The Rules Rule.

Posted on October 28, 2009
Filed Under Around Town, Men, Only in Washington | Leave a Comment

Thank the waitstaff.

Last night I attended a party celebrating the release of Walker Lamond’s book, Rules for my Unborn Son, at the at the amazingly gorgeous home of his friends Meg and Chris Ferguson on Dumbarton Street. Walker’s been here on the blog a time or two, and over at Washingtonian, and now he’s well, everywhere. Walker’s one of my favorite men in town, and such success couldn’t have come to a nicer, cooler person. The book is witty, useful and full of life tips for not just how to be a good man, but how to be an interesting, charming person. The advice goes far beyond rules for men – anyone can and should take notes. A sampling of wisdom:

Be subtle. She sees you.
Know the proper time to wear a tuxedo. It’s more often than you think.
Dance with your partner, not at her.
The best thing to do in the rain is be quiet and listen.
Don’t show off. Impress.

For fun, I asked Walker to give a Rules spin to a few questions and fill-in-the-blanks (those are fun, don’t you think? I’d like to see more people bent over Mab Libs on the Metro in the morning…):

Every guy should own CORDOVAN WINGTIPS and know how to TIE A BOWTIE and BAIT A HOOK.

Every girl should own BICYCLE and know how to RIDE IT IN A DRESS.

Guys should lay off the DISTRESSED JEANS AND GRAPHIC TEES.

Girls should lay off the GROUP PHOTOS.

Favorite online sites for men’s style inspiration: A CONTINUOUS LEAN

List of men who inspire great style: BOBBY KENNEDY, THOM BROWN, BASQUIAT, JACK EVANS, YOUNG WOODY ALLEN, DAVID LYNCH, BING CROSBY, GRANDFATHERS

I could go on, but you should probably buy the book instead (for yourself, a holiday gift, the guy you’re dating). And conveniently, there’s a book signing today at the Borders in Friendship Heights from 7-8 (I’ve begun thinking in rules as I write this: – perfect your signature).

Next up, Rules for My Unborn Daughter-?!

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Immortal Beloved

Posted on September 21, 2009
Filed Under Around Town, Men, Women | Leave a Comment

The salon Immortal Beloved celebrated its opening Saturday night in a converted warehouse/garage space on Church Street. Well-coifed/tattooed/dressed attendees munched cupcakes from old-school bakery Furin’s of Georgetown, drank white wine sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and beer chilling in sinks at the individual styling stations (so convenient, really…hair salon=ultimate smart party space…). Guests fell into two camps: current clients who gushed about the stylist techniques or curious guests who considered cheating on their own stylists for a hot, mussed fling.

Co-owner & man of the hour Kelly Gorsuch (formerly at Urban Style Lab) and Redeem’s Lori Parkerson, who contributed clothes for the site’s photo shoot.

Victoria Kurzweg, who modeled for the salon’s site, and Matty Taylor from the local band Tennis System.

flash…

…or no flash? Loved the hipster-poet look on the stylist from Salon Blu (center), and this woman’s embroidered tunic – her mother’s – was totally fantastic.

With Victoria Kurzweg, Jennifer Thornton and Lesley Benn.

Heaven looks like Lesley’s shoe closet. These are Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony. Bitchin.’

Adam from Marvin, who got a huge hug from me for wearing Carhartt overalls last weekend at my KEYA party.

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The Kennedy Elan

Posted on August 28, 2009
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The Kennedy Brothers in Hyannis Port, 1960. Photo from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

They had it in spades, didn’t they?

My friend Lex wrote to say that while on the Obama campaign, he heard that John F. Kennedy used to change his suit three times a day so he looked fresh wherever he went. Elegance + idealism = a powerful combination.

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This Weekend: For the Boys.

Posted on June 26, 2009
Filed Under Events, Men | Leave a Comment

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I’ve been busy painting our living room Disney “Invitation to a Princess,” which is just as fuschia and awesome as it sounds. But quickly, a few stylish events this weekend that have just popped onto my radar, for the BOYS!

If you’re in DC, local streetwear label DURKL teams up with Palace5 to launch their limited-edition sunglasses (100 available).

If you’re in NYC, Michael Williams, author of one of my fave style-blogs-for-guys, A Continuous Lean, hosts, along with Randy Goldberg of Kempt, a very cool sounding pop-up ‘flea” complete with barber haircuts.

BIGGER version of the poster here.

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In the name of love

Posted on June 15, 2009
Filed Under Events, Men, On The Street, Women | Leave a Comment

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Post Love for Flaunt

Posted on June 5, 2009
Filed Under Events, Men, On The Street, Only in Washington | 5 Comments

So thrilled and have to share…Lavanya really got what this show is about and what I love about fashion photography in this exhibit! From today’s Washington Post:

{photo Steve Goldenberg}

On the Go
Fashionistas, This One’s for You
By Lavanya Ramanathan
Friday, June 5, 2009

What do you do with fashion photographs that, oddly, aren’t trying to sell clothing, a way of life or desirable body type? Honfleur Gallery, arts-support organization Ten Miles Square and the blog Project Beltway make a case that such images belong on gallery walls. “Flaunt” is their exhibit featuring 20 slick and styled photos exploring fashion’s value as costume and cultural force.

Steve Goldenberg catches scruffy scenesters on K Street at rush hour; dressed in crayon-bright garb by Durkl, the men are brilliant peacocks in a gray-and-black sea of worker drones. In the background of one, a little girl shoots a look of pure disgust at the camera: The men’s fashion makes them different, and around here, that’s undesirable. A lovely blond model tromps around in designer Taimur Baig’s red carpet-ready gown, but who can bother to notice it when the model is viciously bashing a mannequin to bits?

For this show, Ten Miles Square brought in photographers Joshua Yospyn, John Ulaszek, Meaghan Gay and Goldenberg, while Project Beltway enlisted local designers, including Baig and Dana Greaves, to pair off and create these photographs. Together, the artists and designers fashioned images distinctly in the artists’ style, which explains why the dresses in Gay’s macabre photo series of seemingly perfect women barely make it into the frame.

Though “Flaunt” is about photography, there’s no better time to see it than tomorrow night, when you can also check out some of the fashions. The exhibit closes with a runway show of clothes created by the designers; upstairs, Honfleur hosts a pop-up boutique of the designers’ wares.Tickets to “Flaunt” are $10 and must be bought in advance. 8:30 p.m. tomorrow. Honfleur Gallery, 1227 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-580-5972 or http://www.honfleurgallery.com.

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Make that Splash.

Posted on June 3, 2009
Filed Under Around Town, Men, Women | 6 Comments

Saturday was: my vintage bathing suit, sunscreen, boys in skimpy swim trunks and girls in skimpier bikinis, pinatas, hoola-hooping, and ohmygoodness people, how did I just discover alcoholic sweet tea?! All of this happened at the BYT Summer Camp, which is going to be happening every Saturday at the Capitol Skyline. The Skyline is this cool retro building with tons of modern furniture inside….and a cheesy, crap-filled gift shop that’s totally at odds with the rest of the place but is weirdly comforting in the same way you might appreciate the old-school ways of pay phones and typewriters and um, paper Metro cards. Which I still use.

I snapped my Washingtonian Sidewalk Style subject at the pool. Check out the photo and interview here. Happy Summer, Washington!