Mr. Glitterati

Born in Texas in 1962, Tom spent his teenage years in Santa Fe, New Mexico, before securing a place at New York University. It was there he discovered the seminal Studio 54 nightclub, where he met pop artist Andy Warhol for the first time. From then on, school was out and partying was in, in, in. Signing up as a model at one point he had no fewer than 12 TV commercials running at the same time he dropped out of NYU after his freshman year, and then changed tack, choosing to study environmental design at Parsons instead.

But his fascination with the subject waned and, just before graduating, he decided fashion was the thing for him. Although he had no problems getting jobs at Chloe and Perry Ellis, Tom didn’t make a name for himself in the business until he relocated to Europe and landed a position with Gucci. Tom’s partner, journalist Richard Buckley, had become ill with cancer and, after he was given the all-clear at the start of the Nineties, the two decided to leave the stress of New York behind and head for Italy.

The handsome Texan worked his way up to head of design, and although his first effort in October 1994 didn’t win him any plaudits, the following year’s collection was a different story. Gucci fashion had not just been made over, it had received a radical facelift. Out went the clothes for traditional socialites, in came the jet-set look – and Hollywood sat up and took note.

Essentially a monochrome man – his Paris apartment has been described as a three-dimensional photographic negative Tom brings a hard-edged look synonymous with 21st-century glamour to his clothes. In 2000, the Gucci group added Yves Saint Laurent to their stable and, unsurprisingly, Tom’s first collection for the French label was a study in black and white.

In 2004 Tom and chief executive Domenico De Sole made a shock departure from the Italian brand and left the fashion world wondering what he’d do next. The sexy designer revealed at the time that he’d set his sights on Hollywood. But while movie-making might still be in the pipeline, it’s clear that he can’t stay away from the day job.

He’s since been busy developing his own brand and signed multi-million dollar deals with eyewear company Marcolin and Estee Lauder to produce sunglasses and a make-up range under his name, as well as a fragrance for men. The man with the golden touch is also due to launch a hotly-anticipated eponymous menswear collection. Whether his future is films or fashion, his fans can be guaranteed that he’ll be stylish about it.

The House of Gucci started when founder Guccio Gucci opened a leather-goods workshop and store in Florence in 1921. By the sixties and seventies, Gucci was one of the world’s premier luxury-goods brands, with loyalists like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Jackie O keeping its cachet elevated. But in the late seventies, family in-fighting and unsound business decisions set things back considerably, and it wasn’t until American designer Tom Ford came onboard in 1990 that the luxury brand transformed again into a contemporary power player, solidifying Gucci as a billion-dollar empire of interlocking Gs. Along with CEO Domenico De Sole, Ford turned the house around in a relatively short time. His breakout collection was fall 1995, with brightly colored fitted blazers over new-disco satin shirts and hip-huggers changing the way fashion looked overnight and establishing him as an international tastemaker—and master of the “sex sells” approach to high design. In 1999, the fashion world was riveted by the battle royale that erupted when French luxury group LVMH tried to acquire Gucci.

However, rival PPR triumphed, created the Gucci Group, and acquired Yves Saint Laurent (which Ford designed for a few years), Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and more. But as Ford’s contract ended, he and De Sole battled with PPR’s executives, and both left in April 2004. Replacing him wasn’t easy; Alessandra Fachinetti quit after two seasons and was replaced by in-house accessories designer Frida Giannini, who runs both menswear and womenswear. She’s fared well so far; her collections have enjoyed commercial success, although she has yet to shake up the sartorial climate on a Ford-esque scale.

Known for its practical, well-made luggage and business accessories, Tumi is venturing into exotic territory with a collection of special-order alligator accessories. The super-slim Windsor Envelope ($12,000) and sleek Parliament Brief ($13,000) are investment pieces made of American alligator. The pieces are tanned in the old-world tradition in France that requires numerous hand-finishes including stoning the skins to restore their luster, and the skins are then sent to Italy where each piece is hand-sewn, lined with suede, and finished with signature nickel hardware. The accessories are designed to fit laptop computers while maintaining a polished profile. (800.922.8864, www.tumi.com)

When possible, it’s always best to have someone stop by your place to give you what you want, from a house-call-making doctor, to the reason he had to do so, who said her name was “Nikki”. Bringing high end yet affordable custom suit-making right into your abode, Enzo Sartori.

Started by a guy who felt he could undercut wicked-pricey custom suits by eliminating retail overhead and using his insider access to fabric mills, Enzo will send local (Miami), highly trained reps to your house/office to measure the hell out of you, then ship off the specs to be crafted into a suit by the famously meticulous tailors of Hong Kong, who make your duds when they have time away from mending Jackie Chan’s crotch rips. Put in a call, and Enzo’s guy’ll show up with a fabric swatch book of top-of-the-line Italian, British, and French wools from mills like Zegna and Loro Piana (also used to make suits for Calvin Klein, Valentino, etc), help you choose the right hue, take up to 16 crucial measurements, then run through a battery of options with you, like number of buttons, lapel size, how far up the lapels start on the jacket, and single-/double breasted-ness, at which point it’s time to come clean about that third nipple. Pick-able trouser options include pocket shape, pleats/no pleats, and how you want the legs tapered/shaped; you can also opt for silk-like Bemberg lining and fabric patterns sewn to match at the seams, because having polka dots not line up correctly is downright unseemly.

To go along with your suits, Enzo also custom-makes dress shirts based on your measurements, using Italian, British, and Swiss cottons, with your choice of collars, cuffs, pocket shapes, and button color and thickness. They even reinforce the placket to keep open-collared shirts from flopping down — an ailment you apparently don’t have, otherwise doc wouldn’t be asking you to drop ‘em.

It’s that time of year…

The time when you start mentally converting every drop of rain in the city to snow in Tahoe.

But there’ll come a moment—after you’ve carved and shredded your way through a day’s worth of powder—when you need to get off the slopes, sidle up to a fire, pour yourself a hard-earned whiskey and slip into your hot-tub attire. And then out of your hot-tub attire and into something nearly as comfortable…

Introducing Sunny Sports, a new line of vintage American gear out of Japan, now available for your Tahoe après-ski outfitting at AB Fits in North Beach and MAC in Hayes Valley.

While the name Sunny Sports might conjure an image of a surfer knockoff of OP from the ’80s, the clothes are less about the balmy surf and more suited for higher elevations. Think: rustic mountain lodges. Yet the subtle details (like an old-school pen pocket embedded in a pocket for your iPhone or BlackBerry) mean that you’ll blend in nicely at Tartine Bakery on a Sunday morning.

In fact, the plaid work shirt may be the perfect piece of streamlined outdoorsy gear to get you through the next couple weekends of football and pumpkin carving. And then, when it looks like the temperature is about to dip and you’re finally heading to Tahoe, you’ll want to bring along the four-pocket wool Melton jacket—just the shirt for tossing a few logs into the fire.

Or a few inferior garments.

You keep yourself at the forefront of all things cultural.

And it just so happens that this week, culture means a show-stopping photography exhibition of women unlike you’ve ever seen before. Perfectly Natural opens today at Fahey/Klein.

You’ll appreciate the first stateside exhibition from Rasmus Mogensen pretty quickly—when you walk in, you’ll be surrounded by six-foot-tall photos of women. Women standing proudly. Women with hands on hips. Women wearing, but for high heels, not much in the way of clothing.

But when you look closer—her legs really go for days, don’t they—you’ll see Mogensen is up to something here. Inspired by an Italian comic-book artist by the name of Milo Manara, these girls look like they might suddenly take flight to rescue you (or, well, your hapless coworker down the hall) from a burning building. And those impossibly long legs really are impossibly long—the photographer has done some serious digital trickery to make us all think about what we expect from our naked women in high heels.

It’s a matter you’ve given a lot of thought.

Why be concerned with your appearance?

Is it really that important to your career, romance, or influence over others?

Absolutely!!!

It’s a scientific fact that people who don’t know you make up their minds about you on a subliminal / prehistoric basis in 30 seconds or less. This evaluation of you by others takes place so quickly and is so entrenched in the human brain that it is not usually conscious thought.

Behavioral scientists tell us that we notice the following about another human being and in this order: Skin color, Sex, Age, Bearing (height, body language, etc.), Appearance, Direct Eye Contact, and Speech.

The first three we can do nothing about, but we can take advantage of this knowledge to enhance and control how to present the best image of ourselves.

Since 80% of what others see is our clothes, let’s look at some basic faux pas:

1. Never wear a short sleeve shirt with a tie. Short sleeve shirts are perceived as lower class apparel. Fine as part of a uniform or if you aspire to be a fast-food manager, not if you want to project a professional image.

And the Button-Down collar dress shirt is not acceptable for dressy eveningwear (after 6 PM) nor with a double-breasted suit. That’s because even though it’s now a daytime business classic it was originally a sport shirt. The collar was buttoned-down by polo players to keep it from flapping in their faces.

2. Shoes are one of the most evaluated elements of men’s wardrobes. Your shoes should be clean, shined, in good repair and appropriate for the occasion. If you are wearing a suit, wear lace-up shoes.

Don’t wear the same shoe on consecutive days and keep shoetrees in your shoes when you’re not wearing them.

3. Trousers should be long enough to cover your socks, and socks should cover your shins even when you cross your legs. Pants are long enough if they have a slight break in the front.

Pleats (growing out of date) and cuffs (for taller men) are traditional and functional. Pleats let you sit down comfortably and cuffs add weight to the bottoms allowing for proper drape.

4. Never wear both a belt and braces (suspenders). You’ll appear insecure.

5. Socks should match your trousers.

6. Belts should match your shoes.

7. Ties should reach your belt line. This is neither arbitrary nor negotiable. Too short of a tie makes you look like a rube.

8. Properly knotted ties have a “dimple” under the knot. Clips and tacks are out of date.

How to get a dimple under your knot?

Place your index finger in the middle of the tie just under where the knot is forming, pinch that part of the necktie between your thumb and middle finger and squeeze together as you pull it down and tighten the knot.

The necktie knot should hide the collar button.

9. Suit and Sports jackets are symbols of authority. However the bottom buttons of men’s jackets are not designed to be buttoned, since King Edward VII gained weight, and started a fashion trend.

Single Breasted suits can have one, two, three or more buttons. Two and three button jackets are classic, one or more than three get you into the fashion forward arena, which is more suitable for social events than business. With two button jackets only the top button is fastened.

With three button jackets, you can close the middle, or middle and top button. Some suits are made so that the lapels roll to the middle button. On those suits you leave the top button unfastened. Some men even fasten only the top of three buttons!

Four or more button jackets may be designed to fasten all the buttons, even the bottom. If the bottom button of a four button can be closed without a noticeable pulling of the fabric, it’s ok to close or leave it open.

Double Breasted suits are the more formal of the two styles and can have four to six buttons with one or two “to button”. They are often identified by a two-number designation such as 4/2, 4/1 or 6/2 (also “four to two”).

Translated, the first number gives the total number of front buttons and the second is the number of functioning buttonholes. It doesn’t always mean that all the buttons have to be fastened.

Often only the middle or upper button is secured on a 4/2 or 6/2, but the Duke of Kent started buttoning only his lower button creating a longer diagonal line across his chest giving the wearer a thinner, more dynamic look.

Why do men never button the bottom button of your suit, sports jacket, vest or Cardigan sweater?

King Edward VII, “Bertie”, son of Victoria (1841 – 1910, King 1901 – 1910) was so heavy that he could not get the bottom button fastened on his vest or to be more historically kind, maybe he just forgot. His subjects taking it as a fashion statement followed his lead and today most men’s suits, sports jackets or vests are not designed to button the bottom button.

The tradition of not buttoning the bottom button may have also come from the early waistcoats, which were very long. It may have been out of necessity of being able to walk that the bottom buttons were left undone.

10. Suit and Sports jackets should fit properly which includes showing 1/4″ to 1/2” of “linen” or shirtsleeve at the jacket sleeve.

We live in a complex, crowded society where considerate people dress appropriately for various places and occasions. Dressing appropriately is about respect for your fellow humans and our institutions.

LOS ANGELES – Confirming that endorsement deals still have cachet in a recession, “Transformers” star Megan Fox is pulling down a seven-figure payday to model Armani underwear and jeans.

The 23-year-old will be the new face of Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans in 2010, the Milan-based fashion house announced Wednesday.

Most endorsement deals pay celebrities from $500,000 to $2 million for an ad campaign that runs a year, and Fox will make toward the high end of the range, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. This person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The actress’ publicity team, managers and agents approached Armani several times over the years to build the relationship. She wore Armani outfits at red carpet events and met designer Giorgio Armani at an Armani Prive fashion show in Paris this year.

With Victoria Beckham’s contract expiring and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” ballooning past $800 million in worldwide box office, a deal finally clicked. Fox also plays a possessed cheerleader in “Jennifer’s Body,” which launched in theaters last month.

Overall advertising spending is down, but brands continue to pay for endorsement deals with celebrities, said Carol Goll, head of global branded entertainment for International Creative Management, the Hollywood talent agency that represented Fox in the Armani deal.

“There’s a lot of interest in celebrity spokespeople,” Goll said. “We haven’t seen a decline in that.”

The agency recently also signed major deals for clients Beyonce, with General Mills Inc., and Ellen DeGeneres with Cover Girl.