Confused by conflicting reports about a global recession? Well, you're not alone. Even the experts disagree. According to Morgan Stanley, the US is already in one. Then CNN commentator Lou Dobbs hysterically announced that the US economy was flirting with disaster. Meanwhile, the luxury industry asserts it's sitting pretty, as recession-proof as ever. Clearly sectors such as the housing market are already experiencing an economic downturn but amid the predictions and chatter about the world's current and future fiscal health, there's one important question that hasn't been asked: if there is a recession, what does one wear? It's not as trivial as it might seem.

You can read my full article, published May 3rd, here.

OMG! Monday was, like, Christmas in May for New York sports fashionistas: the Met held its annual Costume Institute Gala, and SO MANY jock-types on the guest list! This year's theme? "Superheroes: Fashion & Fantasy."

TCL pondered for untold hours what first impression we ought properly to make on readers in our first post for OnTheFly.com. Better to go flash ... or trash? Classy or sassy?  High-brow -- or low?
 
Well, here's how it is: Michael Jordan ruined everything, foiling our intention to kick off this web log by taking some of the air out of His Airness.
 
Oh, we had him good, too. At a recent press conference, the man who was once the eye-candy of the NBA appeared wearing the sartorial equivalent of brussel sprouts. (If this is what a "Managing Member of Basketball Operations" looks like, we're awfully glad we don't have a member to manage.) But then, a few days later, to announce that the Charlotte Bobcats had hired Larry Brown as their new coach, MMBO Jordan made up for his plaid madness with this perfectly handsome ensemble.
 
Drats!
 
So, if we couldn't bring you one hoopster who shills for underwear, the least we can do is introduce you to another -- Connecticut Sun reserve guard Erin Phillips showing off her SpencerLacy's knickers.
 
Reportedly, the WNBA sophomore is appearing on the cover of Alpha, the Australian equal of Maxim, ahead of the Beijing Olympics to hype the Aussie women's national team, on which she is the starting point guard. (No, really -- it's not all about her. Can't you see how the ball she's carrying ... on her shoulder ...  is a metaphor about her and her T-E-A-M?)
 
Admittedly, TCL is a little confused about the message here. So, okay, she's a strong, athletic woman. ... But, hey, don't forget how feminine. ... But wait! She insists in the accompanying story that "We're not going to be Team USA's little bitch." ... But, um, she'll play the "little bitch" for Alpha's readers?
 
We think we're coming down with the sort of migraine usually caused by muffin tops and bad NBA 'dos.
 
Still, we somehow fancy Phillips' image here. She reminds us of Pink, who we sort of admire for her butt-kicking 'tude. And however racy the photo might seem to Puritan media types, Phillips looks a lot better in these SpencerLacy's than the company's own model.
 
We think it might have everything to do with her sass.

The man at left is not Teri Berg. In fact, Teri is not a man. But due to her daily immersion in sports for her real job, and the photo subject's savvy fashion sense, LeBron James is one of Teri Berg's most frequent topics when it comes to writing about the intersection of fashion & sports. Since many of you have been enjoying the frequent posts from Richard Torregrossa, a fashion writer & author of Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style, we have added another professional writer to our arsenal here: Teri Berg. 

Teri is a sportswriter by day and a fashion-in-sports writer by night. She is currently covering the NBA playoffs for NBA.com (her latest article is here), but she will be checking in weekly to highlight winners & losers, trend-setters and followers in the wide world of sports.

Her current blog -- now in its third year -- can be found at theclothezline.blogspot.com, and she calls it TCL for short, if you'd like to read past posts. Her knowledge and opinions run broad and deep: football, baseball, basketball, and golf, sports writers & announcers [especially those who make sartorial statements], and of course the top athletes' tastes in fashion, hair styles, facial hair, tattoos, and their endorsement deals. Some of my favorite posts include her recent verdict on Kobe Bryant "trying too hard", a plea to get Jason Kidd a razor, and a provocative analysis of the NFL Cheerleader Ban.

We are excited to publish Teri's first post tomorrow, and we hope you enjoy her point-of-view as much as we do.

Some of our readers have expressed concern about the liability of dressing too well—particularly better than one’s boss. Common wisdom says that if you dress better than your boss, you risk his/her ire or jealousy, so you should dress down. I agree, but only if your ambitions go no farther than being a subservient cubicle drone happy with a stagnant but secure job. But if you want to earn your boss’s job someday or one like it, kicking up your personal style is a guaranteed way to distinguish yourself from your rivals.

Sure, you might tick off your boss. Sure, your co-workers might call you a dandy or even a pretentious fop behind your back, but I’ll bet they will secretly admire you as they try to conceal their envy for your eye-catching cufflinks, crisp white dress shirt, and what Forbes.com called "One of Ten Shoes Every Man Should Own" - Toschi’s Berta.

I say:  Don’t dress like the man you are; dress like the man you want to become.

Dressing well is a subtle but powerfully symbolic act of male aggression, but that’s what business is all about—cut-throat competition, balls and brashness, vigor, and survival. J.P. Morgan didn’t have a lot of friends. There was a reason for that. He didn’t want friends. He wanted big-money and all the status that accrues to a man of power. He never ever dressed down.

In our own time, you’ve never seen Donald Trump in a track suit. He’s always in a pricey suit and big phallic-y ties. He’s the Man. Or he thinks he’s The Man. Even though he might not be, he acts the part every day, every night, brushing off ridicule about his hair, his ego, and those God-awful gaudy ties as if they were merely so much lint on his lapel.

To win in business and in life one must not feel guilty about one’s prowess, strength, and talents. Naked ambition should not cause shame. Naked ambition should be clothed in the finest suits and accessories you can afford. Think of it as armor. Style is a gentle but powerful weapon for the man who insists on success. He’s not sitting around waiting for his “big break.” He’ll make it happen himself, some way, somehow.

And if your boss doesn’t like it, then you’ve successfully exposed a weakness you can exploit. If he fires you, then you weren’t going anywhere in that firm anyway, so it’s best you find a work environment that appreciates your strengths rather than regards them as a threat. Just remember to tip your hat to your ex-boss as you head out the door on your way to greener pastures.

These days it’s nearly impossible to find a good martini. And it’s all James Bond’s fault. He popularized the vodka martini and gin became as unhip as a handlebar mustache. Cocktails, like clothes, are as much governed by fashion as they are by taste, so I am pleased to report, that the classic martini, “the elixir of quietude,” as E.B. White called it, is making a comeback. And here’s how to make it the modern gentleman way...[Read More]