DEAR MR. TLALE, THANK YOU FOR THAT BLOUSE

COURTESY: SIMON DEINER/SDR PHOTO

COURTESY: SIMON DEINER/SDR PHOTO

Okay. I make it seem as if it was designed exclusively for me. No, it wasn't, but I love it as if it was! Unfortunately, this blogger did not head down south for this year's edition of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Cape Town (Sjoe! What a mouthful). I do, however, always keep tabs on what is going on in local fashion. When I browsed through pics, what a delight it was to see a male model- let's just call him a 'mamodel'- adorned in my favourite item of clothing- a blouse designed by the one and only Mr David Tlale. Is it just not heavenly?!!!

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL

Gael Garcia Bernal is very high up on my unnumbered list of favourite actors, sitting comfortably next to the likes of Johny Depp, Leo and Brad Pitt. I first saw him in the sexually charged Academy Award Winning Mexican film 'Y Tu Mama Tambien' and I was instantly in love. Well, I was in high school and at the time I was honestly just in love with his looks, I wasn't analysing his acting skills or anything. I later saw him in 'Bad Education', which made me sit up and take notice. More films came... Elvis, Babel and now, having bought a copy of 'Motorcycle Diaries' where he plays Che Guevara, I have to admit this is more than just an infatuation with his immense talent. I love him!

MISTER TRICKETT, I LOVE YOU

LOOKING GOOD FOR LESS THAN A GRAND
PIC: ABIAHSUPERSTAR

These days people who say they don't shop at Mr Price are those who are either too snooty for their own good or those who simply don't have the fashion memo. The retailer has certainly upped the ante in the past couple of years. Smart people shop there for items to update any look. I am most certainly one of those people and yesterday I found myself dressed almost only in Mr Price. My Levi's jeans were the only item that wasn't Mr Price. The rest was all Mister Trickett, a limited edition menswear line now available at selected Mr Price stores across the country. The scarf, I bought last winter. You should have heard all the compliments I got, especially on the red brogues. Love 'em! Oh, and... The glasses are also Mr Price. Lol.

SAINT LAURENT PARIS LOGO UNVEILED

THE NEW 'SAINT LAURENT PARIS' LOGO

I don't know what the brouhaha is all about because I really don't think the new Saint Laurent Paris logo is that bad at all. The news that newly appointed creative director Hedi Slimane would rename the house started by the late Yves Saint Laurent was met with much shock and horror a few weeks ago. Now that the new logo has been unveiled, Facebook fans have aired their disapproval. 'Go back to the old logo, the new one lacks IMAGINATION. Moving from luxury segment to ready to wear segment is a strategy that sound good from the sales volume perspective, but erasing everything the brand stands for is not the way to do it,' one person said.
'Looks sooo ordinary, doesn't catch my attention,' said another.
You can read many other comments from people who clearly hate Slimane's new logo by clicking here.

WAS THAT A KISS, KISS... OR JUST A KISS?

PIC: CUTEBABIESPICS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Is there such a thing as 'just a kiss'? Well, many of my colleagues in the fashion industry would most probably say 'of course'. That's how most of us greet each other; with a kiss on each cheek. Others go as far as plonking it right on your lips.
No matter how much I do it, however, it doesn't take away the awkwardness of that kiss. Are we doing the double-cheek kissing thing? Is it going on the lips? Who qualifies for which option? Is there some kind of familiarity based hierarchy? 
It is all so confusing that at times you find yourself in an unanticipated head-butting match with the subject of your polite endeavours. Beyond that, even people outside the fashion industry seem to be into the kissing thing, too, lately. It's all just a bit weird, no? I certainly don't know how to react when an ex-lover puts their lips on my cheek, let alone my lips. Is kissing(especially on the lips) not supposed to be the equivalent of saying 'I love you'?
How did we even get here? Why is there so much kissing going on anyway? When even strangers don't find kissing strangers strange how do you tell if someone is trying to hint at wanting to see more of you, as it were. With so much kissing going on he may just have kissed you because it is the 'polite' thing to do. Who knows? Urrggghhh... I'll kiss you anyway. It's just a kiss after all, no?

BOYS GONE WILD

Ukranian pop-group Kazaky are the stars of Madonna's very gay, sex-charged video 'Girls Gone Wild'. These pictures of them are featured in a slideshow over at V Magazine where Oleg Zhezhel, a founding member of the group, is quoted as saying wearing six inch stilettos- which they dance in- started off as a joke. 'We just wanted to try the shoes on and see how we danced in them, and then it became our thing—we liked it. We don’t become feminine when we put them on, we feel that we put them on and become more of a man. We can still be masculine.'

TESTICULAR WHAT???!!!

ME IN MY SKINNIES (PIC: ELLE.CO.ZA)

All my jeans have a skinny fit and while I do take my health seriously I could not help but crack up when I read the headline 'Fashion for tight jeans is increasing testicular problems among men'. Doctors claim more and more men are having health issues that are directly caused by wearing tight fitting clothes. The problems include 'urinary tract infections leading to over-activity of the bladder - a type of bladder weakness as well as a low sperm count and fungal infections'. Are they being for real, though? I don't know. All I know is that I love my skinnies- my perfect fit!

LET'S TALK ABOUT MEN AND STYLE, SHALL WE?

I'm quite excited about this live twitter chat about men's style and grooming hosted by C-Squared. I am part of a panel that includes the label's head designer Wayne Govender (@WayneGovender), it's TOPSWAG Style Icon for 2012 Mvelo Ncube (@MveloN) and fellow blogger Jerri Mokgofe (@JerriMokgofe).


For an hour, tomorrow, we will be answering your questions on men's style and grooming. You can send any queries to pr@socialwoo.co.za These must be sent before 12pm tomorrow. To follow this groundbreaking live chat, it is all happening under the twitter hashtag #MENSTYLECHAT 

FRANK'S LETTER AND THE GAY HYPOCRISY

PIC: FRANKOCEAN.TUMBLR.COM

After reading Frank Ocean's Tumblr, where his 'coming out' letter is posted, I came to the conclusion that while the singer is admitting to having fallen in love with a man at a point in his life, he doesn't admit to being straight-out gay. I don't know how twitter and several media came to the conclusion that he is. I am not arguing that Frank Ocean might be straight, I'm simply saying men who fall in love with other men can also be bisexual rather than gay. There is a difference. And at 19, the age he says he was when he fell in love with this man, I honestly think the journey to finding oneself is only at its infancy.
For me, the reaction to Frank's alleged coming out highlights the hypocrisy of a lot of gay men. They often talk about the freedom coming out of the closet gave them but in speaking of that freedom there is no room left for those who don't want to be defined as necessarily gay to reserve that right. To most gay men, once you admit to being in love with or having feelings for another man you are simply gay. Whoa unto you should you ever find yourself in a situation where you fall in love with a girl. It's just not allowed! 
I doubt any human being has a full understanding of sexuality, I personally prefer to see it as fluid. And I find it hypocritical for people who understand the feeling of oppression to take a stance that is potentially oppressive to others.