Kate Moss by Irving Penn

Going, Going…: Christie’s will auction off a 135-piece collection of glamour photography by Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus and Man Ray which will include tastefully nude shots of Gisele and Ms. Moss. The Irving Penn cheesecake pics will likely go for $30,000 or so?about the same price as a night with Kristen. [Vogue UK]

Advocacy Journalism: A popular men’s fashion magazine contributes to a major shift in American foreign affairs. No, it isn’t The Economist. [Jezebel]

Cat’s Out of the Bag: Paul Smith is having a sample sale, just try to keep it on the down lo… crap… never mind. [Racked]

Four Eyes: Pull out your prescription lenses because cute/wacked nerd-chaser Verena Von Pfetten admits, “I just love me some myopia.” [Huffington Post]

Man’s Man: Jason Preston is everything women could want - fashionable, attractive, connected and willing to throw down to defend a lady’s honor. Too bad for them he’s engaged to Marc Jacobs. [NYPost]

All Aboard: By the next decade, New York Fashion Week may have a new home on top of the West Side Rail Yards, forcing poor Conde Nasters to walk more than half a block to the tents. [NY Daily News]

No Accounting for Taste: Dolce & Gabbana may be the most famous Italians slammed for tax evasion since Al Capone. [DNRNews]

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

We’ve admired British-born, Aussie-raised actor Guy Pearce ever since 1997’s brilliant L.A. Confidential, easily one of our favorite flicks of all time. An understated sort of fellow, we’ve never really paid much attention to his attire, but at the premiere of his new terrorist-CIA caper Traitor the other night, he caught our eye for pulling off the all-black look with a verve we haven’t seen since the unpredictable Mr. Cumming sported a similar set-up last March.

More on the monochromatic look»

In our all consuming quest to keep you looking your nattiest, it’s high time we address your face. Or at least the glasses sitting on it. With the help of our good friends Jordan and Erik from Silver Lining Opticians—our vote for the best specs shop in all the land—we’re going to bring you the vintage shades you should be wearing, one category at a time. And if something catches your eye, just shoot us an email and we’ll point you in the right direction.

One of the secrets of vintage gear is nailing down a specific place and time. In the case of the plastic aviator, it’s the late seventies, when muscle cars, eight tracks and unreconstructed rock could all still pass as unironic. And, now that it’s being sported by celebs from Kanye to Tom Ford, the plastic aviator is enjoying a much deserved revival. Ranging from high-tech to faux-cheap, we’ve put together a list that can see you through beach weekends, skiing, and your usual daytime adventures. And, of course, they all look good with a mustache.

After the jump, see our favorite plastic aviators»

It’s hard to overstate the appeal of a very tall beer glass. It’ll help you master your pouring and you won’t have to suffer through foamless pilsners anymore, but the real fun is bringing a bit of Bavaria to your coffee table. Or, in this case, a bit of Switzerland.

Just pour down the middle and you should be fine.

This month’s GQ has a primer on presidential style, and while we knew about LBJ’s glasses and Kennedy’s trim suits, we were surprised to hear about Harry S Truman’s penchant for skinny tartan ties.

Not too shabby by today’s standards, which got us thinking. It took a while, but maybe the man from Missouri’s time as a style icon has finally come.

The Truman show»

The Big Picture: The best photographs of the year turn out to be kind of depressing. [NY Times]

Fond Farewells: We’ll miss you, New Year’s glasses with zeroes as eyes…[Gawker]

The Small Screen: The clever list-makers at A.V. Club count down the top TV episodes of the year. Sadly, Mad Men has to settle for #4. [A.V. Club]

The Cat Came Back: Just because it’s a holiday, here’s what really happened to James Franco’s cat. [Funny or Die]

Kempt wishes you a happy, tastefully bestubbled 2009.

It’s hardly news that fashion is cyclical, but frametop glasses were the last thing we expected to come back into style. Costume designers in Hollywood have been using them as shorthand for the creepy loner type for at least 15 years. We can’t help but suspect Thom Browne…

We like to think we’re fighting back the ridiculous here at Kempt, but occasionally we see something that tests our faith in the underlying sanity of the fashion industry.

They just never learn, do they?

We’d file this look under “advanced studies,” but if you’re a legendary design icon, feel free to try it out. Just grab a wide-shouldered suit with extra-wide lapels and finish it all off with a tiny bowtie and a pair of soon-to-be iconic glasses—and don’t forget the pocket square.

It might make you look a bit more diminutive than you’re used to…but you can make up for it with a few big ideas.

A Big, Big Love: Ginnifer Goodwin’s W Magazine spread makes a surprisingly cogent case for plural marriage. [FashionIndie]

X-Ray Specs: Oliver Goldsmith enters the world of bespoke frames. [GQ UK]

Man of Steel: The 70s era Superman costume goes on sale. Somewhere, Jerry Seinfeld reaches for his wallet. [IMDB News]

Chastity on the Rise!: Esquire laments the decline in the female libido. It sounds like they’ve been going to the wrong bars… [Esquire]

A Serious Man, the Coen Brother’s latest, hits theaters this week, and if you’re a frames nerd like us, you’ll notice one sartorial item getting an unusual amount of screen time. In addition to a shlubbified Mad Men closet and a truly impressive selection of early 60s ties, Larry Gopnik spends the film sporting an enviable pair of Moscot Lemtoshes. In fact, it may be the only enviable thing about him.

Gopnik also spends the movie being pummeled by metaphysical torment, which is probably why the Coen connection hasn’t found its way into more press releases. As a costume, it’s pitch-perfect: Moscot’s such a beloved brand because people like your dad wore them—or at least the better dressed version of your dad who ends up in movies—but mortgage payments rarely find their way into that particular pitch.

Personally, we came out of the movie with a greater desire for nebbish frames…but results may vary.

Evening Wear: Jessica Stam brings back the Veronica Lake look. [Fashion Gone Rogue]

Seersucker Confidential: A style appreciation of Mr. James Ellroy, an Eisenhower dandy and genuine crazy man. [Inventory Magazine]

Unshankable: Learning to love prison-issue glasses frames. We really hope this catches on. [Magnificent Bastard]

Downstream: Netflix gets a little bit cooler, adding 300 indie and foreign titles to their streaming library, including our beloved Wendy and Lucy. [/Film]