Close Shave: Tom Ford releases men’s toiletries line (soap, shower gel, aftershave) to complement his signature cologne. Scratch the screen for a preview. Not working? Keep trying—it’ll happen. [DNRNews]

Season Opener: Suit up for the vernal equinox. [Refinery29]

Big Stink: Related - How to look like Colin Farrell smells. [Style Dash]

Mea Culpa; Apparently, a red club tie with contrasting white stripes is the universal signifier for, “Sorry, I was thinking with my jock.” [NY Times]

The Chicer Picker Upper: Ever eloquent with her actions, if not her words, Paris Hilton gracefully ends the celebrity-fashion-line era with her new collection of paper towels. [LA Times]

Plain White Ts: Gap will continue it’s indie designer collaborations program with Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian, Philip Crangi and 3.1 Phillip Lim. Somehow, Threeasfour snuck in while no one was looking. [Racked]

Mr. & Mrs. Z: Jay-Z once rapped,”Y’all be frontin’, me give my heart to a woman? Not for nothin’, never happen’, I’ll be forever mackin.” He lied. [US Magazine]

“Why does anyone in New York buy ties fully priced?”: Good question, mate. [Permanent Style]

Team Polo: While the Olympic Torch is struggling to stay lit, Ralph is busy outfitting American athletes. [Reuters]

Party Politics: Pro war. Anti war. Conservative. Liberal. The only thing that really matters is where the candidates stand on beer issues. [Huffington Post]

Fresh Fruit: BR Monogram opens today in the Village. [WWD]

Kempt Kept Men: Thanks to the changing face of Japanese sexual politics you can finally be a geisha. [CNN]

Banging the Gavel: With the recent sale of Carla Bruni nudes and the new offering of this Michael Comte Gisele shot, it’s clear that British auction houses are becoming the place for top-drawer spank fodder. [Vogue UK]

Penny Pusher: Every time blue-eyed, honey-blond men’s fashion blogger Amanda Brooks writes a tribute to a male dress staple, we fall a little harder. [Men’s Vogue]

More Cushion for the Pushin’: If you’re using padded underwear to get laid, there’s really nothing we, or anyone else, can do for you. [NYMag]

Supercops: English bobbies may soon have cool designer capes. Maybe it would be cooler if the government gave them firearms, but what can you do? [BBC]

Big Bubba: Bill Clinton uses big fat, dies to distract the eye from his big, fat mouth. [HuffPo]

Stupid is as Stupid Does: England’s premier scientific journal, The Sun reveals that the more educated a woman is, the harder it is to satisfy her sexually. Well, duh. [The Sun]

Preppy is as Preppy Does:Brooks Brothers debuts their Black Fleece collection. [Luxist]

Say, “Cheese!”: Jackass and Terry Richardson—a match made in chucklehead heaven. [High Snobiety]

Waif Wedding: 33-year-old single mother Kate Moss bucks the statistics by declaring her upcoming nuptials. [Jezebel]

The New Demure: Vanity Fair spoofers photoshop the new polygamist-child-abusing chic onto Hollywood’s most desired ingenues. [Vanityfair.com]

Heavy Metal: The most exciting thing to come out of Australia Fashion week might be the illegal use of military assets. [Sydney Morning Herald]

Office Space: ACL visits the busy laboratory of Alexander Olch. [A Continuous Lean]

Drop Them Drawers: Remember, kids, tomorrow is “No Pants Day.” [Laughing Squid]

The Great White North: The Canadian Olympic team’s official gear is designed to combat smog and good taste. [Globe Sports]

Frau Claudia Schiffer Topless in German Vogue: Ja vol! [Egotastic]

Part-time Model Rips Off Boss Marc Jacobs: Good thing the cops got him, because Jacobs will fucking cut you. [Gawker]

Huffpo’s Von Pfetten Doesn’t Go For Pretty Boys: Seriously, girl, why haven’t you called us yet? ]HuffPo]

Clip On Ties: Thom Browne’s rules of the tie bar. [WSJ.]

Tips for Tall Guys: Jalen Rose and Allan Houston share their 6’ and over secrets. [AskMen]

Jugs off the Menu: Williamsburg’s Radegast shelves their traditional-Czech-cleavage-revealing outfits due to the wandering hands of drunk patrons. Way to ruin it for the rest of us. [Gothamist]

Oh Zo’: One of our many, many girlfriends gives Black Book a dose of her loveliness. [Black Book]

And the Winners Are…: Some of our faves, including Scott Sternberg and Tom Ford bring home CFDA awards. [Nitrolicious]

Retail Valhalla: ACL shops at Odin. [A Continuous Lean]

Pick Up: A wallet made for all you weekend guitarists. [Uncrate]

Steven Collaborates: Mr. Alan teams up with Urban Outfitters. [Racked]

The Ties That Bind: The Korean Green Foundation claims that, “Going without a tie lowers the somesthetic temperature by 1 or 2 degrees, which could lead to a reduction in the amount of electricity used and a corresponding reduction in CO2 levels in the workplace.” Treehuggers. [Hani]

Flower Girl: Amanda Seyfried once starred alongside Lindsay Lohan. That wheelbarrow back there is probably a trade up. [Vanity Fair]

Four!: The “Worst Golf Fashions”? Oh, Time, when will you learn? The worse it gets, the better it is. [Time]

Save The Tie!: Hell of a lot easier than saving the whales, no? [Style Savage]

Man Talk: Shipley and Halmos discuss the finer points of male grooming—Joey or Van? It’s Van. [A Continuous Lean]

Mea Culpa: An Italian couple asks forgiveness for having sex in a church’s confessional booth, which we see as kind of pointless. We mean, once you’ve crossed that line, there’s really no reason to even try to go back—hell awaits. [Telegraph UK]

Certified Classic: Salma Hayek—still beautiful, still badass. [Camel Tap]

British Invasion: Save your pence—Topman will arrive any day [DNRNews]

These Nike Canvas Lows Are Kinda Awesome: That is all. [Hypebeast]

Pocket Protector: The history of the pocket square revealed. [Art of Manliness]

Putting It Together: Assembly, the omnisexual store from one of the creators of Scout, is picking up all kinds of press. [We Are The Market]

Misunderestimating: President George W. Bush tells French President Nicholas Sarkozy of his wife, Carla Bruni, “I can see why you married her”. Apparently his degree from Yale was in stating the obvious. [BBC]

Hanging In There: The tie is dead? Go tell it to CBS. [A Continuous Lean]

With ties trending British, it’s a good time to have an overseas source.

A Suitable Wardrobe turned us on to Drakes London, a bespoke tiemaker that specializes in Albion-inspired patterns and skinny-but-not-too-skinny cuts. In other words, the genuine English article.

More on our English Connection»

The death of the tie may be a little exaggerated, but stylistically, neckwear is definitely in a rut. Outside of the skinny/wide dichotomy and the increasing influence of the Britons, there isn’t a lot of new stuff happening. If the tie aisle is ever going to show us something we can’t find in a vintage store, someone is going to have to step up.

And we’ve got a few ideas about who.

For instance, Sovereign Beck»

The recent presidential debate has been analyzed to death, but one enormous sartorial story went unreported. At this point, politicians’ only remaining outlet for personal style is their ties, but things can still get complicated, as they did Friday night.

In past years, the democratic candidate has worn a blue tie, while the Republican candidate wears a red, but this always made Bush come off as more dynamic and, well…visible.

This year, Obama broke the party line by choosing a patterned purple number, putting McCain in a potentially awkward position. He couldn’t stay with red or switch to blue without risking an awkward “twins” remark from moderator Jim Lehrer. Cornered, McCain took yet another stylistic chance and opted with a pencil-stripe tie, the first non-solid-color tie seen in American politics since the dandified days of Herbert Hoover.

A maverick indeed.

Getty Images

Last night’s debate offered one more chronicle of the political world’s baby steps towards stylish behavior. No, we’re not talking about Palin’s winks or Biden’s party-appropriate powder blue tie.

We’re talking about those chalk stripes.

Biden risked looking like a banker—a particularly dangerous move these days—and did the sartorial thing. We knew he was a well-dressed gentleman, but we’re impressed he had the clout to pull this one off. What’s next, wearing gray? Obama may be the first candidate who’s one-button suit material, and it’s nice to know he’s got someone adventurous to back him up.

Based on this picture, it looks like someone else is taking notice too.

The Britons have been doing pretty well for themselves lately, but we’re surprised to see the latest trend coming from a corner of history we overlooked. Remember the Raj? Apparently Savile Row forgot too.

The empire may not have worked out so well, but certain designers are indulging in a little Kinks-y nostalgia. Duncan Quinn—whom you may know from a MOTH or two—just unveiled his latest line of ready-to-wear ties, inspired by the British Raj, and paired with a few of our favorite helmets, in case you need protective headgear to go with your new look.

We can’t imagine Waris is very happy about the new colonial chic—and actually, we can’t say we blame him—but who are we to question Mr. Quinn?

Check out Quinn’s launch party in New York»

One of the overlooked regions of postwar style is accessories that artfully conceal pictures of semi-clothed women. The tie is the classic—after all, who would ever take a close look at the lining?—but the wallet is a close second.

Apparently Paul Smith hasn’t forgotten. This wallet spices up one of the less interesting men’s accessories with a bit of nostalgic cheesecake. It’s cheeky, playful, and anachronistic, just like the rest of Mr. Smith’s wares.

The purple stitching is also a nice touch, and when you peek inside the fold, you’ll see Mr. Smith’s trademark pinstripes…a somewhat less exciting view.

A closer look»

We aren’t much for sartorial projections, but we guess that’s why there’s a pundit class. And Chris Matthews is always game.

The curmudgeonly MSNBC anchor recently predicted the Obama administration would feature “thin ties…Well-turned-out men. No sloppiness. Just work… It will be zesty.” We’re not sure what “zesty” means, so we’re assuming he’s talking about purple ties.

Of course, you can’t fight city hall. We’re hoping for change, but the three-inch tie is so ingrained in D.C. culture, it’ll be hard to wean them off it. The look is not exactly current these days, but it’s still way too trendy for the capitol.

Give it a decade or so.

We’re all about creative materials, but this was a bad idea from the beginning.

We usually like wooden things—they can add warmth to a room, or a bit of wit to gadget design—but this one doesn’t work on either front. To recap for those who came in late, the purpose of a tie is to drape and/or hang. These polished logs aren’t going to do either; they’re just going to clack around stiffly every time you move.

Sherman’s March: Photographess Cindy Sherman takes pictures of herself throughout time, causing us to love her more than we thought possible. Damn you, Byrne! [Vulture]

Walk of Shame: Apparently W couldn’t get a handshake at the G20. We can’t imagine why. [Videogum]

The Shame Economy: Fixing the economy with national pride may be the wrong direction… [Gawker]

Trads in the Wild: The mustache and tucked neck tie are always a good idea. [We are the Market]

We were all set to write about Kendi—the ties look good right?—only to discover that in the few months since we heard about them, their website has reverted to a zombie site plugging GoDaddy.com. In case you forgot, it’s rough out there, and a dearth of interesting ties is the least of our worries.

If anyone has any news on the fall of Kendi, drop us a line. Otherwise, we’ll just wait for the leftovers to show up on eBay.

Our favorite futurist tie-makers are playing it safer than usual with their new fall/winter wool collection.

We love a good three-inch tie, but we’re closer to the end than the beginning on that look, and the Sovereign Beck folks—once the great hope for tie design—aren’t doing much to keep it alive. A plaid tie is still a plaid tie, and the collection isn’t bad at all—in fact, it’s probably the most department-store-ready gear we’ve seen from them—but we had high hopes. Only the blue-green version on the right shows any signs of the Mathematica aesthetic that made their previous collections stand out.

On the bright side, they’re also holding a Holiday sale where you can get some of their vintage work for up to half off the usual price. So maybe we’ll cut them a little slack.

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.

Our favorite bespoke tie-maker has a new line coming out, and we couldn’t resist taking an early peek.

Vittorio J will still work up a handful of ties to your specs, but you might do just as well sticking with their in-house line. They make the clever move of going narrow without being skinny, but the material might be an even bigger draw. They use English silk and the emphasis everywhere is on intricate patterns and bold colors.

Think of it as a consolation prize now that the upward-slope doesn’t quite cut the mustard.

See the rest of Vittorio’s ties»

Now that the cultural novelty of the iPod has worn off, we’re left with a lot of distant-looking people in public places. We aren’t suggesting you start talking to people on the subway—we’re not crazy—but disengaging from the world is rarely an attractive thing, and probably best kept private and unadvertised, like knitting or watching Heroes.

All of which means you’d do best to keep it off your tie.

With the downturn getting serious, we knew we were going to see fewer big ticket items, but we didn’t expect to run out of places to wear a suit.

Maybe we should have. Desperate to draw in more clientele, the New York institution 21 has relaxed its dress code. In their words, “Ties are still preferred and greatly appreciated, but they are no longer a must.”

We’ve written similar words, but under very different circumstances, and despite it all, we’re sad to see the jacket-and-tie requirement go. The trad life is a noble one, and it’s worth preserving. We’re sure there are other ultra-formal restaurants in the city…but we can’t actually name another. Until now, we’ve never needed to.

At least the market for bejeweled iPhone cases is still going strong.

Confidence can come from many places, but wearing a four-in-hand knot under a spread collar is not likely to inspire it. So next time you’re speaking before congress, it might be a good thing to double check.

Our theory is that Obama’s change brought a lot more spread collars into the West Wing, but their knot haven’t quite caught up. For the record, gentlemen, if you’re moving to a wider collar, you probably want to upgrade to a Windsor.

The tie is a pretty monolithic item as menswear choices go, so it’s nice to have a few more oddball choices on-hand, in case you feel an unconventional streak coming on.

Drake’s is generally a pretty staid British brand, but summer comes to London too, so they’ve got a few repp stripes handy just in case. And, if you find yourself near Portland, you won’t even have to cross an ocean to get one.

Speaking of neckwear, the New York Garment District stalwarts at Mountain & Sackett are knocking their stock down 50%, which should be a good enough reason to spend a few minutes perusing their wares.

Our favorite is this herringbone cashmere version…even if it won’t do you much good at a clambake.

Writing on the Wall: Evan Rachel Wood’s tattoos come out at the Oscars. [Bastardly]

Fashion Weak: Apparently someone at Fashion Week was keeping track of the more ridiculous utterances. We’re amazed they didn’t run out of notebook space. [Unbeige]

Bold Action: President Obama continues to make neckwear choices that can only be described as bold…by Washington standards, of course. Silver ties? In the White House? [The Cut]

Wholesale Nation: Now that the pricing dam has burst, will we ever pay retail again? More importantly, how much longer can the shoplifting dam hold out? [International Herald Tribune]

These are rugged times. Rugged materials are called for.

But hopefully we can keep them confined to garments that won’t actually touch your body. After all, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets a rash.

This burlap tie may be the first good item we’ve seen to make use of rougher fabrics, but we’re pretty sure it won’t be the last. (Hat tip to UD Chicago.) A good contrast of fabrics can make a whole outfit, and burlap is pretty much guaranteed to set off whatever texture your suit is. Plus, it’s tough enough to last until the next bubble.

When it comes to store openings, John Varvatos has basically never let us down. So now that his SoHo outpost has emerged from renovation, we figured we’d take a look. The result is a new emphasis on tailoring space, along with the same vintage rock stills and leather boots we all know and love.

Take a look around»