How far Lyndon Baines Johnson had come from that desolate stretch of Texas Hill Country where he spent his boyhood and early manhood, from that hardscrabble life in a clapboard farmhouse on the Pedernales River. He had ascended to the House of Representatives, and then to the Senate, and next to the vice-presidency, and next, next to the presidency; and, then, next, then, then, next, to that rectangular hibachi table of a small restaurant in midtown Manhattan, its grills a sizzling smorgasbord of steak and shrimp and chicken, where the President would be dining. Its name: Benihana. Read more at VanityFair.com.

Source: Vanity Fair.

With tax season finally drawing to a close, we enter that peculiar time of year when many a working man — especially those not in the writerly professions — receive some sort of reward from Uncle Sam for the onerous task of accounting financially for the past twelve months (i.e., we get a tax refund). In the past, a nice bottle of Barolo, a new pair of running shoes, perhaps even an iSomething might have tided us over for another fiscal year, while the rest of our gelt was squirreled away into low-yield savings accounts, if not a hollowed-out mattress. But as the economy thawed, and with the Dow hovering around the 13,000 mark, it’s time to consider loosening the death grip that previously held those purse strings. Once you’ve done that, the question quickly becomes: What should a stylish man do with that extra spot of money? Read more at Esquire.

Source: Esquire

FADE IN:

EXT. SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL, THE DISTANT FUTURE — DAY

We see a large, outdoor arena. The ANNOUNCER’s voice comes over the public-address system.

ANNOUNCER

Welcome to the first annual Anchorman Games, a competition we stole from a book we haven’t actually read, so there will be some liberties taken with names, places, and concepts herein. As you know, a boy and a girl have been selected from the 12 districts of some long-ago-forgotten land called North America. And San Diego. Funny how that works. Representing the San Diego district will be Anchorman Ron Burgundy and Anchorwoman Veronica Corningstone.

RON BURGUNDY, anchorman of yesteryear, and his trusty dog, BAXTER, appear at a podium. VERONICA CORNINGSTONE is at their side. Read more at Esquire.

Source: Esquire

The Emmy nominated and Golden Globe award-winning cast returns for the two-hour season premiere, with John Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Justin Bieber, Taylor Lautner, Ricky Gervais, Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, Sidney Poitier, Hulk Hogan, Joan Fonda as the ghost of Ida Blankenship, and Kim Kardashian as the kind and gentle king of the sea, Flipper. After the mid-trimesterly season finale, occurring approximately 17 minutes into the fourth episode so that cast, crew and caterers can re-re-renegotiate their contracts, the regular players will be joined by more than a smattering of zombies, muppets and teenage vampires. Look! It’s Lindsay Lohan! What’s she doing here? Hard to say. Read more at The Huffington Post.

On this show last week, you heard me talk about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke. In the contentious debate over reproductive rights, I may have gone too far: I called her a slut, a prostitute, a whore. And, in the privacy of my own offices, I may have insinuated that I didn’t like her haircut, and that I found her outfit to be more than a little unbecoming. She was appearing in front of Congress, and certainly could have at least Callista Gingrich-ed it up a little—lacquered her hair, spackled on some lips, worn a tasteful necklace, but nothing too expensive. After all, she is in law school, and has to defray the costs of all that progestero—err, tuition. Read more at VanityFair.com.

Source: Vanity Fair.

Tim Coppens.

You’ve got to hand it to Belgian-born designer Tim Coppens. With his background in sportswear, this Ecco Domani Fashion Fund award-winner knows how to build a collection, and not just because of the architecture so omnipresent in his latest work. Here’s a rundown of the reasons why he’s one of our favorites. Read more at Paper magazine.

NUMBER:Lab.

It was all in the sporty details at yesterday’s runway show of Luis Fernandez’s NUMBER:Lab collection. This sportswear-inspired gear had a not-your-average-trip-to-the-gym feel, with a mining theme that was brought home with models that walked onto the runway carrying pickaxes. Here’s a list of the top three sartorial elements that’ll help you brave the elements come Fall/Winter 2012. Read more at Paper magazine.

Rag & Bone.

The post-industrial, post-Edwardian punk of Marcus Wainright and David Neville’s imagination was on full display earlier this afternoon as they presented their Rag & Bone F/W 2012 Collection at Pier 57. For some reason, as the models marched to the strains of Thom Yorke’s dark tunes, winding through the pier’s cavernous interior, past steel girders and beyond narrow shafts of sunlight, I kept on thinking of the film There Will Be Blood, and not just because of the long boots that were doing the marching. Here’s a breakdown of what led to this line of sartorial thinking. Read more at Paper magazine.

N. Hoolywood.

Last night, in a sepulchral wood-paneled room at La Venue, Japanese designer Daisuke Obana presented his N.Hoolywood F/W 2012 collection. The show was set to the sound of haunting sea chanteys, a curious choice, which I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Obana about backstage. “They’re old fishing songs,” he said through a translator, “A mix of eight of them, which I found at a record shop in San Francisco.” Read more at Paper magazine.

Billy Reid.

Oh, but to spend a few brief moments in the charm and sweetness and eminent dappertude–a word I’ve just invented especially for this occasion–of Billy Reid’s F/W 2012 collection, shown last night at Eyebeam Studio. The audience, many of them with DogFish beer in hand, couldn’t help but be entranced by the Florence (that would be Alabama, not Italy) based designer’s latest work. Read more at Paper magazine.

Robert Geller.

Robert Geller is quite possibly one of the most original thinkers in American menswear, and is rapidly turning into one of my favorites. His F/W 2012 show at Pier 59 marked a continuation of the post-industrial themes he explored last season, though he did so not on the whitewashed pavement of his spring show, but rather, with his feet on the earthen ground. Read more at Paper magazine.

Simon Spurr.

Renowned menswear designer Simon Spurr showed his F/W 2012 collection yesterday at Milk Studios. With a mind tending towards the traditions of Savile Row and a hand crafting some of the finer wares in the sartoria-sphere, here’s a breakdown — inspired by one of our favorite recent films — of what separated Mr. Spurr’s collection from the rest of the pack. Read more at Paper magazine.

Michael Bastian.

Judging from yesterday’s show at Exit Art, it looks like Michael Bastian has certainly matured. This was, of course, when the fog lifted from the runway of his F/W 2012 collection–a very literal fog, generated by a very real fog machine, that had me wiping my eyeglasses in case I’d forgotten to clean the lenses, a constant #nyfw between-show battle for the bespectacled set. Read more at Paper magazine.

Lacoste.

Yesterday, the Studio at Lincoln Center was transformed, inside and out, into a wintertime wonderland as Lacoste showed its Fall/Winter 2012 collection. As the music started–based on the score from Close Encounters of the Third Kind–foam snow let the audience know that they were no longer on the tennis courts of France. Read more at Paper magazine.

Steven Alan.

With the weather finally feeling Februaryish this early (early) first morning of New York Fashion Week, I thought I’d be tending towards the coats of Steven Alan’s Fall/Winter 2012 collection. Instead, I found myself drawn to the zigzagged lines of a handsome shawl-collared cardigan-coat, which was layered under a khaki jacket. Read more at Paper magazine.

GANT.

Michael Bastian, in creating the F/W 2012 collection for GANT, titled, “The Lucky Ones,” had to look no further than his own memories. For yesterday’s presentation, Exit Art was transformed into a very stylish tableau vivant of his mid-1980s college days in Boston, replete with street lamps, a motor scooter, a boxing ring, and even snow — generated by the snow machine that dusted the runway of his eponymous main collection several days ago. Read more at Paper magazine.

Our Dear and Beloved Comrades!

Salutations to each of you! You might have heard yesterday’s news about our company, the great and munificent Face-Book! Early in the day, representatives from our business office met with the DJIA — along with the IMF, ICM, CAA, LOL, ROTFL, LMAO, and the New York Health & Racquet Club — and we all reached the same conclusion: The time has come, after eight long and arduous yet glorious years, for us to offer, publicly and initially, an Initial Public Offering, henceforth to be abbreviated SIW (Suck It, Winklevosses).

Some within the Face-Book family may bemoan such a decision. The naysayers, as naysayers so often do, may say nay. And they may bemoan, too, like the bemoaners. We are a Silicon Valley company, after all, located in humble, downtown Menlo Park. I, our all-knowing leader, wear New Balances. How could we possibly be worth so much? Read more at Esquire.

Source: Esquire

Isn’t it wonderful how we’re friends! Save that you’re the friend who fetches tea, empties my chamber pot & bathes me. #DowntonAbbeyProblems

First cousins make for excellent bedfellows! (So long as there’s a sizable country estate in play.)#DowntonAbbeyProblems

Please feel free to call us by our given names, the Right Honourable Robert & Cora, Earl & Countess of Grantham. #DowntonAbbeyProblems

Ain’t no roses like the Dowager Countess’s Roses. #Fact #DowntonAbbeyProblems

Read more at The Huffington Post.

A self-proclaimed “typical girl,” Tracy Smith knew she wanted to work in fashion, but wasn’t sure how. While sifting through junk for that perfect piece of jewelry, she found it! And so began House of Lavande. Read more at Avenue Magazine.

Source: Avenue Magazine.

FADE IN:

EXT. BEDFORD FALLS—CHRISTMAS EVE

Through the expansive darkness, we slowly begin to see A LIGHT. It is a red light. Though perhaps it isn’t a light at all. Or even red. We’re just guessing. It is looming, undulating, vague. What is this light (or non-light)? Is it the universe? Is it a star collapsing in on itself? O.K., if the light is a light, then it’s red, but not quite as red as before, though perhaps redder, and vaguer, and definitely more looming and undulating. Read more at VanityFair.com.

Source: Vanity Fair.