La Moretta

What do Peter Weller and support garments have in common?

Some might think from these pictures that I am indulging in a little objectifying of men with these pictures. But no -- in fact, I'm alerting my readers to important science. These are pictures of a masterpiece of engineering, the Core Precision Undershirt(TM) by Equmen. What does the CPU do? Well, here's what Equmen has to say on the subject: 

With seamless stitching and targeted ventilation, they fit like a second skin, delivering the ultimate fusion of fashion and function. Wear underneath any shirt, from street to sport, work to weekend.

• Improves Posture 
  
• Supports Core Muscles
  
• Optimises Form  
  
• Controls Body Temperature  
  
• Visibly Streamlines   

  

What's that, you say? Visibly streamlines? Yes. They left the truth for last. What we are looking at, folks, is a man girdle. And yes, the glorious portmanteau for man girdle is mirdle.

Boy, do they put a lot of science around this magical T-shirt (the one pictured above is actually a singlet). But here's the testimonial from one wearer that's going to put them over the top, sales-wise:

"I feel like Robocop."

Also, the Equmen web site (motto: Proudly Supporting the Men of the World) mentions that coming soon they will have Core Precision Undergarments for men's lower bodies. The world awaits, breathless.

A Fine Romance

"Being with her was like sticking an eggbeater in your brain. "

-- Robert Wagner on Elizabeth Taylor

Wagner appears to be making the rounds in Europe now, promoting his book. This quote is from an interview with the UK's Daily Mail. I guess I am old-fashioned, because that sounds like a swell compliment indeed.

Wagner's romances are probably the most interesting thing about him -- can you remember him in any roles besides the Austin Powers films and Hart to Hart?

Can you save your marriage in advance?

Every marriage is vulnerable, otherwise being married wouldn't mean anything, would it?

A few years back, I noticed that a lot of acquaintances' marriages were breaking up. Well, maybe not a lot, but there was definitely a trend. These marriages were of couples in their early 50s who had been married for several decades. The ones that made the biggest impression on me all fell into the same category -- the husband had found someone else --typically younger, but not always. I remember thinking that in each case, the wives were very impressive women -- confident, dynamic, with professional reputations and good self-esteem.  However, what I noticed is that in each case, these wives refused to fight for their husbands -- because, I suspect, they really liked themselves and it was a huge insult that their husbands were opting out just when they felt the best about where they were in their lives.

I thought a lot about it, and finally came to the conclusion that this was one of life's little tricks of timing. While women took the fact that their husbands were having an affair as a repudiation of them when they were at their best, in reality it was about their husbands. I think these men were feeling less and less important to their busy, successful and accomplished wives, and they needed validation -- something they found in other, lesser women.

Although I didn't know all of the details of these breakups, I couldn't help thinking that these marriages could have been saved if the wife had realized that it wasn't about her, it was about her husband, and she had been willing to fight for him. I guess there is also the concern that maybe the relationship would always be damaged and full of recriminations even if it survived, and the wife would be left feeling that she had to prove her merit, which should have been self-evident. To be honest, I don't know of any marriages that have gotten past such a point (it's probably something people keep quiet), so I don't know if that is the case.

Knowing that your spouse is always vulnerable might be the best way to go, and I guess recognizing that you are vulnerable yourself doesn't hurt either. Then these situations that seem like such profound breaches of trust can possibly be weathered.

Has anyone else seen this happen? Or has anyone else been on the other side of this equation?

 

 

 

Stylin' men

I have previously opined on the importance of blue-eyed men owning shirts that match their eyes, and that's pretty much where I stop in terms of men's fashion. At least typically. Today, though two things have caused me to break that pattern:

The first was this post on the Sartorialist, of a 54-year-old Florentine wearing a camel coat with very exaggerated shoulder pads. So who cares? Well, this picture was taken at the Pitti Uomo fashion show, which sets the fashion tone for the world. So this to me says that shoulder pads are coming soon (OK, in a year or two) to stores near you. The Sartorialist noted that the padded shoulders gave an illusion of, or in this case emphasized, the man's trim waistline. He thinks it might be time to go back to shoulder pads for the illusion they provide. I noticed this trend elsewhere (I saw Zegna suits with really pointy shoulders a few months ago and shook my head), and I think it's a loser. Most American guys do not need shoulder padding -- I think it adds bulk and nothing else. And the pointy ones in particular look silly. So I really hope that this trend doesn't return to U.S. shores.

Is this what happens when we elect a Democrat?

The second is that my friend Giacomo's GQ picture came out. He looks fantastic, and very stylish. He's the one who's a president of a PR firm. To view it, click on the section that says "Amp up your Look."

http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_7790

Hope this is true

First, an anecdote: When I was a teen I went to Rehobeth Beach with my family, sister and a friend. My sister met some guy and introduced him to us. He was cute, if a bit inarticulate. I wasn't impressed. He invited us to a party that night with some friends. "They're all pagans," he warned. Hmm, I thought, maybe I misjudged this guy -- what a rather sophisticated way to describe your wild friends. So we went to the party, and I learned that "pagans" referred to The Pagans, a nationally-known biker gang. We cut the evening short. Good times.

But I digress.

Via Jezebel, here's some bikers who are fighting the good fight -- animal rescue, that is. I don't know if this is an elaborate hoax, but if so, I hope that life eventually imitates art because it would be a great idea.  http://www.rescueink.org/.

Interestingly, this is consistent with what we have noticed. I've met a lot of bikers and tough guys who were excellent pet owners --their dogs were vetted, very well-trained and spoiled rotten. (And you know what group is actually terrible? Vet techs. It's a very unstable "demographic" and they think they are experts because they administer shots or are in the room when the vet does the exam. We won't adopt out to them, or to groomers, many of whom don't seem to take their dogs to the vet at all. They are also a leading source of disinformation to our adopters.)

                         

Above: Eric and Batso, members of Rescue Ink. Eric owns min-pins, and Batso has a pit bull and an iguana.

German sexual stereotyping for fun and profit

Wired ran an article on Maennerspielplatz, a German amusement park where for $280 patrons can spend the day operating 29-ton backhoes and 32-ton front-end loaders, offroading through the woods in a Mercedes-built Unimog, operating a a jackhammer, dirt racing in 4x4 SUV and otherwise operating heavy equipment.

Here are some pictures from the Web site, which is in German. I have had to guess about what some of these things mean. Visitors can:

Operate heavy equipment!

Go underwater in a mini U-boat!

Tandem jump!

Go on one of these things!

Solve CSI cases! 

   

 Enjoy a Hohlen Exkursion!

Swim around in ice water for some reason!

Get covered with mud! (This last picture from Wired).

So why is this sexual stereotyping? The name means "Men's Playground." The slogan: "We fulfill men's dreams!" 

I don't know why they think only men would enjoy it though. I'd love to go there. (OK, total lie.) But I'm not the target audience, and the people in the picture all have the same blissed-out delighted smiles on their faces -- like little kids.

Fashion advice for men UPDATED

Gentlemen --

If you are fortunate enough to find yourself in possession of blue eyes, here is the only fashion tip you'll ever need: Find a blue shirt that matches your eyes. Wear it all the time.

Whole movies and television series have been built around how good some men look in blue shirts.

The granddaddy of this practice was, ironically enough, The Practice, where Dylan McDermott wore a blue shirt on every episode that I saw. (Admittedly I didn't stick around for long.)

The Usual Suspects got a lot of its buzz for its style, most notably that of star Gabriel Byrne.

Perhaps if you are reading this you are thinking that this tip only works for dark-haired men. Well you'd be wrong.

James Blond himself is a blue-shirter.

And one of my fave actors, Simon Baker, is definitely in a blue-shirt show, The Mentalist. (A blue-shirt show features a lot of still shots of the actor "thinking" while wearing the blue shirt.)

Perhaps you are also thinking that blue is a major color and of course men wear it frequently. Yes, but it's the matching to the eyes that really makes this work.

Does this trick work for women? Not so much. I have no idea why.

__________________________________________________________________________________

No blue-shirt list is complete without Anderson Cooper, as Janet so wisely points out.