Point of Etiquette: It is never, ever acceptable to think of a woman, no matter her particular comportment, as a “prostitute”, “slut” or “whore” — unless she wears this stuff.

Whore Couture—“Embrace the Vixen Within”

It takes a certain kind of mind to create a wearable desk. The obvious problems—like going outside or interacting with others—have to go completely overlooked through every stage of the production process. Then again, it only takes one person to say yes, so while brighter minds are working on new ways to wear houndstooth, hk-ergonomics is taking us one step closer to being cyborgs.

The Hip Office is essentially a back brace with arms »

Monica Feudi via IHT

It’s fairly common for a writer to stretch a thin idea farther than they should. Generally, the worst that happens is a puffier-than-usual puff piece. But when a designer does it…things can get ugly.

See just how ugly»

It looks like guyliner was only the beginning.

Jean-Paul Gaultier unleashed a line of men’s makeup yesterday called Monsieur, including concealer, eyeliner, brow grooming gel, two bronzers and a self-tanner. The ad materials encourage the makeup as a way to unleash your “inner monsieur,” which creeps us out more than anything we’ve heard in a while.

It isn’t the first time this idea has been tried, but until now, the market hasn’t shown much interest in the powdered dandy look.

Let’s hope our luck keeps up.

This week’s Loose Thread comes courtesy of the nonist, who just introduced us to the Japanese concept of chindogu, or unuselessness.

The utili-tie to the left is a prime example. At first, it seems like the ideal combination of the sartorial charms of the necktie with the practical need to carry safety scissors, a set of paper clips, a ruler, a passport, and various other office essentials. But after you consider it for more than thirty seconds, it becomes clear that the tie is wildly inefficient at both its intended uses. It’s not entirely useless, but even if it existed, it would never be used. It is, in other words, Chindogu.

More on this intriguing categorization»

The history of the novelty tie is pretty sordid. But even the piano-key necktie has the virtue of actually being a tie. This unfortunate item is really just the idea of a tie. And, as you may have guessed, it’s a very bad idea.

As usual, the mistake here is in the “quick” part. Wrapping a coat hanger around your neck may seem faster and easier than a half-Windsor, but if you’re in that much of a hurry, you might consider going tieless.

Or should we say, wireless.