In these peak days of summer, many earnest young people are not only taking jobs in a local mall or restaurant, but often as an on-the-street canvasser.
On a recent weekday afternoon we found canvassers for Planned Parenthood the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Red Cross each commandeering their own section of San Francisco’s bustling Market Street.
On another day, Greenpeace trolled an intersection of Mission and Second. With each the technique is generally the same: position oneself in the middle of the sidewalk in a brightly colored, branded t-shirt, target the unsuspecting pedestrian, and and then wave boldly, with a nice big, country-style wave.
Then comes the open-ended question? “Hello! Do you support gay marriage?” or “Do you want to protect our environment?
Many pedestrians dodge them. Some answer imaginary cellphone calls. Then there are those who, perhaps out of sympathy, stop and let the canvasser recite their plea.
But even those who profess to privately support some of these causes find the strategy disturbing or even downright irritating.
“I support all of these organizations off the grid,” says Catherine, an artist and mother from Marin. “[But] anticipating being accosted on the street makes me hurry on by, or lie about which constituency I vote with.”
But one has to wonder, is this really the best use of a non-profit organization’s precious marketing dollars? How is this any different from a panhandler or an untalented busker banging a plastic bucket and calling it music? Does a “cause” make their use of the public sidewalks acceptable and how does this impact the retailers whose most valuable real estate is their front door and windows?
We had a casual conversation with one Planned Parenthood canvasser (we’ll call her Carla) who said canvassing is just one of the organization’s strategy for bringing awareness, but that it is key to the organization’s local chapter.
“The average American spends about 5 minutes a day on politics, so if you’re out there on the street it actually gives you the chance to talk to someone you don’t normally get to talk to.”
On a good day, Carla puts in a four-hour shift and of the hundreds she confronts, is able to get roughly 30 people to hear her out. She didn’t disclose how many of those 30 people actually make a donation or fill out a form.
Planned Parenthood puts heavy emphasis on repeated trainings in order to prepare canvassers for the broad range of questions they’ll receive. “We have trainings for how you’re supposed to talk to people,” says Carla. “So we’re not sending people out there who are saying things they’re not supposed to say. We have a very consistent training schedule.”
As for the merchants, they don’t really have a say, although some have complained. The general rule is that canvassers must stay fifteen feet from the merchant’s front door.
When Carla discovered that she would be quoted for this blog, she became terrified and immediately alerted her street partner. We tried to photograph them but they covered their faces and ran. Strange behavior when you consider that they are representing a perfectly respectable, public organization — so why be embarrassed or afraid?
We contacted Planned Parenthood as well as to the Red Cross and ACLU, but were unable to get a response from officials there.
If you’re like me, you might have done a double take when you noticed that your local Walgreens had suddenly become a grocery store. Well almost.
Rows of fresh fruit, sandwiches, salads, and even sushi are now on display only a stone’s throw away from the cough syrup and toothpaste. What began as an experiment roughly a year ago is now set to include nearly all of Walgreens’ 7,545 stores.
A man considers Walgreens offer: an emphasis on prepared meals but fresh fruit is heavily showcased
In a nod to the idea of a pharmacy and “wellness,” the graphics and signage in their new grocery sections are in shads of green, with imagery of fruits and vegetables and the words, “Eat Well.”
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Bryan Pugh, vice president of merchandising is quoted as saying, “We won’t get our customer every day on the way home, but if we could get 50 percent of our customers one day a week on the way home, that would do wonders for our sales.”
Fresh fruit anchors a corner of a San Francisco Walgreens that previously was devoted to film processing.
So does it confuse the brand or simply expand on the idea of the brand? I’d say it’s a fairly natural metamorphosis. Walgreens has nurtured customer expectations that “we have everything.” In recent years the range of good available at their stores has included televisions, radios, and even a sewing machine. Is Walgreens benign? Well nobody in retail is doing it for a hobby, and when you put Walgreens beside a fast food restaurant, which would you rather have in your neighborhood? Case in point, consider the fact that fast food outlets have long been criticized for taking over many low-income neighborhoods, supplanting the corner groceries and creating an “addiction” to high-fat, high calorie foods in minority communities.
My guess is that customers might be surprised or even confused at first but will move seamlessly into making Walgreen’s their one-stop neighborhood store. While they probably won’t do their serious grocery shopping here (well, some might), the market share Walgreens gains is considerable when you factor in that many stores have extended hours (until midnight) and fill a void once held by 7-11 back in the day.
Many Walgreens feature their new grocery concepts in full street view, such as this one on Market Street in San Francisco
Case in point, in Asia 7-11 is a powerhouse, offering everything from dim sum to Dimetapp, and many even double as a post office. In one 7-11 I saw in a village in Taiwan, Johnny Walker Blue Label and French wine were also available.
Walgreens isn’t far behind. Last December Walgreens rolled out a private label collection of wines in 1,500 locations. A Chardonnay with that sushi?
When my book, Branding the Man: Why Men Are the Next Frontier in Fashion Retail came out in the fall of 2009, the first question that was usually asked was: Why – why men? Even then, few really believed that the men’s market would become what it is — and still becoming — today, a whirlwind of new contemporary designers, bolder category offers, and rebranded retail concepts. In just the past year, San Francisco market alone has become a mecca for men’s shops, essentially creating the prototype for what brands like J. Crew have been plotting for several years.
Union Made in San Francisco
“I think men have been spoken down to in the past,” says Todd Barket, owner of Union Made (493 Sanchez Street, San Francisco, www.unionmadegoods.com), a store that has become a benchmark for new men’s retail. “Mass retailers are finally realizing that guys are smarter than ever before and care about what they look like. Social networking has much to do with it as well as a revolt to all the poor mass quality that exists in the world. I credit big players like J. Crew and Ralph Lauren for bringing it to the masses.”
While some might want to give thanks to the gay demographic for what’s happened, it’s been the “urban hipster” who should probably get the lion’s share. You know: the guys in their skinny dark denims, one leg rolled up, keys dangling on his belt loop, some facial scruff, Wayfarers, and maybe a stingy brimmed fedora. He scoots around town on a fixed-gear bike and has the insouciance to suggest “what? I’ve always dressed this way.”
Union Made’s natural pine interior and humble furnishings give it the feel of a general store
Well, not really. The fact is, a whole new generation is feeling comfortable enough with their masculinity that they’re influencing the mainstream and experimenting in sometimes contrived but always a bit tongue-in-cheek dress-up. Boys to men, by way of their father’s (and grandfather’s) closet.
Union Made’s Todd Barket, who hails from various stints at Levi’s, Banana Republic, and Gap, has created a distinctive environment, using such humble materials as unfinished plywood, bolts and dowels, and other manly materials. Tables and racks are merchandised like a general store, with stacks of shirts, French Breton striped pullovers, and the “best of the best” from Levi’s, J. Crew, Pendleton, and Patagonia.
“We focus on Made in America products as our base and add European heritage items,” says Barket, speaking to us from Los Angeles where he’s recently opened a second store in Santa Monica. “But we don’t want to get type-cast as a ‘vintage inspired’ store, so we’ll be adding more utilitarian ready to wear lines to the store such as Beams Plus from Japan and Margaret Howell from England. Again, all under the filter of being the best quality.”
The minimalist interior of MAAS & Stacks (Courtesy, Selectism.com)
Less than a mile away from Union Made is MAAS & Stacks (2128 Market Street, San Francisco, www.maasandstacks.com) which offers a small but potent collection of designers including Patrick Ervell, Band of Outsiders (who isn’t carrying them these days?), Norse Projects, and Rachel Comey. More fashion forward than the others, MAAS & Stacks is geared towards the fashion hipster, one with perhaps a bit more polish (and shampoo) than those that shop at the other stores.
The Barber Shop at FSC Barber (Courtesy gq.com)
New York’s Freeman’s Sporting Club has arguably, been one of the leaders in the “authentic” movement of men’s merchandise. Their New York store was the first to capitalize on Pendleton, Quoddy Trail, vintage LL Bean, and all that other prep school, Connecticut Yankee paraphanalia.
Oddly, F.S.C.’s new San Francisco store, called F.S.C. Barber (696 Valencia Street, www.fscbarber.com) devotes three-quarters of the approximately 1000 square foot space to the brand’s barbering concept, while a back corner acts as the retail. That’s a lot of haircuts for what they are allegedly paying in rent.
More importantly, it is a peculiar strategy for introducing the brand to the West Coast — does F.S.C. really want to be known as a barbershop? Considering Freeman’s solid reputation for having forged important partnerships with brands like Quoddy Trail and PF Flyers, and forecasting the “Made in America” trend, you’d think they might have hung their hat on something other than haircuts.
Freeman’s Sporting Club has teamed with PF Flyers for a special edition of the brand’s 1949 shoe
The company’s key tenet, “Made Local Buy Local,” requires that all of their products be manufactured within ten miles of their shop. A great idea except it doesn’t really apply to the San Francisco store (all of the products we saw were made within ten miles of the New York store, so: hello! carbon footprint.)
Further north on Valencia Street is The Common (383 Valencia Street, www.thecommonsf.com), a store opened by the founders of Taylor Stitch (we featured TS in a post about Man Up, an event they created under their organization, The Durable Goods Concern.) “We wanted a place to physically show off our product as well as the products of our friends,” says Michael Maher, one of three partners, along with Michael Armenta and Barrett Purdum. “It also gives us a platform to create and test product and interact with our customer on a much more personal basis.”
While The Common does offer Taylor Stitch’s wonderfully classic and sturdy shirts (both ready made and bespoke), a larger part of the real estate is devoted to other brands, including Tellason Denim, Archival Clothing, and Red Wing Heritage. Do they worry about too much overlap in the market?
The Common on Valencia Street
“We try not to pay attention to what other people are doing and focus on creating our community around the products we offer and the care we put into creating those products. We also try not to pin ourselves into the workwear area. We focus on creating staples and classic pieces with slight modern twists or things that make them distinctively ours,” says Maher.
In a relatively short time — a little more than a year — what was once relatively exclusive (handmade jeans from North Carolina) or so cool it hurts ( dead-stock Levi’s) or dead-on “authentic” (Red Wing boots) is now ubiquitous. Hayes Valley’s Welcome Stranger not only offers some of the same brands as Union Made or The Common, but its rough-hewn environment isn’t far off from that of FSC or the lower-Haight vintage chic of Revolver (136 Fillmore Street, www.revolversf.com.)
So how can they differentiate themselves to the customer, and most importantly, build loyalty?
Service, Service, Service. All too often, such retailers of this genre overlook the Customer Service 101 rules: greet, get to know the customer, and walk them through the store offer.
Be Ahead of the Curve. A modern men’s store needs to be able to forecast beyond the youth trend, and in this case, customers rely on a great merchant to tell them about the future, not just about the past. When the skinny jeans, vintage-style button down shirts, plaids, and boat shoes are no longer in favor, how will the store still be relevant?
Build a Community. This was a central tenet of my book and it continues to be one of the weaknesses of most retailers of all kinds. Just because you are a retailer doesn’t mean you have to behave like one. Engage your customer so that there is an added-value to the experience of visiting the store. Host discussions and workshops. Partner with like-minded merchants who offer lifestyle products that enhance yours.
Tell a Great Story. Most importantly, tell a story that is compelling and makes the brand and the products come alive for the customer. As a homegrown brand, the Common is more likely to do that than say F.S.C., but that doesn’t stop them from creating a product mix and messaging that resonates with a local customer.
We’ve been a fan of Anthropologie’s visuals team for some time now. They manage to consistently wow us with their inventive window displays that are as much about art as they are about showcasing their wares.
Anthropologie teamed up with the Cork Forest Conservation Alliance (CFCA) to promote the use of sustainable corks and bring awareness to just how remarkable cork trees are.
After soliciting customers for their used corks, the San Francisco store (and others around the country) mounted an inventive display which explains the story of cork, in honor of Earth Day on April 22nd. Kendall Jackson Winery made a sizeable donation of 1.75million corks to be used in many of the store’s displays.
During Earth Week, the brand will host cork crafting workshops at 60 of its stores, for more information go to Anthropologie’s Facebook page.
At last year’s New York fashion week, I received a last-minute invite to Simon Spurr’s presentation and was immediately smitten by the designer’s fresh take on modern menswear. The SS10 collection featured soft pinks and blues, with boys who seemed to be channeling Duran Duran on vacation in the Hamptons.
Keep in mind that September 2009 — when the spring collections were shown – was still very much the dark days of a global recession, and most people in the fashion industry weren’t feeling too cheerful about retail.
But here was someone who clearly had brought freshness to men’s wear, such that even Anna Wintour herself came to see Spurr’s debut.
Spurr’s really only been in the game for a short time. In 2006 he launched his own contemporary menswear line, SPURR, with beautiful denims and accessories, and then last year’s highly acclaimed brand, SIMON SPURR.
Hungry Like the Wolf: Spurr’s SS10 Collection Channeled Duran Duran — In the Hamptons
He graduated from Middlesex University and was quickly recruited to design for Yves Saint Laurent — a personal favorite of mine, so it’s no wonder I found myself gravitating towards his clothes. Later he headed menswear for ck Calvin Klein, and then gave Ralph Lauren the edge he needed as design director for the brand’s Purple Label and Black Label.
It’s because of designers like Spurr that menswear suddenly feels relevant and right on target these days. Not since Stefano Pilati has there been a designer who seems to really understand that great menswear doesn’t need to be a cartoon of manhood – whether the sissified loucheness of so-called contemporary designer sportswear or the staid, bulletproof suits that fill the racks of so many department stores today.
I interviewed Spurr at an intimate gathering on the fifth floor of the Saks Fifth Avenue Men’s Store, a showcase for his second collection for SIMON SPURR. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation. To watch a video of the entire interview, click here. Special thanks to Kenneth Leung at Cisco Systems.
BP: What would you say is the essence of the SIMON SPURR collection?
SS: SIMON SPURR is really an evolution, it’s an aesthetic from my own DNA, so what I was attempting to achieve with the A/W collection and with spring was a British aesthetic. I’ve been in America for 11 years, I’ve worked for European and American brands, and so a lot of my reference points are from classics and authentic vintage pieces, I don’t design for the sake of design. [It] can even come from someone I see on the street or art of architecture,
BP: So are you a fan of “Mad Men” then?
SS: I do like mad men […] I’m heavily rooted in the 60’s, for me that is one of the last decades where men really took care of their appearance. You know if I had a magic wand and a time machine I’d be 22 in 1964.
BP: You don’t see a lot of big bold advertising; Spurr seems to be very much about word of mouth.
SS: It’s very difficult when you break away from that corporate structure, such as an industry giant like Ralph Lauren, they have a big PR department. For me, I don’t have that advertising budget, so it is word of mouth, it’s blogging, its embracing social media, and it’s collaborations with people like Cisco [Systems] This season we had the show streaming live in the Saks Fifth Avenue windows in New York. It’s about building partnerships and reaching out to the consumer and explaining what goes into the product and why its priced the way it is and what you’re getting for your money, and just getting that brand awareness out there.
BP: This was one of the few men’s presentations where Anna Wintour actually came out to see a men’s show.
SS: Yes, last year I was inducted into the CFDA and I was very lucky enough to meet Anna and we developed a little friendship —
BP: Now, I don’t need to know everything!
SS: (laughter) I don’t know if it’s just a Brit to a Brit, I think she saw longevity with the brand. I know that [she’s] gotten behind some brands before that have fallen, so it’s nice. She doesn’t go to men’s shows, so the fact that she came to the first one and then came a couple of weeks ago to the show in New York, it’s a huge brand endorsement and it makes people sit up and take notice when Anna sitting in the front row.
BP: Did it make you feel differently about yourself, as a designer?
SS: A little bit but, you know, even with Anna I’m not that star-struck. So she’s always been a very down to earth person with me, so it was amazing to have her there, she didn’t confirm that she was coming she just walked in and sat down, she was like the first one to sit down and was like’ ok I’m ready let’s get the show started.’
Designer Simon Spurr with models wearing SIMON SPURR
BP: You’ve learned a lot from the people you’ve worked with – certainly from working at Yves Saint Laurent, certainly from working at Ralph Lauren… we see the details of great tailoring here. That seems to be a hallmark of what you’re trying to do: great classic menswear.
SS: You know I’ve matured. When I came to work for Calvin Klein in New York in 2001 I was wearing Albino python snakeskin boots, jeans, a ripped Harley-Davidson t-shirt and Mohawk mullet.
BP: Sounds just like Calvin Klein!
SS: Calvin was like: who’s that? So yeah I’ve smartened up but there is a British aesthetic and reference points and it’s a definitely a more polished vibe compared to SPURR which is definitely more street savvy.
BP: It’s also the kind of clothing that a lot of people could wear, it’s “approachable”.
SS: I think there’s a really fine line when you’re designing a collection, ultimately the Saks consumer for example, is my target. If he buys the line then it makes my job worthwhile. So how do you balance that? You have to be contemporary, you have to current, and you have to be new. But it also has to be wearable, as you said, ‘approachable.’ I’ve never been a designer who places things in places here they don’t need to be, you know the kitchen sink approach. There are designers who do that and they do it very well but there’s also a balance.
BP: If you had to determine a must-have in your collection, what would it be?
SS: It would be a three-piece suit actually. You can break it apart, you can wear the jacket as I am today, or you can do the full Monty and do the “Thomas Crown Affair.” I do a lot of double-breasted jackets as well. There’s been the general misconception that that is your father’s silhouette or your grandfather’s silhouette but proportion is a big thing for me and by making it a little shorter — not too short, I haven’t really embraced the short pant thing, nothing wrong with it— you strike a balance. That’s what I learned from [my] mentors. Hedi [Slimane] at Saint Laurent would say: I want to move that belt loop three millimeters. Hedi was very much about proportion and a very tight, bold color palette. Calvin Klein was a lot more of a purist approach so they would strip it back to its barest essentials and keep it clean. Whereas Ralph was really about building the brand. Ralph Lauren is really a great school and a lot of great American designers were schooled there, but sometimes it could get a little repetitive. But it was only when I stepped outside that I realized his genius. When you think of Purple Label you think of a black pinstriped suit; or Polo you think of a polo shirt, or a cashmere cable knit sweater worn on the shoulders.
BP: That’s great branding.
SS: Exactly, the same way you that when you think of Burberry you think of the trench coat. And for SPURR it’s the denim and for SIMON SPUR it’s the suit.
BP: Certainly last year for the spring collection everybody was talking about that pink suit, which, despite the fact that it was pink, it still looked really masculine very wearable — and I think tailoring certainly has a lot to do with that.
SS: Right. Just to give you an example, the guy in my head is a Jude Law type — very 60’s and he’s’ driving in his MG convertible down Kings Road, and he pulls up to his little Mews house, and whether you’re a guy or a girl, this guy has got style. I have always been more about style and less about fashion trend. I acknowledge them but [fashion trends] are never a driving force behind designing a line.
Do you think there’s a renaissance in menswear now?
Yeah, I think there’s a backlash against products that are overdesigned, as well as the spotlight is shifting onto menswear; magazines are really starting to educate the consumer.
SIMON SPURR is exclusively available in San Francisco at Saks Fifth Avenue, The Men’s Store. 220 Post street San Francisco, CA 94108 (415) 986-4300; and at Bergdorf Goodman in New York 754 5th Ave New York, NY 10019 (212) 753-7300. Learn more about SPURR and SIMON SPURR at www.spurr.tv.
Not one to be left behind when it comes to collaborating with edgy designers, Macy’s has partnered with New York’s dynamic design duo Ruffian to create Threads & Heirs. The exclusive collection is only available at Macy’s and will be followed with future collaborations from a different designer each season.
At last Thursday’s store event, an eager crowd awaited the designer’s arrival, not to mention the chance to see an attractive posse of models wearing the new collection.
While models strutted onto the stage, I chatted with the designers Brian Wolk and Claude Morais, an affable duo who clearly enjoy working together. “This collection was fun for us because we really were able to draw from what we love,” said Wolk. “It’s all about American classics, which I have always been fascinated with,” said Morais, a native frenchman.
The designers — with their own award-winning collection called Ruffian — stayed true to their signature urban aesthetic, but folded in plenty of wearable basics that weren’t so fashion-forward they’d scare away a Macy’s customer. The collection is heavy on plaid shirts, gunmetal-grey tees and v-necks, and my personal favorite — a wonderfully rumpled cotton utility jacket with a nicely tailored waist.
“Tailoring is one thing we can’t compromise on,” said Wolk.”With this entire collection you’ll notice that everything is slim cut, from the shirt to the jackets.”
The limited-edition collection is priced between $24.99 – 99.99 making this one of the better values when it comes to designer collaboration collections. A second delivery of new items will arrive in stores later in the month.
After the presentation, the designers lingered behind and met with customers, many of whom knew the designers from their Ruffian collections. Those that didn’t were nevertheless pleased with what they saw. “I’m getting the utility jacket for my boyfriend,” said one female customer. “But if he doesn’t wear it, I will.”
(SAN FRANCISCO) – If you’re old enough to remember wearing matching corduroy jackets and pants then the following may be a road to nostalgia you won’t want to follow.
Then again plenty were happy to last Friday night, when roughly 500 people showed up at the Levi’s flagship store in San Francisco to celebrate the collaboration between the world’s preeminent jeans brand and the cultish retailer and design group, Opening Ceremony.
Opening Ceremony, with stores in New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo has been consistently collaborating with the likes of Chloe Sevigny and Spike Jones and creating limited-edition collections of downtown streetwear that begs the question: are you cool enough?
Opening Ceremony’s reinterpretation of classic 80’s Levi’s corduroys
Plenty were on hand to cop a feel of their collaboration with Levi’s with a collection of 1980’s 505 corduroys in colors described as teal, fuchsia, lavender, olive, curry, navy, and optical white. I haven’t heard the word “teal” since, oh, about 1987. A bicycle covered in teal corduroy marked the way, guerilla marketing style, in front of the Levi’s store (and supposedly others were placed throughout the downtown area.)
The party hubbub began on the ground floor of the Levi’s store where a special Opening Ceremony boutique/ pop-up installation was created just for the occasion, along with a stunning collection of visuals by photographer Ryan McGinley.
The very Shiny-Happy-People vibe seems just right for these dark days of retail. McGinley’s visuals includes shots of tender young things wearing the vivid corduroys while floating against an endless sky.
Opening Ceremony’s Humberto Leon and Carol Lim were on hand (with what appeared to be their entire families in tow) and were warmly greeted by fans and a retinue of hipsters one usually only sees at 6AM when H&M is rolling out a limited-edition collection from Comme Des Garçons.
And while we didn’t see anyone wearing cords at this event, we’re pretty sure we’ll be hearing that nostalgic sound of two corduroy-encased thighs walking down the street Zirrh-Zurrh! Zirrh-Zurrh!… ahhh, it’s 1987 all over again.
The entire collection of cords are available at select Opening Ceremony and Levi’s stores as well as globally at specialty retailers such as Barneys, Fred Segal, Joan Shepp in the United States, and at Colette (Paris), Liberty (London), Lane Crawford (Hong Kong), Incu (Australia), Henrik Vibskov (Copenhagen and Oslo) and c2k (Istanbul).
Back in the mid-1990’s, there were a few coop spaces South of Market where indie kids could come and sell their homemade clothes, DJ tapes (as in cassettes), and spend a lazy Sunday half-heartedly working and whole heartedly being “chill”.
A bit of that flavor returns this weekend with Man Up: A Pop Up Menswear Market in one of the many empty spaces which dot the City’s fashionably unfashionable mid-Market Street.
Man Up is the creation of Durable Good Concern, a collective of cool dudes who’s aim is to support enterprising young brands and local shops. This weekend you’ll find well-known folks like AB Fits, along with a dozen other merchants of cool. Chronicle Books is front and center with a collection of manly texts, from Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds, to Clint Eastwood: A Life in Pictures.
Just across the aisle is Taylor Stitch, a just launched brand which lets you custom order bespoke tailored shirts. You can also purchase a copy of my book, Branding the Man, which I’ll happily sign for you once I’ve finished figuring out what kind of collar to put on my gingham checked shirt.
Todd Barket’s UnionMade filled his booth with the store’s wonderfully sturdy assortment of men’s button down shirts, denim, and washed leather western shirts. His no-nonsense utility gear has a crisp wholesomeness that makes you feel like one of the working people — even if you’re unemployed.
Room 4 — that’s the name of the store — has a nice collection of original rotary dial Princess phones. Not sure if they are manly enough for Man Up, but if I wore one of their vintage wool Pendleton shirts, maybe I could call you in a masculine way. Vintage cufflinks, Penthouse magazines, and corduroy jackets round out the offer.
Speaking of all things manly, make sure you stop by the Movember table. Movember is “the month formerly known as November, where men grow a moustache for 30 days to raise funds and awareness for the fight against prostate and testicular cancer.” Now that should help you Man Up if nothing else will.
Throughout the weekend, Man Up will offer a variety of Libations, from free Lagunitas beer to Absinthe. Cheers Dude.
Man Up Pop Up Menswear Market. Friday, January 29, 2010 – Sunday, January 31, 2010. At the California Modern Art Gallery, 1035 Market Street, in San Francisco. Hours are Jan. 29: 3PM – 9PM; Jan. 30: 11AM – 7PM: Jan. 31: 11AM – 6PM. Visit their website at www.sfmanup.com.
The Legion of Honor’s stunning exhibition, “Cartier and America,” offers a unique opportunity to see some of the luxury jeweler’s most impressive pieces, many seen here in the United States for the first time.
Many will flock to see the personal diamond suite worn by Princess Grace of Monaco — certainly nothing to sniff at, a 10.47 carat, emerald-cut diamond ring with two baguettes set in platinum.
Others will want to imagine what it would be like to be Elizabeth Taylor, laying in the sun on Cap-Ferrat in 1957 and “surprised” by then-husband Mike Todd with an intoxicating suite of diamonds and rubies in a necklace and matching earrings. In the accompanying home movie from that time, Taylor is so ecstatic that she puts them on then and there, despite the fact she is in a swimming pool in a one-piece white bathing suit. And why not?
The show tells a compelling tale not just of wealth and lavish lifestyles, but of the craft of creating jewelry that spoke as much of the period as it did of those who wore them.
These are jewels that were loved for their stunning beauty and magic. Now, with most of those who owned them long gone, their fire burns just as brightly. These are gems that are sure to mesmerize a perhaps more sober audience of museum visitors, who might wonder: why did they spend money on these things? Honey, if you have to ask you’ll never know.
Read my San Francisco Chronicle interview with exhibition curator Martin Chapman and Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s image, style, and heritage director. Click here.