Your Stylist: To climb the corporate ladder, think fit first

All The Rage recently received the following e-mail from reader Sabrina Nicole Hurt asking for some style advice:

“I read your 2011 article “Clothes Make the Man,” (yes, I know I'm a little late, but it's what popped up on my Google search when I started this makeover a week ago) and I was wondering if you have any tips for dressing a slightly bigger guy for a more casual job. I'm engaged to a man who is working as a mechanic, but wants to move up in the corporate world. I have a few tips in mind, but could use some help getting him up and running. Help would be greatly appreciated.”

We figured it would be most appropriate to seek the professional advice of costume designer Dayna Pink since she was the one who used an extreme wardrobe makeover to help transform Steve Carell's character in “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and offered men some sage sartorial advice in the aforementioned article. But first we needed to get a little clarification from Sabrina: Does “slightly bigger guy” refer to height, weight or both? And, what does the subject of her makeover efforts currently wear when he does dress up? She responded:

"He is bigger in weight, [it is] concentrated in his shoulders and belly. He wants to start his own business as the owner of a garage. He's a mechanic.

He loves rock music and is a vintage kind of man, so when he dresses up, he wears a black button-down [shirt] and jeans. That's about as dressy as it gets.”

Pink, whose recent movie credits include “The Lucky One,” and the recently wrapped movie about Las Vegas magicians titled “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” (starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, and due out in 2013) offers the following tips:

“I may sound like a broken record when I say 'It's all in the fit,' but it's all in the fit!

I think everyone looks better when their clothes are well-tailored, but I find it particularly true with people who are overweight. For some reason, [those with] larger body types can have a tendency to purchase clothes even bigger than they need to, which adds bulk and gives [a person] the appearance of being larger than they actually are. So, the first rule is: Make sure it fits.

Secondly, if corporate is the goal, then vintage doesn't necessarily apply. I think there is a place for vintage but not in the boardroom or in a corporate situation. I would try a well-tailored pant -- in a dark color -- and a shirt with a dark blazer for meetings. A good fitting blazer can do a guy a huge favor! It can cover some issues and read ‘professional’ all in one quick glance.

I know the look sounds basic, but a great jacket and pants can be the sexiest thing when it's the right fit. And don't forget to make sure that the shirt underneath is tailored as well. When he takes the jacket off, the shoulders of the shirt shouldn't be oversized.

Since he is hoping to be a business owner and the shop is more casual, he will likely just be in a shirt and pants most of the time, so a dark chino and tucked-in shirt with a belt will never go out of style and it reads professional.

Wearing well-fitted clothes will make him look and feel better, which just may help him climb that corporate ladder!”

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Your Stylist: Casual, stylish, well-fitting menswear

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Steve Carell wears ill-fitting khakis and jacket as a pre-makeover Cal in Warner Bros. "Crazy, Stupid, Love." The movie's costume designer says fit is foremost for any man trying to climb the corporate ladder. Credit: Ben Glass / Warner Bros.

Fashion News: Pippa Middleton borrows from Kate's fashion playbook

Pippa Middleton has been kind of off the radar lately, but she got fashion folk talking over the weekend when she wore a pink dress that was very similar to the blue one by Issa that sister Kate wore when she announced her engagement to Prince William. [The Cut]

Model Bar Rafaeli has just been named winner of Maxim's Hot 100 contest. She tells The Cut she never gets used to being called sexy,  "because when I wake up in the morning I put on my baggy jeans and my T-shirt, and I feel not even close to being sexy. So when they come to me with these titles I’m like, Wow, I didn’t even know I’m sexy. You know, you forget it. It’s a really big compliment, like an alter ego kind of thing." [The Cut]

Decades boutique owner Cameron Silver tells Racked what viewers can expect from the new Bravo reality show he's been filming: "Me, spending a lot of money...a lot of gorgeous gowns and celebrities. And lots of outfits! I think I have, like, five outfit changes in the first episode." [Racked]

Gucci was awarded $4.7 million in its trademark infringement lawsuit against Guess. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

J. Crew's chief executive Mickey Drexler is the subject of documentary slated to air at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT Thursday on CNBC. He talks in the clip below about his philosophy of micromanaging.

 

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--Susan Denley

Photos, from left: Kate Middleton and Prince William announce their engagement (Credit: Chris Jackson / Getty Images); Pippa Middleton attends a weddding (Andrew Milligan / Associated Press).

Video: CNBC           

Undefeated for Converse Jack Purcell drops May 25

The Undefeated for Converse collection that hits retail this Friday, isn't the first time the Los Angeles sneakerhead heaven has teamed up with the 104-year-old Nike-owned footwear brand, but it does mark the first time the classic Jack Purcell silhouette has been part of their collaboration.

The Undefeated for Converse Jack Purcell collection tweaks the rubber and canvas shoe -- which was originally designed in 1935 for the badminton court (it's named after a world champion badminton player) by adding simple red and navy racing stripes to the rubber rands, a terrycloth lining and footbed, and a barely noticeable Undefeated logo pull-tab at the heel. (Don't worry Jack Purcell fans, the signature "toe-smile" detail remains untouched.)

The limited-edition kicks will be available  in a white, black or red canvas upper through Undefeated stores (including the La Brea, Santa Monica and Silver Lake locations locally) as well as select retailers of Converse First String merchandise at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $55. (If you're looking for a pair that's slightly more unique, go for the red version, which is exclusive to Undefeated doors.)

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-- Adam Tschorn

Photos: The spring/summer 2012 Undefeated for Converse Jack Purcell collection (MSPR $55), which hits retail stores on Friday, will be available with a red, black or white canvas upper. Credit: Converse.

Fashion News: Miley Cyrus partly dressed at 2012 Billboard Awards

— Miley Cyrus wore part of a tuxedo to the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. She got plenty of attention, but why not with legs like that? Alicia Keys wore a simple, curve-hugging black Azzedine Alaia Couture gown; Swizz Beatz was in a crisp white suit, and Usher and Jordin Sparks both wore blue — the Huffington Post calls the latter two the evening's "style sensations." [Huffington Post]

PHOTOS: Billboard Music Awards 2012

— Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 28, married girlfriend Dr. Priscilla Chan, 27,  in a surprise wedding on Saturday — guests thought they had been invited to celebrate Chan's recent graduation from medical school. The bride wore a laser-cut floral gown adorned with matte sequins lined in silk by couture designer Claire Pettibone. The gown featured a jewel neckline and sheer back with chapel-length train. And it cost $4,700, according to a news release that hit my in-box from the designer — less than one might expect from a wealthy power couple. (Then again, the IPO isn't doing that well.) The groom did not wear his infamous hoodie. It may be the first time the world has seen him in a suit and tie. How did he announce his marriage? By updating his status on Facebook, of course!  [Washington Post]

— Kardashian siblings Kylie and Kendall Jenner make their debut as West Coast fashion correspondents for Seventeen magazine in the June/July issue, which hits newsstands on Tuesday. [Seventeen]

— The "Race to Erase M.S." gala in Los Angeles on Friday featured a musical lineup included "American Idol" winner David Cook, the Canadian Tenors, Fitz and the Tantrums and as a finale superstar Stevie Wonder. The event honored philanthropists Deb and Bill MacMillan and actress Teri Garr. Among the attendees were La Toya Jackson, Clay Walker and wife Jessica Craig, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner, Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young, Taylor Hicks, Pia Toscano and Jacob Lusk from “American Idol,” Francesca Eastwood, Carmen Electra, Taylor Hicks, Jon Lovitz, Jack Osbourne, David Osmond, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Trebuznkaya, Megyn Price, Taylor Armstrong, Kim Richards, Kathy Hilton, Camille Grammar and Charlie Sheen. [Society News LA]

— The Prada dress Carey Mulligan wore to the Met Gala sold on eBay for $2,950. There were only 35 bids when the auction closed on Saturday. Proceed are going to the charity Oxfam America. [The Cut]

— The worlds of film and fashion partied together through the weekend in Cannes. [WWD]

— At the upcoming amfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala, Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will auction off the chance to star in a short film they plan to produce. The gala is set for Thursday in Cap d’Antibes, France.  [New York Post]

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In "Mansome," Morgan Spurlock examines men's grooming, masculinity

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— Susan Denley

Photos: From top, singer Miley Cyrus arrives at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday in Las Vegas.  Credit: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images for ABC

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg at their wedding on Saturday. Credit: Claire Pettibone

Is the post-metrosexual manscape landscape the 'mansome era'?

When it comes to answering the big questions about masculine identity and the male grooming ritual, Morgan Spurlock's latest movie, "Mansome" may barely scratch the surface (in spa terms that would make it more of an exfoliation than an extraction), but since the topic is being tackled on the silver screen at the same the makers of men's lotions, potions, salves, tonics and shaving implements are seeing increased sales, I decided to have a chat with Spurlock during his recent West Coast press junket. The result appears in Sunday's Image section.

Over the course of the interview, Spurlock shared some of the surprises and regrets from getting the documentary from idea to screen. One high point was finding Ricky Manchanda, a New Yorker who, at first glance, appears to be nothing more than a preening peacock of a narcissist.

"What I love about Ricky’s story is that he's a guy who has dealt with something we’ve all dealt with on some level -- peer pressure and being ridiculed by friends .... [A]nd Ricky’s saying: 'I’m not going to be that guy, I’m going to fit in by society’s standards.' That was a real 'aha' moment for me. "

Although there are a lot of voices (and I mean a lot; the press notes list 28 commentators by name -- from famous comedians to bloggers -- which doesn't include a slew of random men- and women-on-the-street interviews) there was some insight Spurlock wishes he'd been able to include.

"I would have loved more magazine editors and more people like that to chime in on their role in what’s happened," Spurlock said. "But it’s hard to get a lot of people to talk about how they've contributed to it. ... And we tried to get people from the modeling business to talk about it from the male modeling side  and we couldn’t get people to go on camera to talk about that."

Most discussions about male grooming and societal expectations eventually touch on the dreaded M-word -- metrosexual -- and when the topic finally came up Spurlock sounded ready to kick it to the curb once and for all.

"What’s the word for the post post-metrosexual era? I don’t know what it is," Spurlock said. "But I do know that we're beyond metrosexual. That was a term that came out to describe these men -- was almost a slag against them -- because they were engaging in something that had been quintessentially associated with gay culture [and] it was a negative connotation."

"We're at a place where [men taking care of their appearance] is being seen as normal, and it's becoming more accepted in society. So maybe we're living in 'mansome' era."

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-- Adam Tschorn

Photos: The men featured in "Mansome," Morgan Spurlock's new docu-comedy exploration of male grooming rituals, include New York City clothing company executive Ricky Manchanda, left, and the filmmaker himself. Credit: Warrior Poets

'Advanced Style' book features street fashion of the over-60 set

For all those who are sick and tired of seeing style and fashion presented solely as a young woman’s game, behold "Advanced Style."

Out Tuesday from powerHouse Books, this collection of street fashion photographs of the over-60 set is a joy to look at.

PHOTOS: Pictures from the book

Although very few of the subjects photographed on the street of New York City actually reveal how old they are, they do offer lessons in confidence and style that women of all ages will appreciate, which is exactly why Ari Seth Cohen started Advanced Style, the blog that inspired the book.

Among the stylish portraits in the book is the elegant and refined Rose, age 100, (pictured above left) in a paisley caftan, Hermes belt and oversized beads, who believes, "If everyone is wearing it, then it’s not for me." Alice, posing in a men’s tweed jacket, jodphurs, boots, fingerless gloves and a silk scarf, says, "Fie on women in sneakers and sweats." Then there’s Debra (above middle) in electric blue sunglasses and brocade pants, who approaches getting dressed like an art project and says, "Tomorrow is another day and another look."

Cohen combs the entire city looking for elder style on the street. "It’s fun to hang out outside the Carlysle Hotel," where he snapped the photo of Elaine Stritch wearing one of her signature menswear-inspired looks. "But I don’t spend too much time on the Upper East Side because a lot of the women there have had a lot of plastic surgery."

"Advanced Style" is about embracing your age, not fighting it, he says. "In society, women are told to back down from fashion as they get older, and they become invisible. I got an email from one woman who said her grandkids were embarrassed by the way she dresses.... She showed them my blog, and they changed their minds."

He has learned that there really is no such thing as age-appropriate dressing. The book features its fair share of traditional houndstooth suits, silk scarves and sensible shoes, but it also has women in artsy hats and colorful turbans.

"Some women think fashion should be more proper, others don’t care at all. If someone is comfortable and confident, that’s what matters," Cohen says. "I like to have a mix of eccentric and elegant in the blog and book, because I’m attracted to both extremes."

Books for fashion and perfume lovers

If you're style-inclined, sometimes it's not enough to read blogs and fashion magazines. Sometimes you may want to do more than browse in stores and plow through catalogs.

Sometimes you've got to embrace the canon of fashion and beauty literature.  Fashion critic Booth Moore and staff writer Adam Tschorn explore a handful of current offerings. Among them:

"City of Style," by Melissa Magsaysay, a former Times style writer, who has created a field guide to L.A. style in all its incarnations; "By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop,"  the story of the launching of Gilt Group; "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations," a catalog for an exhibition of the same name at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; and "The Gentry Man: A Guide for the Civilized Male," a series of articles culled from the 1950s Gentry magazine.

If you're scent-inclined, this spring the publishing world has released a series of books that should fill many hours of reading time. Denise Hamilton surveys a clutch of offerings that range from Denyse Beaulieu's new memoir, "The Perfume Lover," to Alyssa Harad's "Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure and an Unlikely Bride."

There's a three-day weekend coming up, the perfect time, perhaps, to indulge a style and beauty habit.

-- Alice Short

Photo: "City of Style" cover. Credit: It Books

Eagle Rock High School students win $20,000 prom dance competition

In March, we told you about a $20,000 dance competition for high school students called Dance Dance Prom. David's Bridal and Men's Wearhouse asked high school students to submit videos of themselves re-creating a dance provided for the contest. Fans then voted for their favorites on the David's Bridal and Men's Wearhouse Facebook pages. 

Susan Bystrom and her dance team the Aetosians of Eagle Rock High School, seen in the video above, were declared the contest winners. Earlier this week, they were presented with a $10,000 check during a ceremony at which the school also was given a check for $10,000.

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Video: The Aetosians' (from Eagle Rock high school class of 2012) winning video submission for David's Bridal and Men's Wearhouse Dance Dance Prom competition. 

FIDM Scholarship Store holds designer fabric sale

Been itching to sew your own gown but can't find the right materials? Here's your chance to get your hands on some discount designer fabric.

The FIDM Scholarship Store will host a special designer fabric sale beginning Monday. Over 2,150 yards of fabrics will be reduced from their original $90-$250 per yard prices. The selection will include brocades, hand-loomed silks, wools, French laces, tweeds, silk chiffon, cottons, metallic, hand-embroidered silks and more.

The sale was made possible by a donation from Nora Martin, a retired private couturier who had salons in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. The FIDM Scholarship Foundation Inc. will receive all the sale proceeds and grant scholarships in Martin's name.

FIDM Scholarship Store 919 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Hours: Monday, noon to 7 p.m.; Tuesday through May 25, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (or while supplies last)

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Photo: Recent FIDM Fashion Design graduate Paul Hernandez creating a taffeta gown. Credit: FIDM.

Rozae Nichols to launch Clover Canyon swimwear line

With the excess of fashion out there today, it's no wonder that more and more designers are trying to stand out by creating distinctive, speciality prints. 

Enter designer Rozae Nichols. She's been a part of the Los Angeles fashion scene since 1993 with her namesake romantic-meets-edgy collection, known for fusing eyelet and leather, exotic floral textiles and hand-finished details.

But last year, she decided to make prints a bigger focus of her business by introducing the lower-priced Clover Canyon collection, $150 to $400, of slouchy jackets, drawstring waist pants and shorts, plus neoprene sheath dresses and flowey maxi-dresses--all in colorful foullard prints inspired by the California landscape and contemporary art. 

She couldn't have chosen a better time. Prints--tropical, paisley, stripes, you name it--have been a huge trend for several seasons, as seen on the runway at Celine, Jil Sander, Dries Van Noten, Mary Katrantzou and Rag & Bone.

And Clover Canyon, sold at Saks Fifth Avenue and ShopBop among other places, has been so successful in its first year, that it's already expanding. A collection of swimwear and cover-ups, $150 to $220, will land in stores for the resort season in November.

It's a natural progression from clothing to swimwear because the Clover Canyon prints are so stunning, featuring rainbow-hued canyon scenes, tropical flowers, exotic birds, paisley and geometric patterns.

"I want the prints to feel fresh without the clichés of beach wear or Palm Springs resort wear," says NIchols, who was born in L.A. and lives in Lauren Canyon. "I want the clothes to evoke the sundrenched optimism of being grounded in California, but with a little sense of travel or postcard mentality."

The prints are individually engineered for each style. Some of the prints incorporate photographs, others are hand-drawn or painted, and others have vintage motifs taken from old scraps of fabric. "It’s a real graphic design, textile, print repertoire," Nichols says.

"There's an art to it from start to finish, and the manufacturing process is our pride and joy," she says. "We print locally, and cut and sew locally. Almost all of the work is done in-house. We’re creating a garment that has a lot of old-fashioned skill, but at a very contemporary price point."

And, Nichols says, she's never been happier.

"It’s really liberating to be concentrating on the simplicity of the bodies and the silhouettes, with the focus being on the print," the designer says. "It’s not as tactile as what we’ve done in the past, not as laboriously tailored and finessed. But it’s entirely light and fresh."

It certainly is.

--Booth Moore

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Photos top to bottom: Clover Canyon swimwear collection. Credit: Stian Throndsen.

Clover Canyon Summer/Pre-fall 2012 collection. Credit: Stian Throndsen.

Clover Canyon Fall 2012 collection. Credit: Dave Teel.

Clover Canyon Spring 2012 collection. Credit: Stian Throndsen.