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judy smith Jan 2016
ONCE UPON A TIME, men’s style in Los Angeles was laughable. Think loud, logo-driven and larded-up with more skulls than a pirate cruise. Remember the jeans with back-pocket stitching visible from a block away? What about the faux-vintage concert T-shirts? The flaming eyeball Von Dutch trucker caps? I’m sure Ashton Kutcher wishes he could forget.

But the cheesy L.A. of the mid-aughts—when paparazzi swarmed West Hollywood store Kitson and Mr. Kutcher hosted “Punk'd”—is a thing of the past. Kitson will close its doors forever this week, Mr. Kutcher is now a budding tech mogul and the city’s fashion scene is associated less with Ed Hardy and more with Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane, who maintains his design studio in L.A. instead of at the brand’s Paris headquarters. In fact, Mr. Slimane recently announced he will show his fall 2016 men’s collection (and part of the women’s range) at the Hollywood Palladium on February 10instead of in the French capital.

Is that enough to position Los Angeles as a style capital—strong enough to contend with Paris or London? A confluence of factors has given that idea momentum. Factor one: L.A. is attracting creative talent in design and retail thanks to relatively affordable real estate and low operating costs. Factor two: As high-end menswear has moved away from formality, a “creative casual” wardrobe has become more vital than a suit and tie to the working lives of many men all over the country. Not seeming so far-fetched anymore, is it?

Certainly, a number of stylish and influential guys have embraced the notion. “For a long time, Manhattan was the epicenter of all creative thought, but now I feel like that’s changed,” said Josh Peskowitz, the former men’s fashion director of Bloomingdale’s, who settled on L.A. for his first independent retail venture, a 1,500-square-foot men’s specialty store called Magasin, opening Feb. 20.

Mr. Peskowitz said he’s seen the city evolve beyond a metropolis driven by one or two industries: “Entertainment and music are still important, but now there’s also tech, art, clothing design and all the creative services that go along with Silicon Beach.”

And he’s hoping to outfit a good portion of that population in a refined but casual wardrobe of unstructured seersucker Camoshita suits, garment-dyed polos fromMassimo Alba, cashmere T-shirts from Naadam and handmade slipper-like leather shoes by Feit. “It’s for people who need to look like they are put-together and mean business but don’t want to wear a coat and tie,” he said of his store’s offerings. “It’s clothing that expresses personality but is still business- adjacent. There’s a big market for that.”

Even men who still wear a suit to work every day can benefit in their off-duty hours from the well-executed fare, elevated via fit and fabric, that L.A.-based labels such as Greg Lauren, Apolis, Aether and John Elliott sell in the city, in stores worldwide and on e-commerce sites.

read more:www.marieaustralia.com/formal-dresses-perth

www.marieaustralia.com/short-formal-dresses
Nahla Nainar Mar 2017
You can meet
Life and Death in the
Waiting room of any hospital

Where the Maker sends
His products
With parts
Worn, torn or never born

Internal passageways blocked
With the ash of
A million cigarettes
Larded with the residue
Of one meal too many

Half-despatched from
The world by
Speeding vehicles
Or minds scrambled
By relentless grief

Hope flickers as the
Soldiers line up
Their arsenal
Of tools, medicines
And little white lies

What will be
The toll on the
Battlefield today?
Only the waiting room knows
Western civilization commercialization,
commodification, communication
methodologies adrip with deification,
edification, glorification institutionalizing

libidinal market, the vast majority
modalities relay transmission via
subliminal messages. The not so
innocuous tentacles housing sour advertise
mints objectives conservative

principled paradigm blatantly bind ******* clad,
seductively alluring fashionable
supermodels, albeit highly paid visually
captivating physiques of men and/
or women attaining just barely,

their prime time asper anatomical
fancyfeast. Tis upon that ascending
pedestal, (a mere hop, skip, and
jump along the red carpet royal
treatment), where storied career
launched. Inevitable that risk  

risque monkey business tactics (i.e. questionable
ethical, moral, and parochial
precepts skirted). Nonetheless
marketable cache cows frequently,
indubitably, naturally sally forth into
klieg lights of fame and fortune.

A significant entry vis a vis segue-
way into celebrity stardom invariably
included acquiescence treatment
as sale-able merchandise. A
representative penultimately

pitches packaged person (possibly
pampered pink, perhaps poignant
playbook perused 'pon Peter Piper
picking, pecking pickled peppers)
peddled as analogous to a widget.

The primary difference contrasting
parading an aesthetically pleasing
individual versus a purveyor peddling
an inanimate object includes heavy
emphasis toward repurposing
a person larded amidst salutary,

savory sensuousness, soothingly
sublime sultriness steeped, groomed
and bathed with visually arousing,
beguiling, captivating desirable effects.

Professional (astute, cute, hirsute)
role model people, (whose genetics
and environment allowed them to
husband maximally fated beauty)
must feel very comfortable

in their own skin to display (just shy of
promiscuity) unclothed ******
verboten part. No doubt pheromone
or testosterone pulsates thru
the body electric of viewer. Coy,

flirtatious indirect luring operates
randy unfettered yearning bestirs
desire for immediate *******!
Even this two score plus nineteen

year old, (whose libido went
dormant as a side affect of
pharmaceutical prescription
medication to minimize un
predictable paralyzing panic

attacks predilection) attests at
increased precocity patronizing
my (FAKE) phallus. Many instances
incorporating some athletic,

demure, innocent looking
photogenic subject just waiting
to be the cover of a glossy
glimmering glamorous
magazine (especially an
underage male or female),

the head honcho may be
censored, disallowed, escorted)
away from any picture that hints
of inappropriate physical inter
action. Subtle techniques

and/or poses broadcasting
a delectable, honorable
laudable photograph may
unconsciously connote
spine tingling sensations
approximating statutory ****.

Such prurient intimations defy
being regulated, nor ought
flattering images snapped
by avidly conscientious,
exceptionally gifted, ineffably
kindred shutterbugs banned.

Impulsiveness (particularly,
when the welfare of a minor
OR animal happens to be
at stake) must be addressed
appropriately. If abusive

actions arise perpetrated
against a minor (simply
for anatomical excitation
sans the gender nonspecific
characteristic), the essence

of beauty best be acknowledged
synonymous with any other
physiological endowment.
Depredations highjacking

lost precious quintessential
tenderness wreaks havoc
for the remaining life of
hypothetical individual cascading
like a house of cards, the mental,
physical and spiritual states of being.
Once again dear reader,
     aye strive to regale ye
with in apropos prate,
     (nee inane) vain
null gibberish in order to suss stain
mine infamous reputation
     with the singular word pain
in thee...online

     literary milieu, where this main
stream (babbling virtual
     brook call lean)
tin hatted man,      
     qua zee moat tow "FAKE" King
     po' whit laureate selective keen
a boot (sally ling forth)
     hemming and hawing,

     while feigning bing
     a suave hill Billy blue jean
wearing brand Levi Strauss,
     (a posthumous plug)
     for a savvy German
     businessman hood deed glean
prospective market for
     denim made easy to clean

material donned by lumpen
     proletariat aye assert
     would be my status
     if born circa
     late eighteen hundreds by
a moo their and father,
     both named (Elisha) Eli
for short slaving away to feed,

     and clothe this then little guy,
who **** fain to appreciate my
(dirt poor station in life well nigh
larded with love,
     and non verbal re: ply
thee above fictitious
     i.e. "FAKE" parents rye
zing far and above

     penury and did try
their level best
     to hammer out
round the clock rockin
     round the clock
nsync with the paradigm
     of Abraham Maslow,
     albeit modified ad hoc

accepting with humility,
     poverty how to ****
key providing basic brood
     of offspring and subtly mock
king bourgeoisie, re: (unpretentiously
     unflattering discrete actions), while rock
king to thee western civilization
     trappings of schlock,

ah and oh...no doubt
precious time, aye
     did fritter and flout
     away distracting sorely tendered,
     kindled, and cherished attention
thus metaphorically affecting thee
     with equivalent, where
     yar entire body riddled with gout.
Gray matter subjected to accumulate
incessant overall slack heavily larded
earlier in marriage, viz Zison clan
evicted Harris family,
whose hardship unemployment did exacerbate,
neither me nor birth mother worked

both this sir, and mum mate
afflicted with psychological disability
where physiological torture did subjugate
our respective physical beings with inadequate
skills to cope with child rearing,
hence blissful dialect tickle

accent doth boldly punctuate
angst strum fretful das
chord dent mental state -
mein kampf pronouncedly scarred,
asper lifetime subjected to debilitate
ting panic attacks impossible to abdicate -

relentless whipsawing, hammering,
and fracking drilling would never abate,
ache ken to ten thousand maniacal banshees
nsync with mailer daemons create
ting bedlam courtesy (Olive)
garden variety silently kick starting freight

train recklessly coursing heedlessly
despite engineer hood handedly
madly, and ominously didst gesticulate
in vain, the loco motif
barreled thru one billeted gate
after another crashing, this soundless fate

driving me into marshy madness accelerate
ting an existence toward self destruction
in tandem with Sue S Side, I accentuate
time and again, yet self obliterate
ting this papa would eviscerate,
(albeit emotionally) lovely Punim

on path to autonomy, she matured of late,
exhibiting autism during childhood
compliments of intervention, mastered
vanquished every trace to acclimate
self reliance no matter said spate
of developmental delay,
cramped, crimped, and

crumpled cognitive literate
chores abilities, yet
supportive services did alleviate
ordinary setback, now indiscretions,
liaisons, and transgressions, I implicate,
some half dozen years

gone by, this husband
flaunted philandering, but woefully great
lee mistaken, yours truly did underestimate,
how sacrilegious cupidity, depravity, infidelity...
induced the missus never to exonerate
mine suddenly kismet forced belate

reflex, thus I futilely berate
then indecorous behavior
more so impacted eldest daughter,
first born offspring subsequently
angrily bore secret travails adulterate
ting spoiling her high school years,

viz compounded by egregious desire
for das dada to satiate
squelched ****** hunger
marriage without ******* did frustrate
synonymous, when I hapt tubby celibate
bachelor, hence “FAKE”
Casanova did forever alienate

whose affect my
(hypothetical) untimely death
might be borne with
greater aplomb to accommodate
absence of this papa,
a generally conscientious fellow,
mental health askew since birth predicate
always hated grueling fiendish existence!
clothes washing Sunday courtesy the missus

Ah... the highlight of our supposed, linkedin,
designated day of respite after a week toiling
away with ennui, yes reader a tower mountain
(rivalling Himalaya's 29,029 foot range), oozes

odoriferous tendrils suffuse every square inch
within entire drab one bedroom apartment, but
invariably contribute to climate changing/global
warming), said domestic chore indulged with a

burst of fervent excitement (competing making
long day's journey into night long to retrieve the
requisite communication with outside webbed
wide world) bring joie de vivre je ne sais quois
weekly highlight to thyself vaccinated courtesy

(against adversity), and valued tough as (nine
inch) nails missus vaunted as Xena, methinks,
she exaggerates bajillion fold dubbing me with
appellation as herr (germane) Hercules, a miss
gnome er, I no longer nitpick amidst these most

challenging times where coronavirus COVID-19
(ironic violent crime plus environmental abuse
nearly absolute zero) engendering loyalty, high
fidelity, assiduity among madding crowd I (a runt
of mill garden variety generic doubting Thomas)

kin Hardy believe me myopic sudden inexplicable
camaraderie between and betwixt ordinary folks,
no matter, we (doddering, hobbling, & kickstarting)
long time married couple (seems like millenniums)
revel when washing clothes occasion arises, despite

modern time saving contrivances (washer and dryer)
available, but all monies larded out to buzzfeed icky
persnickety, rickety,... temperamental wishy washy
machines quickly (said cash & or cache automatically
line silver) pockets of Grosse and Quade, them iz zee

who own living facility here: 2 Highland Manor, yet
purportedly (according to rumor mongers aim to sell
property for fair market price) - just in case ye dear
reader seek to sink (literally) x dollars into formerly
owned Mars redoubt, and once upon time wetlands.
despite entrenched familiar
obsessive compulsive disorder behavior
distracting me courtesy
countless what if scenarios,
particularly before undergoing
voluntary drastic makeover
as iterated in a previous poem,
and briefly recounted here
as foregoing Samson personification
now please don't blame Delilah!

Once the decision made
(two weeks ago
September twenty fifth
two thousand and twenty four)
to finally liberate yours truly (me)
(cue the following
Jean Jacques Rousseau quote)
"Man is born free but everywhere is in chains"
accommodating torture chamber
ala complex edifice,
(albeit invisible) *******

as tangible substitution
for undersized male member
(Sigmund Freud would be smiling)
heavily weighing down mine psyche
from harried styled
uncombed/unbrushed hair
evoking an immediate
message of nonconformity,
at last fixation nipped in the bud
immediately after beautician
rubber banded and scissored

hirsute trademark feature, a characteristic
larded with immense security
unequivocally not only
constituting a major emotional sink,
(but additionally posing environmental danger
as a potential superfund site)
long overdue for cleanup
hyperbole incorporated
to jump/kick start courtesy
tipping figurative hat
to faux generative artificial intelligence,

which amazingly
immediately delivered segway
vis-à-vis refreshing lightness of being
after bird's nest gratefully shucked off
loosed a horde
of dreadlocked exhausting fretfulness
(in addition to a rash of undiscovered biota)
linkedin to catastrophization,
whether the water
would unexpectedly cease flowing
while richly shampooing shock

of prized tangled mane,
or the electricity
would suddenly witness a power outage
disallowing the hair dryer to function
such irrational worries
(despite the unlikelihood
of either unexpected
inconvenience to occur),
nevertheless quite tiresome
sustaining outrageous thought patterns
exacerbated anxiety buzzfeeding

like nattering nabobs of nativity
and undermining peace of mind
when week after week, month after month
finally brought to a screeching halt
such debilitating mental exertion
suddenly ushering deliverance
videre licet a lightness of being,
and immediately allowed,
enabled and provided much
sought after psychological relief
likened to a gust of fresh air,

I vouchsafed to myself and the missus
to abide by much easier to manage
more fashionable impression,
thus swiftly tailored relief arose
once bedraggled unkempt ratty
and infrequently unwashed coiffure
shucked off once and for all,
no matter such drastic similar
transformations of appearance
peppered the life and times
of one long haired pencil necked geek,

whereat hands of time
would elapse bajillion times
inadvertently drawing unwanted attention
to out of vogue nineteen sixties hippy doo
invariable readopted as security blanket
to stave off
uncomfortable risks
foisting interpersonal experiences
upon head and shoulders
of deplorable basket case
unwittingly referenced from Hillary Clinton.

— The End —