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A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
With the once almighty dollar laid low, America’s leaders should be looking to bolster the nation’s standing with the international community wherever possible. But during last week’s visit to Washington by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, we were bested once again by a pesky Euro…
Kempt Kudos to our boy Nicolas Sarkozy, the fashion-savvy President of France who one-upped George Bush during a black-tie affair at the White House last month.
Sarkozy, who split from his wife a while back, was spotted out on the town with supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni (pictured) the other night in Paris—thereby
proving the ZZ Top coinage (and Sartorial Brotherhood credo) “Every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp-dressed man.”
Our boy Nic sure is one fast mover. But then we guess when you’re president of France there’s no time to fuck around. Just two short weeks after we first told you that the Nicster was shacking up with supermodel Carla Bruni, one of the world’s most beautiful women and a talented singer to boot, weekly paper Le Journal De Dimanche is reporting that the couple plans to marry early next month.
The latest news from the front regarding the Brad and Angelina of the international set has it that they may have already tied the knot. French daily L’Est Republicain is quoting a reliable source close to someone who claims to have attended our boy Nic’s secret nuptials last week at the Elysée palace. Apparently he sealed the deal with supermodel Carla Bruni after presenting her with a $30,000 white gold Dior ring.
Carla Bruni, our favorite presidential paramour, is making headlines for appearing in the Spanish men’s magazine DT clothed only in a wedding ring. (The full pic is here.) Does this confirm rumors that she’s tied the knot with the well-attired fiscal conservative? Probably not, since the pictures in question could have been taken as early as August, and are certainly from before the couple went public in December. All we can say for sure is that for a 40-year-old woman, she certainly keeps in shape.
The couple’s whirlwind romance (with accompanying media waltz) is now entering its sixth week »
Well, they certainly took their time.
It looks like our favorite couple has finally tied the knot, after a full month and a half of courtship. The ceremony took place Saturday at the Elysee palace, in the presence of twenty close friends, family members and adoring subjects. Sarkozy is the first sitting president ever to wed, but with his dashing sense of dress, he seems well-equipped to smooth over any difficulties.
Of course, we’re hardly surprised the couple finally made things official »
Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.
At the house of Bill Blass, where he was recently installed as creative director, young designer Peter Som is overseeing the women’s line (Michael Bastian has control of menswear). But Som, who worked for the late Mr. Blass himself after graduating from the Parsons School of Design and who debuted his own collection in 2001, is no sartorial slouch.
The Craftsman: Interview with Gilded Age designer Stefan Mijanic. [The Discerning Brute]
Go West Young Man: Steven Alan lands in the City of Angels. [Refinery29]
News To You: Seems someone won that “Project Runway” show last night. Yeah, we don’t care either.
Handy Man: A little more work around the house might get you a little more play around the bed. [AP]
Smooth Ride: Hermès unveils a signature edition of the already posh Bugatti Veyron. This will go great with our helicopter. [Men.Style]
Wedding Bells for Everyone: Nicolas Sarkozy married Carla Bruni. Now his ex, Cecilia, will marry her new paramour. Don’t you just love happy endings? [Reuters]
Exchange Rate: The falling dollar is doing no favors for your closet. [Houston Chronicle]
Belt It: The unimpeachable virtues of the belted bikini. [MyFashionLife]
Lapel Diplomacy: Yet another world leader embarrasses his people with poor fashion sense. Sarkozy is looking better and better… [Manolo for the Men]
The Crew: J. Crew opens a men’s only store in Tribeca. Maybe Chelsea would have been more appropriate… [DNR]
No Quarter: Gianni Agnelli gives us a lesson on quarter brogues from beyond the grave. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Fuzzy Logic: As Chris Rock presciently advised, “take off that silly-ass hat.” [The Cool Hunter]
Tomorrow, Christie’s is auctioning off the private collection of Gert Elferling, a collector who has apparently spent the last few decades compiling erotic shots of some of the most beautiful women in the world. The auction contains lots of familiar faces and it’s already making waves for more than a few of our favorite people.
Notably, our boy Sarkozy is facing some embarrassment from the British press as the auction features a nude shot from Ms. Bruni’s wilder years and coincides with his first Bruni-assisted visit to the UK.
Freak Folk: Always on the hunt for a deep, sensitive mate, Natalie Portman is reportedly nuzzling up to Cripple Crow crooner Devandra Banhart. Yeah, we don’t know how we feel about this one either. We mean, he is wearing a woman’s jacket. [Egotastic]
Napoleon Complex: Lil’, wee plutocrat Nic Sarkozy is kicking up a press dust storm in his fierce heels. [Shoeblogs]
What Would Moz Do?: Dress like Morrissey and you’re set for life. [Style Salvage]
Spit and Polish: The geopolitics of the shoeshine. [NYT via On The Fly]
Throwing Sparks: Sharp dockside looks from Philip Sparks. [Philipsparks via Notcouture]
Blinded by the White: N.B. to African-American society partygoers - some photogs may require you use nametags. [Radar]
Environmental Hang Up: Going green starts at your dry cleaner. [Fox23]
Out of Africa: A brief history of the safari jacket. [Mercury News]
New Journalism: The Wall Street Journal is set to launch a new luxury magazine to compete with the Times’ glossy insert, T. Yes, yes - you’re right - they’re calling it WSJ. [Editor and Publisher]
Luxury Hacks: Next time you’re in Moscow, flag down a Maybach. [Autopark]
Home, Jeeves: In other auto news, The Chauffeur magazine has named its “Car of the Year.” The Chauffeur magazine? We should really get our guy a subscription for his birthday. [Autoblog]
The Great Pants War: Two competing revolutionaries, Bonobos and Cordarounds, square off against the “Soviet Bloc” of vertical corduroy with the introduction a horizontal variation on the classic fabric. Watch out for the crossfire. [VanityFair.com]
The Long Haul: Back off you vultures. Giorgio Armani ain’t going nowhere. [WWD, 2nd item]
Russian Male-Order Bride: Iron-fisted autocrat beloved legally elected Federation President Vladimir Putin tries his best to emulate Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent marital success. Fails. [Gawker]
Wigging Out: Unofficial Kempt mascot Rachel Bilson plays blonde for a day. [Egotastic]
Loop de Loop: Harajuku t-shirt maker does it oldschool. [PSFK]
More Celebrity Stink: James Franco, who we actually like, will be the face for Gucci’s latest scent. [Luxist]
Boob Tube: Because he hasn’t reached complete market saturation, Tommy Hilfiger will soon have his own TV channel. [DNRNews]
Madras Explosion: Ahh! Our eyes! Our eyes! [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Apparently Mrs. Bruni’s marriage—and less-than-savory photographic past—hasn’t dimmed her prospects as a model. Apparently the UK supermarket chain ASDA has dumped their current spokesperson in the hopes of landing the French First Lady. Maybe they’re after a break on their export taxes.
Politicians are notoriously bad dressers—that’s a government salary for you—but if you’re enough of an icon, it doesn’t take much effort to become a style icon too.
After all, it’s called Kennedy chic for a reason.
The first contender to embrace the slim generation of suits (while his opponent is giving off slightly different signals), it’s no surprise that Obama’s a favorite for the GQ and Esquire crowd. Unlike the rest of the C-SPAN fodder, Barack manages to make suits look good. (Not so hard, really—but like we said, it’s a low bar.)
Happy Accident: City Rag went looking for a shot of Kate Hudson’s tattoo and found lots of bare skin instead. Don’t you hate it when that happens? [City Rag]
Rising Stocks: ACL digs into the Wall Street Journal’s report on highwater trousers—remember, less fabric equals greater dividends to boardmembers. [A Continuous Lean]
Karl’s World: One day we will all live under the yolk of his iron, black-clad fist…and it will be fabulous. [The Pipeline]
Bank On It: Store your dwindling funds in these beauties. [Hyr Collective]
On Your Knees: David Coleman instructs us on how to wear the latest cut-off shorts styles, make your own, and possibly ruin a perfectly good pair of pants. [NYTimes]
D-I-V-O-R-C-E: Poor A-Rod. Poor, poor A-Rod. [Vanityfair.com]
First Baby: Queen of our world, Carla Bruni, wants a baby, but Nic Sarkozy is mum on the subject. The line for volunteers starts behind us. [NYMag]
Vanity Fair has posted their somewhat puffy take on the Bruni-Sarkozy affair, including a quick, Trump-free rundown of Bruni and Sarkozy’s exes.
Among the tidbits offered is a fact in favor of Mme. Bruni’s fashion sense: she convinced Sarko to swap his nouveau riche gold watch in favor of a sleeker Patek Phillip model.
We haven’t been keeping up with Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy much lately—to be honest, once they got married, we lost the spark—but a lucky documentarian is about to catch us up.
Tomorrow in Paris, the spectacularly fortunate Scottish filmmaker George Scott is premiering an 80-minute documentary on the couple that follows the French power couple from their first meeting through their eventual marriage, with apparently unrestricted access.
Naturally, it’s already tabloid fodder (via The Cut), but the surprising thing is how much access he seems to have gotten. Early reports have him filming the couple nuzzling and taking a tour of the Elysee palace. Anyone hitting the Parisian film festival circuit should feel free to drop us a line, but otherwise we’ll have to wait until it crosses the Atlantic.
Eye Candy: Have you ever noticed how every time Sarkozy’s approval numbers droop, a new set of Carla Bruni nudes hits the web? [The Awl]
Shine On: The recession hits the rap industry’s chains. Where is Jacob the Jeweler when the world needs him? [WSJ]
Have a Seat: The Grey Lady’s take on the ICFF. [NYTimes]
Going Upriver: Trovata ventures into the uncivilized wilderness that is Montauk. [Fashionista]
Crash!: Apparently Italian fashion editorials get a lot of their ideas from Cronenberg movies. [Refinery29]
It’s a Milestone: The 200th blog post asks, “Has Ed Hardy gone too far?” The answer is still yes. [Racked]
Face the Music: Where did music magazines go wrong? Promoting Sean Paul may have had something to do with it. [Vulture]
A Moment of Silence: French sunbathing may be on the decline. For once, we’re pretty sure Sarkozy’s doing all he can. [Guardian UK]
