Why TreasureMappers Buy GQ

It ticks me off that women's fashion magazine's don't cover men's fashion in any depth.  I understand why, but it still ticks me off.  Rather than try to change the fashion mag industry, I just buy GQ.  And it's a good thing, too!  Because contrary to what the average person thinks, men's fashion has undergone a complete revolution in only the last 20 years, and I mean COMPLETE.  360 degrees.  And the deeper story remains untold.  It seems to me that everyone has been asleep at the switch.  In my mind, this has been an epic battle on the order of what you might see in a scene from "The Lord of the Rings" or "The 300".  The fashion industry played a huge role in a cultural revolution that is staggering in its sweeping implications and social impact.

When my husband and I were dating twenty years ago, everyone wore suits to work.  Everyone.  Men and women alike.  Unless you were a creative at an ad agency and wore a black mock turtle neck every day, you wore a suit.  And if you were the turtle neck guy, they shut you in a room, threw food at you once a day and never let you anywhere near a client.  They only let you out when they heard your muffled cry, "I'm done with the layout, can I go home now?"

Five years ago, no one wore suits.  Not a sole.  Women were in dresses and skirts with boots, men were in casual shirts and khakis, and Friday was jeans day.  Essentially, while no one was watching, young people took over.  The guardians of the gates fell asleep and the agile and nubile scaled the walls and forced everyone to where Polos at knife point.  It may actually have been a little more subtle, more like a Trojan horse ploy.  I think the young people pretended to give up, making believe that they were acquiescing to the office politics and hierarchy, got everybody drunk (the booming economy helped with that part), and then they slowly but surely started coming to work in coordinated outfits more often, enlisting others as they went, until suddenly the young and hip made the elder statesmen, in their single-breasted, striped-tie uniforms, look dowdy and out of touch.

"Get thee to a Nordstrom's" came the new battle cry from the Board of Directors, "there cannot be a coup!"  And so the elder statesmen addressed their style of dress lest they appeared to disenfranchise the minions.  And without so much as an office memo to change the policy on dress code, it happened - a nationwide cultural revolution that never happened.  I wonder if anyone will notice that the chariots are circling all the way 'round the track?  Can you say,  "sharp suits and funky socks" Johnny?  Ted Baker ties are helping this new trend move along.  And why do I know about this and no one else seems to?  Because I buy a men's fashion magazine.  There's no way you'd know this complete transformation in every industry across the country took place by looking at Vanity Fair or Vogue.  You might have caught wind of it if you read Essence or InStyle, but you would really have to have been looking for it.

GQ has been shouting about the movement from frumpy to fashionable in the workplace at the top of it's pages' lungs for years and years, but, since dudes don't talk fashion, the entire leverage of the revolution was lost.  Dear young gentlemen, you have the power to change more about the workplace than just the dress code!  Use the power of fashion as you make everyone where suits again!  And you old men with "Director" in your titles??  The British are coming!  You can decide that red coats are "ok" with you, but you'd better watch out!  This time around the price for your red coat may be changing that "Director" title to "Chief of reporting quarterly statements to the older dude in the corner office."  The new "Red Coats" are more about egalitarianism and "callin' 'em like they sees 'em."

I'm so glad that the cultural revolution happened, but I am still shocked that Nancy Grace never got a hold of it like the hungry-dog-on-a-meaty-bone type of a reporter that she is.  Only one magazine is still shouting a call to arms. Thank you GQ, I hear you loud and clear.

110

One of the ads in this September's Vogue that caught my eye was not for a designer.  It was for the magazine itself.  At the top of the layout of the table of contents (which falls on page 110) depicts a woman goose-stepping through a field of grass in a long, flowing, flower print, crepe dress and a pair of flat, black, man-shoes with laces.  Neither the dress nor the shoes would be particularly interesting separately, but it is the combination that got my attention.  It was familiar and yet so wildly retro.  It was more of a feeling that grabbed me than anything else and I almost flipped the page away when it hit me.  Flat man-shoes and a feminine ankle-length dress!

I thought to myself, "Yes!  I am going to do this."  It's such a great combination; walk to work, leave shoes on; go out, and be a bit edgy.  I love this.  It's been done before, yes, but not in a very long time.  I wanna say I was in high school or college when this was last a "style". That's a lot of years ago, but I'm glad it's back and I am in!

Chunky Jewelry and Other Trends We're Still Deciding On

We are very open-minded at Quintesse... for the most part.  We try to look at things that change without judging them too quickly.  This way we don't have to back peddle when we realize that we've changed our minds about something that we made a snap decision about earlier.  We find that snap judgments happen either because we thought we didn't like something just because we hadn't ever seen it before, or because we liked something just because it was shiny and new.  Mood and other factors effect our ability to reason upon first view and we see things in black and white.  Even when it's a Miu Miu dress.  It happens to us all.  This can be particularly hard when things are larger than usual, unusually colored, appear to be something different than they are, or are something we can't see ourselves using or doing.  Pretty much covers anything having to do with fashion, no?

In fashion, designers are people who make things that strike you as unusual.  That's their job.  Designers like Anya Hindmarch create change purses that look like candy, Gareth Pugh and Philip Treacy create hats that look like birds in cages, Monika Jarosz makes bracelets and bags out of invasive species, Kobi Levi created shoes that look like musical instruments and animals, and Franc Fernandez makes dresses that look like meat.  And it's not always the shock value that makes things unusual, it's also scale, color, perspective, texture and a host of other factors that leave the first impression.  So it can be really hard to make your brain slow down and absorb before making a "like" or "dislike" decision.  We are going to put it out there that we have gotten pretty good at squashing our first reactions in order to process.  Here are some things we have refrained from passing judgment on (and some we have).



Chunky Jewelry:  Left picture: We don't like the vast majority of this uber-scaled costume jewelry.  It seems almost purposefully designed to make the jewels look fake.  Most have no flash when light hits them and we gotta think that by now we have the technology to give a bit of sparkle to these giganto gems.  The colors are also generally poorly assembled unless you are willing to pay good money for a very high-quality piece (which we highly recommend).  Say "no" to the combination of big earrings and a big necklace unless you are going all-in and making your whole outfit obsessively out-there a la Iris Apfel.

Right: Make sure to scale big jewelry with your outfit.  Kate Moss, who arguably looks good in anything, makes this necklace work because the colors are slightly offset from her outfit and the fabric in her trench-styled top is simple.  No earrings helps create balance.


The Kardashians:  They could go back to living life in anonymity and we would be very happy. We think they are beautiful, but somewhat foolish and puppeted people. We know they have lives that people envy, which is why they have flourished, but enough already. They should stop designing.  Period.








Skinny Jeans:  When skinny jeans hit the scene we were initially repulsed. Why would anyone go back to the days of Jordache when you had to zip your fly using a coat hanger. Our founder avoided even trying these on until about three years ago when she took some family that had come to town shopping on Michigan Avenue. She bought three pairs. The stretchy fabrics make it so that the jeans move with you instead of fighting (or biting) you, so contrary to one of the reasons we resisted, they are quite comfy. The other reasons we avoided them for so long were, "I am too old for that level of shape hugging," and "This bod is not meant for those jeans." Wrong on both counts. Since you're only as old as you feel, we decided our attitudes were built on ageism and skinny-ism and we don't support "isms" of any kind here. We do applaud the acceptance of curvaceousness, and we respectfully ascribe this acceptance to the above, so get out there and do those jeans proud!


Yoga clothing: Nope. We have no idea how this became a "thing" and we are awaiting its demise.  We've, however, been waiting so long that we are now resigned to seeing men in it.  Sigh...

Everyday Dresses: Yep.


We particularly like the long sock look on the right.  Try this one Friday for date night.










Fringe, Faux Fur, and Feathers

We will give a hearty and enthusiastic YES to all three, but we qualify our "yes".  Fringe, faux fur, and feathers are awesome in sophisticated designs.  Their unruly use in ready-to-wear, however, is very hit and miss.

 Yes.







Yes.



















Yes.














Yes.  And, yes, this is an earing!























No. To all of the following.

The A-Line

I am a devout practitioner of the A-line.  This slightly swingy, thigh-flaw-hiding style of dress and skirt is my friend.  It makes me feel good even when I ate the pasta and skipped running for two weeks.  It is a darn, cryin' shame that the style seems to go in and out of fashion so quickly in recent decades, having been a standard throughout the 1940's and 50's.  I would've thought that the style would enjoy a more "standard" or "foundational" role in women's wardrobes like the chemise, or Capri pants, or even the little black dress.  But, alas, the A-line comes and goes without predictability like a travelling salesman.

While I admit that the style works better in certain fabrics, I think it is perennially underutilized in patterned dresses and skirts.  I think the style stands up well to block patterns and florals, as well as solids and textured fabrics. The fabric, of course, needs to have a bit of rigidity to hold the "A" out a bit, otherwise it would be a poorly cut swing style, so weightier woven fabrics and slightly stiff crepes work nicely.  I'd like to see the A-line come into it's own as, not just a style, but a movement.  Gently feminine but bold and strong, it seems to me that the A-line fits well with the modern woman and her mission to be a provider, a leader, and a team player.

Whenever it is "in" I buy 3 dresses and 4 skirts in the A-line style and wear them constantly; touting this style's forgiving nature and directing people to stores in hopes that I can single-handedly make the style stick.  The last time, I was foiled by the emergence of the skinny pant, before that it was work-out chic, and before that, the pant suit.  I see the pattern now, however, that we move away from the "A" whenever styles go more body-hugging.  Next time, I'll be ready.

Afficionados and Fair Weather Fans

O.M.G.! I love September.  The weather is perfect for sweater sets, the kids are back in school, and the wind starts to turn crisp and cool so I can break out my hound's tooth fall jacket and switch over to bootie shoes from my sandals (so I can stop getting pedicures).  But, of course, the best thing about September is a Vogue the size of a telephone book.  New York's, not Toledo's.  Unlike other so-called devotees who hunt down a copy as soon as it is available on the stands or who savagely tear the plastic from the tome the minute it arrives in the mail, I wait.  I wait until September to relish and savor each page in the month it's meant to be read.  September.

Similar to other devotees, I do have a September issue ritual.  Mine entails drawing a hot bath, pouring a glass of the good stuff, locking the door behind me and sinking into a steamy world of sexy poses and artful still-lifes.  I will consume the pages with fervor until the water gets cool, step out of the bath, refill the tub with hot water and get back in and continue until the bath is cool again.  Repeat as necessary.

Unlike most fashion mag consumers, I don't just look at the pages to decide whether I like the fashion or not.  I study it like a med student studies an anatomy text.  I analyze each page like a chef tests for flavors in a dish.  I look for answers to the eternal questions: "Why did the designer choose that fabric?"  " Does the jewelry enhance or detract from the outfit?"  Would I put those shoes with that dress?"  "What was the theme of that photo shoot?"  "Should that blouse have been in a soft peach or a delicate cream instead of white?"  and, "Why, why, why is that outfit not in my closet?"

The September issue isn't the only issue of Vogue I buy, of course.  And, of course, I also buy other fashion magazines and I peruse them for ideas and to see which of the new trends jump off the pages and spill out into reality as I people watch.  "Did the drop-earring resurface for day time?  Oh, yes.  Yes it did." I say to myself.  Did I catch that pant leg flaring a bit as a harbinger of the return of the bell bottom? You bet.  The excitement of seeing the public embracing the latest fashion trend and incorporating it into their lives always makes my heart skip a beat.  I like to believe that sometimes I am the first to notice that "ties got wider this summer" or that "cable tights came back for the fall".  And I like to think that my passion for fashion magazines is why.

But life is busy with two kids, a small consulting business, and a running routine.  So for the other magazines and issues of Vogue, I must admit to a more cursory and superficial review - more like an executive summary, hitting just the bullet points and only digging in deeper when something doesn't make sense.  But as for the September issue, I consider myself an aficionado, not just a fair-weather fan.

Blah, blah, blah...

Went through several fashion mags today.  Don't know if it's just my mood, if the mag editors are picking from bad shoots, or if there just isn't any style to cover this month, but here's my read of March, 2013.

Michael Kors: Big, bold, and gold. Again. 'Nough said.

Prada, Versace, Chanel, OH! LOOK! ETRO!!! Hugo Boss, Dior, Really? Movado? Somebody save me.

Big bags are back. Big deal.

If I see Charlize Theron or Sophia Vergara one more time I swear I'm gonna spit.

Checkerboard, stripes, ruffles and crop tops...  Is nothing "out"? And by the way, checkerboard???!! NO!


March, 2013 - In Style actually was the only mag worth buying.  Checkerboard notwithstanding.  Gag!

Versace vs. Gaultier

If I had mad graphics skills I would show these models and the ones in the photo below all duking it out in a WWF cage match.  I love it when the two fashion powerhouses, Jean Paul Gaultier and Gianni Versace, go toe-to-toe fighting for the title "Supreme Overlord of Composition".  That Champion's Belt must be awesome!  I see it having not just rhinestones, studs and chains, but also intricate bead work, fabric flowers made of gold and silver lame, and framed by a multi-colored lace border.  The Pantone people can't possibly keep up with the Versace and Gaultier color creations.  It must drive them Banana Creme Pies trying to figure out whether the blue-gray color of the f aux fur collar on a jacket should be dubbed "Dusty-Skies" or "Chinchilla Dreams".  And there must be legions of sweat-shops around the world trying to keep up with their demand for sequins!

I have been a fan of Versace and Gaultier since my mom and I watched our first Academy Awards show together and she said that the beading alone on a Versace gown would have taken a team of skilled Italian tailors a week to sew on.  Now, I do believe that fashion should be accessible, but I also think that there is something to be said for excess.  The fantasy and forbidding of wildly elaborate gowns and clashing colors and textures forced to work with each others coupled with the exclusivity of the expensive treatments, excessive attention to detail and uncompromising craftsmanship is simply tantalizing.  The Frankenstien analogy, with the works taking on a life of their own, is most apropos.

I can't say who I root for more, Versace or Gaultier, in this epic war of couture.  Sometimes Versace wins me over with a shoe that has buckles, buttons and spikes, and sometimes Gaultier  gets me with a multi-colored block print pant suit with flowing arms and legs.  My head snaps back and forth like I'm watching the finals at the US Open.  But I am all the happier to have the sore neck in the morning after I finally say to myself, "It's okay.  They're both amazing."