The Clotherie Fall 2010

“PERFECTING THE ART OF DRESSING WELL SINCE 1969”TM

KNITS KNEWS

M I L I TA R Y M A C H I S M O

CHECK IT OUT

Do it up right and you might make that budget bigger too

AUTUMN 10 & WINTER 11 • ISSUE 12

INTERVIEW WITH LEONARDO DI CAPRIO

N O T Y O U R F AT H E R ’ S C A D I L L A C

R E AC H F O R T H E B U B B LY

A heritage of Swedish design and innovation since 1928

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Welcome to the Autumn 2010 edition of The Clotherie Magazine.

First and foremost, we would like to thank each and every one of you, our loyal customers, for your patronage and support.

This past spring/summer was an exciting time for The Clotherie. We were bestowed with two very prestigious awards: one of Esquire magazine’s “Best of Class” stores in the country (p. 8) and an honoree at MR magazines Uptown/Downtown 5-year reunion for top men’s specialty stores (p. 6).

So long summer heat — welcome fall, glorious fall! Autumn’s beautiful palette of color has invaded our store’s newest selections. We welcome a visit from you soon to check out our fabulous fall fashions; great new looks to update your wardrobe. Absolutely stunning new menswear items fill the shop offering the latest modern menswear selections you expect to find at The Clotherie.

Things are stretched. You’ve got a good job (thank heaven), but with a house, car and kids, it seems your salary’s always earmarked for their immediate needs. See page 32, our feature article, “Big Style, Small Budget.”

Listen to your casual clothes this season: What they’re saying is that we’ve all been going at things a bit too hard of late.

It’s time to take the edge off; to sit back, appreciate what we have right now, and relax. Check out our “Soften Up” article on page 44.

There’s plenty more in the following pages like fall’s new military influences, the new Cadillac CTS Coupe, celebrity getaway vacation spots, “heavy metal” watches, an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio–and much more. This is the most comprehensive magazine we’ve ever sent out. Read and enjoy!

A special thanks to all of those who partner with us, locally and abroad, for helping make The Clotherie Magazine possible. We encourage you to do business locally with each of the world-class companies represented in the pages of our fall edition. The very best in customer service can be expected from The Clotherie and all our local partners.

With heartfelt thanks, Greg Eveloff

In memory of Ann Antoniadis (wife of John, our head tailor) who lost her courageous battle with breast cancer in April 2010, Mikki Eveloff will be walking in the 60-mile Susan G. Komen 3-day for the Cure, November 12-14th in Phoenix, Arizona. Donations can be made in honor of Ann at The Clotherie or at www.the3day.org (see page 21 for additional information).

2 5 0 2 E . C A M E L B A C K R O A D , S U I T E 1 6 9 • P H O E N I X , A R I Z O N A 8 5 0 1 6 • T E L : 6 0 2 9 5 6 8 6 0 0 • W W W. T H E C L O T H E R I E . C O M

3 Welcome from Greg Eveloff • 6 Out & About 8 The Clotherie Collections for Fall/Winter 10 The Clotherie Events • 12 Reach for the Bubbly 14 Heavy Metal • 18 Check It Out 22 Leonardo Di Caprio Interview 26 Jeff Shafer of Agave • 28 Class Getaway 30 Gary Bender, You’re Not in Kansas Anymore 32 Big Style, Small Budget • 34 Military Machismo 38 Knits Knews • 42 Culture by the Cup 44 Soften Up • 48 The New Cadillac CTS Coupe

2502 E. CAMELBACK RD. SUITE 169 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85016 TEL: 602 956 8600

THECLOTHERIE.COM

Cover: Ermenegildo Zegna Table of Contents: Canali

Todd Tufts Editor in Chief, Publisher Leslie C. Smith Editorial Director Vence Vida Art Director Stephen R. Lewis Copy Editor

The Clotherie Magazine is published by Tufts Communications. © 2010, Tufts Communications.

All rights reserved.

For information on local advertising and available editorial profiling for local businesses please contact Todd Tufts: Tufts Communications 1201 E. 5th Street Suite 1009 Anderson, IN 46012 Tel: 765-608-3081 Email: todd@tuftscom.com

the clotherie

Out&About The Clotherie Receives Honor The Clotherie was honored at the Uptown/Downtown MR AWARDS BANQUET at Gotham Hall in New York City, July 2010. MR Magazine, the magazine for menswear retailers, recognized leading stores at this annual gala event.

BEAT THE HEAT Trends Fashion Show The 28th annual Beat The Heat Gala was held at The Arizona Biltmore Resort on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 to a sell-out crowd. The event which honors 10 Valley women for their outstanding civic and charitable contributions, also honors an individual or corporation with a lifetime achievement award. The Clotherie has participated in this event since it’s inception with runway fashions that have wowed a crowd of more than 400 Mikki & Greg Eveloff with Barbara Nast Saletan

people. Proceeds from the event are given to The Trends Charitable Fund and dispersed throughout the community to women and children in need.

Trends Magazine is the oldest society publication in the state of Arizona, with a readership of more than 40,000 people.

6 the clotherie magazine phot o cour t es y of pa l z i l e r i

2011 CADILLAC CTS COUPE

Emotion on four wheels.

Balancing serious performance with luxury in a very affordable package — the

all-new CTS Coupe

Cadillac—setting another automotive benchmark. Pursue the benchmark of quality, style, and elegance.

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Western Region #1 Cadillac Dealership • Outstanding Customer Service Paul Glans 480-861-7412 paulg@legendscadillac.com

Allen Hall 602-316-5303 allenh@legendscadillac.com

Charlie Westergreen 480-861-1862 charlesw@legendscadillac.com

7901 E. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.

Scottsdale, AZ 85260 480-483-4000 www.legendscadillac.com

the clotherie

News The Clotherie Honored as A-List Store Esquire Magazine honored The Clotherie as one of the finest men’s specialty stores in the country in the coveted Spring 2010 Black Book. Esquire Magazine is renowned for its expertise, knowledge, and advice in men’s fashion for over 75 years. The Clotherie, celebrating it’s 41st year, is proud to receive this prestigious award that “salutes the stores that stand the test of time.” Stop in and see why we’ve been recognized as one of the nation’s top retail destinations.

Check It Out...

The new CLOTHERIE WEBSITE at www.theclotherie.com for news, fashion trends, blogs and more.

Our new CLOTHERIE ONLINE STORE at www.theclotherie.com/store which features a wide selection of shirts, trousers, shoes, accessories, and more from your favorite designers.

Join us on FACEBOOK or follow us on TWITTER.

The Clotherie Apparel Collections for Fall/Winter 2010

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Agave

Gardeur

Pantherella

Alberto

Gendarme Cologne

Pavone

Alden Shoes

Geoff Nicholson Pocket Squares

Project E

Allegri

Georg Roth L.A.

Robert Comstock

Angelo Nardelli

Grand Band Money Clips

Robert Graham

Arnold Zimberg

Hush Puppies

Robert Talbott

Auri Shoes

Ibiza

Rufus Sportshirts

Baade II

International Laundry

Sand

Bill Lanvin Belts

Italo Ferretti

Samuelsohn

Canali

Jack Lipson

Stichʼs Jeans

Citizens of Humanity Jeans

Jack Victor

Trussini

Dion Neckwear

John Smedley

Tulliani Belts

Donald Pliner

Left Coast Tees

Tumi

Ecco

Masonʼs

Zanella

Ermenegildo Zegna

Mezlan Shoes

Zegna Sport

Equilibrio

Michael Toschi

Z Zegna

Eton Shirts

Nat Nast

the clotherie

Events

Happenings

Upcoming Trunk Shows

What’s Happening at The Clotherie and Biltmore Fashion Park?

What is a Trunk Show? Trunk shows originated in the world of fashion when designers or sales reps would arrive at the store or boutique with a “trunk full” of clothes or accessories to present the newest collections. Today, trunk shows are special events at stores and boutiques where clients can select merchandise from an exclusive collection by a particular designer. It is an excellent opportunity to view and purchase items from a designer you may have never been witness to before!

Come join The Clotherie for our exciting trunk shows this fall: Friday, October 29th & Saturday, October 30th 11am - 6pm CANALI suits, sport jackets and trousers with Peter Schmid 11am - 6pm ETON SHIRTS with Matt Becker Saturday, November 13th 11am - 5pm AGAVE JEANS and sportswear Saturday, November 20th 11am - 5pm NAT NAST with Barbara Nast Saletan & Ralph Odenberg

As many of you know, we were supposed to be in the midst of a major remodel this summer, but the best laid plans “yada, yada, yada” as the saying goes. With city approval pushed back we would not have been able to offer our wonderful selection of fall, winter, and spring merchandise to our valuable customers, so we decided to push back our remodel to next July. It WILL happen and we are looking forward to a beautiful new store! In the meantime we are here with fabulous fall merchandise to fill your wardrobe needs and desires. We look forward to seeing you in the near future.

Biltmore Fashion Park, known as the crown jewel of central Phoenix, continues to evolve with a fresh retail and restaurant mix. With the additon of Seasons 52 and Rojo Mexican Grill, the shopping center continues to please palettes with 10 restaurant options and elevating its stature as a true dining destination. Little Artika joins the shopping center in mid-October, offering “cool stuff for little humans,” spanning options from apparel and accessories to furniture and décor. Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, long-standing in it’s location at Bilmore, will relocate in November with a state-of-the-art spa experience welcoming guests as they face Camelback Road.

Looking for something to do on Friday nights? Biltmore Fashion Park is event central with Movies in the Park, 7:30 pm now through December 17th (with the exception of Black Friday, in which no movie will be shown). Bring your blankets, spread out on the Center Lawn, shop in the stores and dine in the restaurants and then enjoy the complimentary movie series under the stars. Also join Biltmore for Art in the Park from 5-8 pm on November 5 and December 3. This in-store event series brings art, fashion, and food together in one place as you stroll throughout the center.

For more information, visit www.shopbiltmore.com and for up-to-the-minute info follow on Facebook: facebook.com/shopbiltmore and Twitter: twitter.com/bilmorefp.

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wines

by t a y lor e a son

reach for the

bubbly

Of the true enigmas in the world – Stonehenge, The Pyramids, Macchu Picchu – may I add food and wine pairings? Sure, it’s not as grandiose as aged, weathered ruins, but it’s as elusive as the Holy Grail, at least to the foodies amongst us. With the popularity of pairings on Food Network, pairings prove quite the rage, but the problem is that Americans want the easy fix. But it doesn’t work that way. Matching up foodstuffs with winestuffs is decidedly not a science. It’s a complex and delicious art. I can only imagine the crusty B.S. of red-wine-with-red-meat derived out of this laziness. It’s sooo easy. I wonder if the red with red myth originated after World War II, when American beef-producers had excess stock, and the French had excess red wine. The two factions had lunch, made the pact, and a fallacy was born. Think about it.

OK, I admit there are some tried and true wine and food pairings, or WFPs, such as 1) foie gras and French Sauternes.

The creamy, deliciously fatty, salty and politically incorrect goose liver gets balanced out by the low-acid, luscious dessert nectar the French so lovingly (and expensively) produce. 2) Tomato-based items with Italian Chianti. This country practically invented the tomato sauce, so it stands to reason that local wines match their local cuisine. Chianti’s tart earthiness snuggles up nicely to the tomato’s acid and, poof, a perfect WFP is born. 3) Spicy food and off-dry riesling. Throw Indian, Thai or Mexican food at a fruit-forward, slightly sweeter riesling, and the cilantro-curry-jalapeño fires will be calmed.

For all other situations, only basic tenets can apply and you can’t even say, for instance, all sauvignon blancs pair with shellfish. A purist practicing this art should know that an extra ingredient (pepper or lime, for instance) can throw off the flavor palette and subtle harmony. Also, each wine varietal can vary widely. Winemakers have umpteen tools at their disposal — think oak, de-alcoholizing systems, fermentation options — so it’s like comparing my homemade marinara sauce to my neighbor’s. Hell, my food never comes out the same way twice (peanut butter and jelly sandwich notwithstanding).

Add in the fruit differences in vintage and wine region, and you have an even bigger morass of disparity. Here are the general guidelines -- experiment at will. First, balance the flavors of food and wine according to their intensity. For instance, a full-bodied chardonnay might smother a delicate piece of white fish and a wimpy pinot noir couldn’t stand up to a slab of meaty lamb. Second, the dominant flavor or sauce of a dish should determine the wine choice. Whatever shows up early and shouts “Hello!” should be the influencing wine factor since that’s what will rule your mouth. Third, strive for contrasts and complements. Rich, cream-based sauces call for something equally as decadent yet sharp, like a buttery California chardonnay. But an earthy mushroom sauce poured over a grilled, fatty steak can complete the package with an earthy Italian red.

Or, here’s an option… toss all that stuff and only remember this: Sparkling wine pairs well with everything. Somehow, this high acidity juice makes friends with all food, and most people. So, when in doubt and you’re looking for that end-all, be-all culinary orgasm, reach for the bubbly. It can be as grandiose as the Grand Canyon. µ Taylor Eason is the wine columnist at Creative Loafing in Atlanta.

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natnast.com

metal mania

b y

CA R O L

B E S L E R

HEAVY METAL What’s in a watch case? From PVD to DLC, here is a glossary of materials used to house the workings of today’s watches.

The classic IWC Ingenieur is one of several special editions marking the company’s 140th anniversary. It is limited to 500 pieces.

Platinum Platinum is an elite, expensive metal, often used for special-edition watches. It has the highest resistance to corrosion and tarnish, and will never chip or splinter. Even when platinum scratches, the metal doesn’t wear away, but is simply displaced. Platinum is precious not only because of its beauty, durability, pliability and density, but because of its rarity. It is 30times rarer than gold. The world’s most important diamonds are set in platinum because of its hardness and durability.

Stainless Steel The vast majority of watches today are stainless steel, and the standard is 316L surgical steel. Basically, 316L steel is iron mixed with a small amount of carbon.

Because it is non-allergenic, it is used for surgical instruments. Its impermeable strength makes it suitable for such formidable applications as nuclear reprocessing plants. It is also known as marine grade stainless steel due to its strong resistance to chloride corrosion.

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Palladium Palladium has been used in jewelry off and on for decades – it was first used when platinum was declared a strategic metal for military use in 1939. A few years ago, jewelers and watchmakers rediscovered palladium as an ideal substitute for nickel in white gold (nickel makes gold white, but it’s a proven allergen). As one of the four platinum group metals, palladium has the purity and luster of platinum and a whiter color. It is malleable and lightweight (palladium is 44% lighter than platinum), which makes it highly wearable and scratch resistance.

PVD Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is a process that bonds a micron-thick layer of compounds to metal. The finish never wears off. It is used in machinery and tooling to decrease friction wear on metal parts. It has also been used on transmission gears and engine parts of Formula One cars. Most PVD is black, but the underlying finish of the metal can affect the hue – a bead-blasted base will produce a dull, deep black appearance, whereas a rough brushed base may produce a semi-glossy finish.

This edition of the Corum Admiral’s Cup is black PVD coated and features a vulcanized rubber crown protector and strap.

heavy metal Titanium Titanium is the super metal of the watch industry. Originally used in the aerospace industry, it is 30% stronger than steel and nearly 50% lighter – the catch is that it’s more expensive. It is highly corrosion-resistant; when exposed to the atmosphere, titanium forms a tight oxide film that resists a variety of materials that can corrode other metals. It is especially resistant to salt water corrosion, which makes it ideal for diver’s watches.

The Panerai Luminor Marina in titanium is one of several titanium models made by the brand.

The Cartier Santos 100 chronograph is treated with a special amorphous DLC coating, which will not show contrasting color and is fingerprint resistant.

Ceramic Ceramic makes an ideal watch case material because of several amazing properties: It is temperature resistant, hypo-allergenic, and will never rust, rot or scratch.

And if you’re the James Bond type, you will be pleased to know it is also bullet proof – ceramic is used to make vests that resist bullets from high caliber rifles. It is also used to make knife blades that stay sharper longer than steel. Ceramic can be infused with any color, and is blessed with a silky texture that takes a high polish.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving watch for ladies, with a ceramic case and diamond-set bezel.

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DLC DLC, or Diamond-like Carbon is emerging as a hot new watch case material, giving tough-guy titanium a run for its money. The surface of a DLC watch is coated with something very much like synthetic diamond, giving it an incredible surface hardness (diamond is the hardest substance known to man). DLC is nearly impossible to scratch. It is used on components in the engines of super sport motorcycles, military equipment and on implantable human heart pumps.

fashion

by l esl i e c. smi t h

Who’d have thought King Edward VII and Kurt Cobain had anything in common?

Check it out

Plaid’s Triumphant Resurgence

Style goes in generational cycles: every so often, it takes a time warp back to revisit culture touchstones popularized two decades previous, when today’s 40-year-olds were in their 20-year-old prime. Not so surprising – who doesn’t enjoy revisiting their youth, if only for a moment? (We’re willing to bet those of you who lived through the 1970s just received a jolt of recognition upon reading the words “time warp.” For a split second, The Rocky Horror Picture Show played in its entirety through your heads.)

The early 1990s are thus receiving their due revival as we enter the twentyteens. This does not mean we’ve now got to go about as unwashed and heavily drugged as Kurt Cobain, the lead icon of that era; we will, however, borrow his shirt. Specifically, his plaid flannel shirt, a cheap-and-easy thrift-store score from Seattle’s lumberjack community.

We will then take that 90s grunge plaid and spin it a dozen different ways, until it consumes this season, its colorful squares conquering the casualwear market, its blackand-white boxy patterns pushing pinstripes right off the suiting fabric map.

Yes, it does seem ironic that Nirvana’s anarchistic clothing of choice now informs so heavily on the business wardrobes of today. To quote from one of Kurt’s songs, “downer.”

Let’s push that thought from our minds, though, and do a quick review.

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phot os cour t es y of pa l z i l e r i phot o cour t es y of pa l z i l e r i

fashion

Glen plaid, a.k.a. glen check, a.k.a. glen urquhart plaid, a.k.a. Prince of Wales plaid or check, rules suits this fall and with good reason. As you might be able to tell from its multiplicity of names, this is a venerable material, first employed in the Scottish highlands around Inverness and later adopted by British sportsmen. (Thus the P of W appellation which, contrary to some historians, refers to Victoria’s son Edward VII, rather than his grandson the Duke of Windsor. Windsor, did, however, popularize the plaid in America during his 1920s tour.)

The most formal of countrybred woolen weaves, glen plaid has long been considered office accept able; yet even so, its open-air antecedents make it seem f r i endl i er and more approachable to office conf reres than a hardline pinstripe or navy blue serge.

Its pattern consists of a c r o s s hatched grid laid over a houndstooth background, all made from a commingling of black and w h i t e threads that read as gray from a distance (quick m e n t a l image: Pee W e e H e r m an ’s suit). Glen plaid can also come set with an overplaid, or windowpane, of coloured rust, green or blue threads.

Given its overall gray tone, such a suit is easily accessorized with most any kind of colored furnishing; it also lends itself rather nicely to tonal black and white furnishings. With the windowpane version, wearers can play around with picking up the shade of its thread within the patternings of their tie or pocket square, or contrasting a “cool” green or blue thread with a “warm” cream shirt.

The plaid tidings do not end there, however. What if you, as so many designers are doing these days, choose to add another piece of plaid into the mix – a box check or windowpane dress shirt, for instance; a tartan tie, or a pair of argyle socks?

Check it out

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This is a very stylish option and one that will put you at the head of your firm’s bestdressed list, so long as you remember to vary the size of the checks, and perhaps pair a light background plaid with one in a darker background.

Since man does not live by businesswear alone, you are going to have more fun this season fitting plaid-themed clothes into your casual wardrobe. Sports shirts trend toward grunge-inspired shadow plaids and box checks, both of which work well with a pair of jeans or cords. Casual trousers have caught the glen plaid bug, and look quite sophisticated when paired with a light-knit cardigan or vee-necked sweater. In outerwear, you’ll find plenty of retro glen-check windbreakers and red-andblack buffalo check lumber jackets in stock. And, of course, this season’s sportcoats are pr act ica l l y wall-to-wall plaid.

About the only proposed pieces we can’t bring ourselves to recommend are tartan kilts and golf pants in huge, fullCl eve l and c o l o r e d checks. (If the reasons why aren’t bl indingl y obvious, please book an immediate appointment with your family doctor or consult a compe t ent analyst.)

If he had lived, Kurt Cobain would quite likely not have appreciated mainstream society’s current co-opting of his favorite grunge garb. Then again, his take on fashion was always a bit shaky. This was the man, after all, who sang, “Come as you are – come doused in mud, soaked in bleach … as a trend, as a friend.”

To which we are tempted to respond, “With trends like that, who needs enemies?”

µ

the clotherie

JOIN THE CLOTHERIE AND THE PHOENIX SUNS TO RAISE MONEY FOR BREAST CANCER! RAFFLE TICKETS SOLD AT THE CLOTHERIE TO BENEFIT THE SUSAN G. KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION TICKETS SOLD FOR $25 each or 3 for $60 Raffle Drawing: November 10th....need not be present to win.

GRANDPRIZE! WIN 4 LOWER LEVEL PHOENIX SUNS TICKETS AND A HIGH-FIVE KID EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR SON/DAUGHTER/GRANDCHILD (Age 6-12)!

This grand prize raffle includes 4 lower level seats to a Phoenix Suns home game (to be selected) along with the “High Five” Kid Experience. What is the “High Five Kid Experience?” Your child/grandchild will get to sit on the Suns bench during the pre-game and watch the Phoenix Suns warm-up. Then he/she will be brought to center court and introduced to the crowd where he/she will have his/her picture taken with the Gorilla.

He/she will also stand as the National Anthem is played and finally, as the starting lineup is introduced he/she will get to high five the Phoenix Suns players and be a true part of the team. He/she will also receive a complimentary t-shirt to wear during the game and to keep as a special souvenir.

We thank you for your support!

www.samuelsohn.com

interview

a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h a my l ongsdor f

Drug addiction. Child abuse. The politics of the diamond trade. Institutional corruption. Post-traumatic stress syndrome.

From early movies like "The Basketball Diaries" and "This Boy's Life" to recent hits "Blood Diamond," "The Departed" and "Shutter Island," Leonard DiCaprio has tackled his share of weighty issues.

With a starring role in the sober sci-fi brain-teaser "Inception" and an upcoming turn as the title G-Man in Clint Eastwood's "Hoover" biopic, DiCaprio has no plans of lightening up anytime soon.

"I don't really question [the themes of movies] when I read a script," says the 35-year-old actor, during an interview with a select group of journalists. "If I feel like I can be of service to a role, that it emotionally engages me, that it's something that interests me, and the director is someone who has the capacity to pull off the ambitious nature of the screenplay, I never question it.

"So, yes, I guess that a lot of my films have been more serious in tone. That's something I don't try to deny. Look, I'm a very fortunate person‌I grew up in L.A., and a lot of my friends are actors and many of them don't [have the luxury] to choose roles, so I realize everyday how lucky I am.

So while I'm here, I'm going to try and do exactly what I want I do."

"Inception" and the chance to collaborate with "Memento" and "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan was at the top of DiCaprio's to-do list.

T H E

C L O T H E R I E

M AG A Z I N E

Exclusive Interview with

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JACKVICTOR.COM

interview

While some actors might find it disorienting to continually bunny-hop between real and surreal worlds,

"There are very few directors, I think, in this industry who would pitch to a studio a multi-layered, almost at times existential high action, high drama, surreal film like `Inception' but if you're seen Chris's past work in 'Memento' and 'Insomnia,' you know he's able to portray these highly condensed, highly complicated plot structures and give them emotional weight."

"Inception" is far from a conventional thriller. DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a dream thief who penetrates people's subconscious minds while they're sleeping in hopes of stealing ideas. In the world of corporate espionage, Dom is a giant. But he's growing weary of his assignments and is eager to return home to his beloved (Marion Cottilard).

For his last job, Dom agrees to attempt the near-impossible: an inception - or the implantation of an idea in the mind of a business executive (Cillian Murphy). Co-starring with DiCaprio are Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Tom Hardy.

Budgeted at $160 million, "Inception" dreams big. The action shifts between real worlds and dream states, trotting around the globe to locations in Morocco,Tokyo, Paris, London and Calgary, Alberta.

DiCaprio bristles a bit when it's suggested that, in some strange way, "Inception" and Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" are bookends of mind-twisting suspense.

"Bookends? I don't know," he says. "Like I said before, I think these [movies have] characters and plot structures that I was compelled to do. I'm lucky to be able to do them. So I jump on those opportunities. Traditionally, I've always tried to work with the best directors that I can. These types of films which are psychologically dark at times, I find them extremely exciting to do because there's always something to think about.

"There's nothing more boring to me than showing up on set, saying a line and knowing that my character means exactly what he's saying. It's interesting to have an unreliable narrator in a film and that's what both of these films have in common. That notion was extremely exciting for me."

The idea for "Inception" took root ten years ago in Nolan's imagination. Following his success with "Memento," the filmmaker was eager to continue exploring the outer limits of human consciousness.

"I've been fascinated by dreams my whole life, since I was a kid," says Nolan. "I think the relationship between movies and dreams is something that's always interested me. My primary interest in dreams is this notion that while you lay asleep, you create an entire world which you experience without realizing you're experiencing it. I think that says a lot about the potential of the human mind, particularly the creative potential."

While Nolan always envisioned the movie as a palm-sweatingly intense thrill ride, it took him a few dozen more re-writes to discover the story's emotional core. " I sort of grew into the film in a sense," he recalls.

A big fan of heist movies, Nolan appreciated the "almost deliberately superficial" nature of many beat-the-clock thrillers. But, he says, there's nothing superficial about dreams and their ability to tap into people's deepest desires.

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"Heist movies tend not to have high emotional stakes," says Nolan. "What I realized, over the years, is that when you're talking about dreams, you have to have emotional consequences and resonances. So that was really my process over the [last decade], finding my relationship with the love story, the tragedy of it, and connecting with the story's emotional side."

Even though Nolan has made generous use of computer-generated-imagery in past films, he was hoping to tell the story of "Inception" without relying on too many special effects. For instance, rather than utilize a CGI blizzard, Nolan and company waited for a real snowstorm to blanket Calgary.

In London, the set of a long hotel corridor was constructed so it would rotate a full 360 degrees, allowing Nolan to create the effect of zero gravity. Members of the crew also masterminded a hotel bar set on a gigantic gimbal that enabled the entire room to tilt and then slowly right itself, creating a surreal, only-in-a-dream effect.

"This is my first science fiction film," notes DiCaprio. "One of the earliest conversations I had with Chris is how both of us have a hard time with science fiction. We both have a little bit of an aversion to it because it's hard for us to emotionally invest in worlds that are so far detached from what we know.

DiCaprio never had a problem figuring out how to communicate his character's altered states.

"But what's interesting about Chris Nolan's science fiction world is that visually it's deeply rooted in things we've seen before. And emotionally, as far as the character's journey, I [believed in it totally]. You have to believe it or otherwise you're not invested in the character, and you're not going to make it believable to an audience. Everything is real in the film, in essence."

Before production began, DiCaprio read everything he could get his hands on about the science of dreams despite having little personal interest in the subject. "I'm not a big dreamer and never have been," says the actor. "I only ever remember fragments of my dreams."

After finishing up Sigmund Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams," DiCaprio decided to forgo the experts in favor of Nolan, who had his own specific notions about what transpires in dreamland.

"I sat down with Chris for two months every other day and we talked about the structure of this dream world and the rules that apply in it," says DiCaprio. "The only thing that I extracted from all the research I'd done into dreams was that there's no specific science you can apply to dream psychology. I think it's up to the individual.

"We suppress things, emotions and thoughts during the day that we obviously haven't worked out. So, in our sleep, in our subconscious, we sort of randomly fire off different story structures in hopes of [resolving our problems]. When we wake up, we should pay attention to our dreams."

At the moment, DiCaprio is paying attention to "Hoover," a biopic about the first director of the FBI which Clint Eastwood is preparing to direct later this year. " J. Edgar Hoover is fascinating because he had his hand in some of the most scandalous events of American history," notes the actor.

"He was involved in everything from the Vietnam War to Dillinger to Martin Luther King and JFK." As for Hoover's private life, which reportedly included dressing in drag and carrying on an affair with FBI associate director Clyde Tolson, DiCaprio says at least some of the incidents will be depicted.

"The movie's about the secret life of J. Edgar Hoover," DiCaprio notes. "Will I wear a dress? Not as of yet. We haven't done those fittings so I think not."

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the clotherie magazine

fashion with Jeff Shafer for

agave

How did it start for you?

What drew you to the world of denim?

Can you describe your creative process?

What inspires you?

I have always loved jeans. In 2003, I went to Japan with a vintage Levi’s distributor and was initiated into the ways of vintage American denim and its reproductions. Brands like Evisu, Big John, Edwin. Lee, Levi, Wrangler. The passion and the product were indescribable. The people were incredibly cool too. We visited tons of indy shops selling vintage American and Japanese denim reproductions. I instantly became obsessed with vintage American denim.

I am a fiber and textile driven designer. The fiber and the denim itself is the most important place to start. It determines hand feel, color, texture, and the overall look. The fit is either good or bad, current or not. The details make a jean cool or lame. The wash makes it art. I love jeans that have rich color and natural looking finishes, not gimmicks. Great denim defines the wearer. Shuttle loom selvage denim is the best and the only choice of real denim lovers.

What's in the name (Agave Denim)?

What makes Agave Denim different or better than other denim brands?

Agave is a plant that grows wild all over California and Mexico. In Santa Monica where I grew up and lived, they are called “century plants” and are virtually indestructible. They are a succulent and live to be 100 years old. Humans have been using them for over 9,000 years for clothing (jute), rope (sisal) and beverage (tequila).

I love the way they look.

Quality & Authenticity. I select about 25 new denims every season from a universe of over 500. Each is hand selected to fit the specific criteria of the season. Most are from Japanese mills like Kuroki, Kurabo, Kaihara, Nisshinbo. Some are from Italy like Gentex. Then all the jeans are cuts, sewn and finished at Caitac in Los Angeles. I inspect several jeans from every lot we produce and personally sign the limited edition Gold jeans.

What lies in the future for Agave?

Relentless pursuit of making the best quality denim on the planet in a way that is sustainable and leaves the planet in a better place.

µ

26 the clotherie magazine

by melissa walker

You deserve a celebrity-style break. Try one of these A-List resorts where stars hide away.

Jumby Bay, Antigua, West Indies Hilary Swank, Thandie Newton and Queen Latifah have all vacayed at this 300-acre private enclave two miles off the coast of Antigua. Accessible only by boat, the secluded hideaway offers outdoor garden bathrooms, private to all but the sun and moon.

Star Features: If Angie and Brad wanted to bring the brood, they’d be pleased with the Pampered Parents Program, which includes a full day of child care. They might also enjoy the Sorbet Butler, who serves free refreshments each morning, and the kiddie swag bag.

jumbybayresort.com

stregis.com

St. Regis Resort, Bora Bora, French Polynesia The St. Regis in Bora Bora is so hot that celebrity visits overlap. Eva Longoria and pro basketball player Tony Parker happened to crash Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s romantic getaway.

Star Features: Spa Miri Miri’s treatments include local beauty ingredients like luminescent pearl powder. For the ultimate in elite, book one of the two secluded beach villas with private pools, complete with exclusive helicopter pads for a Diddy-like entrance.

28 the clotherie magazine

San Ysidro Ranch, Santa Barbara, California Before Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony started vacationing here, the ranch was the site of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh’s wedding—not to mention John and Jackie Kennedy’s honeymoon.

Star Features: The Privileged Pets Program ensures that your mini dog will have maxi luxury; after he signs his paw print into the animal guest book, he can enjoy an in-room pet massage. And don’t miss the private yoga instruction, fresh-baked pastries delivered daily to your door, 17 miles of walking trails and organic vegetable garden.

sanysidroranch.com

Turtle Island Resort, Fiji Both Blue Lagoon movies (’49 and ’79) were filmed on Turtle Island—one of Fiji’s Yasawas Islands—where a 500acre couples-only resort is located. No wonder Britney Spears and Charlize Theron have both spent more than the minimum six-day stay in one of the 14 private beach villas.

Star Features: There’s a 5-to-1 guest-to-staff ratio, so all your needs are taken care of, from deepsea fishing to four-handed massage. Musicians lure guests to a nightly outdoor dinner party for fresh-caught seafood. turtlefiji.com

Hotel Metropole, Monte Carlo Refurbished in 2004 by architectural designer Jacques Garcia, the famed Hotel Metropole is a modern classic. Garcia’s goal? To create a space where a rock star could hang out with a duchess.

With Gwen Stefani and the Monaco royals roaming the halls, we’d say, mission accomplished.

Star Features: A spa with an amethyst crystal steam room, caladarium (a steam/inhalation bath), ice fountain and showers with a burst of cool mint mist or tropical rain. Not to mention an outdoor heated seawater swimming pool. µ metropole.com

Melissa Walker is a writer who has worked as ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor. In late 2008, she launched I Heart Daily with fellow ex-ELLEgirl Anne Ichikawa. It's a daily newsletter about likable stuff.

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the clotherie magazine

the suns

garybender ...you’re not in Kansas anymore Gary Bender grew up on a farm outside of Ulysses, Kansas, where he first started broadcasting games on a tractor.

He was an All-State high

school football player and won a football scholarship to Wichita State University. After graduation, he went to the University of Kansas, where he received a master’s degree in RadioTelevision-Film. He later returned to Kansas to become the radio voice of the Jayhawks.

In 1969, he left the state to take a job as the television sports director of WKOW in Madison. During that time, he broadcast the University of Wisconsin football and basketball games. He was named the Voice of the Green Bay Packers in 1970. He added the Big Ten Basketball Game of the Week on TVS and television coverage of the Milwaukee Brewers to his schedule. Twice he was named the state’s Sports Broadcaster of the Year.

Bender began is network television broadcasting career with CBS in 1975, serving as a play-by-play announcer for the NFL, NBA, college football and basketball. During that time, he broadcast the Final Four from 1982-84, which included Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot as a freshman and the game known as “The Shot Heard Around the World”, as North Carolina State upset Houston at the buzzer. His NFL coverage included the “Hail Mary” game in 1975 as the Cowboys beat the Vikings on a Roger Staubach pass. Bender, during his 12 years at CBS, had the opportunity to broadcast twenty-seven different sports.

He left CBS in June of 1987 and joined ABC as a play-by-play announcer on ABC’s Monday Night Baseball. His assignments included coverage of college football and basketball as well as the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. While in Calgary he described the tragic falls of Dan Jansen in speed skating.

In 1991, Bender went to Turner Sports to serve as the lead announcer for TNT’s NFL Sunday Night Football and NBA Basketball. Since leaving Turner Sports he has broadcast the Phoenix Suns on TV the 17 seasons. Also, during that time he has been the voice of the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears.

Bender is also the author of a book, “The Call of the Game”, which is being used as a textbook for several universities.

Gary Bender always looks especially dapper announcing for the Phoenix Suns in his wardrobe provided by The Clotherie. The Clotherie is a proud sponsor of the Phoenix Suns.

30 the clotherie magazine

fashion

by l esl i e c. smi t h

Big Style

Do it up right and you might make that budget bigger too

Things are stretched. You’ve got a good job (thank heaven), but with a house, car and kids, it seems your salary’s always earmarked for their immediate needs. Personal necessities, such as a work wardrobe that keeps up with the times, slip further and further down your priority list.

You know style makes the man. Now, a new study by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business has confirmed that old aphorism. Researchers performing an online experiment asked close to 2,000 participants to judge male CEOs (yes, it still is a glass-ceilinged world) solely on their photographic images.

The experiment came in three sections: The first part found participants rated CEO images as slightly more attractive and competent-looking than the average male non-executive. The second part had participants compare CEOs in charge of large companies to those who ran less-significant firms.

Again, just over half (55%) ranked the big cheeses as more competentlooking than the smaller fry.

32 the clotherie magazine phot o cour t es y of pa l z i l e r i

Now comes the kicker: The third and

A good tie, carefully and tastefully cho-

final experiment segment asked partici-

sen, contributes to a general air of refine-

pants to rate CEOs’ perceived compe-

ment. Knotted in a slight arch with a dim-

tence on a five-point scale. Those who

ple in the center (achieved by compressing

scored four or more points – again, based

the lower band’s fabric with your thumb

only on appearance – turned out to be paid

and middle finger while pressing your fore-

on average 7.5% more than those who

finger in the middle as you tighten the

scored three points or less.

knot), a beautiful tie gives any outfit a

On what is this appearance of compe-

boost of vibrancy and character.

tency based? The suit, certainly; and if you

Invest another cool $400 or $500 in your

can afford a good one, go for it. But there

dress shoes, and you’ll find the dividends

are other factors that surely count for a

paying off handsomely. Unlike sports

great deal in other people’s eyes. And the

shoes, the trick here is to go for less bells

beauty of it is that not only can you afford

and whistles than more. The better the

to buy the best of these, thereby getting

material (leather, always leather) and the

the most bang for your buck but, lumping them all together, they still cost less than the price of a single good suit.

A quality shirt, for instance, can run upwards of $200, sometimes a bit more. So what do you get for this kind of dough? A collar that sits on your neck properly and opens at the front into a crisp Vee perfect for nestling a tie knot. A shirt body that will not bag about your own. A front placket that doesn’t buckle.

A good tie, carefully and tastefully chosen, contributes to a general air of refinement. Certainly that means a wellmade swath of silk will be worth the $100 or so it costs.

plainer the outward appearance, the more dignified the footwear. Naturally, your shoes will be polished – not to a high gloss, just polished – and paired with executive length socks ($15 to $20) in the same color as your suit trousers.

That takes care of your torso and limbs; the remainder of your image-building budget goes straight to your head. Shell out $50 to $100 for a hairstylist who really knows his or her craft. Not a barber, mind

This shirt will be made from the softest

you, a stylist. Someone with the proper

and most luxurious cotton available, a fab-

training who can present your locks (or

ric whose shade and patterning is, of

lack thereof) in the best possible manner.

course, au courant. And its cuffs will likely

Moisturizer, a decent razor and shaving

exhibit single-needle stitching and other

cream, a pair of tweezers and a small, bat-

attention to detail (like an additional but-

tery-operated nose-hair clipper might run

ton on the sleeve plackets) that, while

you a further $80 to $100 but they as well

hardly noticeable to others, will be known

are worth it.

to you. And cherished.

Such a shirt not only looks great, its great looks will add to your own confidence. And extra confidence always ratchets up personal attraction.

The total expense of all this competency creation? About $1,000 – $1,500 if you are obliged to buy a fashionable pair of eyeglasses (glasses, being so highly visible, are not a thing you want to stint on). A bargain, especially if Duke University is indeed right and your salary level rises an average 7.5% as a result. Then you can really afford that deluxe CEO suit.

µ

33

the clotherie magazine

fashion

by l esl i e c. smi t h

Point a finger where you’d like: our continuous engagement in the Middle East, Spielberg and Hank’s latest HBO TV series (not to mention virtually every program on the History Channel), perhaps even Avatar’s far-out 3-D battle sequences or Tom Clancy’s new black-ops Splinter Cell video game. Whatever cause you choose to attribute it to, war wear is blazing hot on this season’s trend-o-meter.

Indeed, military machismo (particularly that of WWII, the so-called last “good” war) is so enduring that designers can’t seem to leave it alone. In the past few years, such style memorabilia has rapidly overtaken the English Country Gentleman as the look for fall. A tweed shooting jacket? Puleeze!

Give us belted olive-drab outwear complete with outsized patch-and-flap ammo pockets. Now there’s something you can really shoot in!

Navy topside duffels and peacoats, G.I.-issue trenches and greatcoats, leather-and-shearling bombers and Eisenhower blouson jackets, army boots and desert boots, knit watch caps, tank watches and thick-link I.D. bracelets – the war list is so extensive you’d have a real fight on your hands trying to avoid its influence.

Military Machismo But, luckily, you won’t feel obligated to try. Nor will you have to dress like you’re set to storm the beaches at any moment. Because each of the above-mentioned pieces and more have become so engrained in our culture they’re now considered clothing classics. And we all know that classics go with just about everything in our closets, don’t we?

Who could object to, say, a comfy duffel coat? Its hooded, toggled, warm woolen body looks perfect over a thick oatmeal or navy turtleneck sweater and a pair of darkwash jeans. That is not, of course, the way Field Marshal Montgomery wore it but what the heck – he’s long dead, while the coat he popularized lives on.

Vintage military styles turn into enduring men’s classics

phot o cour t e s y of hi l t l

34 the clotherie magazine

Ibiza

PROUD PARTNERS OF

THE PHOENIX SUNS WE WISH THEM THE BEST FOR THE 2010-2011 SEASON.

ALVIN GENTRY

Phoenix Suns Head Coach

fashion

Ditto the lined trenchcoat. Many of this fall’s models might forgo such historical trench warfare detailing as steel D-rings on the belts – who carries grenades around with them anymore? – but the coat’s warrior spirit still supplies energetic executives with a handy, hardy topper for their business uniforms.

The military influence extends even further through this season’s dress lexicon. For instance, a reverse-shearling leather bomber and its brother-in-arms, the hip-length flight jacket, lead this season’s outerwear pack – and with good reason, given their good looks and sterling wing-jockey lineage.

Plus, in an interesting design offshoot, the attractive way the off-white shearling stands out so starkly against the dark jacket’s edges has led many stylists to imitate this taping effect around the plackets, collars and cuffs of several of today’s cardigans and sportcoats.

µµµµµµµµµµ Also extremely popular this season is heavy, ankle-high or higher footwear – mostly desert suedes and combat-inspired leather boots. Yes, they are immensely practical. But they have an added advantage in the fact that their very weight quite correctly balances the proportions of today’s slimmer-legged slacks.

Then there is this fall’s particular penchant for belted outerwear, such as the trenchcoat and leather-belted field jacket, not to mention a veritable slew of shorter blouson jackets with fitted fabric or knit hems hitting just below the ribcage. These more than hint at a renewed interest in the waist – which in turn means that even as we speak, pants’ rises are lengthening again closer to our true middles. No wonder suspenders are also experiencing a strong revival this year.

Military-inspired pieces have become so engrained in our culture they’re now considered clothing classics. And we all know that classics go with just about everything.

36 the clotherie magazine

That most martially motivated clothing carries with it a robust, utilitarian feel is no coincidence either. In their heyday these were, after all, highly functional furnishings developed not for fashion’s sake but for the task at hand. Their inherent serviceable nature therefore tends to work best in casualwear mode, alongside other wardrobe pieces derived from hardscrabble occupations, such as cowboy denims, construction worker’s shirts and fisherman’s sweaters. All feature the same kind of durability and no-nonsense design that fits in so well with our modern, cut-to-the-chase casual attitude.

Finally, it must be admitted, men are dreamers as well as doers. There is a romance that persistently clings to wartime garb, a mixed vision of deprivation and desire, of camaraderie, dirt, and adventure that absolutely appeals to the little boy on the inside. The one who still dreams of piloting a B-52 over the English Channel or driving an M4 Sherman into the Battle of the Bulge. The one who still recalls the thrill of his father’s and grandfather’s war stories. The one who still gets a kick out of dressing, even in some small way, just like his heroes. µ phot os cour t e s y of m i l e s t one

fashion

by l esl i e c. smi t h

KnitsKnews Move over Bigfoot, alligators in the sewer system, and Richard Gere’s peculiar sex habits, there’s a new urban legend in town: the Sweater Curse.

(A little advice here...go store-bought)

Female hobbyists coined the term after noticing how often romantic relationships seemed to break up either shortly before giving a hand-knit sweater to one’s significant other or shortly thereafter. According to a recent Knitter’s Review poll, 41% of those surveyed believe this is true of sweaters made for non-married or non-engaged men, 30% think it’s all nonsense, and 15% swear they’ve experienced the curse first-hand. The other 14% must have been killed by Bigfoot before they had a chance to respond.

True believer or not, there’s one sure way to ensure your present relationship survives and thrives – buy your own darn sweaters.

This should be extremely easy to do this season, seeing how

38 the clotherie magazine

the selection has never been better. All the usual sweater suspects have been rounded up – turtlenecks, vee-necks, cowl necks, and so on – but may we suggest a few that are skewing to be big fall/winter winners?

The first, Fair Isle sweaters, is an old favorite. For many centuries, knitters on Scotland’s Shetland Isles (of which Fair Isle is a part) have been turning the wool of their wind-swept sheep into warm, fancifully patterned knits. Horizontal bands of ancient motifs – everything from Greek keys and Nordic stars to stylized depictions of ferns and ram’s horns – lie interspersed with rows of miniaturized crosses, with no two bands ever repeating. Also by tradition, natural earth tones and plant-extract dyes such as indigo, acorn brown and madder red form the knit’s color scheme. phot o cour t e s y of hi l t l

Hush Puppies 1958 Collection.

HP1958.com

www.rufus.com

fashion

This should be extremely easy to do this season, seeing how the selection has never been better. All the usual sweater suspects have been rounded up – turtlenecks, vee-necks, cowl necks, and so on – but may we suggest a few that are skewing to be big fall/winter winners?

The first, Fair Isle sweaters, is an old favorite. For many centuries, knitters on Scotland’s Shetland Isles (of which Fair Isle is a part) have been turning the wool of their wind-swept sheep into warm, fancifully patterned knits. Horizontal bands of ancient motifs – everything from Greek keys and Nordic stars to stylized depictions of ferns and ram’s horns – lie interspersed with rows of miniaturized crosses, with no two bands ever repeating. Also by tradition, natural earth tones and plant-extract dyes such as indigo, acorn brown and madder red form the knit’s color scheme.

Although centuries in the making, it was not until 1921, when the then-Prince of Wales wore one while teeing off at St. Andrews golf course, that this sweater achieved “instant” recognition. Since that time, the Fair Isle has become a wardrobe staple, as well as fair game for knitters the world over.

Fast forward to this fall and you will find Fair Isle styles aplenty, alongside their Icelandic knitwear cousins. You’ll also often find their patterning’s been exploded, blown up to two, three or more times its regular size. Why? Just for fun.

Another long-time favorite offers echoes of long-johns past. Picture a relatively thin, round-necked knit body, sometimes ribbed, sometimes not, with a button closure running from collarbone to sternum. This is what is called a henley in England (after the Henley Regatta) and a Wallace Beery in the U.S. (after the popular 1930s star, who often wore them in his films). Whatever name you know them by, these knits look great worn on their own with casual trousers, or worn as a real undershirt with another knit or shirt on top.

They also bear a strange relationship to that perennial fashion fixture, the cardigan sweater, named after James Thomas Brudnell, Seventh Earl of Cardigan, commander (and heroic survivor) of the Charge of the Light Brigade.

The fall of 1854 was bitterly cold in the Russian Crimea and army supplies of all kind were perilously low, so low that everyone from foot soldiers to the commander himself had to make do with whatever warm clothing they could cobble together.

Cardigan dealt with the situation by layering a front-buttoning undershirt in bright cherry red knit under his battle tunic and wearing his ornamental Hussar pellise, which normally would be slung over one shoulder, as a jacket on top of the lot.

After the war, these two signature looks of jacket and knit shirt morphed into one. The combative background eventually faded away, leaving casual comfort the field’s sole victor.

Of course cardigans might not have been invented at all if the last of this fall’s super-sweaters had been readily available: The polonecked pullover features a warm, round-knit body, a vee-shaped button or zip opening at the throat, and a broad collar that lies flat at the back of the neck. Made from heat-retaining, heavy-gauge wool, this versatile pull can be worn on its own, under an outerwear jacket, or even over a shirt as outerwear itself.

It also, unlike the cardigan or Fair Isle sweater, is distressingly easy to duplicate, so you’d best get one now, before your girlfriend ferrets out this fact.

If she insists on knitting you something, ask for a wool muffler – they’re currently very stylish, always handy to have around in cold weather and, best of all, come completely curse free. µ

40 the clotherie magazine

travel

CHINA

by pe t e r m ande l

Culture by the Cup

There is a button you must push to enter China. The guard at Hangzhou passport control is pointing. I am in a fog from jet lag after flights from Boston, Vancouver, and Hong Kong, but I must press.

"You are very happy with this desk?" he asks. "Not too long checking?"

Uh, just about right, I say.

He points to a tiny customer-service circle with a smile. I choose it over not-sohappy buttons, over one that frowns. And once my selection is made, the guard smiles, too. He beams. He is blushing beneath his cap as he motions me through.

Here in the city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, I will be seeing lakes and bamboo forests. I'll climb to a temple that I hope will house monks. About 120 miles from Shanghai, the city is famous for its tea gardens and is counted as one of the seven ancient capitals of China. Kevin, the tour guide who picks me up, is anxious to explain.

42 the clotherie magazine

"You see this highway, the modern buildings?" he asks. We roar past glassy structures with Disney-castle tops. If elves had headquarters they might look like this.

"No one work there," says Kevin, one of many locals who seem to have Western names. "Notice. Each one have a garden for family growing. These are not for factory. They homes."

I soon find out that Hangzhou is jumping and wiggling with new wealth. Full of former tea farmers used to green space, the area is sprouting apartments built for Beverly Hillbillies, with bok choy fields right in back.

On an introductory tour, Kevin pilots me around in a car with other tourists. Along a busy boulevard, we pass a flickering sign: "CITY," it blinks. "CITY . . . OF CARTOON." When I ask about it, Kevin shrugs. "New," he says. He doesn't know what it means.

Same goes for a glittery, floodlit store called Trendy Way. A mystery, as is the multi-story I Feel hotel. Kevin smacks his forehead apologetically. He could be a tourist just like us.

"Last year," he notes, "Hangzhou already have the Burger King, the Pizza Heart." But when we're thinking about lunch, he suggests the nearby First Grade Restaurant instead. We approach a building sheathed in mirrored panels. "Sounds like a school cafeteria," someone gripes.

"Looks like a casino," adds someone else.

Kevin He slaps his forehead. We settle for takeout and drive on.

For a later meal, we park near Hangzhou's West Lake, a turquoise basin reflecting the lampposts and trees around its shore. "Louwailou Restaurant," says our guide with a squint of satisfaction. "It has a history of 100 years."

According to what we've been told, the local Zhejiang cuisine is known for fish.

West Lake fish in sweet-and-sour sauce.

West Lake fish in vinegar. West Lake fish with no sauce at all. A flier someone's picked up has this to say: "You have not really understood Hangzhou if you have not eaten shrimp and fried eel."

No one wants to risk the eel, but we bite into some shrimp fried with Longjing tea leaves. Longjing, or "Dragon Well," a specialty of the region, is one of China's most delicate green teas.

Next comes a dish that arrives with an air of mystery. Has it been mailed to us from the kitchen? There is a wrapping that peels off. We pick at it. We taste. It is tender. "Beggar's Chicken," explains our waiter. It's an entire bird baked inside a ball of newspaper and mud.

After our lunch, some of us feel that we need a rest. We take naps in our hotel, because the plan for tomorrow is to make an early pilgrimage to nearby Yongfu Temple to watch the monks take part in daybreak prayers.

In fact, when we arrive at the village of Fayun Nong, it is still completely dark.

We stagger up the temple hill in blackness, and it is not until an hour later, toward the end of the monks' measured chanting, the thumping of a resonant drum, that a thin chip of dawn begins to show beyond the sanctuary door. No one says a word about our presence in the back of the hall. We are noticed, this is clear. But once we begin to lower ourselves when they do, and rise on cue, the service goes like clockwork. There is a bang on a gong. On our way out, from a monk who can't be 20, we receive a bow.

This is one of those mornings when guests are invited to the temple breakfast. Tables are shared and so are bowls of noodles, nuts and tofu. Cashews are in demand -- everyone's chopsticks stretch for them, clashing like brittle swords when the bowl is nearly empty.

There is one nut left. My chopsticks retreat. A monk captures the prize. Just then, I hear a plink, plink, plink.

Conciliatory nuts from other monks are dropped onto my plate. I am surrounded by smiles.

It is time for an excursion to the country. On the main street of a tea village called Meijiawu, there are no English words on the signs. I am beginning to breathe. The air smells cleaner. Maybe it is all the Longjing tea leaves that are dried here and poured into wide, shallow baskets for display.

Where the shops along Hangzhou's Hefang Street–the Wangxingji Fan Store, the Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors Store, and the Wanlong Ham Store, to name just three–had been busy with shoppers, here in Meijiawu, the sidewalks are quiet.

WHERE TO STAY Amanfayun: 22 Fayun Nong. 011-86-571-8732-9999 http://www.amanresorts.com The ultimate in rustic, ultra-low-key resorts. Worth a splurge for a night or two. Rooms start at $580.

Landison Plaza Hotel: 333 Ti Yu Chang Rd. 011-86-5718515-8888 http://www.landisonplazahotel.com.cn Luxurious and a relative bargain for this booming region. Rooms start at around $100.

WHERE TO EAT Louwailou: 30 Gushan Rd. 011-86-571-8796-9023 http://www.louwailou.com.cn Has been serving up such Hangzhou delicacies as fried shrimp with Longjing tea leaves and Beggar's Chicken for more than a century. Entrees $13-$29.

WHAT TO DO Yongfu Temple On a hilltop in the village of Fayun Nong, a short walk from the Amanfayun resort and about a 20-minute drive from the center of Hangzhou. Founded by a monk from India in A.D. 362, the temple welcomes visitors who want to watch or quietly participate during daybreak prayers.

Mrs. Pang's Tea House 22 Fayun Nong 011-86-571-8732-9999 A locally run business in a cottage on the little main street that snakes through the Amanfayun resort. A good place to sample some of the Hangzhou region's quality teas including, of course, Longjing.

Village roosters walk and peck in random patterns. The pavement is dusty. I head off for a stroll in the tea fields right at the edge of town.

Tea plants, I decide, are tidy objects.

Round and puffy like the tails of poodles, they carpet the ground around Meijiawu as far as you can see. Beyond the rows of puffballs rise jagged hills that look as though they were inked in by an artist, one who has started to erase his work just slightly, using dabs of fog.

Since it is spring, the tips of the tea branches are turning green. These are the shoots that are picked to make delicate Longjing tea. Kevin has informed me that a cup of the finest hand-picked Longjing can cost about $73. Once they're dried in town, the fragile-looking leaves I'm passing will bring more than $1,000 per pound in Shanghai.

To taste the tea, I head for Mrs. Pang's Tea House, a small, woodbeamed cottage on the grounds of the Amanfayun Resort in Fayun village, operated by Pang Ying. Ian White, the Amanfayun's British-born general manager, says that his plan was to keep as authentic a tea-drinking experience as possible. "Mrs. Pang knows tea," says White. "So she is in charge."

Examining me over horn-rimmed glasses, Pang begins her work. "You must wash the tea," she says through an interpreter. "And you must rinse the pot." Boiling water is poured. There is overflow as the tea and the pot are sluiced. Tides of tea, a cascade that bubbles, ebbs and flows.

Mrs. Pang partially disappears in a cloud of steam. Is this some teahouse magic? There is a sudden scent of blossoms. Liquid -- light as April -- fills my cup. I take a sip.

Mrs. Pang is watching. She is back now. All the steam has cleared.

I taste. It isn't tea, exactly. Tea is strong. Longjing is like a taste of something growing. A blade of grass, some grains of rice, a petal in a cup.

I think of the Disney-castle gardens in Hangzhou. The City of Cartoon, the First Grade Restaurant are out of mind.

My head is full of farmers who grow tea and don't want to leave the land.

I smile at Mrs. Pang. She pours again.

At last, when it comes to family growing, I understand. µ

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fashion

by l esl i e c. smi t h

soften up Relax with the best of this season’s casualwear

phot o cour t e s y of hi l t l

Listen to your casual clothes this season: What they’re saying is that we’ve all been going at things a bit too hard of late. It’s time to take the edge off; to sit back, appreciate what we have right now, and relax.

Use your other senses too. You can actually see a certain softness creeping into our attire’s silhouettes. Sportcoats, for instance, now appear rounder at the sleeveheads, where the top of the arm meets the jacket body. Their shoulder lines, while still broad enough to accommodate ease of movement, slope slightly away from the collar, as if all tenseness in the torso has been massaged out of existence.

That same loosened inclination is visible as well in this season’s outerwear, most of which offers a welcome, ease-on-down-the-road kind of vibe. Overcoats and leather jackets in particular show a marked tendency toward raglan sleeves, where the arm seam simply attaches to the collar and drapes down from there, while durable outdoorsy jackets often offer dropped sleeveheads and hoods set into the collar, which help underline the downward bent. For extra sloping emphasis, stylists are showing these jackets worn with cushy cowl-neck sweaters or mufflers swathing the throat, both of which serve to increase the pyramidic effect.

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phot o cour t es y of br a x

Lanford in Winter White with Thymus scarf in Feather Grey over Ace in Bitter Chocolate

fashion

Knits perhaps give us best evidence of exactly how much clothing restrictions have been relaxed, because nothing else in our wardrobes says “take it easy” in quite the same way. Certainly, every fall promises its fair share of knit garments. Yet this year’s assortment appears poised to be the most extensive on record.

Knit shirts are everywhere, and paired with everything from dress suits to cargo-pocketed khakis. They are also quite useful for playing around with this season’s layering effects, say worn over a knit undershirt (of the long-john variety) or under a vee-necked sweater.

A further layer can be created by adding into the mix a cardigan jacket or zipped knit sweater-jacket of the Cowichan kind (think Starsky of Starsky & Hutch or, for that matter, the Canadian team at last winter’s Vancouver Olympics).

Then, too, knits are showing up in small, sometimes unexpected, places – for instance in the knit hem, cuffs and collar of a blouson jacket, or occasionally in knit cuffs gathering in the hems on a pair of casual pants.

Soft jackets are everywhere this season. The most versatile and fashion conscious piece you can have. It just works.

Unlined so you can layer it with a corduroy vest or sweater. It can work in the office or at play. You can look stylish even with a hoody thrown underneath.

Rock it out!

soften up

The latter is likely a mite too fashion-forward for most men’s tastes; but still, a softer attitude is apparent in our regular leggings’ silhouettes, mainly due to the fact that so many of today’s casual pants seem to be tailored cashmere knits (basically, the best-looking sweats you’ll ever own) and brushed cotton weaves. Even our old denim friends look better with a loose roll at the cuff – and, incidentally, this is an ideal way to showcase that new pair of soft suede ankle boots you’ve had your eye on.

To truly enjoy this fall’s casual selection, though, you must employ touch as well as sight.

It is almost therapeutic, running your hand over the velvety corduroy ridges on a pair of five-pocket pants, rubbing your fingers against the nubby, boiled wool fabric of a hip-length jacket, or skimming their tips over the downy fur and shearling trim that can be found on dozens and dozens of outerwear pieces.

Such rich textures as these – cushioning, pliant, gentle – speak volumes. Mostly they have a lot to say about life in today’s post-recessionary world. As in, Our business world, and business wardrobes, may have shrunk and things may have grown tighter all over. But when we throw off our work gear, we want clothes that offer us tactile pleasure and a release from constraint.

It’s rather like sipping a delicious martini at the end of a long, hard day. You rediscover that warm trickle of comfort which allows worries to just slide off your back. And, like a martini made from really good gin, people are now treating themselves again to those small luxuries that make living so worthwhile.

A hopeful sign perhaps for the shape of our psyches, our economy, and our wardrobes, to come. µ

46 the clotherie magazine

Not Your Father’s Cadillac The 2011 CTS Coupe is turning corners and turning heads.

The 2011 CTS Coupe joins the CTS Sport Sedan and CTS Sport Wagon, an award-winning line that has been named to Car and Driver’s 10 Best list for three straight years.

er pretty face. It really delivers when the rubber meets the road — and that road happens to have some curves.

“The coupe turns it up one notch from where we are with the sedan,” said

performance manager Richard

Definitely recognizable as part of the record-breaking

Kewley. The wider body allowed engineers to spec wider

CTS family, the Coupe stands out as something new and

rear tires. They offset that change with a thicker rear anti-

exciting with dramatic design changes to enhance the

roll bar to provide more grip without hurting balance. The

driving experience. A lower roofline, shorter overall

CTS Coupe is stiff and surprisingly capable, handling

length and wider track, provide a more aggressive stance and athletic profile. Most important, the coupe isn’t just anoth-

48 the clotherie magazine

better than a 3909-lb. car should.

Cadillac is committed to bringing out a car with few compromises, a car that embodies the passion that they have for their business. And the CTS Coupe does that.

Dave Leone, none other than the Coupe’s chief engineer, says this new car represents “the most dramatic expression of Art and Science to date.”

The CTS Coupe won the Eyes on Design concept award at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. Autoblog described the production model as “audacity in motion.” Car and Driver wrote that the 2011 CTS Coupe added “more style and a higher concentration of performance to the CTS’s winning formula.”

The CTS Coupe didn’t change much from the concept shown at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. The car still has the handle-less door openers, a touch borrowed from the Cadillac XLR. High-flow mufflers vent through squarish tips integrated into the rear fascia. From the outside, it makes a striking statement.

Prepared to be gawked at, a lot.

The CTS Coupe’s cabin follows the critically acclaimed design of the sedan, and that is not a bad thing. Like the sedan, the CTS Coupe gets an LCD that rises up out of the dash — James Bond-style. In its down position, it still shows audio information, while up it shows navigation and lets you browse libraries or the car’s onboard music storage. One of the coolest features of the navigation system is its live traffic function. Not only will it dynamically reroute around problems, it also pops up an alert if there is a problem on the road ahead, even when route guidance is not active.

The CTS Coupe comes standard with a six-speed automatic transmission, rear-wheel

And if that’s not enough adrena-

drive, 18-inch alloy wheels, a performance suspension, rear parking assist, a Bose audio

line for you, you need to check out

system, power front seats and keyless access with remote start.

the V option. The high-performance CTS-V Coupe is a rear-drive sedan

The CTS Performance Collection adds adaptive Xenon headlamps, leather upholstery,

powered by a 556-horsepower super-

an upgraded Bose audio system and a 40 GB hard drive for music storage.

charged 6.2-liter V8. It teams with a 6-

The CTS Coupe Premium Collection includes ambient lighting, navigation, a rear-view

speed manual or 6-speed automatic

camera, ventilated front seats, a moonroof and a heated steering wheel.

transmission. The CTS-V has GM’s

Standard on the CTS coupe will be the sedan’s optional 3.6-liter direct-injected V6, as

Magnetic Ride Control suspension,

well as an available six-speed manual transmission. The V6 is rated at 304 horsepower, the

which automatically adjusts firmness within two driver-selectable modes

engine is fuel thrifty enough to achieve 27 mpg on the highway using regular unleaded.

and

Performance

Traction

Management, a system similar to GM’s Stabilitrak antiskid system, but it

<

is set to aid performance in spirited driving. The V has an upgraded interior that includes available Recarobrand seats with 14-way adjustment and a suede-like microfiber wrap for the shift lever and steering wheel.

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