Back in—what?—November, we told you that we expected Valentino to wait a couple of seasons before picking a full-time designer.

Well, turns out we were wrong… ish.

If it’s possible to add more sex to Vegas, we’re pretty confident there’s only one man for the job. Word is that Tom Ford, the designer who brought sexy back in the land of women’s attire before moving on to menswear, is opening a flagship in the heart of Las Vegas. The Gucci-rivaling storefront will be located in the new CityCenter development, right on the strip (of course).

Seems like an obvious next step from the man who brought us the G shaped bikini wax—a trend that, we have no doubt, really hit home in the City of Sin. The store is said to have a similar aesthetic as the original Madison Avenue location, but our guess is that they’ll be moving more merchandise in the new digs (it’s Vegas, after all). Las Vegas and Tom Ford—some things were just meant to be.

—A.P.

In American Gangster, Denzel Washington’s up-and-coming Harlem druglord character Frank Lucas eschews the pimp aesthetic in favor of some very sharp suits. On his journey from bumpkin to kingpin, Lucas learns some important sartorial lessons; the quiet, understated elegance of his clothing allows him to pass as a respectable businessman while flashier rivals get picked off by the cops.

—J.P.S.

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan

Well-dressed men in a dressed-down town like Hollywood are something of a rarity. Dandies on the order of Cameron Silver, owner of A-list vintage clothing emporium Decades, are practically an endangered species. The 6’3” fashion plate, pictured here with Debbie Mazar, showed his colors at a party for Boucheron’s Animaux jewelry colllection to benefit L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art earlier this week.

More on our MOTH’s kit, including those custom green crocs…

*From the Director of Alien and Themla & Louise: *Ridley Scott to direct the saga of the Gucci family. [SunUK]

Playing Doctor: Man of the Hour Patrick Dempsey is the Versace man. [MSNBC]

Recycling Bags: Mulberry refocuses on men. [MPDClick]

Forward Russia!: Tom Ford to open shop in the city with—after New York, of course—the world’s greatest concentration of high rollers. [Bloomburg/VogueUK]

On the Barricades: Plum Sykes fights for her right to earn, rocking the whole “fashion girl meets snowbunny” thing. [NYMag]

Burberry Check: An analyst’s view from among the Chavs. [Portfolio: Fashion Inc.]

LES Speakeasy: A peek into THECAST on Ludlow. [UrbanDaddy]

High Grain: Ever wonder what your leather valise looks like under electron microscopy? No? Aw, you’re no fun. [Carrying Contraption]

Newsstand Edition: An interesting Canadian charity that distributes jackets warmed by newspaper. [15Below Project]

Spring in Your Step: Opening Ceremony’s desert boots coming next season. [The Daily Upgrade]

Big Blue: Our beloved Cathy Horyn writes 1,245 words on Pantone’s color of the year. We wrote 90. Guess that’s what separates the men from the boys—so to speak. [NYT]

Here Comes the Boss: And in the continuing mallification of SoHo… [Racked]

Pretty Shocking: An appropriately colored gift for the endangered woman in your life. [Bangkok Mafia]

Track Suits: Next year’s Olympians will be battling each other (and the Beijing smog) in Gucci. [WWD, subscription required for full article]

House Bound: Yes, we would prefer a $2,000 Jay Kos robe with silk lining and piping to a pair of socks. Thank you. [NYT]

This is shaping up to be a banner year for one of our favorite women in the world: Danish model/artist/actress/director Rie Rasmussen. The likes of GQ can keep their Jennifer Anistons and Jessica Biels; here at Kempt we go for brainy, over-achieving beauties in the Carla Bruni mold rather than the mindless meat puppets of prime time (but we digress).

Rie first made her mark as a Victoria’s Secret siren in 2001 »

Hot off of Pitto Uomo, the fashion cognoscenti hustled over the Apennines, landing in Italy’s fashion capitol, Milan. As always, there’s far too much to report on, even from our remote Manhattan perch.

Nonetheless, enjoy these links and highlights after the jump »

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

The admirable cause of saving the High Line on Manhattan’s West Side might have only gotten so far on merit alone; what really put it over the top were all the fabulous fetes and benefits held to raise money for the daunting task of converting it into a public park and promenade (and possibly the only safe vantage point for viewing the Meat Packing District on some nights). High Line booster Bronson van Wyck (as in the Expressway named for his ancestors), is the event planner extraordinaire who donated his serves to the cause.

More on today’s MOTH »

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

Fiat heir and Agnelli scion Lapo Elkann has experienced a lot of ups and downs in his 30 years. Once destined to succeed his legendary grandfather Gianni Agnelli, Lapo’s career trajectory came to a crashing halt when he overdosed in the apartment of a transsexual hooker in Turin in 2005. He has since sobered up (according to some reports) and moved to New York after the lukewarm launch of a sunglasses line called Italia Independent.

Through it all, he has remained impeccably dressed»

Nau

Green Man: Nau co-founder Ian Yolles explains fashionable sustainability. [PSFK]

Not So Horny: “Vivid colors, flowing silk ribbons, and glittering bits of mirrors.” And you thought Vikings looked like this, silly goose. [Eurekaltert]

Incoming!: Suface2Air’s Spring/Summer 08 available now. [Word is Bomb]

The Boom Bip: The perfect footwear for the Ed Lover Dance. [Hypebeast]

The Barn Jacket: Seems we’re not the only ones with a fetish for waxed cotton. [A Suitable Wardrobe]

Def Junk: Russell Simmons officially launches his already launched hip-hop-on-the-back-nine fashion brand. It will suck. [Celebrity Brands]

How To Pronounce Comme des Garçons: Don’t blow this one. [Robby Wells]

International Champion: According to the Nielsen company Gucci is the most desired fashion line in the world. Tom Ford commemorates the success of his former employer by rolling over in his sable-covered bed and snoring. [Bloomberg]

High Kicks: Adidas has their Yohji Yamamoto. Now Puma has their Hussein Chalayan. [Fashion Week Daily]

Hang The DJ: Dear Elle UK, hitting “play” on iTunes does not count as “branching out.” [ElleUK]

Easy Marc: Fake Marc Jacobs ads come from real jokers. [Forbes]

The Great Divide: H+M line Divided opens it’s first standalone store in the English-speaking world. No news yet on a US location. [Vogue UK]

Monarchist Republic: In other Brit boutique news, The Banana Republic opens it’s first store in England. No news yet on a US location. [Telegraph UK]

Vandalism: We might just have to break some windows and steal these new Raf Simons boots. [Hypebeast]

“From Caped Crusaders to Hoodies”: Sounds like Middle School to us. No, seriously, read on. [WSJ]

Board Liar: Some clever jasper was fronting like he was a board member of the Gucci Group. Why didn’t we think of that? Might have had something to do with 20 years of hard time. [DNRNews]

Fred’s Flair: Are you properly dressed for Fred Rogers Sweater Day? [Huffington Post]

Fashion Police: India has banned “Fashion Television” (which, frankly, we thought had been cancelled years ago). Next time you’re watching models traipsing down a runway on the tube, just remember how lucky you are to be an American. [MeriNews]

The Princess and The Peacoat: Amanda Brooks has a thing for men in uniform. [Men’s Vogue]

Okay, Who Farted?: Gucci and Louis Vuitton unveiled diamond-encrusted, WMD-proof gas-masks at the Bucharest Luxury fair because, really, who wants to survive a ricin attack in just any old thing? [Complex]

So? New?: R29 introduces us to our new neighbors. [Refinery29]

Spin Cycle: Damien Hirst shows no mercy to Levis Jeans. And you thought that cow had it bad. [Gawker]

Long May it Rain: Barbour employees worldwide will enjoy tea and cake tomorrow at 4pm to celebrate the waxed-cotton giant’s centenary - and nothing could be more just and perfect. [Vogue UK]

Deal Alert: Again, Racked comes through with discounts on Original Penguin. [Racked]

With social conscience becoming an increasingly valued part of a brand, it was only a matter of time before charities decided to get in on the action. That way, they can finally make some real scratch.

UK Vogue is reporting Oxfam’s first designer boutique in London’s Westbourne Grove. An all-star team of British designers contributed to the store, which combines donated designer clothes with unique and reworked pieces from the London College of Fashion. Of course, it’s all sustainable and fair traded to within an inch of its life. After all, they’re still about fighting poverty»

The good folks at Bluefly have finally done something to get our attention: they’ve just launched Tailor, an online shop dedicated to our kind of menswear. Sadly, it’s not actually tailored, but they do have a tailor on staff giving advice, along with IM-ready personal shoppers.

More on the online store»

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan

We’ve previously mentioned our predilection for pulchritudinous pairings, so there’s no need for much of a rationalization to run this photo.

It features proto-Kemptress Erin Wasson, aka the Texan Tomato, and Barbados-born songbird Rihanna schmoozing at the Thompson Beverly Hills.

More on the pulchritudinous pairing»

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

Back before he became a big time music producer and multi-Grammy winner, Mark Ronson used to DJ all the hottest parties in town—and some out of town as well (ask him about the time he flew to Milan to DJ at a Gucci soirée and got in a shouting match with Charlize Theron.) His sartorial acumen has increased appreciably since those days behind the decks; onstage these days he affects a sort of dapper nouveau-rockabilly vibe, necktie always knotted just so.

More on the distinguished gentleman»

Slam Dunst: Scott Sternberg unveils Spring ’09 for his vanity collection Boy for Band of Outsiders. Everyone’s favorite aloof, hipster blonde whines her way through the sharp but muted looks. [Trend Mill]

Waist Belt Warzone: The crucial debate of updating your trench coat, or keeping some things sacred (for the love!). [Valet]

Because We Love a Trilogy: Part three in A Continuous Lean’s Autumn Look series, wherein the Moncler puffer jacket gets a gentleman’s touch, and we get out our wallets. [ACL]

Ford Made: After four post-Gucci years, a men’s empire and the umpteenth nudie magazine profile, Tom Ford might be making good on that promise to direct a feature film [Marc Malkin]

We were digging through our magazine pile when we belatedly ran across the Wall Street Journal’s magazine profile of LVMH honcho Bernard Arnault, which is amazing mostly as a masterpiece of diplomacy. The Journal is just getting its WSJ fashion periodical on its feet, and the last thing they need is to tick off the richest man in France.

As a result, there’s nothing too juicy, but we did get a peek at an old rivalry we’d almost forgotten about. This one concerns two French luxury giants tussling over an iconic Italian brand, only to stage an uneasy reunion over their shared love of money. It’s heady stuff—in fact, we’re working on the movie version already.

The dramatic machinations of Bernard Arnault»