia.) Besides, this is the 60′s and no man looking to advance in a high-profile company would be caught dead in anything but a tie-it-yourself bow tie at a black tie event.
If you’re at all interested in knowing the ins and outs of tying a bow tie, here’s some instructions on how to do it from the Cordial Churchman (a custom tie maker)
Unlike today, there really wasn’t much of a need for a guy to stand out at a black-tie affair (unless he was young and going for that hipster vibe) mostly because he could stand out in a crowd on any given day of the week. In the ’60′s, men emerged as fashionable peacocks in a way that hadn’t quite been seen in the 20th Century…
Ban-Lon shirts and bulges were de riguer for the hip peacock of the ’60′s.
A few design notes here….Kenny Cosgrove is sporting a thin tie (perfect!) while Stan Rizzo is hiding his handsomeness under a beard (!?!) and a Ban-Lon shirt. Here’s a little history of the dreaded Ban-Lon shirt. What I remember most about the was the feel of the shirt rather than the style. It had something of a plastic look to it, and I will always associate it with what looked to my little kid’s eyes as Dadwear. In fact, Stan’s slightly high-water pants–oddly, a popular length at that time–also remind me of Dadwear.
Aside from Stan’s Dadwear, the menswear styles on each character draws a clear line between Management in suits and white shirts (the only nod to hipster style in Cosgrove’s thin tie) and Creative (who are dressed…well….in a way that expresses their creativity, shall we say…) It’s a fascinating picture when looked at from that perspective.
The beard though–that one’s got me a bit confused. Beards are more frequently associated with the 70′s than with the mid to late 60′s. If Stan’s going to end up the inspiration for the Brawny paper towel guy look, then he’s nailed it. Maybe that’s where that look is going (quick! hand the man a plaid shirt please!)
(H/T to Tom + Lorenzo for the pics and dish!)
*Related articles
- Mad Men star Jon Hamm’s crotch spurs pants war – and male objectification | Arwa Mahdawi (guardian.co.uk)
- Jon Hamm tired of ‘rude’ jokes about his private parts (todayentertainment.today.com)
- Jon Hamm ordered to wear underwear on Mad Men set overs fears his bulging bits are ‘too distracting’ (metro.co.uk)B
Menswear Moment: Ryan Gosling shows you how to wear a velvet suit
2 AprNever has a man worn a velvet suit quite like Ryan Gosling for the New York premiere of The Place Beyond the Pines
It’s not just Ryan’s absolutely gorgeous Blond God-ness, but a few things about the suit that could make it work on any Man of Style. First, the color is great: subdued black. A not-too-thin tie (a thin tie, or bow tie would have pushed it into the kitsch-y category.) A basic white button-down, and simple black Oxford shoes. Basically, Ryan’s followed the same advice given to women when we want to wear something that’s usually considered tres gauche: make the accessories classic and tailored, not trendy.
If you get too trendy, you could end up like this:
“Do I make you horny, baby…”
One more very important thing about Ryan’s suit: it’s expertly tailored. Granted, it is a custom-made Gucci suit, but a good tailor can customize any suit–even a velvet one, if that’s what you want to go for. It’s the tailored suit that sets apart the Man of Style from the…um….Man of Mystery…..
Lena Dunham denies herself high-heel aspirations–with good reason
31 Jan
So she can’t walk in high heels and you thought that dress was funny-looking on her…she still won a Golden Globe, bitches!
Poor Lena Dunham! By now, *everyone* knows she can’t walk in high heels. The story of her inability was just about the biggest thing anyone said about her appearance at the Golden Globe awards. Except maybe that they didn’t like her Zac Posen dress either.
Dunham’s very public break-up with her gold shoes.
She even took off her high heels at the Glamour Woman of the Year Awards banquet!
Oh the humanity!
The thing is, not every woman wants to, nor can, wear high-heeled shoes. Sure, some of us are born and immediately ask for a pair of patent leather D’Orsay pumps with a 3.5 inch heel, but, hey, we’re the outliers, the ones who adore unnatural footwear and find them to be in some cases, the most expressive part of our wardrobes. Yet even for us, wearing high heels–especially those gargantuan 6 inch stripper heels–take the practiced skills that make her something of a modern-day American geisha.
Not every woman has that particular aspiration.
Why should she anyway? What difference does it make if Lena Dunham can strut in a pair of Louboutons like Megan Fox? Yes, they’re the big status shoe, and having a pair shows that you’re now a real Woman of Style. But what if there are other things that are more important in your life than practicing, for hours, how to walk in the things without killing yourself (or at least risking serious bodily injury?)
fun on a Saturday Night: Me, a Fellini film, and my fire engine red patent leather shoes
Being a consummate high-heel obsessive–I’m so obsessive that I actually take pictures of my feet in my favorite shoes (don’t ask me why)–I know that when one is young, it’s easier to learn to walk in high heels than when one is older. Much to my Mother’s dismay, I asked for my first pair of platform shoes when I was 13, and wore her down enough to get them. IMO, if Lena really desired high heels, she would have started wearing them a lot sooner, and she’d have no problem walking in them at her age.
She’d also do what she could to keep wearing them till the day she died..
The other thing that causes women other than Dunham to eschew heels is the shape of our feet. My feet, honestly, look rather similar to Dunham’s, which kind of resemble Wilma Flintstone’s feet. It’s not easy to get those feet into high heels, let alone be comfortable in them. High heeled, open toed shoes are much easier to wear in the beginning that closed toe–especially if you’re going to be walking in anything gargantuan (as RuPaul once advised.) But with our funny little toes and straight across, un-ballet-dancer-like feet, open toed or closed toed makes no difference in the discomfort department.
Also, as one’s weight fluctuates, and age sets in, it helps to stretch hamstrings, quads, and ankles as preparation for walking in heels.
Then comes the walking itself. This requires making sure your weight rests in your heels as you step forward.
Trust me. The whole walking-in-high-heels thing takes a whole lot of practice. A Whole Lot of Practice.
Even then, you may have to tolerate blisters, squashed toes, and perhaps shin splints. None of which are very glamorous and might confine you to flats and band-aids–or worse– for several days.
So, honestly, I get where Lena Dunham is coming from. If the girl doesn’t want to wear high heels, she shouldn’t have to. High heels, and walking expertly in them, are not, nor should they be, the sign of A Successful Woman anyway–not these days. Besides, there are plenty of pretty flats out there that would suit Dunham’s particular look . Heels just aren’t who she is nor what she, and other young women of her generation are about. In fact, isn’t it her, and the show’s, authenticity that everybody thinks is so great about the show anyway? ?
H.T. to Trend 911 and WWD.com for the Dunham pics. The other one I took myself.
Hey American Music Awards! The 80′s called and they want their bleached blonde pompadours back
19 NovIf anything, last night’s American Music Awards was a hair disaster. I have never seen more bleached blonde pomps since I walked into a New York nightclub in 1981. And, just like the 80′s the pomps were on boys as well as girls. Apparently, this-throwback-to-the-’50′s hairstyle–along with the pseudo-mullet and the fauxhawk are going to be around for a little while longer…..
A selection of bleached and non-bleached blonds at the AMAs–and two pomps (Bieber and Pink) courtesy of PopSugar.com
Jenny McCarthey out of mothballs in an unimpressive dress and old lady french twist pompadour hairdo. No, thanks.
Kelly Clarkson and the pseudo-mullett
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