Haute Concept

Quick!  Who goes through a door first, a man or a woman?

If you got that wrong, there’s no help for you.

But if you said the correct answer of ‘woman’, good for you…or rather those who raised you.

Now, who goes through a revolving door first?

Hmmm.  There are times in which certain technology will present the coming of a social faux-pas. One of these times is the approach of a revolving door. This can be prevented by knowing the social manners a man should take to avoid such situations.

The rule is simple.  If the door is in motion then the general rule of a woman entering first applies.  BUT, if the door is not in motion, the man should enter first so he may push the air-tight revolving door, thus setting it in motion.

This is the rule for chivalry in the social world.  In the business world all rules go out the window and hierarchy is the rule of the day.

Pan Am, the icon of American travel for much of the 20th century, has been resurrected through a reissue of it’s classic cabin bags.

Designer Marc Jacobs has updated the look while keeping the cool of the iconic logo. The slick, cool styling of the Marc Jacobs Pan Am Explorer bags make them great for gym bags or even to stash items for a weekend get away. The minimalist, boxy styling will let even those afraid of the “manbag” tag easily carry them for today’s active lifestyle. At $68, the price is great too.

These can be had at Marc by Marc Jacob stores.

In New York the accessory store has them:

385 Bleecker Street

NY, NY 10014

Tel: (212) 924-6126

Unfortunately for fashion fans the highly anticipated Dior Homme runway show will not be happening during the spring collections in Paris. Instead the company is choosing for an “intimate presentation”.Two months ago Dior appointed Kris Van Assche as head designer of it’s men’s wear. The rush to conceive and develop the Spring/Summer ‘08 line in that time span most likely contributed to the companies decision.

We can only wait until next season and hope that Kris Van Assche will be able to control the reins in the shadow of former head designer Hedi Slimane.

[Fashion Week Daily]

[earlier]

Fresh off the heels of his eponymous boutique opening on Madison Avenue, Tom Ford has plans to expand globally. A fast-moving ambitious plan for 100 stores over a 10 year period is what Mr. Ford and his business partner, Domenico DeSole have in mind. They want the Tom Ford name in all of the chicest cities from Dubai to Sao Paulo. In the next 2-3 years shops are planned in Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Hong Kong and Milan.

The free-standing retail stores will carry Mr. Fords newly introduced luxury line of menswear.

In addition to the retail boutiques Mr. Ford has signed exclusive shop-in-shop deals with Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

If his company succeeds it will bode well for Mr. Ford who has sunk a great deal of his own fortune into the company to bypass outside investment.

Tom Ford [website]