It’s been kicking around since the 60s, but despite being a legitimate cultural icon, nobody’s given it the respect it deserves. But it looks like the afro pick’s time has finally come.

These gold- and silver-plated models from Social Creatures are made from cutlery grade aluminum and buffed to a high polish to help them negotiate the tighter curls. The handles are ornately embossed in the style of European trinkets, but don’t be fooled: this is entirely new. The silver model will set you back 275 UKP—they’re too bashful to give a price for the gold—but we never said cultural progress would be cheap.

Count on the Brits to bring us up to date.

Oregon’s really on a roll lately. Winn Perry—previously known as the northwestern source for Sovereign Beck ties—just reminded us that they’re also the northwestern source for Alden shoes, one of the best cobblers still producing shoes in America.

Naturally, the best work comes from the custom shop, but anyone passing through Oregon should stop by if they want to see what modern American leatherworking looks like. Of course, if you’re closer to New York, we know a place there too.

Now that we see it popping up on royalty, we realize there’s a type of beard we didn’t see in Portland: the self-consciously Arthurian muzzle.

Granted, it’s a pretty specific case, but if you’re an English prince out to establish your maturity, it’s really the only way to go.

By now, we bet you’re looking for a gift or two, so we thought we’d open up our archives for any last minute seekers. A tie may not be breaking much new ground, but a well-kept notebook or a well-bound book is always enough to raise a few eyebrows, especially if you choose the right one.

With that in mind, we present: the Kempt gift guide, a handful of very good ideas for any refined gentleman on your list. And you’ll have just enough time to get them to your door for the main event.

Just don’t sweat the shipping charge.

The cardigan resurgence is in full swing, but our favorite finishing touch has yet to take hold. We’re talking, of course, about the patched elbow.

It’s hit and miss on blazers, but on a sweater it gives a sense of permanence that can be hard to come by. This version comes new from Brit firm D.S. Dundee, but we bet it’ll look even better after it starts to show wear.

Robots have been male by default since the 50s, but the female robot has been around for almost as long, whether as a mechanical temptresses or a cold automaton—or usually both.

Apparently the folks at popular science are as intrigued as we are. They recently counted down thirteen real and fictional fembots, and it led to some interesting conclusions. First of all, the best we can do still looks eerily like a mobile mannequin, which is pretty shameful—unless that’s your thing.

And more importantly, that Svedka robot really was that creepy.

Powerpoint is responsible for a lot of bureaucratic frustration, but the times it’s actually improved someone’s life can probably be counted on one hand. This would be one of those times.

Apparently Alexandra Carmichael has been tracking her personal patterns—including exercise, weight, pharmaceutical intake and sex—for four months in the interest of getting a handle on a few medical issues and learning more about herself. So far it’s all common sense stuff like eating more during bad moods and feeling better after Tai Chi workshops, but the possibilities are endless.

Our personal recommendation: tie in your wardrobe. A few years down the line, you may finally discover how you really feel about cardigans.

Outside of Cronicles of Never and Ksubi, Australia’s style footprint has been pretty small. But we’re always willing to take another look.

This snap (courtesy of Street Peeper) comes from the opening of Alphaville, Melbourne’s latest Godardian boutique. The jeans are from Ksubi, and look familiar enough, but the rest of his getup comes from labels we’ve never even heard of, including Alpha 60 and The Vanishing Elephant.

Judging from the getup—and the success Ksubi has had with the Soho crowd—we’d say the continent’s ripe for a larger crossover, especially in sunnier climes like California.

We’ll call it the trans-Pacific look.

The idea of cashing out and moving to a cabin in the woods is getting more and more appealing each day. And if you feel like leaving behind all your possessions, you’re probably looking for something minimalist…

Allow us to introduce Weehouse, a St. Paul-based firm that’s managed to turn modular pre-fab housing into a genuinely attractive option. The houses come fully assembled and furnished, and the flat rate means you know exactly how much you’ll pay. Prices range from $65,000 to $255,000 for a quadruple-sized three-bedroom unit.

They also do custom work under the name Alchemy, but you can find carpenters anywhere. Finding a good cabin is quite a bit harder.

See the various models»

It looks like the matching shirt and tie is catching on. We first spotted it in the Commonwealth Utilities line, and now the West Coast brand Howe is pulling the same move in their SS09 collection.

We don’t like to say it, but we told you so.

Tweed has never been the hottest look, but it may be having its own trendlet. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to academic-chic.

This “Academia Jacket” from Visim has been making the Japanese retail rounds, and caught the eye of the streetwear tastemakers at High Snobiety and nascent King of all Media Kanye West. It’s a natural step from the accountant fetishism of Thom Browne—who, coincidentally, was just named GQ’s Designer of the Year—but we can’t help but wonder where this leads. Glasses can always get nerdier, but we imagine we’ll see library-themed nightclubs popping up next summer.

Our advice is to start snapping up hardcovers now. After all, you’ll need accessories.

Since the bicycle was invented, bike clothes have been uniformly embarrassing, and with bikes and scooters on the rise, it seems like material-minded designers have their work cut out for them.

These aren’t perfect, but they meet the challenge of producing a good biking pant better than anything else we’ve seen. They come from Outliers, a brand-new Brooklyn marque devoted to performance over form. In this case, that means pants that repel water, grease and stains and can stand up to the grinding gears of the average bike commute. It’s mountain climber stuff, but they’ve managed to fashion it into a slim pant that won’t look out of place at the office. It’s hardly a triumph of style, but as far as bike-safe clothing goes, it’s a big leap forward

More close-ups after the jump»

The French futurists at Impasse 13 just put out a pretty impressive spring line, but what caught our eye was this lepidopteral pocket square.

Good men’s accessories are hard to come by, so we’re happy to see something more colorful come down the runway. And as far as fabrics go, butterfly wing is definitely eye-catching.

We’re assuming they didn’t jet down to the Amazon for it, but judging by the rest of the line we’d say it’s a distinct possibility.

American manufacturing has been hit pretty hard lately, but boutique brands have a little more flexibility…and at least some of them are staying put.

Of course, it’s hard to know for sure, so A Continuous Lean has put together The American List, a handy guide to which brands are manufactured stateside, and it’s required reading for anyone interested in modern Americana. It’s also a surprisingly short list.

Our favorites are Red Wing, Billykirk, and Engineered Garments, but it’s striking how much they all have in common. There’s a lot of denim, a lot of flannel, and a lot of weathered fabrics; it’s what you might call the American style.

At least, the part of it that isn’t made in China.

Among all the rising greenery, mopeds may have been lost in the shuffle. Without the Mediterranean charm of a Vespa or the simian appeal of the Segway, we’d almost forgotten they were out there. Luckily, a clever designer was out there to remind us.

This Derringer model sprung from the mind of Adrian Van Anz, modeled off the board track racing motorcycles of the 1920s. After a few extra modernist curves and angles, he ended up with a Parisian style peddler that just happens to get 150 mpg. Of course, like Segways, this gadget is primarily a West Coast operation, so if you want one you’ll have to head out to their shop in West Hollywood.

Pictures and an address after the jump»

We’ve always said you’d miss analog when it’s gone, but we didn’t expect things to go this far.

Now that the down-and-dirty look of the Polaroid has gone the way of the dinosaur, we’re scrambling to get it back. Poladroid is a program that takes digital camera images and adds a touch of blurring, that familiar light green tint, and ends up with something that looks like it was printed from a handheld camera and shaken impatiently until it developed. Just like grandma used to make!

The only thing better would be if they started making actual Polaroids again.

One of New York’s most influential boutiques just made the leap to the internet, and we’re happy to say they’re in fine form. Eddie Chai’s Odin has had ecommerce on the mind for a while, but they finally managed to take their extremely local operation—East Village, to be specific—to a national scale.

That’s not to say we expect Iowa City to get nattier overnight, but it matters that Chai’s impeccable selections are now available to anyone who cares enough to punch in the url. And the site offers a lot more than just a box for your credit card number. In addition to lookbooks for each featured designer, the site features remarkably in-depth interviews to give you a sense of why each designer was chosen. It’s the kind of thoughtful curation that our corner of the web desperately needs.

More on our new favorite shop»

The shaved head was enough of a 90s staple that it had a Seinfeld episode dedicated to it (“The Little Jerry”, for the curious), but it may be time for something else. The folks at GQ believe they’ve found it in “The Power Donut,” a look championed by the deftly macho Ed Harris and lovably bumbling Gerald Ford. The slideshow makes a pretty good case for letting your follicles make a last stand.

It’s definitely time for a change, but we can’t help but think wistfully of the 90s icons to rock the cueball: Andre Agassi, Michael Jordan, and even Natalie Portman. It was so good for so long! But by the time Moby came along, we knew it was on the way out.

We’ve sifted through a lot of advice, but it’s rare that you find anything approaching real wisdom in a magazine. To get the good stuff, we recommend going to a slightly smellier, more grizzled source.

We’re talking about the Hobo Code.

Inscribed in the Annual Convention Congress of the Hoboes of America in 1894 (we hear the buffet was amazing), the Hobo Code has stood as the gold standard of vagrant ethics for more than a century, guiding famous vagabonds like Fry Pan Jack, Stormin’ Norman and Waterbed Lou as they rode the rails through the country. It holds up surprisingly well, especially if you ever find yourself in Hobo Court…

A selection from the Hobo Code»

More than a few designers have made their names on the transformative qualities of black leather—Mr. Varvatos, for one—but nobody’s taken it as literally as this.

Welcome to the Men’s 09 line from Natalia Brilli, a French designer who specializes in making leather-coated embossments, like this credit-card covered wallet, or a laptop sleeve with a keyboard cut into the top. It’s not all mind-blowing, but the craft involved is much more complicated than you might think, given the way leather stretches.

And naturally, it’s all pretty tough.

Get a few more examples»

We’ve been pushing the lomography cause for a while, but apparently someone’s been listening.

Fresh off his furry jaunt, Sir Paul Smith has put together a lomography camera with his trademark stripes. It’s a solid accessory, and he certainly has the retail reach to pull it off in a new way. It’s quality trend-watching all around…although this may be the first time Sir Smith has lifted an idea from the White Stripes.

Modern style tends to be a bit too skewed to the urban, so it’s nice to see a good pair of creek boots every now and then…and nice to have companies like Rogues Gallery around.

They’ve been holed up in Portland, Maine, stubbornly resisting the lure of the city, ever since they launched. Luckily, they’ve set up a blog to let us city dwellers get a taste of the New England wilderness. The blog is called PTLDME (try here to skip the eye-catching intro), and they’ve been dropping bonus bits of inspiration there all month, like this snap from the Bailey’s Island photoshoot for their Spring lookbook.

See a few more shots here»

If you’re still scrambling for a Halloween costume, here’s a good tip: a fake mustache will turn anything into a costume.

We recommend the Selleck in the lower left, but with a crop like this, it’s hard to go wrong.

Splash via Jezebel

Some are born with accessories, some acquire accessories, and some have accessories thrust upon them.

Mr. Craig may not have been thinking of spicing up his tuxedo when he injured himself, but it couldn’t have worked out better. It may throw his bowtie a bit off-center, but it was well worth it.

With the Oscars just five months off, it may be time for George Clooney to start planning a discreet but manly boating accident.

Our friends at UrbanDaddy turned us on to an activity we were dangerously close to forgetting: Halloween vintage runs. For our money, the best costumes are the ones that take usual sartorial choices a few steps further—zoot suit, anyone?—and the best place to find the goods is usually in a vintage store.

These snaps come from Brooklyn’s own Houndstooth, but non-New Yorkers should be able to find a suitable place nearby. And if nothing else, these snaps should give you a touch of inspiration.

If you’re thinking of Mr. Draper, though, be warned: you may not be the only Don at the party.

Take a look around»

AskMen just put up its list of the 49 most influential men of the year and, naturally, we’re furious we didn’t make the list. Of course, we would have been the only blogger other than Kanye…

Now that we’ve gotten over the initial shock, we have to admit it’s pretty good work. It’s got its share of our favorite movie stars—The Cloon (22) and Robert Downey Jr. (4)— mixed in with who-the-hell-is-that picks, like Jonathan Ive (23), the design mastermind behind the iPhone, and Rob Kay (8), the brains behind Guitar Hero. On the style front, Kempt favorites Thom Browne (43) and Tom Ford (4) also weigh in, although we’re surprised Ford is so high and Browne is so low. Maybe the accountant look isn’t as popular as we thought.

But any list that puts Kanye two spots ahead of Ben Bernanke can’t be all bad.

Breaking in your own jeans is a bit too personal for some, but it never occurred to us to let someone else do the work…

A.P.C. has come up with a novel solution: Buy back broken-in jeans at half-price, then resell them to folks who prefer their denim a little softer. We wouldn’t want to be on the broken-in end, but we suppose it’s a matter of taste, and it’s still better than a trip to Diesel. No one has to suffer through mass washes and the indigo-stained masses get a little financial relief.

Then again, New York’s hipsters may have more money in denim than stock at this point. If A.P.C. isn’t careful, there’ll be a run on the bank.

The saying goes, “If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.” But there should probably be something in there about lightbulbs too.

This one comes from global design firm Frog Design, and after five minutes we’re already converts. It’s light-bulb shaped (always a plus), more energy efficient than the average fluorescent unpleasantness, and its lifespan is measured in decades. They even drop a scattered leaf pattern on top to spread the light around. (These are dyed-in-the-wool design kids, after all.)

Of course, these days beating a path is as easy as putting up a blog post.

If any of you happen to be picking up this month’s GQ, you might happen to see a familiar name…

Our old friend and Style Guy Glenn O’Brien gives us a big up for calling him out all those months ago on a brief stylistic indiscretion. Giving advice to a similarly conflicted soul on how to correct his friends, O’Brien says, “Sometimes a guy needs tough love.”

Nothing but love, Glenn.

See the full page here (last question)

Even though we’re generally suspicious of band-aids as fashion statements, we have to admit this is a good idea. If you’re a manly guy who carries around a hammer, you can’t be messing with those wussy-looking pink things. You need to keep your skin together the same way you keep drywall together.

And for that, you need good old fashioned duct tape.

With the fashion industry’s constant focus on youth, it’s easy to forget there are some pretty sharp oldsters out there. Silver Sartorial, anyone?

The new blog addressing this imbalance—under a slightly worse name—is Advanced Style, an on-the-street stream of pictures dedicated to “personal style that advances with age.” The folks here pull off tweed sport coats and painter’s whites with more conviction than you’ll get from anyone under 30.

It’s only fitting. Street-style photoblogs are getting a little long in the tooth themselves.

We may be saps, but we love a good shoutout. Especially when it’s directed at us.

The latest one comes from Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean, who managed to land an interview in this month’s MR to big-up bowties, J. Crew, and the rise of men’s style. It’s required reading if you happen to be running a menswear store.

If all you’re doing is dressing yourself…you still might learn a thing or two.

Below, the wisdom of Mr. Williams»

Netspeak can be difficult to gauge sometimes, so we thought we’d provide you with a handy guide to typed laughter. We recommend keeping it with you at all times.

[NotCot]

Pre-distressed jeans have been around for a while, but we’ll be the first to admit we’ve never given much thought to how those wear patterns get there.

Luckily, someone was more curious than we were. New York-based photographer David Friedman took a trip down to Kentucky to check out a denim-distressing factory. The shop handles a bunch of different designers, and adds embroidery, tears and subtle fading wherever the designs call for it. It’s impressive stuff, given the scale they’re working on, and it’s always fascinating to see what it looks like behind the scenes.

Friedman says it pretty well:

I saw just how much work goes into distressing jeans, and I realized that these people are artists. You can’t just have any loose threads, you have to have the right loose threads. They can’t just be faded. They have to be the right color. A lot of work goes into making these jeans look just right.

See more pics after the jump»

Most analog technologies have gone the way of the 8-track by now, but film is making a decent stand, based largely on lomophile tricks like this one.

The above picture is “red-scaled,” meaning the film is inserted backwards and shot through a protective filter that cuts out most higher frequency light. A few clever folks have started making film specifically for red-scaling—meaning you won’t need quite as much technical elbow grease—but what they’re selling is really just pre-filtered film. It takes a good picture, though, as you can see.

Believe it or not, there’s still a lot of early 60s staples that have yet to make the retro jump. Our pick for the next candidate is the credenza, a staple of old school interior décor that’s completely dropped off the map in recent decades, but the Mad Men set dressers clearly haven’t forgotten. By our lights, it’s due for a revival, but only time will tell.

If you happen to be in the Second City, you can pick up this Herman Miller version (circa 1955) for around five grand at Chicago’s Wright Design Auction on October 7th, along with a few Eames chairs and an embarrassment of interior design riches.

But if you want to stick with your coffee table, we understand.

Speaking of workwear, we’re drawing perilously close to cold weather, along with seasonal appropriateness for our favorite piece of lumberjackwear, the flannel shirt.

This one’s from Penfield—also a solid spot for your coldest-day-of-the-year winter coat—but if you don’t feel like checking online, we recommend a trip to your local vintage outfit. Vintage stores do flannel better than anything else, and you’ll end up with something more offbeat than anything you could find firsthand…as long as you don’t mind sewing up a hole or two.

It’s a big internet, and while there’s plenty of snark, vanity, and free electropop, genuine wisdom is always in short supply. That’s why we were impressed when we ran across 1001 Rules for my Unborn Son. From sartorial advice (“If you are tempted to wear a cowboy hat, resist”) to a surprising number of hangover cures (including swimming in the ocean), the blog is a source of surprisingly good advice for the old school gentleman. Someone get this man a column in Esquire.

A few of our favorites after the jump»

Whether it’s flash mobs or tumblrs, a good idea can only last so long before someone turns it to commerce. The Sartorialist lasted longer than most, but after last month’s Gant advert, a third party has turned Scott Schuman’s idea of street style photo-blogging into a full blown clothing store.

The British site Stitsh has a familiar look, but if you roll over any of the pictures, it’ll take you to sites where you can buy any of the items on the screen. Like a few others, we like the idea, even if it’s a little too focused on British streetwear brands for our taste. Can’t they get someone over to the West End?

Remember those carefree childhood days of assembling kites and replacing fan belts? Yeah, us neither. Apparently we were missing out.

Popular Mechanics has a “you kids” piece (via Neatorama) about the erosion of manual skills, most notably changing tires. It’s true that we’ve rarely seen it in the relatively frequent “things every man should know” circulating through upscale men’s mags. At the same time, PSFK is warning we’re counting on computers to do too much of our thinking for us. Maybe it’s time to bust out the slide rule. We’ve got some brushing up to do.

We’ve always assumed there was nothing wrong with a dedicated follower of fashion slipping an iPhone into his jacket, but it may be time to revise that opinion. Sometimes it helps to know where you are without having to check Google Maps. And if you happen to get a flat, you can break out the real tools.

Men.style’s Spring ’09 preview just went up and it looks like next year is going to be interesting. The names are all familiar—Condé Nast has clout for a reason, after all—but they all seem to be working just outside their comfort zone. Band of Outsiders shows up looking uncharacteristically yachty, Duckie Brown has a depressive moment, and Shipley & Halmos indulges their inner corporate raider. It’s good to know nobody’s getting too comfortable.

The outfit that really caught our eye was this vertical-striped number from Patrik Ervell. The stripes are a little on the carnivalesque side—coincidentally, Adam Kimmel has some matching pants—but it’s just bold enough to work, especially paired with a banker’s collar and neutral pants. Well played, sir.

Part of the genius of the internet is that almost any idea can find a home there, even ideas that seem best suited to stand-up routines and Wes Anderson movies.

For instance, The Toaster Museum.

When we first heard about this, we were understandably skeptical, but the overall effect is something like stumbling into the garage of an obsessed collector. The model above is from Munich circa the 1920s but others include the first stripped-down General Electric models or the obscenely flowery items marketed to 50s-era housewives. The high ticket models can go for up to six grand on eBay, so we hope there’s an alarm system.

The man behind the museum speaks»

Man is a complex creature, and plumbing his desires and fears can be a terrifying and eye-opening journey.

Unless, of course, it’s a survey.

The good folks at AskMen.com have done the latest work—for science, naturally—and rounded up 75,000 men for a comprehensive survey of the less-fair sex. The result is worth a look, so we’ve rounded up the most eye-opening numbers for your perusal.

Click through to learn the horrible truth»

We don’t do much show-going at Kempt, but we couldn’t resist a post or two on the upcoming Capsule show. The semi-annual hootenanny is one of the best places to spot up-and-comers, and one of our favorite stops every year. This year’s crop includes Endovanera, Public School, Clae and Loden Dager, along with a handful of others we don’t even know about yet.

The show is happening 10-7pm this Monday and Tuesday in Angel Oresanz with over 60 labels attached. If you’re in the neighborhood, you just might see us there.

If not, we’re sure you’ll hear about it.

Whether it’s insurance adjusters, WWII-era engineers, or just plain old WASPs, designers are always looking out for the next look they can make their own. And with white suits popping up more and more often as a summer staple, we have a suggestion that may surprise you.

Mormons.

Think about it.

More on the inevitable rise of Mormon-chic»

With sockless weather in full swing, we’ve been rediscovering an Iberian alternative to mandals or the usual deck shoe. Welcome to the wonderful world of espadrilles.

A footwear tradition in the Pyrenees—where rugged ventilation is a necessity—espadrilles date back to the 1300s, but recent years have seen them adopted as a unisex shoe by high fashion crowds. While they’re a common sight on the streets of Paris, they’re still catching on stateside. The trick to the canvas wonders is the braided jute rope bottoms, both surprisingly soft and slick enough to keep the shoes from getting too funky over the course of the summer.

More on the rope-soled moc»

Apparently the Rogues Gallery folks have kept busy since we last checked in. They’re expanding beyond the world of brick and mortar into the magical world of online sales, with a few online exclusives to sweeten the pot.

For instance, these nautical hats, which should go well with those deck shoes we noticed a while back. There are also a few T-shirts, a key fob, and an inexplicably shiny bag available as exclusives, along with the rest of the nautically minded stock.

Happy sailing?

With summer in full force, you may be looking for lightweight suits. Aside from the Wolfen white suit, your choices are mostly going to depend on your knowledge of the fabrics involved.

In that vein, allow us to repeat a bit of wisdom from A Suitable Wardrobe. Instead of putting stock in the weight of a fabric, you might do better paying attention to the weave. Woven properly, even heavy cloth can be allowed to breathe. Summer fabrics are likely to have “fresco” in the name, or something similarly breezy-sounding, and they can be made heavy enough to avoid too much flapping.

Not to mention the dreaded crumple.

The good folks at Bluefly have finally done something to get our attention: they’ve just launched Tailor, an online shop dedicated to our kind of menswear. Sadly, it’s not actually tailored, but they do have a tailor on staff giving advice, along with IM-ready personal shoppers.

More on the online store»

The phone wars have been heating up for a while, resulting in a bumper crop of cool gadgets and racking up a few casualties along the way. First the RAZR, then the iPhone…then the Diamond?

With Motorola’s phone division a distant memory and Apple looking surprisingly shaky, Microsoft is aiming to clean up with its Diamond, a new handheld that handles all the usual webbery but possibly with slightly more panache. And a full ounce lighter, which is what has the gadget-heads excited.

More on the Diamond»

For all your attention to style, you probably haven’t considered the appearance of the thing you spend the most time looking at: your computer screen.

Luckily, the internet’s hungry designers are way ahead of you. Kitsune Noir has launched the Desktop Wallpaper Project to expand your options beyond the usual corporate logos and snapshots.

More on the Desktop Wallpaper Project»

Flipping through our weekly quota of glossy mags, we noticed Michael Bastian’s rules of style in Details. We’ve been fans of Bastian’s since he left his post at Bergdorf Goodman to pursue designing, but we couldn’t resist the chance to give his rules a little polishing.

See how Mr. Bastian’s rules stack up»

The much-feted Sartorialist is starting to develop a running commentary. And it turns out, there’s a lot you haven’t noticed. For instance, color.

Wear Me Palettes is the pet project of a Swiss design student, who spent three months copying, pasting, and matching colors to develop a database of sartorial hues. It’s a worthy study, as many of the outfits (this one, for instance) make themselves through sophisticated and subtle use of color.

As PSFK notes, the most popular colors are blue, white and brown, while gray appears in just less than half of the photos, which is either a fact about current fashion or a sad statement on New York weather.

Tsujiguchi Hironobu may not be a household name just yet, but it’s definitely not from lack of inspiration. He’s the patissier behind two boutique chocolate shops in Tokyo—Mont St. Clair and Le Chocolat de H., for the internationally-inclined—but this foray into concept desserts was what caught our eye.

More on our favorite kind of pencil»

In an interesting development, yesterday’s Thom Browne show eschewed the usual “military” and “post-apocalyptic rock star” themes so popular these days in favor of a carnival vibe, complete with a feathery ringmaster to introduce the show.

(This Refinery 29 post offers a good overview of the madness, and it’s from a familiar face.)

In short, Fashion Week just got a little bit more Cirque du Soleil.

As many will tell you, it is possible to live your entire life without needing a shoe horn. Of course, this is also true of combs, aftershave, and corduroy. In other words, you don’t know what you’re missing. Generally, two hands and some basic motor skills are all the equipment you need to bring your shoe and your foot together, but as you wander…