Beau Brummel has been the subject of many shows and movies, most recently, BBC and PBS made a mini series based on the life of this impeccable true style icon. But I haven't watched it yet because my sister said it was boring and I believe her.
It's a shame, because Brummell is really fascinating. His impact on men's style is enormous. The king of dandyism, he revolutionized the modern style of suits and ties and refined simple clothing.
Say what you will about the J-Lo loving monopoly man; He's the only reason I ever voted Republican, (I love 311!) and now it will be my last. He's moseyed on over to the Independent Party. Good for you, Bloomie.
Sorry, Mr. Jada Pinkett, but DJ Jazzy Jeff has proven to me to be the most awesome of the pair as I have been catching a few minutes of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (or as a friend's grandmother called it, The Prince of Fresh Air) on the Noggin lately (my TV is tuned to Noggin again, now that my Kevin Smith-born hiatis from my love affair with Degrassi: The Next Generation is over and we are getting back on track with last season).
He has a distinctive style that no one since 1992 has been able to pull off: part spazz, part mall-smooth. Plus, the guy is utterly charming as a foil to Will's charisma and ease. He's an awkward actor, and tends to seem like he's daydreaming or actually sleep-dreaming behind those shades, but his gracelessness is irresistible especially when cloaked in coogi sweaters, leather ball caps, and checkered sneakers.
He epitomizes the nineties in all it's tacky glamour but still manages to come across as a guy you would love to have at your parties or take to Six Flags.
A kitsch god has died. Charles Nelson Reilly, master of the Match Game, the weirdo of children's nightmares, this charming, vaguely effeminate wisecracking boozer passed last week and a nation, at least the part of the nation that is old enough to watch a Lifecall commercial and say, “You know what, it's cheesy but I actually need something to get me up when I fall”–or people like me, who have stayed up watching Match Game reruns more nights in our past than would be prudent to admit.
The glasses, the loud shirts, the smirk, and that little neck scarf, all these things will be fondly remembered. Reilly, of course, had a career before and after Match Game winning a Tony for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and later voicing The Dirty Bubble on Spongebob Squarepants and making lots of TV appearances. We love you CNR!
I can't imagine that I'll ever befriend someone who does not like The Big Lebowski. Subsequently, I can't imagine anyone I'm friends with not getting on board for the stylings of the Dude. Nearly every line of this movie is quotable:.
The dude abides…
You aren't privy to the new shit…
That rug really brought the room together…
Racially he's pretty cool?…
She's not my special lady, she's my fucking lady friend…
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man…
You brought the fuckin' Pomeranian bowling?…
Does this place look like I'm fucking married? The toilet seat's up, man!…
That and a pair of testicles…
In the parlance of our times…
El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing…
My papers, business papers…
I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man….
Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man…
Your money is being held by a kid named Larry Sellers. Real fucking brat, but I'm sure your goons can get it off him. I mean, he's fifteen. Flunking social studies….
The Royal “we”! You know, the editorial…
And it just goes on. Who can't love a man who pays for half and half with a check? This is the work Bridges will be known for forever. And the dude looks a bit like my dad, and that's all right by him.
Bonus woman style icon this week! The exciting duo of Francisco Lopez and Monica Brand make up Mogollon, and their site has distracted me for the past hour with its dazzling visuals. Both hail from Venezuela but make there home right in my neighborhood.
I'll keep an eye out for them to nerd out and praise their work. It's very now and very original and thrilling. From their magazine art direction, to their set design, to their graphics, Mogollon is a dynamic force and exactly the kind of peers that make the world so exciting and lovely to look at.
Irwin Chusid is responsible for bringing so many outsider, lost, and unusual music to a wider audience; including Brixpicks Langley Schools Music Project and Esquivel, as well as Daniel Johnston, and Wesley Willis.
He is the host of an eclectic WFMU radio program, a journalist, writer (with a new book about the album art of Jim Flora) coming out soon, a blogger, music producer, and all around eye and ear opener. I have to admit, I haven't heard as much of him on the radio as I would like to, so guess who's going to be on the WFMU website a lot from now on..
It is a question that pops up often these days: What were times like before computers and the internet? Of course we lived during the cross over, and should be able to remember, but I still can't for the life of me figure out what I did with all my time or how I told people about all my favorite style icons every week…
Now just imagine it's the year 1925 and you are a one of the first fans of science fiction and there is no community for you. No cons where you can get your new fangled photograph taken with HG Wells, no online chat rooms where you can debate the latest HP Lovecraft, not even a zine to send your letters to from the amateur press association (an organization Lovecraft was a strong supporter of).
Hugo Gernsback changed all that when he published the first science fiction magazine and opened discussion among fans in his letters columns. He in many ways started the sci fi fandom community, and is therefore, in many ways, the reason I was able to just get tickets to the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention, so to him I say huzzah! The rest of the world says the same, citing him as the father of science fiction for whom the prestigious Hugo award is named after.
Marcel Dzama's solo show at the David Zwiner Gallery last year, entitled The Course of Human History Personified was one of the most stirring and inspiring shows I have ever seen. His hip, creepy, and timeless images have gained attention and adoration.
No matter how hard you try, George Clooney, there will be only one Cary Grant and HE didn't take photos of his ass… Still, there are rumors that this impeccably suave and undeniably charming leading man DID spank his wife Dyan Cannon to teach her a lesson.
Maybe that's why mom put him in the style category, rather than the hunk, just to teach him a lesson. Or maybe it was all those rumors about the “Bachelor Hall” he shared with Randolph Scott. Either way, his personal life and scandals are small and insignificant compared to the success and work he committed to screen.
He is in countless fantastic movies, including The Philadelphia Story, The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, Arsenic and Old Lace, North by Northwest, Houseboat, and To Catch a Thief. He is debonair and flawless in every single one.