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Do Real Men Wear Halloween Costumes?

Halloween always raises a tough question for men of style: How, exactly, do you dress for a holiday that is all about the clothes you're wearing without looking like you're trying too hard (which you probably don't want to be doing) and without looking stupid (which you probably will anyway). That's what we asked two young men who prefer natty suits, throwback details, and nice shoes for this week's Blogger Showdown. Justin Bridges, of Tucked Style, isn't much of a costume guy himself but still thinks men should dress up for the occasion. Whereas Austin Wong, from Why You Mad, already believes he puts enough effort into his clothing daily, so Halloween should be no exception. Below, the two men debate who has the better strategy for pulling something together this weekend, plus offer some practical suggestions for costumes that are both sophisticated and simple. Well, if you want to practice ruining your favorite suit. Discuss. —Kurt Soller
Justin Bridges: I don't consider myself a Halloween junkie, but I do think this holiday is a great excuse for men to not take themselves too seriously. Costumes are a great way to pull your head out of spreadsheets and have some drinks while pretending to be something that doesn't even exist in real life. Or, for the not so adventurous, you can take on a look like James Bond's. Why not get laid along with all the free candy?
Austin Wong: You won't get laid again after she sobers up and realizes what's behind the mask. Not wearing a Halloween costume during Halloween is actually the ultimate costume. Sure, you stand out, but at least you don't look like you were dumb enough to spend $50 on a 100-percent polyester robe (that shit is not canvassed, pick-stitched, or even hand finished). Last year, I took the risk and wore the "ultimate costume." Some girl asked me what I was, and I replied "the best dressed one here."
JB: But guys who don't dress up are just afraid to express themselves. It's as if being outside of your norm is like traversing the Wild West. Men are too serious. So what, you look unpolished for one evening? Not going to kill you. The guys that seem to enjoy Halloween the most, anyway, are the ones that wear polos, shredded jeans, and flip flops on the weekend. Any costume seems like a better option than that.
AW: To be honest, I already feel like I'm wearing a costume among many of the men in New York. I realize we no longer live in the 50s and 60s, but everyone just seems way too dressed down these days. How is it acceptable that "dressing up" requires only one thing: a collared button-down shirt? Let's be real, most guys look like slobs year round. The only day they can really "dress up" is Halloween. I'm usually always a bit dressed, so I don't feel the need to change that.
JB: Yeah, you just have to be vulnerable on that night to the jokes that are bound to ensue. Maybe a man is too prideful to dress like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle at the age of 26? Sure.
AW: At the end of the day, we who are interested in men's wear are always in "costume" (well, most of us). Not everyone has perfectly-fitted, light-padded Cucinelli jackets, or high-watered Thom Browne suits. We are the ones who are always "vulnerable," having paid our dues 364 days of the year. We are always out of the comfort zone. What is more abnormal than looking (slightly) normal on a day of abnormality?
JB: Yeah, men just want to be cool and collected at all times.
AW: Look, I am no Grinch of Halloween. If you really want to "do" Halloween, stick to the classics. Wear a mask over your best outfit, color-coordinate black and orange, or be Patrick Bateman for Halloween.
JB: Halloween is your time to put whatever you do on a daily basis — albeit slob or men's wear nerd — on hold for five minutes and get wild. I'm not a huge Halloween guy, but think of the detriment to the world if all we did was use this as an opportunity to dress up in better clothes? I'm definitely half asleep and slobbering right now because I can't get behind the idea of a bunch of Thom Browne and Tom Ford wannabes traipsing around.
AW: We can always incorporate our everyday items into our costumes. This strategy does, at least, save some money.
JB: I think the way to take the celebration and make it your own is to be quirky or funny. Show style via personality, not necessarily via wardrobe. For instance, I kind of want to dress up as Waldo, as clichéd as that is, but wear a sign on my shirt that says "Muh-f**** wanna find me!" A little rap reference, you know? Nobody says I can't wear a pair of Church's brogues with Hook + Albert red laces in them to match the shirt. There's nothing wrong with doing the best of both worlds. Be the best-dressed Phantom of the Opera, if you want. You don't have to wear a cheap outfit, and you can definitely pull the suit from your own closet, if you don't mind the chance of beverage spillage.
AW: Justin raises a very valid point. I fully agree that we can all can get into the holiday spirit one way or another. As for me, I will be in my regular suits — the "ultimate costume." More importantly, we all want to do one thing during Halloween and that is party. Happy Halloween. And, as Justin said, I hope everyone gets laid.

04:48 | Posted in , , | Read More �

Date With Nicole Scherzinger

She'll probalbly Forgive you for stumbling over her name— just blame it on all thoseconsonants. Truth is, Pussycat Dolls star (and solo artist) Nicole Scherzinger's particular hotitude is the kind that should leave any red-blooded dude dumbstruck. After torching reality TV with the Dancing With the Stars (pretend you didn't watch, that's cool), she ordered us around, singing "Don't Hold Your Breath"! We couldn't help but hold it for this hot stunner. Summer is truly here. 

You're on reality TV, you're in your own music videos, you're in our minds, you're everywhere. Are you gonna take your music career in a direction following one of these, like that dancing show? 
Maybe bust out the fox trot onstage? A rumba single on your next album? Hmmm, the fox trot? I don't know about that! But you never know; I do like to mix it up.Ballroom dancing is a different kind of sexy than the, uh, writhing that goes on when the Pussycats perform.Yeah, it's definitely more cerebral. Usually I allow the music to take me, so it's been kind of interesting to be like, "One and two, one and two." But I think there's something sexy about a woman who's in control of her body in every way. 

But when you're doing your own thing onstage, you completely let yourself go?Yeah, I transport to another place. I don't know what my body is gonna do. I just listen to what the music tells me and kind of blank out. I turn into a beast.Say we're in a club.

Can a guy dance like nobody's watching? Would ft catch your eye? 
Uh, that might scare me. Sometimes guys take it too far when they're dancing. I'd be like, "OK, dude. You need to settle down and have some control." 

What's going on with the Pussycat Dolls?A couple of the girls have left the group, but I'm still the lead singer, and I'm still working on music right now. I think the next single will be under my name.Your boyfriend is F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, one of the best drivers in the world. 

What does he think of your skills behind the wheel? 
He's more afraid when he's with me and I'm driving than he is during a race. He gives me pointers, but at the end of the day he's like, "Babe, you're driving with your knees!" I'm doing my make-up, changing the radio... I guess it's appropriate that I just did a song with Slash and Alice Cooper called "Baby Can't Drive."

And when Lewis is driving... how fast have you gone? 
Let's just say that neither of us would be allowed near a car again if we had been pulled over. It was in Switzerland.

Got any girl crushes?Halle Berry. She's just naturally gorgeous... I love her smile. Wait, I sound like a dude; I've got to snap out of it!You grew up in Kentucky, but you were born in Hawaii. 

What traditions do you keep? 
I'm just a down-home Southern girl. I love making chicken and dumplings and Kentucky Derby pie. And from Hawaii I've got a love for paddle surfing. I love visiting family in both places. See, even if I just talk about my family my dialect changes—I go from a Southern dialect to Hawaiian pidgin.Your family are strict Catholics. 

What do they think of your sexed-up lyrics?My family's been great. My grandfather's a priest, and even he has a huge photo of the Pussycat Dolls framed. But there have been moments. When I first recorded "Don't Cha," I went home and left an uncensored version of the demo in my mom's car. [Editor's note: Lyrics include "I know you should be fucking with me."] I heard about that. 

Any hidden talents? 
 Nunchuck ninja skills. That's all I'm sayin'.Whaf s the lamest thing we'd find on your iPod?I'd like to say I don't have lame music. But maybe one of my lamest songs would be one of my own! I have demos on my iPod that are unfinished sketches; some just don't make sense yet. 

What music puts you in the mood?
Massive Attack, Marvin Gaye, Robin Thicke, or Prince. 

Do you hit the clubs much or stay in? 
Honestly, I don't really do the "go out" thing. If I want to get really crazy, I have game night.So we should come over with a stack of board games?Yeah. Bring over Balderdash, some Robin Thicke, a bottle of vino, and it's on.

Can you two go anywhere without being noticed? 
No. We went to South Africa and saw this head of a tribe wearing an animal he had just killed or something. He was like, "Ahhh! Are you Nicole Scherzinger?" I was like, are you kidding me? How do you know my name? And hearing this German name come out of him—it was amazing!

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Best Advise: Mind the Beard Line

The line between lumberjack and high schooler's first beard lies somewhere near your Adam's apple. Some tips on where to mark your beard line. 

(a) Too short. 
(b) Just right.
(c) Way too long. 

Many years ago, growing a beard was easy. You just stopped shaving. Where your beard ended -- chin, neck, or somewhere after your chest hair began -- was nobody's concern, least of all yours. Now things are different. People tend to have jobs and fewer diseases, and beards require more tailoring. It helps to think of your face as a map, your beard an invading army. If you don't control the front line, there's really no reason to stay in the fight. Stopped too close to the jawbone (line a), a beard makes you look uptight. Like it's more the result of an appliqué than testosterone. Left to wander down your neck (line c), however, a beard invites comparisons to feral creatures or iconic communist firebrands. (If you have a job that involves neither timber nor rousing the proletariat, this is not a good thing.) The safest bet is the one-inch band just above your Adam's apple (line b). Here you manage to have both a legitimate beard and something of a neck. You have just as good a grip on machismo and gravitas as you do on an employable future.

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Time for belly off

THE SETBACK 
My high school football coaches told me I needed to bulk up—they just didn't tell me how. So I hit every fast-food joint in town, and it worked. I gained 70 pounds before my sophomore year and kept piling them on through high school. Then Concordia University recruited me to play football, and I knew I would have to be even bigger. But the larger I grew, the less endurance I had. As I pushed my body toward 300 pounds, my energy level plummeted and I feared for my health. 

THE WAKE-UP CALL
After a fast-food binge at five different restaurants, my belt literally snapped off my body. Even that embarrassment wasn't enough. During one game I took a nasty tackle that ripped up my knee so badly I couldn't play. Now my weight wasn't even useful anymore.

THE FOOD 
I wanted to ease into healthy choices, so I started replacing my favorites, like fast-food burgers, with homemade versions. I made the patties with extra-lean ground beef or turkey, used whole-grain buns, and loaded the burgers with vegetables. I bought some healthy cookbooks for inspiration and found new favorites, like spinach-and-tomato scrambled eggs. Eventually I phased out burgers and pizza, but I still eat those foods for a weekend treat.

THE FITNESS
Losing weight was never an option during my foot­ball days, so the strategies were new to me. I kept up with the plyometrics and intense interval train­ing, and I started going out on longer runs. I ran in the evening, when my fast-food cravings usually struck, to help keep my mind off food. Gradually I built up my endurance to revisit basic weight-training exercises, like hang cleans and bench presses. I also took up jujitsu, which would have nearly killed me when I was pushing 300. 

THE REWARD
I used to be winded after walking up a flight of stairs. Now I run a set of 500 stairs at least three times a week. After losing the weight and kicking my butt back into shape, I even tried out for a Can­adian Football League team. Although I didn't make it, I had the energy to give tryouts my all.

Why run Stairs?
It's a great no-gym workout to improve your speed, power, and overall fitness, says Martin Rooney, M.H.S.C.S.C.S. Plus, stairs offerthese additional benefits.A. Stairs make yourquads and glutes workharder. More work frombigger muscles meansmore calorie burn.B. Stairs demand effortfrom your upper body,furtherjackingupyourheart rate.

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Haute hatch


It’s amazing what rising petroleum prices can do. Throw in crowded city streets, congestion charges, differential taxing policies, tax rebates for small dimensions with small engines and you end up with the inevitable – small cars. Now, while there are many millions around the globe content with Maruti Swifts and Hyundai i10s, there are plenty still who want some more: some more style, some more features, some more badge snobbery.
It is to this discerning lot that luxury car manufacturers have turned their attention. Chic retro revivals notwithstanding, in the form of MINI, Fiat 500 and VW Beetle, we now have something, um, a little more ‘regular’. Enter the Mercedes A-Class, BMW 1 Series and Audi A1.

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Seduce Her With Your Fingers

Let your fingers do the talking with massage.

Stand up. Look down. You will see an appendage of amazing erotic ability dangling at waist level — your hand. Use it to massage your mate when she says she wants intimacy and doesn't necessarily mean sex. A massage is romance you can understand. It's practical. And it almost always leads to sex. Start with a good massage oil such as Neal's Yard Remedies Ginger & Juniper Warming Oil ($15 for 1.7 fluid ounces nyr-usa.com) or Naturopathica Arnica Muscle and Joint Massage and Body Oil ($28 for 4 fluid ounces, naturopathica.com). Avoid mineral or baby oils because they are absorbed too quickly into the skin. Don't forget to rub your hands together to warm them before applying the massage oil and the following techniques:

1) Stroke toward the heart.
That means when you're working on her legs, stroke upward. On the arms, stroke downward.

2) Ease in with effleurage.
The French are experts at more than retreating. They know their massage. Effleurage is a simple stroke for loosening her up. It's a light, long rhythmic stroke that generally runs with the grain of the muscle. On her legs, for example, use your cupped palms and gently glide upward. On her back, flatten your hands and broaden your strokes.

3) Play with petrissage.
This circular stroke is designed to squeeze the muscles and wring out tension from the shoulders, upper arms, legs, and buttocks. Use both hands to work the muscles in opposite directions: when stroking her thighs, for example, move one palm away from you as you slide it forward, and move the other toward you.

4) Roll your thumbs.
This is best for working on tension knots. Use your thumbs, one after the other, to press into her flesh, sometimes moving circularly and other times just holding pressure on one point. Lean your weight into it.

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Air Suport For the better man


There's a fine line between smelling great and smelling of fruit salad


Why is choosing the right scent such a conundrum?

Perhaps it's because fragrances are marketed with the promise that a splash from the right bottle will transform us into old salts with a trollop in every port. But when you look beyond the label, it isn't that complicated.

Aftershave contains 1 to 3 percent perfume oil. Its effects are fleeting, and it alone belongs on the face. Cologne clocks in at 2 to 5 percent perfume oil, lasts several hours, and goes on the body. Eau de toilette, with 4 to 8 percent perfume oil, is better for a date than for the office.

You don't need to go with a heavy scent during the hot days of summer. "Warm weather accentuates fragrance, so wear light, airy versions when the heat is on," explains Rochelle Bloom, president of the Fragrance Foundation.

Also remember, less is more....

04:48 | Posted in , | Read More �

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