VintageGent’s Menswear Daily

Fashionable Web Designer Lends a Helping Hand

I’ve received a lot of mail over the past few weeks, and the two most popular topics have been Cavaricci pants and web design.  Off combo, huh?  The ubiquitous pants are from the late 1980s, early 1990s era of fashion.  All of the sudden, everyone wants them but no one can find them.  Sorry, I don’t have any to give you you.   The website comments usually come via compliments on the design of this website.  I have designed my own sites in the past, but this is not one of them.  If you hunt around in the footer, you can find out the name of the talented lady who did put pen to paper, or should I say finger to key, on this one.

For those of you who are hoping for a web design for your business, and you just wanted a few pages and to be done with it, there is a real Professional Website Design that is currently offering a $99 package for a basic site. It includes up to five pages and all coding involved as well. If you go to the “work” page on ReflectStudios.com, you will see some examples. They have done work for some models, but scroll past and you will also see more corporate looking websites if that is more your style.

As you can tell, this is no cut rate work!  What is the occasion for the economy price?  For one, to celebrate the grand opening of the newly designed website, and secondly to lend a helping hand.  Times are tough for some businesses and individuals right now, and it is a way for Reflect Studios to give you a leg up.   Their work is best suited to fashion and web development related projects, but don’t hesitate to bounce other ideas off of them.   You will need to use a coupon code.  That is REFLECT09.

Tiki Doesn’t Have to be Friki

A lot of guys tend to want to put Tiki bars out near their pool.  It doesn’t matter of a Polynesian theme will clash with the rest of the house, especially when one really decides to “go for it.”  It doesn’t stop at swizzle sticks.  It usually involves a thatched roof, and plenty of tikis.   You may not just have a few tiki salt and pepper shakers.  You may end up with something a bit startling.   Your guests will tell you to go return it to the Island, otherwise you will be surrounded in a web of woe, just like the Bradys were.

There are other ways to stock your tiki bar and not have your guests feel that they are overdressed not wearing a grass skirt. Here’s another way to do a tiki theme without feeling like you are going to boil your guests in oil. There are bamboo glasses floating around out there that would bring more of a streamlined look to your fete:

This set is available for a limited time on Etsy.  What is limited? Until someone snaps them up.

What is She Hiding?

More and more companies, particularly start ups, are turning to viral internet campaigns to create buzz or to completely launch a new product. This usually involves hoisting something up on Youtube. One of the latest campaigns has been a “mystery campaign” for Red Chair Confessions. A young woman confesses to an indiscretion in a confessional, meant to intrigue us to wonder what exactly might be in store at Red Chair.  I have my personal theories, but will save that for after the video.

My first thought was that instead of a tryst, she is confessing to some sort of shopping addiction. She may, in fact, be wearing some sort of clothing item or fragrance associated with it.  I at first surmised that the folks behind Red Envelope were behind it. I did not see the Red Envelope logo, and it doesn’t seem like their style, but free association is the name of the game, isn’t it?  I don’t know if the mention of the activity seeming to be a right of passage is a clue or not.   Surely, she hasn’t joined the AARP.  I am going to have to scratch my head on this one for a little bit and get back with you.   I tend to be an “overthinker” and pick up on the smallest of clues, and miss the big ones.  I think that it is all my years of reading Si Arthur Conan Doyle and Hercule Poirot novels that conditioned me.

For now, I am going to stick with something fashion or beauty related.   To me, the handbag fits her outfit, but the scarf just seems a little overdone.  Perhaps the trench coat is meant to illicit seriousness or mysteriousness, as it has been featured so many times in mystery solver fashion closets.   I just seem to think that she is going to take it off, since she is so buttoned up, and is either going to have a T Shirt on that will reveal something about the company, or have some sort of outfit that we are supposed to see later.   Of course, I could be way off.   I know this is going to bug me at 3 A.M.

Fashion is Meant to be Worn, Right?

A few months ago, I reported that Christian Lacroix filed for bankruptcy (read the story HERE.   On August 13, Escada followed suit.  Bruno Saelzer, who used to head up Hugo Boss and recently took the helm of Escada, was not able to change the tide.   

Some may say that this is a sign of recession or depression all over the world.  I don’t necessarily think so.  Some fashion houses, to me, operate with entitlement.  They are sometimes the first to respond with a new color way, but the last to do market research.   There will always be someone with money to buy their items, but the competition is fierce.  If the line does not change with the times, the times will leave it behind.  Once, Escada outfitted Princess Diana.  There are no other icons that I can think of since.

So, where are all the men’s designers in this?  Why are their more women’s designers filing?  Could it be, perhaps, that there is less pomp and pageantry in men’s fashion?  Most men, even the most well healed, will not be humiliated if someone else shows up to an event in the same suit.  It will look so different anyways, based on the way it is accessorized (shirt, tie, etc), the way it is worn (tieless, vest or no vest), and the man’s build.  It seems more creativity comes in the form of casual clothing for men than it does in formal.   Maybe if it is too outlandish, men won’t buy.

Also, I would offer that by and large, men’s clothing is designed for men by men.  While there are women’s designers in the menswear industry, it is not an overwhelming number.  On the other hand, who is designing ladies clothing?  There are many female designers, but a large chunk are men.  Basically, men are designing for women.   Vera Wang, of course, designs for women.   Her styles have a definite niche that can be identified, and to diversify, she has delved into the aisles of Kohl’s with accessories and some clothing.   For the most part, she is known for her wedding gowns and formals.

If things go according to intention, a woman will only need her once in their lives.  Her secondary merchandise not only supplements her bread and butter, but it also serves, and maybe that is the true key, to keep her name in the minds of young women.   Their favorite purse as a teenager was a Simply Vera Wang, so her name will ring a bell when wedding bells ring.   Women who would normally not splurge tend to think of a wedding gown as a high expense anyhow.

Some purists would consider this “slumming.” It dilutes her voice when pandering to a lower price point. However, I would argue, fashion is to be worn, and if no one is wearing it, you do one of two things. You design things specifically that your customer base will want to wear, or with some slight modifications, you find new customers who will want to wear it. It has been discovered that the new customer base is hungry for it. It is “new” to them, where it may be tired to someone else. It may be not high fashion, but its definitely business.

Who will stay alive when its all said and done? Probably the ones who adapt.