It’s coming … by end of Saturday, I swear. (We switched bedrooms at our house Tuesday, and I’m still trying to figure out how to arrange and put all my stuff away.)

In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Great Stuff column about two new men’s fragrances! There *might* just be a giveaway involved.  (Which is to say, of course, that there will be a giveaway involved.)

ammit

WHAT SAM WORE: 9/12/08
The shirt: Long-sleeved cotton button-up wtih epaulets and sleeve tabs (Ben Sherman, San Francisco)
The pants: Glen plaid trousers (Ted Baker, Las Vegas)
The shoes: Black leather slip-ons by Rush by Gordon Rush (Last Chance)
The scent: Quarzazate by Comme des Garçons
Listening to: “Plastic People” by Kraak & Smaak

sammit

Way back when I still lived in Colorado, I managed to muck up my finances pretty well, to the point where my bank yanked my checking account. So for quite a while I lived cash-only, which probably was the only thing that taught me how to budget better. When you pay in cash, you’re very aware of how much you’re spending on things, and once you’re out of money, you’re OUT OF MONEY.
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From the “where was I a week ago when this came out?” department … Women’s Wear Daily has the story about who’s dressing Madonna for her “Sticky and Sweet” tour: It includes two Givenchy outfits (including the one above), and one by Jeremy Scott. Looks like MTV got a little ahead of itself when it headlined its article about the boys over at Heatherette …

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I have to do a little bragging: My friend Kathy McLaughlin is one of the first foreign journalists allowed to travel independently in Tibet since the uprising in March.

You can read her dispatches here. The part about her having an assistant made me insanely envious for a moment. … Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since I was a little kid I’ve always been fascinated by Grace Jones — which, looking back, was weird, a Montana tween in equal parts of awe and fear of a hard-edged New York punk/disco pioneer — but she’s never quite returned the favor. In fact, she’s the only musical act on MySpace who ever denied my friend request. (I took it very personally.)
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The prestige beauty market was up 2 percent last year — $8.9 billion worth of high-end makeup, fragrance and skin care products were rung up at the registers. (And that doesn’t even include the lower-level mass-market brands.)

Antiaging skin care alone accounted for $1.2 billion of the sales; fragrance was $2.94 billion (an actual 1% drop from the year before) and makeup was $3.4 billion.

The top 5 prestige scents lat year: men’s Acqua di Gio (and I thought it was just me who thought every freaking guy on earth was wearing it); Beautiful; Coco Mademoiselle; Chanel No. 5; and Cashmere Mist.

ammit

WHAT SAM WORE: 6/16/08
The shirt: Polo shirt by Le Tigre (Buffalo Exchange)
The pants: Dark-wash jeans by 1969 (gap.com)
The shoes: Leather sneakers by Puma (Nordstrom)
The scent: Aveda Men

sammit

For Christmas my friend Sharyn bought me the book “The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris,” which chronicles the Karl vs. Yves era of fashion. I admit to having barely cracked it since then, although I look at it every day as I pass through the dining room.

However, in honor of Saint Laurent, who died Sunday, I did sit down and watch “Yves Saint Laurent: His Life And Times,” a documentary I happened to record on DVR late last month. (And, with “5, Avenue Marceau,” one of two films about the designer from the same director in the same year — the first a look at the individual, the second more about an artist at work for the last time.) It’s a great reminder of how revolutionary fashion can be: Today, can you imagine a woman in a pantsuit being turned away from a restaurant or hotel? Yet it happened in his menswear-inspired tuxedo suits.

Back when I was doing more fashion shoots, I sort of used to dread the fall fashion ones because after a few years, it seemed like I was being forced to muster up enthusiasm for the same damn trends year after year. Like it’s a revelation that suddenly tall boots start appearing in stores. And wine-colored lips. And … menswear-inspired suits. It’s easy to forget how relatively new a development that actually is. And how shocking and controversial it once was.

I have absolutely no interest in “Sex and the City: The Movie.” Well, that’s technically incorrect, since that implies a neutral stance.

Let me rephrase that: I hate all things “Sex and the City” … Read the rest of this entry »

Those ultrashiny lip glosses can increase your chances of getting skin cancer, according to this report on MSN.

The shiny gloss attracts more light, “like a magnifying glass over your lips,” and the hydration of an occlusive formula “smooshes down” (to use the word of one of the dermatologists quoted in the article) lips’ natural outer protective layer, leaving the lips more vulnerable to UV rays … and sun damage. That could lead to conditions like “farmer’s lip” or, in worst-case scenario, skin cancer.

Two solutions: Use a balm with SPF under your gloss, or find a gloss with SPF included. (Hint: The Clinique Long Last Glosswear you could win here are SPF 15.)

ammit

WHAT SAM WORE: 5/01/08
The shirt: Short-sleeved knit polo (Gap.com)
The pants: Khakis by Chip and Pepper (I can’t stop wearing them!)
The shoes: Sneakers by Skechers (Last Chance)
The sweater (when needed): Navy cardigan (Martin + Osa)

sammit

So, last year I was browsing on Yoox and found a pair of pants that were supersale — like $25 from $400 or something. And, sure, they were pink, but the photo made them look fun in like an spring/Easter/bleached-pastel/polo grounds sort of way.

As you can see from the photo above, they are definitely more … vibrant than expected.

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