VintageGent’s Menswear Daily

This post brought to you by Bloom.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

(At left: Retro looks with The Balm's eyeshadow color "If You're Rich I'm Single One of the 10,000 items from 150+ brands at Bloom.com.)

It's time for all the Vintage and Retro and Modern Gents to get together to compare ties, compare and contrast the benefits of buying a Packard versus a Viet Nam era troop transport to haul antique fireplace mantels and gravel and eat greasy potato chips with the finest wine. Why? Because the Vintage Gent-ettes are going on vacation. They just may Win a spa vacation for 4 girlfriends!

Bloom, the new social network for all things beaut, is giving a away a grand prizethat sends the lucky lady and 3 friends to Las Vegas for a weekend of spa pampering, while weekly winners receive $50 towards beauty products to use at home.

For each female person 18 or over who enters: You may accumlate additional entires by inviting friends to join Bloom. The contest closes July 14th.

So, how doesBbloom work? When you join, select your skin type, complexion and various other minutiae from the brittleness or normalness of your hair (yes, according to shampoo bottles, apparently some folks are "normal" types) to the various beauty concerns you have. You can not only "follow" different topics, but the site will automatically determine what products are best for you to try based on all those variables.

On each product, there are reviews from other members and even examples of members who like the product or have similar beauty concerns or hair types as you do. Even if you type in that you have really thick extremely brittle straight but frizzy hair, are 20 years old but want cruelty free anti aging products for your legs, they can recommend an eyeliner and a sunscreen for you. How's that for pulling a rabbit out of a hat?

What's more is that you can purchase products directly from the Bloom site. Bloom members always receive free gifts and 10% back in Bloom bucks which can be applied towards future purchases. To sweeten the deal Bloom is giving 30% in Bloom bucks on a first purchase.

There are products that are not just for women, but for gentleman and younglings as well, such as organic and cruelty free sunscreens and other ageless and unisex products for the whole family.

Bloom.com can be linked to Google+, Facebook, your website and others to expand the social experience.

Have you tried Bloom? If so, tell me what you think.

This post brought to you by Lenovo. All opinions are 100% mine.

When absorbing retro style into your home, there are usually two ways to go: Hide everything creatively or score some vintage electronics from yesteryear. That Japanese travel alarm is so fetching hiding inside a cuffllink box or Aunt Millicent's tea cozy. The tube socks strewn around the room stretegically hide power cords…that is if you are set dressing for a television special on the early 80s teenager.

Unfortunately, you won't find a 1940s iPod doc. If you fast forward your look into space age retro, the Weltron 2001 "Space Ball" radio was made in the 70s, but somehow it looks just as cozy in swanky 60s decor to a retro 80s flashback. Unfortunately, they didn't make computer implements.

But what do you do with your computer peripheries?

Luckily, there is a Lenovo speaker that looks like the long lost son or little sister or brother of the Sphere, and has that classic retro-astronaut helmut silhouette

They have spooled cords so no tangled bird's nest. All periphery equipment has been switched to spooled cords in lieu of finding a faux telephone cord around the Vintage Abode. Too many wires catch all the cuban heels, platforms, cowboy roper boots and stilettos worn by various members to relax in the morning. A USB cord is all that is required for their 4 watts of sound.

They come in any color you want, so long as it is red. What's more is that through 5/21, which is this coming Monday, you can take them to your leader for $11.99 straight from Lenovo. After that, they return to their vintage April 2012 price of $29.99.

(Wetron photo compliments of AntiqueRadio.org)

This post brought to you by Gorilla Conferencing. All opinions are 100% mine.

"What if I made this cut and draped the fabric like this?"

"Like what?"

"Let me Skype you."

"Wait a minutes, then you have to show Beverly and Karlo."

"Then I'll Skype them next while I'm on the phone with you."

"Hold up that drawing a little closer. Is that a line or shadow?"

"I'll email it to you."

"Wait a minute. Okay. Then I'll look at it and then print it, and then make some changes and scan it again and send it back?"

Skype may be the cheap way to collaborate in real time when you are designing your spring collection or when you are redesigning your wardrobe. After all, there must be an attractive way to DIY all the clothes that you still have before you amazing weight loss. In practice, it just doesn't work when there are more than two parties involved or when holding up precise drawings.

Good old fashioned conferencing, such as what Gorilla Conferencing offers, has come a long way. No longer do you have to take your group down to Kinko's to be seen on the screen to your colleagues. The idea of video conferencing may seem so behind when anyone can webcam, but when you can share white boards, invite folks sitting at multiple locations, share documents and more, it makes communication much more efficient when the info is important, especially if the project is frought with miscommunication or involves a profit…or at least preventing a loss.

Have you tried video conferencing for your collaborations? Did it clear up murky areas and get the project on track?

This post brought to you by POWOW Messenger. All opinions are 100% mine.

(At left: Choose your own adventure.)

It is quite tedious to send off a missive via text while holding opera glasses with one hand, while attempting to politely tap your palm to express satisfaction with the other… or to hold that of your sweetheart in the other. A Gent or Gal just needs at least four hands. Now, you can send a Huzzah to a whole group of scenesters at once without accidentally texting your stalkers your whereabouts, your tailor or your parents' Tuesday night backgammon and historical revisionist-leisure suit deniar's club (Who by proxy might not have believed Tom Jones nor hipsters existed.)

If you download POWOW Messenger for Android (one "W' in the middle, mind you), you can send a note to preselected circle of folks at once. No tediously hunting and pecking for each one. After all, you wouldn't want to give up at the "M's" and then have cousin Tad hear from Aunt Myrtle in telegram and feel snubbed.

The application gave a little bit of lip at first, constantly crashing. At first it seemed like a little bit of spunk, but after repeated crashings it was either a sign that it abhorred my grammar or that my phone and it didn't play nice. It is recommended and best works on phones preinstalled with Ice Cream Sandwich. The Ice Cream Sandwich update just has not been issued for my phone yet, but it is promised soon. My phone and Froyo didn't like eachother. Gingerbread involved two days of a dropped network. Finally when that was all settled, I am bracing myself firmly in my suspenders.

After my patience was truly worn and threadbare, I tried Powow again and saw all the smiling faces. You can easily organize admirers into groups and text not just "all" or "one," but everywhere in between. If you like, you can even organize groups where folks can become members and receive the updates amongst themselves. Like having your own little pocket posse.

The interface is similar to sending a text, but there is a bit more ease. No more "type the caption" then "type the message" and then live in murky uncetainty which one will show up. You can add videos, pictures, audi clips or slideshow – instead of a self photo in the mirror, you can send the view of the catwalk – live.

Have you tried Powow? What did you think?

This post brought to you by POWOW Messenger. All opinions are 100% mine.

(At left: Choose your own adventure.)

It is quite tedious to send off a missive via text while holding opera glasses with one hand, while attempting to politely tap your palm to express satisfaction with the other… or to hold that of your sweetheart in the other. A Gent or Gal just needs at least four hands. Now, you can send a Huzzah to a whole group of scenesters at once without accidentally texting your stalkers your whereabouts, your tailor or your parents' Tuesday night backgammon and historical revisionist-leisure suit deniar's club (Who by proxy might not have believed Tom Jones nor hipsters existed.)

If you download POWOW Messenger for Android (one "W' in the middle, mind you), you can send a note to preselected circle of folks at once. No tediously hunting and pecking for each one. After all, you wouldn't want to give up at the "M's" and then have cousin Tad hear from Aunt Myrtle in telegram and feel snubbed.

The application gave a little bit of lip at first, constantly crashing. At first it seemed like a little bit of spunk, but after repeated crashings it was either a sign that it abhorred my grammar or that my phone and it didn't play nice. It is recommended and best works on phones preinstalled with Ice Cream Sandwich. The Ice Cream Sandwich update just has not been issued for my phone yet, but it is promised soon. My phone and Froyo didn't like eachother. Gingerbread involved two days of a dropped network. Finally when that was all settled, I am bracing myself firmly in my suspenders.

After my patience was truly worn and threadbare, I tried Powow again and saw all the smiling faces. You can easily organize admirers into groups and text not just "all" or "one," but everywhere in between. If you like, you can even organize groups where folks can become members and receive the updates amongst themselves. Like having your own little pocket posse.

The interface is similar to sending a text, but there is a bit more ease. No more "type the caption" then "type the message" and then live in murky uncetainty which one will show up. You can add videos, pictures, audi clips or slideshow – instead of a self photo in the mirror, you can send the view of the catwalk – live.

Have you tried Powow? What did you think?