Dressing for Success: Harder than Ever

In the old days a wife took the blame for letting
her husband go out like this (Urban/WSJ)

Wearing a coat and tie during the sweltering days of summer was uncomfortable, but that was the businessman's lot during most of the 20th century.

Being required to wear the "uniform" had its advantages, though: men didn't have to spend a lot of time deciding what to wear. The basic wardrobe consisted of blue, black, and gray suits, blue and white shirts, and black shoes. We expressed individuality through ties.

Today it's much more complicated because there are more combinations that are possible and more ways to go wrong. Also, being classy and casual doesn't come cheap.

P. Johnson Twill Linen Corbu Vest, $490,
Oxford Shirt, $175, Ice Cotton Tee, $245,
and Tony Jeans, $370 (WSJ)

Alternatively, you could dress like a suave guy who just happens to work with money. [Alex] Seo loves classic-but-not-corporate jackets from the Armoury, including the safari styles. Zach Garst, a trendy Houston tax consultant, 28, pairs cotton slacks with “something a little more spicy,” like boxy shirts and cardigans from Auralee and Frizmworks.

For style inspo, Le Alfré founder Brandon Snower recommends @schoonerscorer, an Instagram account popular with finance guys. It features videos of a charismatic Brit—Alex Hendy—rating beers at pubs. He’s stylish but never mentions clothes. After bingeing clips, I can tell you that I won’t be slurping the ho-hum porter at one central London pub, but I do need Hendy’s cream cable-knit sweater and red Ralph Lauren shirt. I like that he’s not a “fashion influencer”—outfit-dissecting accounts often come off cringe—just a cool guy doing his thing.

One menswear account I do enjoy: @the_daily_mirror. Founder Manish Puri, who works in financial services and writes about menswear, radiates unprecious elegance with flowy trousers, suede chore coats—and a cartoon chicken head superimposed over his own.

Another benefit of the old dress code is that business attire could hide a man's defective physique. Now his flaws are accentuated.

I'm glad I'm retired.

Not Just for Nerds

Jacques Marie Mage - Dealan $870

Always on the lookout for status symbols that I can afford, these "beefy" eyeglasses can be purchased for under $1,000.

Founded in 2014 by French designer Jerôme Mage, Jacques Marie Mage (JMM) handcrafts super-luxe frames in Japan in limited runs. While it offers a range of unisex styles, its signature remains the dark, square, acetate designs (see: the black Dealan and Molino models). Weighty at about 50g, and accented with precious-metal details, these eyeglasses and sunglasses might as well be collectibles, with prices to match: They currently range from $770 to $2,400. You do not forget these in a cab or accidentally squash them while sunbathing.

In recent years the sculptural, subtly logoed designs have become the status glasses in certain circles of wealthy, fashionable men...

With its beefy black frames nodding to the ’50s and ’60s glamour of rock ’n’ roll and film stars from Buddy Holly to Marcello Mastroianni, the brand is staking a claim on a classic style. Stylish celebs including LeBron James, Michael Fassbender, Jeff Goldblum and Denzel Washington have sported the glasses.

The culture has moved on; beneath the Clark-Kent look may just lie a Man of Steel.

Sock Shoes: A Good Idea But I'll Have to Pass

Brave Pudding also has sock shoes for men

Relishing comfort, and being lazy, I initially liked the idea of sock shoes.

[Brave Pudding] sells one style of sock shoes in multiple colors for $380. Made from recycled cashmere with a small amount of a recycled performance stretch blend for durability, Brave Puddings look just like a sock. But the structured interior and recycled rubber sole make them feel and function like proper footwear...

“I was like, what a strange name and interesting shoe,” said Medine Cohen, who writes the popular style newsletter The Cereal Aisle. “I really quickly tried them on and [thought], ‘These are exactly the right bridge shoe when it’s too cold for sandals but you still want to feel like you’re barefoot.’” (The brand is named for a legend of a woman who defied British soldiers during the Revolutionary War by throwing her pudding down a hill in East Hampton instead of feeding them.)

Not having to put on shoes when coming or going is convenient, but sock-shoes don't solve the sanitation problem of tracking dirt and germs into the house. (We always remove our footwear at the entryway.) And I imagine sock-shoes can't be worn in wet weather.

Wearing slippers solves the sanitation problem, but if you're going to do that an ordinary pair of socks will do (although I personally find the slippers-with-socks look cringey). It's a good idea, but I'll have to pass.

Yakking It Up

Not having to don a coat and tie for work--as your humble blogger did for most of his life--does not necessarily mean that men can cut their clothing budget. A nice cotton shirt will no longer do.

American Trench's yak shirt ($249)

A well-turned-out guy must wear a "luxe material", for example a shirt that contains 10% yak wool.

While [Jacob] Hurwitz believes the 10% of yak wool definitely contributes to his bestselling shirt’s softness, he hastens to add that the fabric, otherwise “high-grade” cotton, has been scrupulously “brushed” to amp up that tough-yet-tender effect. As he explained, the fabric goes through a “comber, which has little picks that pull fibers out and create that fuzzy texture.”

And, yes, Hurwitz and his team considered the yak fabric’s potential to offer his customers talking points and even bragging rights. “The yak factor really helped drive the sales,” he said, noting that the shirt, new for American Trench this past fall, “crushed” for the brand, selling better than any previous shirting in its lineup. The yak, he stressed, “added something exotic. It would be a lot less interesting to go around saying ‘I have a really soft cotton shirt.’”

We should not be overly critical of this latest trend in men's fashion. In a blind touch-and-feel test, the $249 10% yak shirt beat out a $998 64%-cashmere button-down from Todd Snyder. Cheaper and better, that's what capitalism is all about.

Pink's Comeback

The Annunciation by Fra Angelico (1400-1455)

It seems etched in stone tablets that pink is for girls (and blue is for boys), but pink's association with femininity only began in the 20th century: [bold added]

The European attitude towards pink was influenced by Christianity. The Renaissance artist Fra Angelico, an early innovator in color symbolism, gave his angels robes of pink, the color of flesh, and wings of gold, the color of light, to illustrate how the Holy Spirit transcended the boundary between heaven and earth.

Gentleman in Pink (1560)

Pink’s association with divine power made it popular in royal circles, especially after the discovery of more potent dye sources such as the South American brazilwood tree. For some, there was no such thing as too much pink: The famous 16th-century portrait “The Gentleman in Pink,” by Giovanni Battista Moroni, depicts an Italian nobleman named Giovanni Gerolamo Grumello dressed head to toe in salmon pink....

It wasn’t until the 20th century that pink lost its masculine overtones and became indelibly feminine. As late as 1918, the British Ladies Home Journal advised mothers to dress their little boys in pink, “a more decided and stronger colour,” and their girls in blue, “which is more delicate and dainty.” In 1937, the avant-garde designer Elsa Schiaparelli challenged such color norms by packaging her new perfume, “Shocking,” in a bright pink box.

During the suit-and-tie decades your humble blogger's closet was filled with white and blue shirts. Occasionally wearing stripes, I donned pink when I really wanted to change it up. It was perfect for Fridays before they were designated casual.

Pink is about to come full circle.

Centuries ago it represented the divine and powerful, then was stuffed into the children's corner during the 20th century.

Pink will be everywhere when Barbie is released on July 21st. Get ready for the comeback.

Slimming Down

Cash is being used on fewer transactions, and payment-by-phone is increasing. The ineluctable result: the wallet is shrinking, and doughty individuals are leaving home without it altogether.

Given these trends, here's what the experts say you should carry in your wallet:

Cash: $30. Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, director of financial planning at Zenith Wealth Partners...recommends $30 just to cover small transactions, like buying from a food cart.

Credit cards: 2-3. The average American has about four credit cards, but financial advisers say you should leave home with no more than two or three. Having one or two credit cards and a debit card may be ideal.

My thicker wallet undoubtedly reflects personal insecurities. I carry at least $100, 1 debit and 3 credit cards, a driver's license, a gym membership, a health insurance card, and an auto club card. The latter two hardly ever see the light of day.

But hey, I'm getting better. I ditched the COVID vaccination card about a year ago.

It Started with Racism, but Ending it Would be Racism

Cardi B (CBC photo)

The bottom story of last year: the decade-long cultural obsession with big butts was ending.

Since admiration of large backsides had racist origins, ending this trend should have been a good thing, but alas, dear reader, you are wrong:

After almost a decade of our cultural obsession with twerking, peach emojis and Brazilian butt lifts, 2022 apparently marked the end of the era of the big booty.

On TikTok, users speculated that Kim Kardashian had her butt implants removed (a procedure she never confirmed having in the first place). Cardi B recently shared that she had her own implants removed and cautioned others against getting butt injections. And the New York Post ran a headline that said "Bye-bye booty" and declared that heroin chic was back.

Some critics swiftly shot back, saying that women's bodies should not be reduced to trends. They also pointed out the inherent racism in declaring that a particular physical attribute that many women of colour have naturally is no longer desirable.

If men say that they like a certain physical attribute of women, they're being sexist or racist or both. If they say they don't like it, they're still being sexist and racist.

Guys, keep your traps shut. This advice is no guarantee you'll stay out of trouble, but it will help.

It's Not Really About Shoes

(WSJ montage)

The Nike Dunk Low Retro White Black (aka "Panda Dunk") was a hot property with aficionados until the shoes became ubiquitous:

The sneakers illustrate the primary conundrum of limited-edition items: Enough have to be available to become a mass-market phenomenon, while remaining rare enough to seem exclusive...

The Panda’s frequent restocks were too much for Miami-based event producer Norma Moreno, who got a pair when the model first came out but decided to give them away after they became too common.

The 32-year-old said the sales represented how streetwear culture has been watered down. “No one is showing that off,” referring to the Panda Dunk, she said.

If the shoes are comfortable, durable, look nice, and are not too expensive (currently over $200 on Amazon), then I would be in the market. Despite the disdain from some quarters, there's still a significant social-status premium embedded in the price of Panda Dunks, so I'm not interested.

Still Binary After All These Years

(WSJ illustration)

For men's underwear it's still a boxers vs. briefs world, but now there's a multiplicity of colors, materials, and shapes:

Tom Patterson, CEO and co-founder of New York City brand Tommy John, also suggests guys no longer feel the need to stay in traditional underwear lanes. “The ‘boxer or brief’ paradox is no longer as relevant…because there are so many more options to choose from,” said Mr. Patterson, whose brand offers six (six!) above-the-knee cuts, from 8-inch boxer-briefs to skimpy briefs in a breathable pima-cotton blend...

If you feel like mixing things up, which styles should you pull on—and when? Damien Paul, head of menswear at retailer MatchesFashion, recommends men sync their underwear with their trousers silhouette. It’s a like-for-like situation: Neat tailored pants go best with snug briefs, he said, because the high-cut, immune-to-bunching underwear is invisible beneath the trim trousers. Flowier pants, on the other hand, accommodate “a looser fit such as a boxer.”

Of course, there's the option of going commando, which seems to have health benefits. The problem with the latter is that no one wants to associate with boomers (plus-59-year-olds) who do so.

I'm sticking with boxers or briefs in basic cotton.

"‘Funky’ wines are out. ‘F—ed up’ wines are in."

Natural wines for beginners (Chronicle)

When natural wines came on the scene, "funky" was a term of endearment. Now the aficionados say that the word is so overused that it has become meaningless.

The obvious case against “funky” is that it’s too broad. Does it mean that a wine has a specific microbial flaw, like the spoilage yeast brettanomyces or the mysterious defect known as mouse? Does it mean that it smells earthy, like soil and mushrooms, rather than fruity, like apples and oranges? Does it describe sensations that recall cider or kombucha? Does it just mean a wine that tastes different, new, unlike what you’d find at the grocery store?

It's easier to describe natural wines by stating what they are not. [bold added]

“Conventional” winemaking — shorthand for non-natural wine — is defined by technical intervention. In the vineyard, that intervention comes in the form of pesticides and herbicides. In the cellar, intervention generally comes in the form of lab-grown yeast (to control the fermentation process and regulate flavor), acid (to increase the wine’s acidity, which in turn can help the wine age better), and sulfites added at the time of bottling (to preserve flavor). Many winemakers also add sugar, which doesn’t make the wine sweet but instead, through turning into alcohol, creates the perception of “body.” (It’s common practice in Burgundy, Lefcourt notes.)

On top of that, there are more than 60 approved additives that American winemakers can use to manipulate their wines without listing them on the label.

Your humble non-oenophile had assumed that natural wines were distinguished by their cloudiness and un-crispness, in other words, funkiness. Obviously, I was wrong.

Just because a wine was fermented with native yeast, unfiltered or treated with limited additions of sulfur dioxide doesn’t mean it will necessarily taste like a dirty dairy barn.

As with any niche product that explodes in popularity, definitions must become precise, and standards must be set because....big money is at stake.

So “funky” is on its way out. Yet it has a likely successor that may inspire even more vitriol: “f—ed up.”

Nelson, of Habibi Bar, said he hears this term a lot from customers now, as a way of expressing their preference for a natural wine. It seems to go one step beyond “funky,” which could be interpreted as merely describing an unconventional wine. “F—ed up,” instead, implies a desire for an all-out faulty wine, jacked up with bacterial defects.

"F--ed up", IMHO, is a descriptor that is even more imprecise than "funky," and its vulgar origin won't play in Peoria.

True, it will be tough for the wordsmiths to come up with a replacement for funky---cloudy, earthy, organic, etc. all have drawbacks.

But the wine industry is known for its pretentious vocabulary, and it will undoubtedly be up to the challenge. Meanwhile, dear reader, twist the cap off the bottle and enjoy!

I'm Going Back Inside

WSJ recommends for a man in his '60's:Jacket, $1,498,
Ralph Lauren; Polo, $1,395, Brioni; Glasses, $795,
Jacques Marie Mage; Boots, $945, Manolo Blahnik;
Belt, $1,050, Hermes. Total $5,683.

Now that they're venturing out again, older men who want to look au courant are making serious fashion faux pas:

“Older guys wearing Allbirds sneakers with jeans, khakis or more formal pants. To be honest, don’t wear them at all—no matter what you pair them with, it won’t look good.” —Cassandra Sethi, personal stylist, Los Angeles

“The client was a recently divorced banker in his late 50s. His hair was dyed too dark for his complexion and he wore baggy sweatshirts and skinny jeans. Plus: a proliferation of jewelry that made him look like he was on several random spiritual journeys.” —José Ramón Reyes, founder of wardrobe consulting service the Custom Project, New York

“There’s nothing more unappealing than an older gentleman wearing an outdated, ill-fitting suit.”—Andrew Weitz, celebrity style consultant, Los Angeles

“In New York, I always notice older men wearing graphic T-shirts and embellished jeans. Those work on younger guys; [on anyone else] it makes you look like you’re trying really hard to dress like the kids.”—Peter Nguyen, personal men’s stylist, New York

“Too-tight clothes! I’m talking to you, Mr. Bezos.” —Michael Fisher, stylist, New York

Not too tight, not too loose, don't dress like the kids.

I don't feel like wasting nearly $6,000 (see picture) on clothes that not only look uncomfortable but will be out of fashion next spring.

I'm going back inside...

Usefulness Beats Beauty

The larger size is needed to read
the screen or touch the right icon.

Two decades ago I was gifted a nice European timepiece. It was expensive, an item that I would never buy for myself.

In 2016 it was put into storage in favor of the less costly Apple Watch. The Apple Watch had technological advantages: it had fitness apps; it could take phone calls and send text messages as long as the paired iPhone was nearby; and it kept time more precisely.

Over the years the Apple Watch Series 2 was swapped out for a Series 3 that a family member had retired, then a Series 7 with a plethora of health monitoring (e.g., blood oxygen content, sleep tracking, gait evenness) features.

Almost by necessity the Apple Watch has a large (45mm) diagonal size in order to read messages and to use the touchscreen. It's on the verge of being esthetically ugly by being too large, but since for me usefulness beats beauty, I'm not going back to the more elegant-looking wristwatch.

L to R: Tudor 31mm ($4,925); Bulova 32mm
($1,150); Timex 34mm ($199) - WSJ photo

Which is also why I won't be participating in the latest trend in men's fashion, tiny timepieces.

According to Nick Marino, senior vice president of content for watch site Hodinkee, plenty of other guys have lately been shrinking their wristwear. They’re often trading watches 41mm and above in diameter—long the norm—for versions under 39mm. Many are unisex or women’s models. Some are downright puny, like [Kareem] Rahma’s [15mm] Seiko or the 23mm Cartier Crash favored by stylish rapper Tyler, the Creator.

Since the early 2000s, “big, macho, attention-getting watches were the trend, but the pendulum is swinging back to [smaller] sizes,” said Mr. Marino. A small ticker, he said, is “a sign of confidence: You don’t need a giant billboard of wealth on your arm.”

I don't need a billboard of wealth on my arm, and I don't need to be driving one or living in one either. It makes for a happier life.

“Menswear is getting bigger, bolder and brighter”

"Ken" actor Ryan Gosling (WSJ photo)

The Barbie movie is coming out in 2023, and SoCal sensibility--for better or worse--threatens to become the next fashion thing:

Such vibrancy aligns with the current menswear mood, said Bruce Pask, men’s fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman. “There’s real contemporary relevance to how they’re costuming the ‘Barbie’ film,” he said. “Menswear is getting bigger, bolder and brighter.” Just look at recent fluoro-flecked collections from Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton. Arguably the last time we saw such carefree, SoCal-inflected menswear was the ’90s, when overalls were worn with the straps down, tips were frosted and Marky Mark exposed his Calvins.

Bold pastel, sometimes-fluorescent clothes went out in the 20th century with disco. You can still find them on kids whose parents want them to stand out, more for safety than fashion, especially at night time.

If the style is coming back, and we're going to have to pay 3-4x what we are used to paying, it should be comfortable, right? Au contraire, mon ami.

When trying outré colors, heed attention to fit, said Los Angeles stylist Brand Williams. Keep tailoring close to the body rather than going oversize, he said. The bolder the shade, “the more conservative the fit has to be.”

By the way, if you're going to commit to the look, you've got to do one more thing.

Bleach your hair.

Nope.

Persuasion by Netflix

Not your grandmother's Jane Austen: Dakota Johnson's
Anne Elliot breaks the fourth wall and holds a rabbit
throughout the film.

Still a Jane Austen neophyte, I watched Netflix' Persuasion this month. Like the screen versions of Pride and Prejudice, the movie necessarily dispenses with the nuances of the novel in order to tell the story in under two hours. If inspired to move on to the book, the viewer can then savor the subtleties of the characters as they navigate the rules of Regency society.

To get right to the point, I liked the film. It had outrageously self-absorbed characters that provided the grist for protagonist Anne Elliot's ironic observations, and the requisite Austen plot twists that provided a happy ending for most of the players.

But it's a good thing that I didn't read the reviews first. They slammed the movie because of the modern dialogue ("He's a 10" "Now we're strangers, worse than strangers, we're exes") and the 21st-century sensibility of Anne Elliot.

Here's an example of movie dialogue that would never come from the pen of Jane Austen.

[Male character]: He [Wentworth] could be an admiral some day, great service to the Crown and all that it holds dear, but instead he'd rather fart around inland for the rest of his life.

[Woman character] Oh, let the man fart where he likes.

It's obvious why diehard Austen fans ("Janeites") are outraged, but I'm not so wedded to historical authenticity. It's fiction.

Beautiful in Bellevue

In addition to the anything-but-meat-and-potatoes lunch places, Bellevue downtown real estate is allocated to other aspects of feeling and looking good.

This cosmetic-surgery office proclaims its specialties: Brazilian Butt Lift, Neck Lift, and Eyelid Surgery. (Other services the doctor offers are augmentation and contouring of various parts of the body.)

Bellevue is a good place to showcase one's talents, and sometimes one needs a little help.

Casual Insouciance

Despite impressions from news reports, Northern California residents have not been subjected to one long, unrelenting heat wave.

Which means some early morning walks start in the 50's (sweater on) and end in the 70's (sweater off).

The WSJ helpfully offers tips on how men can look fashionable while lugging around a superfluous garment. [Note: blogger's comments in italics.]

1. The Not-So-Cold Shoulder

Consider this preppy option, which also suggests that your childhood hero was Stan Gable, the preppy hero in the "Revenge of the Nerds."

Sure, the look is cool, but a lot of heat is trapped by draping the sweater over one's shoulders. A classic case of form over function.

2. Tied and True

Master this casual classic by knotting your sweater just above the hips with the back folded.

Bonus: it acts as a built-in cushion for those slab-like outdoor coffee-shop benches.

This is the easiest-to-tie and coolest, in a temperature sense, option. However, the knot will loosen several times in an hour.

3. Chest Bet

Favored by the TikTok set, a knit that's knotted across the torso says "I'm carefree and stylish." Plus, if you injure your arm, say, skateboarding, you've got an instant sling.

Not only is this the most time-consuming configuration to affix properly, but it's only worth the trouble if I were trying to impress those who are 50 years younger. "But when I became a man, I put away childish things (1 Cor 13:11)."

4. Draggadocious Approach

Relaxed and utterly unsanitary, this tactic relays that you're so chill (or absent-minded), you don't care if your knit gets caked in sludge. Wearing a sweater post-drag is not advised.

Given the number of Bay Area creatures that have zero gastro-intestinal discipline when using the sidewalks, you'd better be wearing a single-use sweater if you employ this technique.

An Obvious Chick Magnet

Hermès Birkin bag (WSJ photo)

Latest fashion trend: men are buying Hermès handbags that start at $10,000. [bold added]

Kanye West, Travis Scott and Marc Jacobs have also carted boxy Birkins (first introduced in 1984 and named for the French actress Jane Birkin) or its weightier brother, the Haut à Courroies, or HAC. Hermès does not publicize the price of its coveted handbags (and they are not specifically marketed along gender lines), but, according to collectors, Birkins start around $10,000, while the larger HAC can be even more expensive...

StockX, the online resale marketplace that says it has a majority male customer base, has an Hermès handbag section, where you can find a cherry red Birkin priced at $25,288 and a black version of its shoulder-strapped cousin, the Kelly, at $48,000. The bags are a small, but growing facet of StockX’s business. This year, searches for “Birkin” are up 50% on the site, which says it currently sees an even gender split among purchasers of items in its “handbag” section.

That may sum up a Birkin’s appeal generally, but why are men becoming more interested in them than they used to be? For one, some men have progressed past mocking man-bags and now consider them practical, if often extravagant, accessories...

The internet has also turned more men onto the idea that Birkins are worth coveting. On Instagram, you can find accounts like @MenInHermes and @BirkinMen that are filled with images of men posing with these boxy bags.

There is an “I have it and you don’t” appeal to Birkins that, among men, speaks the same, braggadocious language as buying limited NFTs or a pair of vintage Jordans—two markets that have, not coincidentally, also exploded recently. Men often view Birkins as an investment and Hermès bags in good condition do retain their value on the resale market.

Floyd Mayweather with a Diamond Birkin

Why dance around the obvious? Wealth always attracts a lot of women (not all women, to be sure, such as those enlightened enough to read this humble journal). Yet, many traditional ostentatious displays of wealth carry negative, er, baggage: a very expensive car can mean that the driver is compensating for something, and flashy jewelry and designer clothes are still not appropriate in many business settings.

A Hermès announces that the bearer is both a man of means and comfortable with his own sexuality.

And $10,000 is a stiff barrier to keep out the hoi polloi.

I would never buy one in real life, but my metaverse self will buy one and see what happens.

A Resolve That No One Expected

Georgio Armani and co: you know it's serious because
none of the models are smiling (WSJ photo)

The war in Ukraine has resulted in a falling stock market, the skyrocketing price of oil, and fear of the big one: nuclear annihilation. But there is another catastrophe:

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Casts a Pall on Milan Fashion Week:

The disconnect between fashion and the “real world,” always a heated topic, felt particularly extreme on Thursday, when the invasion escalated and brands including Prada staged their fashion shows to audiences of editors and celebrities...

In a tweet last week that was later deleted, the European Union’s high representative and vice president, Josep Borrell Fontelles, appeared to refer to the rich Russians such sanctions would hit. He wrote, “No more: Shopping in Milano Partying in Saint Tropez Diamonds in Antwerp.”

For an industry that is mightily bolstered by the support and investment of Russian money, any sanctions are consequential. (Italy sells about $1.34 billion of luxury goods to Russia each year.)

The Russian oligarchs could not have imagined that they'd be locked out of Milan, St. Tropez, and Antwerp.

Europe has shown a resolve that no one expected.

A Kinder, Gentler Cut

Manscaped ad with all-Pro tight end Rob
Gronkowski and partner Camille Kostek (WSJ)

Among things that long ago I never thought that anyone would need: the Lawn Mower 3.0 razor, "an electric razor specifically designed for pruning a man’s nether region."

A study published in 2016 in the American Journal of Men’s Health found that 50.5% of the men it surveyed “reported regular pubic hair grooming".....Manscaped heavily touts its Lawn Mower 3.0’s “skin safe” ceramic blade, which it claims prevents cuts more successfully than traditional metal blades.

No longer an anti-nick niche, the potential size of the market has attracted big players like Gillette and Royal Philips.

In the 21st century the change in societal norms has accelerated to such an extent that, who knows, in a few short years you may need a Lawn Mower version X to look presentable on your profile pic. (No more smirkin' at your merkin, gentlemen.)

Mondrian Memory

On the list of 2020's disappointments this item is nothing, but the loss of San Francisco's Mondrian House merits a moment of reflection. (It's only an intangible loss because the house has been painted over--see above before and after.)

The two-story home at 2140 Great Highway, separated from Ocean Beach by a sand dune covered in ice plant, was one of those unexpected encounters that stood as a vivid treat in what can seem an ever-more-predictable Bay Area landscape. The taut balancing of blue, yellow and red planes within a meticulous white grid also had been a presence for at least 20 years.

No longer. Just like that favorite store or saloon that has closed for good because of the coronavirus....The house changed hands last year, and earlier this month the color scheme changed too. The garage door and front entrance are now soft yellow. Everything else is a sky blue that already looks washed out.

Composition with Yellow, Blue,
and Red (Tate.org)

Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) created a distinctive style, "restricted to the three primary colours and to a grid of black vertical and horizontal lines on a white ground," that once one becomes conscious of it one sees duplicated everywhere.

Mondrian dresses became fashionable in the '60's. Their rectangular frame, perpendicular lines, and primary colors were minimalist and futuristic. They echoed the block letters and basic colors of the nascent computer age, the transition from the complexity of analog to the simplicity of digital 1's and 0's.

That world, along with the Mondrian House, exists no longer.

YSL Mondrian dress (pleasure photo)