AA in NYC

Angela Adams stopped into New York tonight with a terrific trunk show at Design Within Reach on the Upper East Side. My favorite designer, and not only because she is the only one of my babysitters to become well known, down-to-earth Angela gave an excellent presentation on her design inspirations (i.e. North Haven, Maine). A flock of North Haveners were in attendance, including 3/5 of my elementary school class (those in the know will understand..ha!). She has motivated me to finally pick up the "Kelly" runner below.

Posted by Sebastian / April 17, 2008 /
 

The many things I love: Angela Adams

My fav designer and former babysitter Angela Adams launched a new web site this week and it's to-die-for. Fellow North Haveners will recognize some of our favorite spots and people throughout her revamped site.

Even though her goods can be spotted in shops from Vancouver to Mexico City and from New York to the Virgin Islands, her roots and the influences of her hometown shine through in all her work.

As always, the best part of her site are the personal touches, like quotes from her mom: "'How are things in America,' my mother asks when she calls me in Portland. Not because she is not in America, but because the mainland feels so foreign when you live on an island. Miles -- and time -- separate the island from the distractions and chaos of most daily lives."

Posted by Sebastian / Angela Adams / November 18, 2006 /

Golden Trailer Awards

Last night my friend Chris and I went to the Golden Trailer Awards, a show that claims to be the Oscars of movie previews. We went for the open bar, and a possible glimpse at celebs. We got the former but certainly not the latter. The crowd was pure, stereotypical LA: within a few minutes we'd been approached by a man asking us who we were and what our connection to the film industry was. We told the truth (no one; no connection, we came for the booze) and the man quickly moved along to mingle with others.

A few minutes later a film producer came by and pushed herself into our conversation. By then we'd gotten a little smarter and decided to say that we had a real movie connection: Chris acted in a little-known Singaporean film (or was it a documentary about gay Orthodox Jews?). It sounded safe, she bought it, and we kept her attention for a while. The conversation finally progressed beyond 'who are you and why are you here?' Needless to say it was a pretty shallow crowd so we promptly bolted to Fatty Crab for pork bellies and fatty duck (I did not do the ordering, thank you very much).

Posted by Sebastian / New York / June 2, 2006 /
 

My beautiful new hat

Faithful blog readers may remember that I was getting hot and heavy for the 2006 Canadian Olympic hat when designs for it were first made public last year. Today I finally got the nerve to buy one at the Hudson's Bay Company (aka The Bay), and all day I walked around Toronto getting looks. My pouty friend Joe, pictured here, assured me I'd look like a fool wearing the hat, so we agreed I just had to buy it.



Posted by Sebastian / Style / March 5, 2006 /
 

You're not 16 anymore!
 
There are many people who should probably not be wearing Abercrombie, including the company's 61-year-old founder.

Update: Apparently I'm not the only one scared by Mike Jeffries. Gawker talks to Benoit Denizet-Lewis, the piece's author.

Posted by Sebastian / January 24, 2006 /
 

Racy undies 
 
Style guru Russell Smith at the Globe and Mail has discovered an online undie emporium, UnderU (This site may not be suitable for work, so beware!). He calls it "an amusing experience, particularly if you are an admirer of hairless muscular youths pretending to play Twister or doing their laundry in clingy briefs."

"Part of the fun of such a catalogue, of course, is, let's be honest, the eye-popping bulges, and in this particular one, a few of the models appear to be, let's say, particularly happy to be photographed."

Posted by Sebastian / January 16, 2006 /
 

A few good men's spas 
 
Air Canada's e-zine, onAir, features a piece on male grooming, or manscaping, and a few tempting spas in this month's edition.

"Metrosexuals move over. There's a new man in town. Introducing the übersexual: men who want to be in touch with their feminine side and feel like real men again. Catching on to this new market of men who watch basketball and take care of their skin (think P.Diddy), manly spas are cropping up all over the country."

• Absolute Spa at the Hotel Vancouver is "luxury spa with a major injection of testosterone...At this downtown spa, you might spot Ben Affleck or Simon Cowell having a hot towel shave or eyebrow shaping but you definitely won't find anything pink."

• At Bode Spa in Ottawa, "shots of scotch or tequila are on hand to bolster the courage of waxing virgins."

Posted by Sebastian / January 6, 2006 /
 

Male salons catch on with sports, beer and waxing

All men need a little pampering from time to time and the growing business of salons for men, replete with beer for men getting their nails done, is taking off to meet a growing demand. "Men are getting more vain," said Marian Salzman, author of "The Future of Men" and director of strategic content at ad agency JWT in New York. "There's more pressure to look young and sexy. Even young boys are waxing their bodies to be hairless."



Posted by Sebastian / December 16, 2005 /

How to make a pretty face

Occasionally, I get asked about the products I use to keep my skin so radiant (I'm not convinced that it is; this week it's rather zitted, in fact). It's not that difficult to achieve doll face skin, as long as you have the right tools: at least six different kinds of face washes, two or more pumice scrubs, three kinds of lotion, coarse face cloths, and sturdy cotton pads.



1. To begin, get your pores wide open with a steamy hot shower.

2. Use a small amount of Kiehl's Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser ($11, available at Holt Renfrew, Neiman Marcus, and Saks), in gentle circular motions, all over your face, focusing on the "t-zone," that oil-catching area comprised of your forehead and nose. Rinse. Because it's good to alternate products, every other day replace the Kiehl's with Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser ($6, at Walgreens and Target). You'll die when you feel how soft and supple your skin is after using this stuff.

3. Out of the shower, the shave is a tough proposition. It kills your face, so you must pick a product that will help your skin revive itself after repeated scraping. I prefer Anthony Logistics for Men Shave Gel ($15, at Sephora and Parkleigh in Rochester). Also appropriate is the Jack Black Beard Lube Conditioning Shave with Jojoba and Eucalyptus ($15, at Bloomingdale's and Ogilvy in Montreal). Neither will lather, and they shouldn't. Only a thin layer is needed for an effective shave.

4. After your shave, drape a steaming hot face cloth (preferably a rough, hard-water-washed one) on your face, let stand for 15 seconds, then rub all over to clear your pores. Be rough. You have a lot of dead skin to take off.

5. Now that your pores are wide open and vulnerable to toxin filled-air, close 'em up with the Kiehl's Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion ($10 at Kiehl's in Vancouver). Use a sturdy cotton pad to apply, using circular motions and again focusing on the t-zone.

6. After these five simple steps, just slather your face with Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture ($10 at CVS), or during the sunny months, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF ($16). By now, you should look fabulous!

7. If you've made it all the way to Step 7 without quitting, your hands are feeling a little wrinkly with all the product lathering you've done. So rejuvenate your hands with sweet grass-scented hand lotion from Nancy Boy, the San Francisco cosmetics line designed especially for gay men. ($15, at Nancy Boy in the Castro, or nancyboy.com). Two pumps does the trick, and then people will say, "Wow! How do you smell so good?"

It's that easy.

Posted by Sebastian / December 5, 2005 /

Angela Adams

Last night I went to an Angela Adams trunk show and picked up a surprise or two as holiday gifts. I really love her stuff; she has such a great sense of style, with a strong understanding of space and place inspired by her hometown, North Haven Island.



Posted by Sebastian / December 2, 2005 /

Written in the scars

Ever wondered what L.A. people talk about? "It's a stereotype that people in Los Angeles sit around at dinner parties and discuss cosmetic surgery," Nell Scovell writes in the New York Times. "And, of course, it's true."

Start with Nicole Kidman. Her ubiquitous and strangely frozen forehead kicks off the discussion with the insoluble question:

What the heck did Nicole Kidman do to her face?

The theories start to fly.

"She definitely had a brow lift."

"No, no, it was an eye job plus Botox."

"It looks to me like she had a liquid nitrogen peel."

"I heard she no longer has expression in her face, so she had to change her acting style, and now she has to act more with her body."

Many more hilarious examples online...

Posted by Sebastian / November 4, 2005 /

The new de Young

I'm not sure what to make of San Francisco's new de Young Museum, which opened last weekend. But I know I'm not in love. The building's exterior is rather bland, an uninspired large metal box with a hunk of a tower placed at one end (tower pictured below). That tower, with its unobstructed vistas of the city and the bay, is certainly the most appealing part of the new museum. But unfortunately, on the day I visited, San Francisco was socked in by fog (surprise). The inside of the museum is awkwardly chopped up, though it does boast fine details including some pretty amazing wood flooring, a hint of which is pictured in the photo below.



Posted by Sebastian / October 24, 2005 /

The many things I love: Angela Adams goods

I serendipitously ran into Angela Adams yesterday in San Francisco. If you don't know her stuff, you should, and you should buy lots of it. Her rugs and handbags turn heads, and her glassware, which fills the shelves of many fine homes (and many of ill repute, such as mine), are absolutely beautiful!



Posted by Sebastian / October 21, 2005 /

Poor Martha, stuck on Mount Desert

Martha Stewart was stuck in the rain on her plane in Maine and unable to jet across the bay from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia for her long-awaited, on-again, off-again appearance rowing a hollowed-out pumpkin in a local regatta. Many tears have been shed on both sides of the border -- mostly from the poor producer of hers who was already in Nova Scotia and ended up having to row a pumpkin in Martha's absence.

Canada had initially refused the domestic maven permission to enter the country because of her criminal record, but she was issued a temporary residency permit a few days ago when the snafu was realized. Her fast-tracking has caused no small controversy, especially because this is just another in a long line of immigration mini-scandals this year.

Posted by Sebastian / October 10, 2005 /

Martha can come to Canada!

A quick bit of diplomacy and Martha Stewart will be coming to Canada on Sunday after all. It certainly wasn't a good thing that until this morning the domestic maven was not being allowed into Canada because of her criminal record. She is scheduled to squeeze into an oversized, hollowed-out gourd and paddle across a lake in the annual Pumpkin Regatta near Halifax. 

Posted by Sebastian / October 6, 2005 /

Metrosexuals hit Calgary

Apparently, metrosexuals are now running rampant in Calgary.

Posted by Sebastian / October 4, 2005 /

Outdoor clothes for the indoors set

Autumn has returned to New England and it's hard to miss the signs all around. A cursory glance down Newbury Street reveals that everyone is back in their fall finest -- which in new England means a sturdy yet stylish piece of Patagucci or a fleece from the North Face, even if the wearer never ventures north of Beacon Street. Outdoor clothes for the indoor set are all the rage here in Boston, like elsewhere. In Vancouver, fleece is a way of life. "Buy fleece, wear fleece, love fleece," could easily be the city's mantra.

The explosive growth in brands like Patagonia and North Face is all about form over function. One college student shopping at North Face told the Globe, "I'm sure it keeps everyone warm, but it's really about the look. Everyone at my school wears it. It has a preppy, clean-cut look." Of her new jacket, the student said, "If I ever did go camping, I wouldn't take it. I wouldn't want to ruin it."

Posted by Sebastian / September 20, 2005 /

Martha Martha Martha!

I love Martha! A paparazzi shot of her, taken covertly at her Godson's wedding a couple years back, hangs above my desk, alongside a fabricated photo of Martha behind bars. The contrast is stunning, and quite funny. What I admire most about the domestic maven is that she consistently makes the impossible and improbable seem, well, impossibly improbable — including her impressive return to the world of style and entertainment after confinement.

Heather Mallick, one of my favourite columnists on the planet, does her in a fine Globe feature: "Martha Stewart did her time, when so many American male criminals did not. She's not a pleasant person (I interviewed her once), but the fact is, she's right. Domestic life should be more gracious, beautiful and, above all, clean."

"So I bought the September issue of Martha Stewart Living — and that's when my troubles began. I turned to Gentle Reminders, the section in which she tells people to do domestic things that would never occur to them even if God himself sent a polite note."

"Rotate your mattress four times a year, she said. My husband said, "That's stupid," and then no more. But since I had already laundered the white waffle-weave dust ruffle, I figured it was time to flip the mattress at least once. Martha also recommended airing the mattress on the lawn on a sunny day, but I still have a dent in the ceiling from getting the mattress into the house, so forget that."

"I'll keep it short. I attempted to flip the mattress myself. I miscalculated and the mattress fell on me, which wouldn't have been so bad, but it caught my right arm against the iron railing and bruised it badly (the arm, not the railing)."

Posted by Sebastian / September 15, 2005 /

Flight attendants not happy

The old tag line for Canada's flag carrier used to be, "At Air Canada, we're not happy until you're not happy." Times have changed a bit since those days of passenger hell aboard Mapleflot, but now it's the flight attendants who are really not happy, decrying their new uniforms, modeled here by Celine Dion, as "matronly" and "too clingy" (they obviously haven't noticed the suits they've been wearing for ages).

It's been almost a year since the pop diva was recruited to help bring the airline back from insolvency with an impressive sing-song advertising campaign (with the hit ditty, "You and I were meant to fly") targeting travelers in its three biggest U.S. markets: Boston, New York, and Los Angeles. The commercials were aired relentlessly, causing one friend to email me and say, "OMG. These Air Canada Celine Dion commercials have GOT to stop. It's like my ears bleed every time it comes on."

Air Canada paid an undisclosed but potentially astronomical sum for the Vegas showgirl to be the new public face of the carrier, at the same time that flight attendants were being asked for repeated pay cuts (which they ultimately agreed to) as CEO Robert Milton struggled to bring the bankrupt airline back from the brink.

The flight attendant union, in an apparent effort to thwart egregious misuses of spandex, told the Globe and Mail,"Should the company pursue the 'clinging' sweater set, we know for certain that this optional component will be worn by some employees who will not suit it. This will, thereby, project a poor branding image that Air Canada will not want to project."

Posted by Sebastian / September 14, 2005 /

Would you like a condo with your museum admission?

People who think the Museum of Fine Art's Malcolm Rogers is a bit nutty for the ways in which he is changing the institution may want to gaze westward and see what's going on in Toronto for some unusual perspective.

It seems the Royal Ontario Museum, which is the fifth-largest museum in North America, will replace their unused planetarium with a 46-storey condominium tower. Units will cost $3 million and go up to $50 million for the penthouse, a new high for the rapidly expanding city.

The ROM has an impressive new "Crystal Building" facade that will open next summer, but a substantial number of locals hate it and say it is out of character with the surrounding neighbourhood. This proposed new condo tower could build on the protracted opposition that has marred the Museum's renaissance plans -- it will be the tallest building around. Neighbours are lining up for a fight, saying "It's just over the top, it's too big, it's so tall."

Posted by Sebastian / September 10, 2005 /

But is it art?

The three stories were not connected, but they were deeply related. In the first, the Boston Globe reported that Bostonians are uneasy about the sight of 125-foot sailboat masts dominating the Huntington Avenue lawn in front of the Museum of Fine Arts as part of its latest ego-exhibit "Things I Love: The Many Collections of William I. Koch." One passerby looked up at the soaring sailboats and told the paper, "They're beautiful, but I'm still trying to figure out why they're at the museum."

In the second piece, a columnist for the Toronto Star said we've got it all wrong: "We persist in the belief that beauty is the exclusive domain of the rich and powerful and the institutional. We go to museums and art galleries to search for beauty, and all the while, it can be seen at every turn ... [we] have to learn to look closer, to trust our eyes more, not wait to be told what's beautiful and what's not."

In the third, Heather Mallick wrote that "the distinction between 'high' art and 'low' art is so maddening that it makes people's hair bleed. You cannot win ... The snobbishness of the art world makes it almost impossible for a sane person, educated or not, to enjoy painting, music and books openly. The art world despises the arts of the masses — makeup, fashion, etc. and what Prof. Carey says is arguably the greatest art we practise, gardening — and yet museums are begging for tax money from the masses. They cannot bring themselves to find a middle ground."

I think Malcolm Rogers, the controversial head of the MFA, despite all his flaws (and there are many, if you believe the op-ed page of the Globe), probably has the right perspective on the matter: ''Is the whole of museum culture going to come crashing down as a result of this? Give me a break. One of the things I want to do is humanize the arts." 

Posted by Sebastian / August 30, 2005 /

Touristing

I spent the weekend playing tourist with a friend in from out of town, and had a great time exploring all the spots in Boston that I don't get to see enough of. Saturday we checked out the new Ansel Adams exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, which was awe-inspiring to say the least. It was not dedicated exclusively to to the impressive large-format landscapes which are so often seen on posters everywhere. Instead, the show ran the gamut from portraits of people like Georgia O'Keefe and Navajo Indians to cityscapes of San Francisco and my personal favourites — photos from ghost towns in California and Nevada.

Related: The MFA is in the midst of an ambitious $100 million expansion campaign, but as Michael O'Hare muses in the Globe, could such a concentrated center of unique art treasures only bolster the museum's appeal as a terrorism target? "Let's try to think like a terrorist ... flying over Boston in a stolen corporate jet with a load of fuel, who wants to deliver it where it will create the most damage to the evil society below it ... various skyscrapers are in view ... say, what's that building in the Fenway?"

Posted by Sebastian / August 29, 2005 /

A preppy comeback

I can't be the only person amazed by the sudden revitalization of the preppy look. Full disclosure: I was voted "biggest preppy" in my high school yearbook and grew up in a place immortalized in the Official Preppy Handbook. I can count a Buffy, a Binny, a Bunny, and a Muffy among my neighbours.

Now the Lacoste look is everywhere and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting the brand's signature crocodile. For those of us who grew up wearing the famous croc, it's a bit disconcerting to see this recent popularity, especially when you notice the dramatically increased price ($72 per polo). I don't wear Lacoste anymore; I almost find it a shame that the clothes I once shunned and begged my mother not to make me wear are today considered so stylish.

The Globe has a fine piece on the preppy look, with one person-on-the-street quoted as saying, "While I'm happy to see the style enjoying another moment in the sun, I think many people miss the whole point of preppy clothing, which is timeless, never trendy."

Another woman said, ''To be honest, I never considered myself preppy, because it was the norm at home ...I never realized that not everyone popped their collars and not everybody's dad wore bleached out Nantucket Reds on a regular basis during the summer."

Friday night I was at an end-of-summer soiree on North Haven Island sporting a bright pink oxford from Le Tigre instead. I was particularly proud of the shirt (sadly, no photos to show for myself) and even more flattered that two young women quickly noticed the shirt and complimented me for its astounding colour. The prep look endures...

Posted by Sebastian / August 23, 2005 /

Butt flattering jeans

I saw a lot of sagging denim this weekend, so these few tips on jeans buying from Toronto style guru Russell Smith couldn't have come at a better time: "Shopping for jeans is the most stressful of all trouser-shopping, as jeans seem to be spiraling upward in price as they spiral downward in waistline. And jeans will do little to disguise a butt that's either too thin or too plump."  



"Here is a basic guideline: If you are afraid your bum is too flat, don't go for the very low-waisted jeans. They will hang even lower down, the back pockets settling around your thighs, and they will make you look even more ass-less. You will have to make a forced retreat from fashion here. On the other hand, if you are self-conscious about a pronounced posterior, then low-riders are your friend, as they minimize curves."

"Bear in mind that although the hippest jeans are now selling for more than $300, they, in fact, look not unlike the careful knockoffs that you can get at Guess or Club Monaco for $100 or less. No one will know the difference. They are, after all, just jeans."

Posted by Sebastian / August 15, 2005 /

Virgin Jetrosexuals

Virgin Atlantic is on a quest to find the ultimate high-flying traveller, the Jetrosexual. You may be considered one of these modern-day jetsetters if you meet at least five of the following characteristics:

• Do you fly out of the country for business at least 3 times a year?
• Do you know how to "work the airport"? (In other words, you aren't the person who is fumbling for things and holding up the security line?)
• Do you speak some basic phrases in at least 3 different languages?
• Do you ever worry that your passport will have too many stamps?
• Do you have favorite hotels/restaurants in London, LA, NY, Milan, Paris, and Hong Kong?
• Can you recall the last time you checked your luggage?
• Do you know which of your shoes will set off the metal detector at the airport, and which ones will not?

The Jetrosexual's must abide by 11 Commandments, including my favourites: Thou shalt have a favourite airport and be prepared to explain why it is thine fave; Thou shalt not own one of those inflatable neck pillows; Thou shalt have at least one passport stamp from a country that now goes by a different name; Thou shalt travel Economy class, on rare occasions, just to keep thine self humble, and most importantly, Thou shalt leave terra firma behind in order to move business and culture forward.

Posted by Sebastian / August 11, 2005 /

At the MFA

I went to the Museum of Fine Arts today to check out my brother's handiwork hoisting Bill Koch's America's Cup racer into place on the museum's front lawn on Huntington Avenue. An engineer (in the red t-shirt), he's responsible for balancing the boat and making sure it doesn't fall over during the MFA's latest vanity exhibition, "Things I Love: The Many Collections of William I. Koch", which comes hot on the heels of the controversial show of Ralph Lauren's cars.

The lawn may be torn up right now as engineers work to steady the huge boat, which won the America's Cup in 1992, but as MFA Director Malcolm Rogers told the Herald recently, "We like to have a little razmataz on the front lawn."

Posted by Sebastian / August 6, 2005 /

YOU WORE FLIP-FLOPS TO THE WHITE HOUSE?!

I have to admit this story made my jaw drop and also made me laugh out loud. it seems the Northwestern University lacrosse team committed a grave faux pas while visiting the White House last week to celebrate their national championship. As the team photo below shows, four of the nine women in the front row wore flip flops when they posed with the president. The Chicago Tribune published a front page, "YOU WORE FLIP-FLOPS TO THE WHITE HOUSE?!" headline after a team member's brother emailed that comment to her in disbelief.

Though many players defended their choice of footwear ("I tried to think of something that would go well with my outfit and at the same time not be that uncomfortable. But at the same time not disrespect the White House," one player said), the team has decided to auction off the controversial flip flops to raise money for charity.

The best part of this story is the appalled mother who had the good sense to tell the press, "Don't even ask me about the flip-flops. It mortified me."



Posted by Sebastian / July 19, 2005 /

Glasses on parade

I received a few fun notes this week about the revival of Jackie O. sunglasses, including a few beautiful photos from last weekend's Mermaid Parade on Coney Island (thanks, David!), which bills itself as the nation's largest art parade. The New York Times claims huge glasses are this summer's in accessory, but one blogger doesn't seem to agree:

"It seems America's trend-conscious 13-49 year-old bracket has taken up the collective cross of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis this season. Every damn girl I see on Michigan Avenue walks around with a pair of huge, oversized sunglasses extending from mid-forehead to halfway down her nose. Some of these glasses might as well be scuba gear."

Posted by Sebastian / June 30, 2005 /



Sunglasses of summer

I inadvertently stumbled onto one of the summer's hottest trends (trendy according to the New York Times). Jackie O. glasses are back in high style this summer and you don't have to live on the Upper East Side to get away with wearing these big gems. Faces "half masked by sunglasses the size and shape of small television screens" are all the rage this season.

My much beloved sunglasses, in the bottom photo, were somehow misplaced at gay pride a few weeks ago. So I ran out and thought I'd try pulling off the big guns.

Before you begin to make fun of me, consider this: "Contemporary variations of vintage movie-star shades are ubiquitous this season, as common as sugar cones and almost as easy to come by...Already a West Coast badge of chic, they have emerged all across the country as summer's most sought-after fashion accessory."

"Curiously, a taste for shades that make the wearer look like an alien life-form required no push from marketers. Instead it derived its momentum from the apparently spontaneous endorsement of Hollywood stars...the Olsens, who put supersize frames on the fashion map, may soon be moving on, rendering the glasses obsolete, at least in the minds of early fashion adopters"   

Posted by Sebastian / June 24, 2005 /



The decline of fashion in the air

Being a frequent flier, and having dated at least two flight attendants, I consider myself an expert on most things aviation-related, including fashion. One of the earliest lessons I learned about flying, from my parents actually, is to look terrific when you're travelling. It wasn't until last year that I let my standards dip so low as to wear a pair of jeans in-flight. It was an exceptional case. I was fatigued beyond belief, returning home from a long journey, and had to do it for my sanity. (But I did accent my jeans with a sport coat and killer shoes). And even through the hottest summers, I'm proud to say I've never worn shorts on a plane (charter included!). Call me a snob or call me old fashioned, but looking good, in my experience at least, has always translated into better service.

Today comes a report of the decline of travelling style in the New York Times. "It's the beginning of another summer travel season," the article says, "and passengers at some of the busiest airports look little different than if they were shopping at a mall, their increasingly casual wardrobe of t-shirts and shorts having eclipsed any remnants of the golden era of travel...but take a closer look, and it's apparent that many travelers are even less well dressed than if they were at the mall."

Here in the Northeast, we play witness to egregious acts of fashion nonsense more so than any other region. I'm willing to lay blame on the weather. On any given day from November through March, the huddled masses at the airport baggage carousels in Boston, New York, and Montreal can be seen wearing nothing but shorts and flip flops, having arrived from sun destinations from Cabo to Cuba, and having momentarily forgotten, it seems, that they are returning to a sub-zero climate.

Posted by Sebastian / June 23, 2005 /



Red Sox get Queer Eyed

In one of the more amusing controversies of this gay-filled year, some people around Boston are protesting the men from Queer Eye throwing out the first pitch at tomorrow's Red Sox game, which happens to also be a family day at Fenway, and the beginning of gay pride week. The Herald -- that other paper -- reports:

"What would Ted Williams think? Would he turn over in his freezer?" Mary Clossey, a Newton mom of eight who has been a critic of gay-rights efforts, said of the Sox' decision to let three stars of the TV show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" throw out tomorrow's ceremonial first pitch. "I'm tired of hearing about (homosexuality). Sunday is a family day at Fenway Park. Why would you want to do that on a Sunday?"

Sox pitcher Mike Timlin is believed to have said of the event: homosexuals are "not living correctly." (Could he be bitter that he is among the lowest paid Sox, making a paltry $2.75 million per year?)

But some of his teammates, like the hirsute Johnny Damon, seemed not to have minded when they agreed to be Queer Eyed in Fort Myers earlier this year during spring training. In the new episode, according to the Globe, the players "are fabulously good sports, as they face the cuddles and coos of the Fab Five."

Apparently, Carson Kressley sits on Tim Wakefield's lap, Doug Mirabelli gets a manicure, and Kevin Millar sinks his feet in rose-petal-filled water and also wears a pumpkin face mask. At one point in the show, Queer Eye foodie Ted Allen hand picks a few pink Munchkins (Dunkin Donuts was a big sponsor) "for the gay children."

Mayor Thomas Menino has declared June 7, "Queer Eye Day" in Boston, celebrating the show, which was created in Boston.    

Posted by Sebastian / June 4, 2005 /

Belting: Just Don't Do It. Russell Told You So.

There are few trends I find as ludicrous as attaching various electronic equipment to one's waste. It is not slimming, and it simply not attractive. First Carson Kressley told the Queer Eye-watching masses that belting is a fashion faux pas, and today, Russell Smith, the Canadian style guru, uses his column to take a strong stance against the unsightly practice.

He writes, "The recent proliferation of hand-held electronic devices has spawned a corresponding fashion blight ... They are often too large to fit comfortably in a trouser pocket, and so you hang them on your belt as if they are going to provide you with some sort of action-man charm."

"You think that you are going to look like a futuristic, important, busy Batman, with his utility belt bristling with weaponry, but in fact you are going to look like a janitor ... Remember that the higher you are on the social ladder, the further you are from the actual running of machinery. A visible pager or BlackBerry makes you look like the junior regional sales manager who might just have to rush out and deliver some boxes of potato chips or adding machines at a moment's notice..."

Posted by Sebastian / April 9, 2005

To Kill Seals, or Wear Them?

International animal rights groups have restarted their annual protests against Canada's controversial seal hunt and this year are pushing for a boycott of Canadian seafood in response to the two-month hunt. The government has authorized the slaughter of 320,000 baby seals, saying the cull is essential to sustaining a healthy seal population in Atlantic Canada.

Meanwhile, a group of artisans from Montreal and Kuujjuaq, the northernmost town in Quebec's Nunavik region, headed to France for a fashion show of their sealskin and fur goods. The garments were a hit. Below, Vickie Okpik works on a sealskin parka that may be sold on the high-fashion runways of Europe. Buy your own online from Nunavik Creations.



Okpik said: "When we went to France, I was a little worried about the sealskin. I wondered if we'd see protests from animal rights activists, who might think it has something to do with the clubbing of baby seals. We have a lot of education to do on this subject. Seal is eaten here, so if we didn't use the fur for trim, it would be wasted. It's no different from eating beef and using cowhide for shoes.''

Posted by: Sebastian / March 22, 2005 /

Enough About the Art -- Let's Talk About that Price Tag

Just how much did Christo's Central Park Gates cost? He says $21 million, but the New York Times isn't so sure. "Just because you've spent a lot of time and money on something doesn't mean it's very good," said Greg Allen, a New York art collector quoted in today's story.

Posted by Sebastian / March 5, 2005 /



New York

Just here for the day -- and what a beautiful one it is! I love New York, but I always joke the most gratifying thing about going there is landing back in Boston (which itself is reminiscent of the old quote, "I have just returned from Boston. It is the only thing to do if you find yourself there").

Like every blogger, I feel compelled to post a picture of New York's most talked-about attraction this year, Christo's Gates in Central Park. (Thank you David Wilson for the hot photo!)

A well-connected source in the New York art world encourages those in Boston who are unable to make it to Manhattan for the installation, which is being called the most important one of the 21st century (so far), to head to The Somerville Gates, an alternative project.

Posted by: Sebastian / Feb. 16, 2005 /

You Paid How Much For That Haircut?

In today's New York Times SundayStyles section is an article about the soaring price of celebrity-stylist haircuts in Manhattan.

The article reads, "Mr. Pita defended his $800 price tag, a new high for the city, and a fee that is the equivalent of twice the annual income of the average citizen of Bangladesh."

Posted by Sebastian / Nov. 21, 2004 /

PHOTOS | MOBLOG | ARCHITECTURE | WRITING | CONTACTEZ-MOI | HOME | ABOUT ME

Copyright © 2002-2005 Sebastian White | By accessing this site you agree to the User Agreement.