The Sunday Best

206. Man-kup? | Benjamin Bixby | Spare Change: $8500, $1195

Linda Grant on The Thoughtful Dresser has given me more fuel for my manpurse fire - make-up for men. It's not the product itself that bothers me--I once painted my fingernails Hard Candy Taxi yellow--but the branding of the product:

Guyliner, a £6.50 kohl pencil, will be in stores this week, closely followed by Manscara, a clear gel for lashes and brows.

Haven't we moved beyond this juvenile wordsmithing? And in what way is Guyliner different from any other eyeliner? Is it composed of BBQed steaks?

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Still no more pictures with a Fall release...not the most stellar marketing.

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Loro Piana baby cashmere peacoat

Hickey Freeman shawl-collar dinner jacket

205. Still doing it justice...

204. JT brings sexy back, now wants credit

File this under F for Funny (or F$#!@ stupid.) According to a variety of sources, the recent Vanity Fair Fashion Rocks supplement features a feud between Mr. Timberlake and Ashton Kutcher over who started this:

(I'd like to point out that the above hat has been made to look as it does on purpose.)

By feud I mean that JT has been taking umbrage over Mr. Kutcher's apparent claim to having popularized said item. JT wants the credit, leading many to ask - why?

Now, I am not a JT hater. I think he's a very talented, generally well-dressed, all around ok sort of chap. Hell, I call him JT (we're tight like that.) But he's also a young, rich American, and as such he occasionally acts like a young, rich American.

Interestingly Mr. Kutcher, who performs in every role as if his lower regions were on fire, has remained silent on the subject. Point = Kutcher. (Making the current tally Kutcher - 1, JT - 234.)

203. Podcast | Technical difficulties

Last night at midnight my time, 8AM her time, I placed a call to one Susanna Lau, aka Susie Bubble, and proceeded to have a highly entertaining discussion with her about all things Susie and more besides. Her accent probably made the chat seem more refined than it actually was.

After an hour had flown by I bid her goodnight, only to discover that I hadn't recorded a single minute of our conversation. Nada. Zip. Zero. Stingy with dinero.

Susie has graciously agreed to do it all again, and if you're a future guest on TheSundayBest feel free to ask me if I'm recording. You can even point to this post.

Management

202. Polaroids

With the filter provided by Steve (by way of Austria and England) I can finally use the SX70 Land Camera I bought on eBay. Did I mention that Steve is awesome, and that together with Susie he forms a kind of supernova of kindness? Well he is and they do.

Unfortunately the filter covers the focusing markers on the lens, so focusing became a bit of guesswork. Early results were not favourable.

But after some trial and error things started to look up. Charlie demonstrates her mastery:

"Hello and welcome to exploring China. I am your host Thomas Wong."

EDIT: The package Steve sent the filter in (along with assorted goodies.)

201. 52 Songs in 52 Weeks | Seasons

The problem with time sensitive projects - you miss one entry and the whole thing goes sideways. One way around this - deliver an entry no matter the quality. No. Matter. The. Quality.

Thomas Bartholomew Wong - Seasons [MP3]

Lyrics here.

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I'll be talking to Susie of Style Bubble at midnight PST, so if you have any questions be sure to get them in. I already spoke to lc last week so recent questions came a little too late.

The lesson here - act now! Limited time only! Four easy payments!

200. 200th post | Links edition

200 here at last. Next stop...

Les Internets

One of the best "online magazines" for men right now is Valet. Layout = win. Font choice for banner = win. Style breakdown of Mad Men with the costume designer, Janie Bryant = win win win.

Mad Men style (Valet)

Always wanted to sit down and chinwag with the Style Bubble? Now you can (sort of).

She Speaks (Style Bubble)

Les Mens Blogs

A Continuous Lean is almost too interesting.

Kempt looks at the coolest of all cool collaborations - John Coltrane and Miles Davis. (Also - getkempt.com is the best URL ever. It just is.)

A Suitable Wardrobe praises the well-made shoe.

Other

Tommy lives in London, shares my name, and takes amazing photos.

Coming up on TheSundayBest

My interview with lc. (Who has packed up her wardrobe...and maybe next her blog.)

The return of the magazine report (this time it moves!)

Future interviews with Susie of Style Bubble and Winona of Daddy Likey.

Other shenanigans the likes of which the world has never seen.

199. Style Influence | Gnarls Barkley video

Going On

198. Spare Change | No Amount of Money Makes This Right

Normally there would be a dollar amount for the Spare Change, but no amount would compel me to purchase one of these tacky monstrosities.

Clearly LV believes it can do whatever it wants and has the billions of dollars to back this up. And Takashi Murakami is a talented artist - if LV drives a dumptruck full of money to his house, who is he to say no?

But this...this is...

First, the name - Monogramouflage. Are you kidding me, LV. What, was Camogram taken? Did you not like Stealthbrand?

Then there are the bags themselves, which only need a trucker hat, Juicy sweatpants, and a microscopic dog to make them complete.

If I see a guy carrying one of these I will punch him. ($2195)

197. Moustache Update

In the beginning...

As of Friday...