Last week I briefly brought up pockets vs. purses.  It seems that some men are actually starting to carry purses (or murses, or European Carry-Alls).  I refuse.  I have pockets, and I use them to carry exactly what I need... bulges be damned.  Now Dr. Helen is talking about her experiment in dropping a purse in favor of just pockets.  Interesting that in a time when men are sometimes cajoled into carrying a purse, we have a woman who wants to give it up.

I've recently started at a new client, and am actually going back to wearing a tie about 2 or 3 days a week depending on what the situation is.  There is nothing horrible about it.  That's just something you get used to when you're a consultant.  What is funny about where I am now, is seeing how other people "attempt" to dress well.  Some things just... well... let's just say they stand out.

So, for those of you not familiar with how this works, here is Style Guy's Guide to Appropriate Sock Colors at Work.

White socks shall never be worn at work.  You'd think this would be pretty basic, but sadly this is the most common rule I see broken.

Your socks should match your pants.  You may be asking yourself... shouldn't they match your shoes?  Not necessarily.  For instance, let's say you're wearing cream colored pants, and brown shoes.  Wear cream colored socks... not brown ones.

That's pretty much it.  Master these two rules to sock color and you're golden.

Style Guy out.

Regular readers of mine know that I don't really like the idea of wearing flip-flops for daily wear... more specifically... the thwacking noise drives me insane.  But now there is another reason not to wear them... they're bad for your feet:

"Flip-flops have singlehandedly caused more problems with people's feet in the last couple years than probably any other type of shoe," said Dr. Rock Positano, a podiatrist at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery.

Lori Geller broke her ankle wearing flip-flops. "The ground was wet, so my foot slipped off and turned."

These women and others may be heading feet first into a world of short- and long-term foot problems. Positano sees about five to 10 flip-flop related injuries a week -- injuries he believes are a direct result of women wearing flip-flops in place of normal walking shoes.

So there you have it.  But if you insist on causing long term damage to your feet, would you at least wear something sexy with a nice high heel?

That is the question.  We've been having this minor debate at work as to exactly what R.S.V.P means.  In French, it stands for "Répondez s'il-vous-plaît".  But exactly how does that translate?  A bit of Internet searching has revealed that most etiquette minded people believe it simply translates to "Please Respond".  That means that you should always respond whether or not you plan to attend an event.

My understanding of the original French was that "Répondez s'il-vous-plaît" translates to "Respond if you please" and that the traditional French usage of the phrase was even more accurately translated to "Respond if you are pleased to attend".  That would mean that responses are only required if you are actually planning on attending.

My own personal etiquette says that formal invitations should always be responded to (weddings, etc.), but that less formal events and invitations don't require it (such as email invites to things).

What is the general consensus among my readers on this?

I'm sure all of you are curious what Style Guy thought of the fashions at the Brady Street Show.  Well aside from the obvious fact that the design that Phelony put together was utterly fantastic... the rest of the designs were hit and miss.  Some were very good.  Others, especially the things they decided to dress the men in, were decidedly not.  At one point, I actually turned to Phel and said "So are they planning on showing anything that a heterosexual man would wear?"  As the show progressed, the answer was clearly no.  This is Brady Street after all.  I do have to say, that of all the fashions on display, the one I was most afraid to take a picture of was this:

No!  No!  Hell No!

I can honestly say that there are no situations in which red nylons should ever be worn.  Well I take that back.  If it's Halloween, and you want to look like a hooker... and a really cheap $5 hooker... then go for it.  Otherwise... what on God's Good Earth was this person thinking?!  The makeup looks like something you'd see in Kabuki Theater, and the hair looks like something from the Revolutionary War, but black instead of white and powdered.

This is a crime against fashion.  Maybe I'm too contemporary, but I like to think I know what looks good... that I'm a moral fashionista.  This was a sin.

Style Guy Out.

This weekend I've taken more pictures that I can remember ever taking before.  First on Saturday I met the very talented local designer Phelony Jones on Brady Street to watch her work walk down the runway at the Brady Street Fashion Show.  You can see all the photos from the show in this Flickr set, but here is a sampling.  Click on any picture for a larger version.

Then I headed down to watch the Downer Ave. Criterium.  This is the second to last race in the Super Week series... with one more tonight that I'll be watching in Whitefish Bay.  Until then, here is a sampling of race photos from my Flickr Set:

Despite evidence to the contrary.  Either that, or Hugh Hefner has found Eve after supposedly being dead for thousands of years.  Seriously... this is taking air brushing too far.

Thanks to Sean for emailing me a link to this article entitled "Is the flip-flop the new little black dress?":

Our generation is thinking outside the box, the shoe box that is, when taking the plunge.

I remember girls in high school wearing flip-flops to prom and graduation. Their hatred with a stiletto, and even a flat, at least kept them comfortable while dancing the night away. They had something going for them while I was padding my blisters with Band-Aids. But then my friend Jamie's obsession followed her down the isle with crystal incrusted thong sandals flopping behind her. But then I wondered…is it really okay to wear flip-flops with your wedding dress?
...
Apparently a lot of brides do, even if the wedding isn't on a white beach.

Flowers? Check. Groom? Check. Big, white, expensive dress? Check. Flip-flops? Check.

"The flip-flop is the new little black dress," says Jackie Robbins, a partner in FlipFlopTrunkshow.com. She says brides request white flip-flops for the ceremony and six or seven pairs in pink for the bridesmaids.

I'm seeing this more and more myself when I'm out an about.  Flip flops are now the "in" footwear.  Those who have been reading my blog for sometime may recall my earlier posts on the subject.... hell... my utter hatred for flip flops.  The sound they make as women walk in them drives me insane.  What's worse is that some women wear them so often, that it doesn't take long for those flip flops to turn into something that I think the Dept. of Health should condemn for health code violations.

That's when you become thankful for winter.  Of course, that's also when you see the Ugg boots make their appearance again.  Oh wait, I actually own a pair of those.  I suppose it could be worse... more people could be wearing Crocs.  Now those are just plain ugly.

It's the little things that keep us happy.

The Washington Post wonders why women would want to wear high heels.  I say as long as they aren't backless, you've got a winner in my book.  Hammer toes and bunions be damned... those only come after you've snagged the guy.  And by then we've got a beer gut and are losing our hair.  Sounds like a fair trade to me.

There is a woman at my new client who is shorter than average, but continually wears pants that are way too long.  They're long enough to cover her entire shoe, and drag a little bit on the floor.  This is not a sexy look, and doesn't make you look one bit taller.  Actually, it only serves as a reminder that you're shorter than average.  I can't even imagine how long those pants last before they get ratty on the bottom either.

Even though you may not be tall, act like a big girl who knows how to try on clothes before you buy them.

Virginia Postrel points out this site, called Fashion4Nerds, who's laudable goal is to inform all those geeky guys out there what not to wear... in case you don't get TLC.  I've read through their advice, and although I don't always follow all their ideas, I at least know that I ought to.  So this is Style Guy approved.

Among their fashion tips are:

• NEVER wear socks with sandals. (Duh)
• No pleated pants. (As if)
• Get a nice analog watch (without a calculator).  OK... this one I know, but don't follow.  I don't have a calculator on mine, but I love my digital.  I do own a nice analog... I just never think to wear it.

Then they throw this one in... "If at all possible, get a woman's advice".  That seems like a Catch 22 to me.  After all, if you have a woman to ask, then you know how to dress already... and if you don't know how to dress, then how are you going to get a woman to speak to, let alone ask questions?  Seems like a cruel piece of advice if you ask me.

I don't think it means what you think it means:

Winter weather is not an excuse to be "fugly," said Joe Lupo, co-author of "Nothing to Wear? A 5-Step Cure for the Common Closet" (Plume, $16).

The term means functionally ugly, Lupo said, and he used it to refer to the necessities of women's winter wardrobes such as heavy coats, snow boots, winter scarves, gloves and hats.

"Just because it's functional, does not mean it has to be ugly," Lupo said.

Perhaps this was meant as a follow on to the earlier post by the intrepid blogger Mandy Jenkins, but I find their use of the word fugly to be rather amusing, given that it doesn't actually mean "functionally ugly", but rather "f*ing ugly"... at least according to Urban Dictionary, and everyone else who I've ever heard use that word.

Common examples of "fugly" would include Hillary Clinton, among other things.  But at least they do get one thing right... you don't have to look like the Michelin Man to stay warm.

What would we do without Mandy Jenkins?  True Wisconsin bar hoppers have a "bar jacket" that is meant to get smokey.  Personally, I like the smell of smoke on me after leaving a bar.  But maybe I'm just crazy.

One of those questions that always sat in the back of my brain was "What do Muslim women wear when they go swimming?"  I mean, you can't exactly go swimming in a burqa... unless your husband is trying to drown you that is.  Do Muslim women just not swim at all?  I always wondered about that.  Well, today my question was finally answered by On Deadline, which is featuring information about the Burqini.  There are two different styles also.  There is a "modest fit" and "slim fit".  Though to be honest, the "slim fit" is far from immodest itself.

I'm really just blogging about it because I thought the name was hillarious.