D

What Was Your Most Memorable Halloween Costume?

We are hip-deep in the shipping of our December ish, so posting has sort of slowed to a standstill. And tomorrow, there will be a bunch of rugrats in the office stopping us down, looking for candy. So here is something to run out the shot clock: what was your most memorable Halloween costume? Myself, I’d have to pick “N/A” because I pretty much don’t have one, as I’m lazy and unimaginative when it comes to dressing up for Halloween. Unless you count when I was a kid and my mom made me dress as Uncle Sam, complete with cotton glued to my face. That whole thing was scarring in so many ways. Okay, yours in the comments.

GQ’s Sartorialist Spots Trenchcoat-Wearing Lass in Dallas

You know of GQ’s Sartorialist? He’s on a book tour and came through Dallas, where he spotted this woman on Commerce Street. A striking look. Anyone know who she is?

Here’s Hoping Your Woman Doesn’t Work for the Performing Arts Center

What? I haven’t yet mentioned that My Fair Lady works for the AT&T Performing Arts Center? On a contract basis? Well, yes, it’s true. She does. And last night I saw something related to said gig in our closet that made me shudder. She’d been talking for weeks about having to attend all the opening-week festivities and how this attendance would require many new dresses and perhaps even handbags and so forth. My advice to her: spend your money on one kickass dress, and then wear that sucker every night. Own the look. You know?

She wasn’t having any of it. And, thus, apparently, she went out and had it. Because our closet is now populated by no fewer than — what? — five new dresses. It’s hard to say. They are hanging. I did not wish to disturb them. Perhaps their price tags would become visible, and I would vomit. I store my shoes in our closet, and I didn’t want to vomit in my shoes.

Point is, if your lady is similarly engaged, I want to say that I feel for you, brother. It’s like that at my house, too. Only one way to handle it: either it’s time to buy a retaliatory tux (name of my new band), or you lose some weight to where you can fit into one of those dresses. Good luck.

Dallas Mavericks Unveil New Uniforms and, Very Casually, Starting Lineup

Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jet Terry came out to model the new duds, which will replace the Mavs’ previous alternate kit, the green-and-blue, designed-by-Diddy joints. I would have gotten a photo of that, but the little kid next to me was terrified of Mavs Man, and in the process of calming his son down, the dad ended up shot-blocking me. Anyway. After the jump, a shot of the jersey on a mannequin, as well as a few of the new HD video scoreboard.

Before you click through, the real news. While I expected the new unis and the scoreboard, as well as the introductions of the Mavs acquired in the offseason, what I didn’t see coming was GM Donnie Nelson sort of offhandedly mentioning that Erick Dampier would be coming off the bench this season (Drew Gooden is the new starting center). Damp strolled out a few minutes later, but no one asked him about it. He seemed to be too busy gawking at the new scoreboard, anyway.

(more…)

Erin Wasson: “The Homeless Are Pulling Out, Like, Crazy Looks!”

An alert FBvian points our attention to this video of Erin Wasson from New York Fashion Week. Fast forward to about the one-minute mark to hear her opinion about who throws down the most stylish look.

Walls Are Crumbling at Neiman Marcus

Not literally, as far as I know. Things are bad for the luxury retailer. But not quite that bad.

The wall that has crumbled, according to the New York Post, is the wall between Neiman’s corporate and its Bergdorf Goodman division. Apparently Bergdorf has always had its own fashion office. In what would appear to be a sensible move when you’re trying to hold on to your effin’ ocelot-fur hat, they consolidated some of the roles. Those in the Bergdorf fashion office balked. The men’s fashion director quit.

Neiman President and CEO Karen Katz — who engineered the recent consolidation of Fazio and Patel’s roles — “maybe doesn’t totally get the fashion office,” according to one person close to the company.

The dust-up is another headache for Neiman Chairman Burt Tansky, who is beset by rumors that he will retire — even as the retailer scrambles to cut costs as sales continue to plunge.

One journalism-related complaint, which may seem strange to bother with since we’re talking about the New York Post here: “one person close to the company?”  That’s as specific as you can get?  Sounds like that quote could have come from a homeless guy standing outside the Neiman’s offices downtown.

C.J. Wilson’s Wolfpack About to Get Bigger

For those Rangers fans who have been following lefty pitcher C.J. Wilson on Twitter (str8edgeracer), today’s announcement was definitely a “wait a second could it be?” moment:

str8edgeracer T shirts online! Cougarmerch.com

Wilson has been tweeting for some time now about his intentions to publicly distribute “Wolfpack” t-shirts he designed — based on his nickname for the Ranger’s bullpen that was inspired by a hilarious speech from the movie The Hangover. (If you’re confused watch the movie clip and read the Star-T post)

Wilson confirmed, also via Twitter, that all proceeds from the t-shirt sales will go to a C.J. Wilson’s Children’s Charities project:

str8edgeracer@J_Hix we’re donating the current $ to the charity event, a new youth sports medicine center in plano, past events have been hospitals, etc

So, if you’re a Rangers fan, you got that going for ya. Which is nice.

CEO Gets the Boot at Western Retailer

R. Mark Syrstad is out as president and CEO of Arlington-based Sheplers, the world’s leading retailer of Western-style clothing. While the company didn’t elaborate, one official says Sheplers wants to do a “course correct” and get back to “more traditional Western wear.” In a 2008 interview with D CEO, Syrstad expressed his desire to move Sheplers beyond its traditional customer base to attract “fashion-forward” men and women.

Dallas Stylist’s Publicity Stunt Ends Today

Valerie Elizabeth has been wearing the same little black dress every day this month. It’s gotten her lots of attention because the Associated Press picked up the story. She’s inviting people to vote on her best look. Me? I’d rather just re-watch this tangentially-related episode of Seinfeld.

UPDATE: Silly me. I neglected to mention that it was D Magazine that launched her summer media blitz, when she was named the Max Factor Face of Dallas in June.

Local Band Debuts Pajama-Inspired Clothing Line

Back when I was writing about music for the Observer, one of my favorite underdog bands was the Foxymorons, the Mesquite-born duo of Jerry James and David Deweese. Hadn’t thought about them in a while, at least until this morning, when a studio-owning FrontBurnervian passed along this blurb from Valet. mag about James and Deweese’s new pajama-inspired clothing line, American Viceroy. The FBvian even helped pick out a quote from said blurb:

Casual, idiosyncratic and a tad preppy, the pieces are more Wes Anderson than Hugh Hefner. “Yeah, Hefner is the antithesis of what we’re doing,” says Jerry James, who co-designs the line with David Dewese—both native Texans who run the American-made label’s operation (including production) out of Fort Worth.

Female Texas Rangers Fan Asked To Take Off Her Shirt

Sadly, it’s more ridiculous than salacious. According to this Dallas Morning News story, a Carrollton couple attended the Yankees/Rangers game on Tuesday. The lovely lady was psyched about wearing her 19th wedding anniversary present:  a “Yankees Suck” t-shirt. Too bad security asked her to change because “The Texas Rangers organization considers that shirt to be profane.” “Two things here: 1) Is “sucks” really that offensive? and 2) A t-shirt after 19 years of marital bliss? That kind of, well, sucks.

Fort Worth Soldier Fights Taliban in Pink Boxers

I’m coming to this story a little late. But if you haven’t read it, check it out. Major props to Army Specialist Zachary Boyd.

Update: Eric beat me to the World Wide Web. I am slow. Sorry. Already on long weekend.

Man Loses Senses In Greenville Parking Lot

Superficiality Alert: OK, I know the outfit D Magazine has W in on its April cover is supposed to be a vaguely “Park Cities” look. But I didn’t know people really dressed like that until spotting this guy with his wife or girlfriend the other day in the Central Market parking lot off Greenville. He was wearing flip-flops, lime-green slacks, a pink long-sleeved button-down shirt and–the coup de grace–a pink sweater that was actually tied around his shoulders. I could have proved he was wearing this, but didn’t have a camera handy.

Why I Love Southwest Airlines

San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Michael Stetz has a fun piece about Southwest Airlines’ new flight of fancy. His main contention about the plane (shown left, courtesy of Southwest Airlines): if the airline won’t allow scantily clad women aboard their planes, then what are they doing splashing a bikini-clad model on the side of a 737?

Leading Off—The Sick Men Edition

I just opened my inbox and clicked through the usual morning mail—announcements of the ultra acai berry cleanse, great deals on Cialis and Viagra, and the daily dear-Sir-or Madame-I-am-the-cousin-to-the-daughter-of-the-former-president-of-a-country-you’ve-never-heard-of-but-I’ve-got-a-million-dollars-waiting-for-you-in-a-Nigerian-bank notice.

Buried deep in the thicket was a note from Eric Celeste. “Help. Men are sick. Can you pull together a Ladies Day on FrontBurner?

So, a guy gets a sniffle and what do they do? They call a woman. Or in this case women. Why? Because we know how to work through pain.

Men are babies. Not the cute cuddly kind, the miserable and weak variety who cannot do one thing for themselves when they have a headache or the flu.

Oh, poor baby got an eye infection? Sorry boys, you’d never make it through our blessing—six or seven days a month of cramping and bleeding. We brave those special time by scrunching our tender bellies into a body Spanx and strolling around in high heels.

Your throat is scratchy and your little head aches? Dude, try writing 3,500 words the day after a night spent tossing, turning, and sweating. Women don’t let a little malady like menopause keep them from work.

So girls, pass the hormones. As champions, we will adjust. Rock it.

Gordon Keith To Be Attacked on FrontBurner For Your Ears

For those who don’t know, Gordon Keith, of Ticket fame, was attacked live on the air by a guy named Nasty Nestor while Gordon was broadcasting from the Super Bowl last. Today at 3 p.m., Gordon will join us FrontBurner For Your Ears to discuss the harrowing event. Also, we’ll talk about why his TV show was cancelled and, in a related note, what he’s going to do with all those expensive jeans he owns.

Bill Brewer Likes Him Some Fancy Suits

On the back page of the Personal Journal section today, there appears a story headlined “Inside a Bastion of Old-School Power Attire.” The story is about how the recession is making even junior lawyers rethink their corporate casual attire. Really, though, the piece reads like a Match.com ad for Brewer and how handsome he his, how shiny his shoes are, etc. So good on Brewer’s PR man. He earned his keep. But to Christina Binkley, author of the story, I’d say, Don’t you think it would have been fair to mention how the formal-dress culture at Bickel & Brewer has affected the firm’s billings? And how do Brewer’s suits (the bespoke kind) perform for his clients in the courtroom? IJS.

Eric and Spider Monkey Storm the Capitol, Part 4

At least one alert FBvian has remarked in the comments that we haven’t heard from Eric Celeste and Elizabeth “Spider Monkey” Lavin today. I know. Odd. They’re both equipped with iPhones. Yet nary an update post. Well, nary an update from them. Over on the DMN’s Trail Blazers blog, however, we learn what they’ve been up to. Thank you, Emily Ramshaw.

ShopTalk’s Weekly Giveaway

Looking for a stylish gift for someone special but not wanting to spend any money? And does that special someone have hair? You should try to win today’s ShopTalk giveaway: a consult, color, cut, and style from Blaine’s Color.

More Retro Catalogs: J.C. Penney’s From 1977

A week ago, it was old RadioShack catalogs. Today, I bring you a J.C. Penney catalog from 1977. The blogger who blogged it might have oversold it as “the funniest thing you will ever see,” but it’s still pretty entertaining—especially the “colorful stretch terry coordinates” and the “all-purpose jumpsuit.”

Update: Apparently there’s been some confusion, as several commenters have pointed out. The whole “1977 J.C. Penney catalog on the Internet” is not a new development. I never meant to imply it was. Gizmodo ran it a couple of years ago. And J.C. Penney ran it way back … in 1977. I saw it today and decided to share. Apologies to all whom I’ve offended.

Re: D Magazine Christmas Party

Sorry, Timmy, I have a more compelling shot of last night’s “Throw Down at D Magazine Where We Give a Damn™.” And no, that isn’t me in Timmy’s picture it’s just a middle-aged employee wearing a sweatshirt. (Go Petes!)

FrontBurner For Your Ears Launches in 20 Minutes

The show starts at 3 p.m. Won’t you join us? Today’s hosts for the 15-minute recess session will be Tim and Adam. Chat or call in to the show. It’s fun for the whole office!

Random Sonnet About An Inanimate Object: The Topsy Tail

(Note: I don’t know what made me think of the Dallas-born Topsy Tail this morning, but I did. The first line of a sonnet crept into my head and wouldn’t leave until I did something about it. And, no, I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep. That probably has something to do with it.)

Oh what wondrous piece of molded plastic–
That slender rod with loop on stretched end.
You make long, flat hair somehow fantastic.
Such mod styles and salon ‘dos you transcend.
A braid, a clasp, a comb, a brush, barrette,
Curler, dryer, even puffy schrunchie–
These tools one finds–or maybe might expect–
Placed on or in or near a vanity.
(The furniture or female trait? you ask
Good question, and it’s one for the ages.
Whichever meaning is charged with the task
Of getting follicles primped for stages.)
But best of all the hair-brained schemes for sale
Has been for years that chintzy Topsy Tail.

Here’s That Album Cover: Now Get Off My Back

This Herb Alpert album cover keeps landing as a backdrop to my blog postings (hello, cluttered desk), and it seems everytime it does, it elicits more comments than whatever I was writing about. Anyway, to the right of it is D’s attempt to replicate it in August 2000. They just about nailed it, don’t you think? Comments are on …. NOW.

ShopTalk Friday Giveaway

If you want to a chance to win this be sure to go here. Every Friday we give away a new beauty (spa gift cards and the latest beauty products) or fashion (accessories and more) item on ShopTalk. While you’re there, be sure to check out the latest news on local sales, shopping, fashion, beauty and more.