Oodles of ruffles, powerful colors, and layers of talent are hallmarks of Christian Siriano and his impeccable fashion creations. Siriano has done the impossible and made a name for himself by designing for some of the biggest stars in the world; it comes from a place of unique beauty, sumptuous style, and an eye for art that lends each of his creations something incredibly special. He easily earns this Dazzler of the Day for years of pushing the boundaries of what fashion can be – check out his website here for a collection of beauty.
For this year’s Met Fashion Exhibit “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” (the actual impetus for the Met Gala), the dress code was officially announced as ‘The Garden of Time‘ – both of which sounded extremely promising and almost too easy, which usually means people let me down. At the time of this initial writing, that has already happened, but before the disappointment, let’s point out what was spectacularly right, starting with Co-Chair Zendaya, who absolutely ate in this on-theme ensemble that wows in all the best ways.
Bad Bunny was there early, and seemed to think that holding a few black flowers would forgive the general lack of color from his ensemble.
Personifying beige and tan, and all the bloody-boredom-inducing blandness of this ensemble, Chris Hemsworth would have done better to show up naked as he did here.
Far better was the over-the-top magnificence of what Gustav Magnar Witzoe chose to wear in an effort to make the boldest statement – which looked stunningly riveting against the garden-themed backdrop.
An indication of how an easy theme can fall quickly apart, Anna Wintour wore this. I’ll leave review and judgment to the viewer.
One more of Zendaya to cleanse the palate.
Honorable mention goes to Sarah Jessica Parker, who knows how to Met Gala better than just about anybody.
PS – Was Nicki Minaj my favorite outfit of the evening? Possible… very, very possible…
An outfit as exquisite as this one would typically guarantee a crowning as Dazzler of the Day, but Ronan Farrow comes with the talent and substance to back it all up and match the beauty on the outside with a keen analytical mind. Farrow is an investigative journalist who has notably covered the case that rightfully toppled Harvey Weinstein, winning a Pulitzer Prize in the process, and his book ‘Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators’ detailed how it all happened.
Getting back to that outfit, as featured on a recent episode of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race‘: I need to know where he got it and when, and then I need to figure out how to get one in lavender. (Generally I’m a 40S in jackets for any kind benefactors out there.)
Most Fridays are good, but this one has been officially christened as such by the doctrines of the Catholic faith. That’s right, it’s Good Friday, an ironic name given the story that takes center stage on this day in Catholic history. And while we’re soaking up the irony, here’s me in a baseball cap – the same Red Sox cap I’ve had for a couple of decades. Ideal for bad hair days, or lazy non-shower days (hey, it’s that why this is the de facto accessory for straight guys?) the baseball cap is far too ubiquitous for me to don with any sort of regularity, but once in a while, when I’m feeling down, or just want to blend in unnoticed, I’ll slip it on like some not-so-elaborate disguise that instantly puts me below the radar. My own little invisibility cloak. Perfect for a Friday good or bad.
While the title and flagrant featured photo for this post is admittedly nothing more than clickbait, the content is, like the subject at hand, much more substantial. This post is to celebrate the opening of BDXY – a clothing and lifestyle brand founded by actor Luke Evans, Fran Tomas and Christopher Brown. Already a favorite on these pages, and a beloved Dazzler of the Day here, Evans brings his own elegant sophistication and taste to his first fashion endeavor, lending a classic vibe to a new brand that aims to serve any gentleman with a desire for refinement, sexiness, and strength.
From the sexy basics of underwear to the sultry scented collection of candles, BDXY is laying a groundwork for a line that will undoubtedly expand. For now, keeping things simple and basic in underwear (briefs and boxer briefs in black, white, and green) and t-shirts and tank tops (vests) of multiple colors and logo options, along with some daringly sexy swimwear, is a very smart start, and once you have a stable customer base, the rest of the world will surely follow. Personally, I’m favoring ‘The Unit’ underwear in black or green, and ‘The Atmos’ Swimbrief Mirrorzag – both in size Medium for anyone considering future gifts (just saying!)
You know I love a company that gives some intriguing background to its inception, offering clients a glimpse into the creative spark that started it all, and a story of how it came to fruition. BDXY has a great origin, and a compelling mission, as seen on their website as follows:
Founded by actor Luke Evans in partnership with Fran Tomas (architect and project manager) and Christopher Brown (stylist and creative consultant). BDXY is an apparel and lifestyle brand with a strong focus on classic style with a contemporary twist.
Taking cues from the Classic Hollywood actor, BDXY mixes nostalgia with modern and sustainable everyday staples. We work with new technology, fabrics and manufacturing processes to deliver a wardrobe that exudes alluring appeal with considered design.
The Origin of ‘BDXY’
The letters are pronounced BDXY – the first two letters are from the word ‘Bold’, while the second two are from the word ‘Sexy’, which describes the aesthetic of the line.
“It’s as much a feeling and a personal energy, as a description of how one looks. You can feel bold and sexy in absolutely nothing, a ball gown, a tuxedo or any kind of attire you wear. Bold is a strong, confident word and sexy is something that is appealing in many different ways.”
“Bold” exudes a vibrant energy, a daring spirit that embraces challenges and stands out with confidence. On the other hand, “Sexy” carries a magnetic allure, creating a vibe that’s captivating and irresistible. Together, they evoke a dynamic aura, blending fearlessness with sensuality, leaving an impression that’s both powerful and enticing.
Starting Point ~ The starting point came from a T-shirt, our hero product, as a strong foundation piece inspired by screen icons of the Old Hollywood era – think Marlon Brando and Steve McQueen. With this in mind, the BDXY line is designed to make you feel comfortable and confident, everywhere, always.
Sustainability is an important factor close to all our hearts. BDXY pays attention to the planet by focusing on eco-friendly methods and natural fabrications. We use ethically sourced fibres as well as recycled and upcycled materials, while working closely with a family business in Portugal. This approach helps breathe new life into humble staples while honouring our commitment to minimising environmental impact.
Inspiration ~ The naming of each piece in the first collection was inspired by Luke’s profession: on a film set, every crew member has a specific job title unique to the industry. Most have been around since the dawn of film and television production. The Stunt, The Focus, The Gaffer, The Captain, The Boom… The legacy and essential nature of these roles and more, speaks to the enduring appeal of our garments.
Aspirational ~Travel is one of the most valuable gifts you can give to yourself and others. It is this love of travel, people and places that are at the core of our collections and capture a moment in time of memories and happiness. Each piece is rooted in a shared appreciation of quality fabrics and timeless design for all body shapes.
This is a very good look for Ryan Gosling, who was previously thought to look best without any shirt at all as exhibited in his second Dazzler of the Day crowning. Or this shirtless post. Anyway, it looks like he can pull off a monochromatic lavender ensemble as well, which only further endears him to my heart. And that’s the whole point of this post. Enjoy!
Growing up in the 1980’s, this was the sort of pop music inspiration that informed my formative years, so it’s a wonder my taste isn’t even more gratingly awful than it is. This ear worm would take up residence in my head some days, making itself into a mantra that would later haunt my absences. Subconsciously I was preparing a strategy to never be forgotten – this song seemed to indicate that was important.
My hair never went this high, and my clothes never got this extreme, but the 80’s opened the door to my own sense of style and fashion, for better and often worse. Bold colors, abstract designs, excess and over-the-top madness were the first things that my younger self saw on the television and in the magazines. All the girls in my class wore Liz Claiborne perfume, while my Mom had a bottle of Lou Lou that absolutely transfixed me. She rarely, if ever, wore it – someone gave it to her as a gift and it was decidedly too bold to be her style. I adored it. A few years ago I found a bottle of it, and usually break it out once around the holidays at the whatever over-the-top social gathering that happens to occupy the season.
As I listen to this song now, it feels just as bouncy and happy and hopeful as it did back then, and also slightly empty and vapid. The melody is strong, but the lyrics and their cliches of love fall a little flat. Still, maybe that’s what we need again. Cheesy, cliched hope and fun – even if it’s all a bit hollow.
Taking a swashbuckling turn through sensational sartorial splendor, Aaron Henrikson first caught my eye when he was working with Madonna on her make-up. Since then, he’s made a name for himself in his own right thanks to an unending arsenal of stunning ensembles, and a wardrobe that sets a new standard for what it means to make a stunning impression. Thanks to that, he earns this Dazzler of the Day crowning.
When I made a recent trip to Boston to see my spirit animal (shout out to Riley and the snack batch!!) I donned this spring beauty for her sake, and after walking through the city with it on, I collected a wide range of accolades, the majority of which came from what seemed to be straight men. That was a cultural shift in my experience of fancy coats and sparkle, the effect they had, and on whom the effect made an impression. Back in Albany, the same strange thing happened. One guy driving by my office building on Broadway actually slowed down to shout out the window that it was a sharp coat.
For far too many years I averted my gaze from straight guys in fear of how they might take it, and how they might attack. Maybe it’s ok to let down my guard. Maybe there have already been changes made for the better in spite of what the news and the media would have us believe. Maybe I need to be open to accept the joy that exists in the world.
Somebody’s finally singing my song, as this year’s Met Gala seems more notable for the men walking the vaunted steps of the museum than the women, who traditionally steal the spotlight. While I usually spend this evening feverishly clicking through links and videos and photos of the red-carpet arrivals, frantically trying to see everything as soon as it happens, I’m no longer in such a silly headspace. Not to knock those who still thrill at such events – I’m simply ok with letting it all play out and catching highlights of it later. Fuck FOMO and give me a calm night. Here are the looks that struck me from fashion’s biggest night, inspired by the theme of Karl Lagerfeld. Featured photo is Lil Nas X, who wore body glitter and crystals and not much else, but more on that below.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs strikes a Lagerfeld pose and carries the basic structure of that style, like a sartorial soldier gantry striding into fashion battle. I’m torn on this one, and I think it’s because the cape isn’t working for me – and I usually adore a cape.
Conan Gray stays true to Lagerfeld obsession with black and white, and a pearlicious twist on that ubiquitous fan.
Bringing up the rear, literally, is the king of the year’s ball – and while it’s nothing I could pull off, kudos to Lil Nas X for upping the ante yet again. This is what the Met Ball is all about, like it or not.
Recently featured as a Dazzler of the Day here, Dominic Albano launches his first foray into underwear this week, drawing on years of modeling and fashion experience. His self-monikered line features the sort of sexy designs he’s so proficient at showing off for other designers, and it’s always a treat when the designer can say they have walked a mile in the clothing they are selling.
Albano is coming off a scintillating retro-styled piece for the online version of Playgirl Magazine, and a retro-feel informs the promotional images for his current underwear campaign. The lighting and feel are moody, evoking and playing up the sultry gaze that Albano has come to embody in much of his modeling work. It’s the perfect sales pitch for underwear, which is largely about selling sex, but should also come with comfort and function. Both seem to play a part in the new line, which keeps the flashy and colorful excess of many other underwear offerings to a minimum, relying on basic neutrals and classic cuts.
Centering it all is Albano’s focused determination on building a brand and his familiarity with the product. There is a carefulness and deliberate cultivation of his image, but also a courage in doing things entirely his own way. Check out the new line of underwear at his website here.
Oh how I wish I understood these simple little things, instead of believing the far-fetched lies we tell ourselves, the yarns we spin endlessly, winding back on each other until the knots are impossible to untie. A different sort of unraveling happens then…
I wish I knew then that the finery you hang from your neck, the bracelet you slip onto your wrist, the rings on your fingers, and all the sartorial adornments you use to cover your gorgeously worn body have nothing to do with the power you have to sparkle. I also wish I knew then that it’s a power we all have. That would have made it easier to be kind.
Best believe I’m still bejeweled When I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer…
Alas, such lessons are slow to be learned – but one must remember that the most rewarding wisdom comes from that which takes years to decipher. Instant gratification rarely yields lasting satisfaction. I had my eye on grander things, even if the fake gems and false jewels did their best to skew perception. Even if they were pretty enough to wear, even if they were pretty enough to fool the world.
Familiarity breeds contempt Don’t put me in the basement When I want the penthouse of your heart Diamonds in my eyes I polish up real, I polish up real nice
A jacket of pink velvet invites a brush with greatness.
Underneath it all the fragile beating of a heart, fluttering like a hummingbird and spending all the energy of a century in a single night, burns impossibly bright, summoning everything for this one evening.
We wage the battles, and we wage the wars, and it doesn’t matter if your armor is velvet and jewels – the wounds still wound, the hurt still hurts. But it’s nothing a flippant laugh won’t cure in an instant ~ the disarmament of a lifetime when you put your own torn cuff next to some real heartache and loss… and then you think, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy.‘
Sapphire tears on my face Sadness became my whole sky But some guy said my aura’s moonstone Just ’cause he was high And we’re dancin’ all night And you can try to change my mind But you might have to wait in line What’s a girl gonna do? A diamond’s gotta shine
Best believe I’m still bejeweled When I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer (shimmer)
When the years have worn away the fuzzy film of superficial comforts, and all that remains is the sharply-faceted crystalline core of steely self-belief, there is, buried under all the dolled-up, dressed-up, fucked-up trappings, a different sort of shine, a more formidable sort of sparkle. It cuts across all insecurity and doubt, it lays flat all whispers of worry, and it poisons the very root of all unnecessary anguish. It is one of the secret gifts of age – the hidden golden underside of getting older.
Familiarity breeds contempt Don’t put me in the basement When I want the penthouse of your heart Diamonds in my eyes I polish up real (nice), I polish up real nice
This brave new world was here all along – how strange to think that so much of it has been mere perception, and to realize how easily it all falls so beautifully apart when the artifice is revealed. That makes the frivolity and fabulousness all the more fun. There is glory too in the fleeting and temporal – when one night is forever and never at once.
And we’re dancin’ all night And you can try to change my mind But you might have to wait in line What’s a girl gonna do? What’s a girl gonna do? I polish up nice Best believe I’m still bejeweled When I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer.
If there’s a song that personifies what my website has been doing for almost an entire double-decade, this may be the one. Courtesy of the adorable Meghan Trainor (who doesn’t get enough credit for her song-crafting skills) give a listen to ‘Made You Look’ which is all about the bait-and-switch of the superficial versus the substance, and that battle has been gloriously waging here since we first went up way back in 2003.
I could have my Gucci on
I could wear my Louis Vuitton
But even with nothin’ on
Bet, I made you look (I made you look)
Given that timeframe, this blog has been doing its thing since before Instagram, Twitter or FaceBook even existed. Those social media outlets took the work by storm, and I use my accounts mainly to drive visitors here, to these blog posts, and the daily writing and photographic rituals that have been cathartic artistic outlets. How to get noticed in an increasingly-fractured and splintered world, where content turns over within seconds, and the average lifespan of a website is under three years. The lifespan of a personal blog is probably much lower. Simply being here, almost twenty years now, is a feat in and of itself, and the recipe for my success is simply making this a labor of love and creative expression. That said, it’s always more fun when guests visit, and to make that happen I’ve employed a simple thirst-bait-and-switch formula, where provocative images draw the viewers in, and then the words, ideally, get them to stay for a bit.
I’ll make you double take
Soon as I walk away
Call up your chiropractor
Just in case your neck break
Ooh, tell me what ya, what ya, what you gon’ do? Ooh
‘Cause I’m ’bout to make a scene
Double up that sunscreen
I’m ’bout to turn the heat up
Gonna make your glasses steam
Ooh, tell me what ya, what ya, what you gon’ do? Ooh
Sadly, I realize that ideal scenario is preciously rare; it’s a losing game trying to convince even my closest friends to stop by these parts. That used to bother me, before I understood how it drove my pathology and inspired me to create things that were worth reading, that would get even those weary and worn down by my antics to take a moment and check in. That was also the sort of guy for whom I fell, over and over: the one who wanted nothing to do with me. When the people who matter most to you don’t seem to notice anything you do, you learn to thrill the world, or you give up on it. For all my jaded cynicism, I haven’t given up on anything.
When I do my walk, walk
I can guarantee your jaw will drop, drop
‘Cause they don’t make a lot of what I got, got
Ladies if you feel me, this your bop, bop
(Bop bop, bop)
I could have my Gucci on (Gucci on)
I could wear my Louis Vuitton
But even with nothin’ on
Bet, I made you look (I made you look)
Yeah, I look good in my Versace dress (take it off)
But I’m hotter when my morning hair’s a mess
But even with my hoodie on
Bet, I made you look (I made you look)
And once you get a taste (woo)
You’ll never be the same
This ain’t that ordinary
It’s that fourteen karat cake
Ooh, tell me, what ya, what ya, what you gon’ do? Ooh
When I do my walk, walk
I can guarantee your jaw will drop, drop
‘Cause they don’t make a lot of what I got, got
Ladies if you feel me, this your bop, bop
(Bop bop, bop) ohh
This little bop reminds me of a simpler time, back when the internet was a safer, softer, sillier place. It gives off a sense of superficial glam, only to reveal something sweeter and slightly more substantial – the hat trick of what has kept this blog going. A bit of a tease, a bit of a please, and a bit of the bee’s knees. Nothing too serious, unless you look beneath the surface. Most won’t bother making it this far, but for those who do, and those who continue to return, I’ll do my best to make it worth your while. If I happen to fail, which will sometimes occur, then I will play this song and try to remember the fun in life, the frivolity, and all the foolishness that once made the world go round.
I could have my Gucci on (Gucci on)
I could wear my Louis Vuitton
But even with nothin’ on
Bet, I made you look (said, I made you look)
Yeah, I look good in my Versace dress (take it off, baby)
But I’m hotter when my morning hair’s a mess
But even with my hoodie on
Bet, I made you look (said, I made you look)
Spring and summer get all the glory when it comes to seasonal color – and rightfully so; no other seasons come close to their fresh chartreuse brilliance, the infinite strong shades of flower blooms, the sunsets and rises, and the way they world feels somehow more alive when it’s warmer out.
Don’t sleep on fall though, whose enchantments may be more subtle, but are just as divine.
It’s up to us to fill in the dearth of color with a snazzy shirt and necklaces of brightly-hued braids and beads. Fall will do the rest, with its gourds and amber waves and rainbow harvest.
Fall blazes its own colorful path, you just have to look a little closer for it, dive in to deeper depths to experience its hidden beauty. It’s there for the finding, there for discovery, there to celebrate and enjoy if we allow ourselves to feel it. Perhaps it’s a quieter show, and all the more wondrous for it. It demands we lean in a little closer, and in so doing provides a greater intimacy that might otherwise be lost amid the cacophony of summer.
