Fashion Tips For Atlanta's Best-Dressed Men

By A. Scott Walton
Are you one of the many men who feel stuck in a love-hate relationship with their wardrobes? Or, perhaps you're a lady who's recently grown weary with her man's appearance.
Those tweeds and woolens and corduroys may have looked chic and felt cozy all winter long. But you know what they say: familiarity breeds contempt.
If you're tired of the same ol'-same ol', but practical enough to realize it's still too cold out to leap to the lighter side of your wardrobe, help has arrived.
The proprietor of the posh Ken Barber Clothing boutique in Atlanta's swank West Midtown district kindly stepped forward, at EyeSeeStyle's request, to offer style tips that soothe the transition between seasons.
We call this webisode, "Five Easy Pieces". Give it a look, and if you have any other style questions that need addressing, enter them in the COMMENT box below. EyeSeeStyle will get you answers.



















An urban "go-getter" look by Atlanta accessories designer Malcom Fontier

How Kanye West Ruined Fashion Week: Part 1

With friends like Kanye West, who needs a runway show?
To me, it says a lot about what a sad state the fashion business must be in if the boldest headlines you can find these days concern which European designer shows West and his crutch, Amber Rose, attended.
Scratch real hard _or pay a subscription to a trade journal, if necessary _ and you’ll find true glimpses of brilliance emerging from the Spring 2010 and Pre-Fall collections of Chanel, Armani and Lanvin and Louis Vuitton, among others.
Business must be really bad if prestige labels are so starved for recognition that they’re letting attention-seekers like West & Co. distract critical eyes away from the runway. What are they doing, filming a reality show or something over there in Paris and Milan?
The notion that a show’s not “important” if recognized faces aren’t seated (an hour late) in the front row is tired. Wake me up when the nightmare known as “Kanye Goes to Fashion Week” is over.
While we're at it...let's call this a "That's Just Wrong Wednesday". This first time, we'll feature your girl Venus Williams. In a preliminary match this week at the Australian Open, Serena's big sister sent shockwaves Down Under with her choice of flesh-colored under shorts to complement her acid green tennis outfit. There's a bunch of shots of the ensemble out there on the web, and not a flattering one among them.
So, that's just wrong. Right?
Correct us, if we're wrong in the COMMENT BOX (below).

GQ Gets Andre 3000 and Lady GaGa Confused

Is it just me? Or is there something off base about the way GQ Magazine describes designer(?)-actor-Outkast artist Andre Benjamin in its latest issue dedicated to "The 25 Most Stylish Men in the World"?
Accompany a photo of Benjamin, a.k.a. Andre 3000, perched on a rooftop ledge, GQ brands him as the, "Master of Constant Reinvention".
Isn't that the kind of thing you say about Madonna, or Miley Cyrus?
Couldn't they have just portrayed him simply as a man of "Exquisite Taste"?
(I know one of Dre's tailors. The suits he has 'in production' are ill!)
To the February GQ's credit: it does give Benjamin the room to explain, in his own words, a recent penchant for wearing knee-high boots with tweedy jackets and Dick Tracy hats.
Other notables on GQ's list include: LaFace Records founder and on-and-off Atlantan, L.A. Reid; NBA star LeBron James; rap's answer to Mick Jagger, Jay-Z; and CNN's unflappable Anderson Cooper.
The magazine invites readers to engage in an online poll to pick THE MOST stylish man of all; and from the options offered, my vote's split between former Clash bassist Paul Simonon and "Italian automotive scion" Lapo Elkann.
To each his own...

Chris Brown Involved In Another 'Bloodbath'

You'd think disgraced pop music star Chris Brown would still be haunted by images of the scars and bruises he plead guilty to inflicting on his former girlfriend Rihanna last year.
You'd think Brown _ or at least his handlers _ would have better judgement than to make him this week's poster boy for assault and battery.
But no: this week at the fall/winter 2010 preview of Jean-Paul Gaultier's menswear line in Paris, Brown willfully and shamelessly took part in a display that evokes his history of violence.
Brown smudged his sullied reputation even further Thursday by mugging for photographers with Gaultier, who'd had his face made up to look as if he'd been pistol-whipped.
The designer's publicity ploy was in keeping with the pugilistic theme of his preview. Models _ sporting bloody lips, black eyes and gashed cheeks _ wore boxing gloves along with their tuxedos, cardigans and crisply tailored suits.
Photos distributed after the show proved how much Gaultier's matured as a fashion merchant. But the spectacle of Brown embracing "Fight Club" couture strikes us as a low blow.
Agree or Disagree? Click to "COMMENT" below...

Runway Photo: WWD.com

Halle Berry's New Fragrance 'Pure Orchid' Blooms

With the breaking beauty news on WWD.com that Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry is launching a limited-edition of her first signature fragrance next month, add one more item to EyeSeeStyle's growing list of "no-brainers" for the Valentine's shopping list.
We haven't had a true whiff of Pure Orchid by Halle Berry, yet. But just like the forthcoming new album by Sade, "Soldier of Love", our instincts tell us the "Monster's Ball" star has another best-seller on her hands.
For one thing: the bottle is gorgeous, and begging like a melting block of ice to be clutched. For another, the marketing honchos say the scent's meant to evoke Halle's esssentially "voluptuous" appeal.
Halle chimed in to call Pure Orchid, "reflective of who I am".
The guess here is that whatever Halle wears during her stint as a presenter at the 2010 Golden Globe Awards will go a long way toward pushing the fragrance's first-month sales.

R.I.P., Teddy Pendergrass Dies At Age 59

The music world today mourns the passing of Teddy Pendergrass, who has reportedly succumbed to a lengthy bout with cancer.
As far as we're concerned, Pendergrass was unmatched in terms of stage presence and his soaring vocals. During the late 1970s especially, his public personna defined "swagger" before it was misguidedly co-opted as the current catch phrase for masculinity.
He'll be sorely missed, but we'll always have his music to relish and reflect on...
A. Scott Walton

Five Reasons To Stop Dreading Maternity Clothes

1. Heidi Klum, the QuatroMom and host of the hit reality series "Project Runway" is preparing to launch a pair of maternity-wear lines with the Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod retail chains. The former supermodel has managed to mask births to four children over recent years, and still juggle her TV obligations. As the L.A. Times blog, AllTheRage, points out: "If anyone's an expert on dressing baby bumps, it's Hollywood's most stylish Fertile Myrtle," so expect a blitzkrieg of better looks on the market soon.





2) Spanx, the Atlanta-based shapewear firm blessed with the oh-so-crucial "Oprah" endorsement, is now focused on the needs moms-to-be have to lift and separate their bellies from the rest of their torsos. The Spanx ASSETS Marvelous Mama Terrific Tights ($18 per pair) offer women on the petite side (sizes 1-4) support the underbelly and lower back, while relieving the growing pressure to appear stylish throughout pregnancy.










3) Bargain buyers have a frenzied opportunity to scoop up items, including Nicole by Nicole Richie collection pieces, at clearance prices up to 75 percent off. Since its debut in stores last year, Richie's easy, breezy approach to maternity design has won rave reviews by the likes of MyGloss.com and helped her remain a stunner on the red carpet.







4) As CelebrityCafe.com and People (among many) are reporting, all you need is bucks and/or clout if you need to look good during the premier weeks of your new romantic comedy. Award-winning actress Amy Adams, star of the new film "Leap Year" is thanking heaven for Carolina Herrera’s agreement to custom-design her wardrobe while expecting. And some of those slinky looks Adams sports on the talk show circuit can’t help but trickle down to the masses. Can they?




5) Break-out film star Gabourey Sidibe gushes in the February issue of Harper's Bazaar that she feels "like a model" after undergoing a makeover by the magazine. The edition features her dressed in a silky red gown by Tommy Hilfiger. And if Sidibe looks "Precious" in the frock, given her dimensions, imagine how an off-the-rack creation like that will look on an expectant mom in the last trimester.

First Michael Vick, Now Michelle Obama?

Apparently, PETA has no shame when it comes to self-promotion at the expense of others.
The self-righteous animal protection group pulls no punches when it comes to co-opting private citizens for its aims.
Without permission, PETA is using a photo-shopped image of First Lady Michelle Obama in one of its latest anti-fur campaigns.
Now that NFL QB Michael Vick has managed to begin resurrecting his football career after a conviction for dog-fighting, PETA is indignantly expressing its right to trick people into thinking that Mrs. Obama supports its mission by placing a photo of her alongside Carrie Underwood, Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks. The fervent protest group claims it's all okay because the Washington Times printed a quote by the First Lady in 2009 stating that she does not wear fur.
From the perspective of this keeper of two rescue mutts, PETA's grasps for attention grow continually laughable and off-putting.
So, to lighten the mood, let me re-share this YouTube clip I found to be hilarious at the peak of the Vick controversy that he seems to be living down...
And feel to click in the COMMENT BOX below to join the conversation on this affront.

GQ Validate's EyeSeeStyle's View of Atlanta

We don't relish saying we told you so, but WE TOLD YOU SO!
Hard as is to believe, it's been nearly a year since the first declarative statement we ever gave you. And now, in its January 2010 issue, GQ magazine backs us up.
It was Feb. 11, '09 when we posted what a "superb new restaurant" Serpas in the Old Fourth Ward was. Ranking in at No. 10 of GQ's "10 Best New Restaurants in America" this year is...guess who.
GQ dining critic Alan Richman writes that chef Scott Serpas' cooking is, "raucous _ a little messy and a touch out of control, but I love his passion and sense of place."
What we said about Serpas, way back when, was that it was "love-at-first-sight".
Anyway, kudos to GQ for paying Atlanta some attention, and to the great Mr. Richman for uncovering a hidden gem.
And, since it's been about a year since we started this little EyeSeeStyle thing, feel free to click into the COMMENT box in red below to let us know if you like the ways we've evolved.
Can you smell what we're cooking?

Tiger Woods' Wife Has Wedding Ring Back On

Let the rampant speculation about the fate of Tiger Woods’ floundering marriage begin…AGAIN!
People magazine’s brandishing a brand new (uncredited) photo of the incomparable, philandering golfer’s wife (and baby mama to two heirs) on the ski slopes of the Swiss Alps, draped head-to-waist in virginal white with a cell phone tucked up to her lovely left ear.
Lo and behold, though: the fair, mistreated Elin has a blinging ring on her wedding finger in that shot of her in chic Chamonix, France!
A few week’s back, the media gaped at photos of her pumping gas into her luxury SUV without one on. This shot just fuel’s the flames.
Wouldn’t one run a much greater risk of losing an heirloom like that FOREVER on a ski slope than at the local GasUpNGo?
And what’s she saying on that phone in the midst of a slalom run?
“Take Your Name Off Your Phone”?
Or, “Gayle, tell Oprah I’ll call her back in a bit”?
Shoot your best shot in the comment box below!

Sade's "Soldier of Love" takes no prisoners

Ladies and gentlemen, your Valentine's gift-giving worries are already over.
Just make a point to purchase Sade's long-awaited new album "Soldier of Love" as soon as it's released on Feb. 8 and slap a bow on it. Then (wink, wink) push "Play".
Within seconds of hearing the irresistible title track, the recipient's guaranteed to have returning the favor in mind.
The very thought of this (sing-a-long) anthem making a venue like Atlanta's Grant Park throb some night this summer gives EyeSeeStyle chills. Don't let the warrior drum beats and the slashing guitars fool you.
Sade's made Cupid's work easy and delivered another diamond in the rough.