Bricklayers and Other Extraordinary Gentlemen

Old-school work wear is American fashion's comfort food: homemade, hearty, unpretentious. It seldom goes out of style (in parts of the country, it's never in or out, it's just, you know, clothes); popular culture merely ranks its trendiness higher or lower from year to year. Right now, it's spiking off the charts. Americans are shopping their closets for well-worn jeans and practical jackets, buying only things they really need, and looking for inexpensive basics. A recent re-discovery is the canvas mason bag, with a hinged internal frame to support heavy tools or bricks (hence its name). It's classic, it's functional, it's cheap. Well, this is not that bag.

Oh, the bag itself is authentic enough, but in the hands of The Gentlemen's League it's become so much more. Industrial designer Seth Stevens has tweaked it in ways fashionistas will love (and traditionalists will be gnashing their teeth over): the canvas is finer, the leather is softer, even the hardware is prettier. Once assembled, the blank canvas (so to speak) is turned over to artist Adam Razak. Some of his finished pieces are available at Début New York, but most are made to order. Clients sit down for a private consultation, after which Razak hand draws the artwork with pen and ink (including personal details that make one side "public" and the other "private'); adds the customer's monogram; and signs his name.

In other words, this bag is for someone who appreciates history, but seeks the adrenaline rush of 21st-century creativity. I can already hear so-called purists chuckling. But, like people who scoff at runway fashion (who would ever wear that?), they're missing the point. Such flights of fancy represent a designer's attempt to wrestle with big ideas, fantastic dreams and dark desires--and serve as totems of self-expression for the lucky few who end up wearing, or carrying, them. As to whether or not anyone needs such a thing, I'll let Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel have the last word: "Luxury," she once said, "is a necessity that begins where necessity ends."

www.thegentlemensleague.com
www.debutnewyork.com

Photograph by Ron Reeves
www.ronreeves.com

The Shock of the New

Fashion says "look at me," in a voice that can range from a whisper to a roar. The message of beautiful skin is more subtle. "Look at me," it purrs, "and touch me, too." This seductive promise speaks to a basic human desire for contact, and it's part of what makes babies, and supermodels, so very difficult to resist. It's also an example of nature's casual cruelty: most of us are granted our prettiest, freshest complexion at precisely the age we're least prepared to enjoy, or take advantage of, such an extraordinary gift.

Then we grow up, grow older, realize what's been lost (or squandered), and set about trying to reclaim that sweet bloom of youth. Lotions and potions are slathered on the skin to improve its color, tone and texture. Vitamins are downed. Strange brews are imbibed. Specialists are consulted. Some of these things actually help (a good dermatologist, for one). Most, alas, do not.

I'm a lucky man. Adolescence did not wreak havoc on my complexion. I used sunscreen, even as a child, and the deep lines and wrinkles that plague some of my friends have yet to bother me. That said, my skin is far from perfect. It often looks..tired, and lacks clarity and radiance (to use classic beauty parlance). My skincare routine isn't rigorous: I keep my face clean, moisturize when I think about it, and, for special occasions, dip into things like Crème de la Mer, La Prairie, Darphin, or one of Dr. N.V. Perricone's cosmeceuticals. The last time I looked really great, however, was after one of Tracie Martyn's famous "resculpting" facials, which used electrostimulation to firm and tighten my face. Electricity, I decided, was the secret ingredient of effective skincare. So when a knowledgeable friend raved about Nu Skin's Galvanic Spa System II, designed for at-home use, I wanted to try it myself.

My guide was Terri Apanasewicz, celebrity makeup artist (with clients like Cindy Crawford) and founder of P3 Beauty, a network of beauty advisors providing personalized products and services. When it comes to skincare, Apanasewicz has seen it all. She's not easily impressed, but she was definitely enthusiastic about the Galvanic. We were getting ready for the opening of TONYS steakhouse in West Hollywood, a few nights before the Grammys. It was going to be a big party, with plenty of young, talented, and gorgeous performers on hand. Apanasewicz took me through the process, step by step: cleaning the face; coating it with Pre-Treat Gel; gently pressing the broad metal tip of the Galvanic Spa II against the skin and massaging it across the forehead, around the eyes, over the cheekbones and jawline; rinsing the face; and then repeating the steps with Treatment Gel. We were a little rushed, so there was a lot of laughter and jostling to distract me; however, as I patted on Nu Skin's finishing cream and looked at myself in the mirror, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I looked better. Not Tracie Martyn better, unfortunately, but better nonetheless.

To learn more about the science behind the Galvanic, I spoke to a Nu Skin representative. The system's basic premise is simple enough: "pre-treatment" requires a gel that's been engineered to carry a negative charge, and the handheld device is set to emit a negatively-charged, low-level galvanic current. As with magnets, like repels like, so--ostensibly--key ingredients in the gel are driven deeper into the skin and pores than would be accomplished by merely smoothing them on the surface. At the same time, the Pre-Treat Gel binds to impurities. During the "treatment" phase the charges are reversed, and ingredients in the positively-charged Treatment Gel are ferried into the skin by the positive current of the reset device. At the same time, impurities caught in the negatively-charged Pre-Treat Gel are attracted by the positively-charged device and drawn out of the skin.

Nu Skin claims that regular use of the Galvanic Spa II and proprietary gels renders any skincare regimen 70% more effective, but strongly recommends its own 180 Anti-Aging Skin Therapy. The device comes in black (the EX, for "executive") or white, with four interchangeable heads: a broad facial tip; a flat metal disc, or Spot Corrector, to smooth wrinkles; one with multiple nodes, for the body; and a comb-like attachment for scalp and hair. My self-administered facial was my only experience with the product, but further reading suggests galvanic currents are, in fact, legitimate therapy for improving the skin (although most doctors stress the importance of calibrating treatment to the individual, which is only partially addressed by the Galvanic's ability to self-adjust). Apanasewicz, however, has become a habitual user and now swears by it. I can't deny feeling good about my galvanized self as we headed out for a night on the Sunset Strip. On the other hand, I also know (and often quote) fashion oracle Diana Vreeland's pithy observation: "What sells is hope."

www.p3beauty.com
www.nuskinusa.com
www.traciemartyn.com

World Enough, and Time

An important cache of vintage Rolexes will be on the auction block this Sunday, March 22. Italian advertising executive Davide Blei started buying the watches in 1984, with an eye for models he felt were particularly special or beautiful. The man has good taste. His collection of 114 timepieces, briefly previewed in New York (and viewable online) is very fine, and includes such rarities as a 1951 pink gold Super-Oyster Stelline (Ref. 6062) and this 1940 pink gold Monoblocco Oyster chronograph (Ref. 3525). The sale, mounted by Patrizzi & Co. Auctioneers, promises to be unusual for at least two other reasons: There's a zero premium policy (meaning buyers won't be charged a commission), and, while the physical sale is taking place at the Grand Hotel et de Milan in Milan, Italy, collectors anywhere in the world will be able to bid simultaneously online.

This is also an important second chance for the newly-formed Patrizzi & Co. The firm just officially opened its New York offices this month, but the Blei/Rolex sale will take place against a dramatic backstory: more than a year ago, Osvaldo Patrizzi, former chairman of distinguished watch auctioneers, Antiquorum, split (acrimoniously) from that house and, several months later, announced the formation of his own company. Unfortunately, Patrizzi & Co.'s first sale, on November 18, 2008, in Geneva, was, according to The International Herald Tribune, "a fiasco." By most accounts, it was a perfect storm born of the global economy's downward spiral, made all the worse by technical glitches that crippled both the online sale and the real-life auctioneer. In the wake of this inauspicious debut, the Blei sale (originally scheduled for December 18, 2008), was delayed.

Despite his recent turmoil, however, Mr. Patrizzi was calm, cool and collected at the New York preview. He'd already gone on record about that first auction, telling Reuters "We suffered because the world is not a happy place. The results were disappointing." However, he seems confident that this collection's integrity will inspire enthusiasm. Perhaps he also feels, or, at the very least, hopes (like so many of us do), that the worst is over. The time has come for good news.

www.patrizziauction.com

Wardrobe Strategies

Last summer, at the Pitti Uomo menswear expo in Florence, Brunello Cucinelli featured a knit crewneck with a woven, snap-out collar. It certainly wasn't novel (this idea pops up every few years), and, at the time, seemed like nothing more than a smart little sartorial gimmick. In this far more turbulent season, however, there's a case to be made for clothes that can multitask. Today's consumers, if they're shopping at all, want much more bang for the buck.

Like Cucinelli's sweaters, Mel Gambert's shirts with interchangeable collars and cuffs aren't new, but they're suddenly relevant. Throughout much of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th, most fine men's shirts were sewn with a simple collar band; making the actual collars (usually starched and stiff) was handled by specialized companies and represented an enormous industry. It was only post-WWI, during the '20s, that men turned to comfortable "soft collared" shirts and abandoned detachable versions.

But Mel Gambert, a 75-year-old shirt company in Newark, NJ, has never stopped making them. Even today, the family-owned firm offers a staggering array of 400 collar styles to custom and bespoke clients (including a small, but loyal, group of detachable collar fans). Some of these men are dedicated dandies; others like how much easier it is to launder, and press, bodies and collars separately. Today's thrifty consumers may appreciate how fresh collars and cuffs can extend the lives of shirts that might otherwise be thrown away. All of which makes the interchangeable collar that rarest of things: a good investment.

www.gambertshirts.com
www.brunellocucinelli.com

Art and Experience

Passion for the arts runs deep in the sap on both sides of Ariane Zurcher's family tree: her maternal grandparents, Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke, spearheaded Aspen, Colorado's development and founded its cultural underpinnings (the Aspen Institute, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Aspen Design Conference), while her Swiss father was curator of pre-Columbian and African art at Stanford University. So it's no surprise that when Zurcher turned her hand to designing and making jewelry, much of her inspiration came from years spent absorbing art's resonance throughout human history and across cultures.

It's also immediately apparent in the way she talks about the collection. The pieces may bear her name, but, despite her training and skill (she's a true bench jeweler who can shepherd a design from wax model to finished product), she seems to think less about her part in their creation and more about the raw materials, the civilizations, and the artists that inspire her.

For example, there are gorgeous rubellite-and-diamond earrings with removable indicolite tourmaline drops, that might have been discovered in King Tut's tomb; bold rings with a faceted amethyst, rubellite or star sapphire mounted in large, 18k brushed gold "pre-Columbian" bowls (some with raised scrolls that hint at Calder's squiggles); a blunt "Brancusi" necklace of big gold beads interspersed with mixed beryls; and the Samadhi group, based on intricately-linked gold discs (like Japanese rock gardens) that are punctuated by candy-colored stones.

This January, the Fashion Group International annointed Zurcher a "Rising Star of 2009" in the category of fine jewelry. Visit her website to see more of her work, plus a schedule of trunk shows (there's one in New York on Friday, March 6, followed by visits to Aspen, Tulsa, and Washington, D.C.). Just think of it as the perfect guided tour: shopping and cultural outing, all in one.

www.arianezurcher.com