Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Esquire

The weekender is easy to explain and nearly impossible to execute. In theory, it will carry all you need for two or three days. In practice, it’s invariably sized to accommodate either a morning commute or an overseas tour. Happily, Berluti has reached the Goldilocks zone with its latest offering—a smooth, streamlined, vaguely cubist interpretation in pristine white leather with black piping. It’s just the right size to bust you out of town for a few days. And don’t worry about the leather—when it’s sitting comfortably in the backseat of a world-class ride (see Esquire’s Best New Car Awards on page 90 for some suggestions), scuffs shouldn’t be a problem.…

It turns out Life as We Know It 3.0 is really buggy. Screens? Addictive. Facebook? Bad for your health and democracy. Amazon? They’ve made it too easy to spend your paycheck. And not to get all Karl Marx at a TED Talk here, but there’s also the social cost of opting in. Is the near-instantaneous spread of videos, photos, and bits of information a plus? When Amazon builds a headquarters in your city, is that a good thing for the average resident? The story’s still developing, and the future isn’t all rainbow emoji. We are in that post-honeymoon period with Silicon Valley’s various creations. But if you think there’s value in a lot of these networks and services, there are ways to manage your relationship with them so they feel…

When The Decision aired on ESPN in 2010, we saw LeBron James, perhaps the greatest athlete of his generation, sweating through a dorky gingham shirt in the middle of a Boys & Girls Club on live TV. As he slowly realized what an awful mistake he had made by televising the shunning of his hometown, we realized we could never go back to reading a press release. Over the next few years, the rest of the stars played into the script, and the NBA became the most addictive soap opera on TV: Kevin Durant making burner Twitter accounts to defend himself from trolls, Joel Embiid shamelessly roasting the league from his own handle (then subtweeting Durant: “My bad y’all, I thought I was using my burner account”). Trades were negotiated…

Climbing up into the Blue Mountains on snaky roads in an old Land Cruiser, you see the city of Kingston shrinking to your left. To your right, tree roots are at eye level, punching through walls of dirt. The roads are narrow enough that when the car slows down along curves or for the errant goat—he will find his way back home at night, the driver tells you—you can open your window to touch the gnarly flora. The humid air enters: It smells like grilled food wafting from shacks with enviable views of the hills, and flowers from the bright-red Flame of the Forest trees, with a hint of gasoline—a touch of reality in a jungle paradise. These hills are a part of Jamaica that few travelers see, opting instead…

…I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, so my thing is glasses. I hate being committed to one pair. Most people think, Okay, let me get the most neutral option so I can wear them with everything. But I change mine weekly. And I usually have references. For example, I really like Russell Westbrook’s style. I saw him in some red frames and thought, Oh my God, I need those. The joke is I wear fake glasses even though I actually do have a prescription—I just wear my contacts and throw a pair on. MOST VALUABLE LAYER Get to know the one piece that’ll carry you through March (and no, we’re not talking about that hat…) …Prada’s spring runway show reminded us that turtlenecks aren’t just handy during the run-up…

In the seven years since James Lamdin founded Analog/Shift, the store has become a hub for vintage-watch hounds. In their New York showroom and online, Lamdin and his team carry pieces by all the big names, from Rolex to Omega—plus dozens of smaller brands you’ve never heard of. It’s Lamdin’s job to calm the notoriously treacherous waters of vintage collecting. His customers need to know they are buying something special, and that they’re buying it from the right people. “There’s this aha moment when you realize if you want something that’s truly unique, it isn’t going to be from a boutique or a limited edition,” Lamdin says. “It’s going to be something with its own patina and story.” For story, you could do worse than the original 1954 Breguet Type…

I’m pretty sure that the good people at Hermès didn’t design their new Cityslide Cross just so a goon like me could wear it to the farmers market on a Saturday morning, but I wore it there anyway. I was surprised and happy to learn it easily contained a thick bunch of kale, six Honeycrisp apples, and several radishes with room to spare. I was even more surprised when no one shot a second look at the purple bag slung over my shoulder. Sometime in the past year, cross-body bags, or fanny packs, or belt bags, or whatever you want to call them, crossed over from dorkcore staple to fashion statement. In this current moment of revenge-of-the-nerds men’s-wear conquest, it was only a matter of time before they came back…

First, I’d like to apologize to Randy Newman. I once suggested in print that his 1970s-era early work was all that mattered. I am a fool. Newman got revenge on people like me in his song “I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It).” Its Lear-like lyrics begin, “I have nothing left to say/But I’m gonna say it anyway.” By the end, in live recordings, he sings the title over and over again while the audience chants, at his direction, “He’s dead, he’s dead.” The performance is so brilliant that the song’s irony gets a heavy varnish. This is a dark, diamond-encrusted geezer victory. While I’m at it, I want to apologize to Scott Ward (not quite his real name) for tripping him in front of a lot of people in…

Sean COMBS YEAR: 2001 (ALLEGED) MISDEEDS: Bribery and weapons violations stemming from a shooting inside a New York club. OUTCOME: Acquitted. Jay-Z YEAR: 2001 (ALLEGED) MISDEED: Stabbing a man he suspected of bootlegging his next album. OUTCOME: Pleaded guilty to a lesser charge; received three years’ probation. Michael JACKSON YEAR: 2005 (ALLEGED) MISDEED: Sexual abuse of a thirteen-year-old boy. OUTCOME: Replaced Brafman and, with a new lawyer, was acquitted. Charles KUSHNER YEAR: 2005 MISDEEDS: Illegal campaign contributions; tax evasion; witness tampering. OUTCOME: Pleaded guilty to eighteen charges; sentenced to two years in prison. Plaxico BURRESS YEAR: 2009 MISDEED: Shooting himself, and his NFL career, in the leg inside a crowded New York club. OUTCOME: Struck a plea deal; received two years in prison. Dominique STRAUSS-KAHN YEAR: 2011 (ALLEGED) MISDEED: Sexual…

STORE INFORMATION For the items featured in Esquire, please consult the website or call the phone number provided. The Code, p. 51: Sacai x Nike sneakers, available at select retailers. P. 52: Sacai x Nike sneakers, available at select retailers. P. 61: Dunhill coats and trousers, dunhill.com. P. 66: Officine Générale jacket, mrporter.com. Officine Générale trousers, officinegenerale.com. Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, ralphlauren.com. John Elliott anorak, johnelliott.com. P. 67: Hilfiger Collection anorak, 212-223-1824. Thom Browne jacket, thombrowne.com. Boss anorak, hugoboss.com. Simon Miller shirt, simonmillerusa.com. P. 68: Gucci bag, gucci.com. Hermès bag, hermes.com. Dior Men bag, dior.com. Tom Ford bag, tomford.com. Best New Car Awards, p. 93: Gucci jacket, gucci.com. P. 95: Louis Vuitton bag, louisvuitton.com. P. 97: Hermès watch, hermès.com. P. 99: Prada shoes, prada.com. How to Build a Wardrobe That…

Everyone’s too busy to cook. That’s what you hear. The bombardment of information, the ceaseless sprawl of to-do lists—who has time to eat, let alone cook? You’re already running late on a hundred tasks and deadlines, and some sanctimonious oracle from food media wants you (beseeches you!) to set aside an hour or two to prepare a resplendent dinner for your family? Oh, back off, James Beard. You revel in defying the Instant Pot scolds as you grab your phone and order yet another chicken-tinga bowl from Chop’t. I feel you, brothers and sisters, and I know all too well how some smug celebrity chef’s promise of a 30-minute meal can expand into 90 minutes of chopping and cursing and burning your fingers. I want to propose a middle way.…

Any British men’s wear brand with more than a few decades under its belt has to decide just how far to lean into its heritage. Sometimes a level of conservatism plays well with a certain subset of sartorial customer. This is not one of those times. When Mark Weston came on as creative director of Alfred Dunhill almost two years ago, he was tasked with bringing the brand sharply in line with contemporary tastes, at a time when tastes were shifting almost daily. In the two runway shows he’s displayed since, he has outlined a bracingly modern vision of Englishness. For example, he did away with shirts—presenting much of the tailoring in his second show against bare skin. This shouldn’t be taken too literally—shirts are still for sale. “It was…

No one pegged the anorak as the next fashion darling. It’s a pretty utilitarian garment—that sort-of-technical option you reach for on a day when it’s rainy but not torrential. But this spring, designers are taking the anorak out of the mudroom and into the spotlight. In the process, they’re showing us that there’s no single way to wear it. Find one that’s psychedelic or staid, stuffed with high-tech details or stripped-down. Make it a middle layer or the main event. Treat it the way you used to treat a hoodie—as a reliable, shape-shifting piece that’ll take you through all kinds of weather and almost any occasion. Here’s how to get started. STRIP IT DOWN Worn over something warm, like a thick crewneck sweater, an anorak easily becomes the focus of…

In the battle to look better, longer, you can rely on a hundred small maneuvers, or you can bring in the big guns. Fixes like these often require a doctor visit, but they can also offer a marked improvement nearly overnight. “Men want to keep it simple, and they want quick results,” says New York City clinical physician assistant Laura Dyer, who has noticed an increase in guys asking for treatments like Botox. It turns out getting a quick injection can actually be easier than navigating a Sephora. Here are your best options, ranked from low-key to high-impact. FACIAL Getting a facial is like going to the dry cleaners: You entrust the scouring to a professional. The HydraFacial blasts a cleansing solution deep down into your pores to wash away…

WASHINGTON is one of the only places in America where an election transforms the city’s social life. Plenty of people live here with no regard for who occupies the White House, but a lot of social networks get rewired when a new president comes to town and brings along thousands of ideological kin. In the Kennedy and Johnson eras, official Washington took its cues from the White House: Glamorous dinner parties were in vogue under JFK, followed by more down-home barbecues under LBJ. No matter the president, though, guest lists tended to span both parties, and the fraternizing helped keep the government’s gears and levers well-enough oiled. But in the Reagan-Bush eighties, social life in D. C., just as in the rest of the country, began to polarize, with the…

I have a son, a fifteen-year-old. He’s the eldest of three, with two sisters who are three and six years younger. At present, the stress of life for my daughters appears to primarily come from the kind of adolescent rites of passage practically every American born since World War II has been made to suffer: boredom; braces; grades; dinners that don’t involve ketchup. If they’re not on one screen (iPhone), they’re on another (TV). Otherwise, growing up at the slight remove of outer Fairfield County, Connecticut, they are experiencing childhood as, for the most part, still that very magical and important thing: childhood. Up until about two years ago, so was my son. Admittedly, the change began when he entered high school, the age when curious kids are expected to…

…We listen for surprises; we get rambling laundry lists of industry people. Oscar’s earlier days often spawned spontaneous, genuine orations. Yul Brynner, winning for The King and I in 1957, famously quipped, “I hope this is not a mistake.” What happened? Blame Brando. Protesting Native Americans’ treatment, Marlon Brando dispatched actress Sacheen Littlefeather in 1973 to refuse his Oscar for The Godfather. Norms now breached, speeches subsequently turned political (Vanessa Redgrave, Sean Penn), self-absorbed (Sally Field, Dustin Hoffman), and downright creepy (Angelina Jolie, seemingly professing incestuous love for her brother). It seems naive to believe we can ever return to an era in which winners accept graciously—and concisely. The Academy might consider forcing all nominees to watch Joe Pesci accepting for GoodFellas in 1991: “It’s my privilege. Thank you.”…

Classic sneakers become classics for a reason: Their strippeddown style is strong enough to outlast the breakneck trend cycle. But that doesn’t mean you can’t improve on an original. Just ask Chitose Abe. The Japanese designer is already revered in the fashion world for the spliced-together cool she cultivates for Sacai. Now, on her second Nike collaboration, she is pushing the sneaker into the future, too. And she’s doing it by heading back into the vault. What you see above is not so much a single shoe as the clever fusion of two. When Abe was invited to reimagine best-selling ’70s Nike styles—the Daybreak and the LDV—she decided to combine them into a pumped-up hybrid. The finished product overlays toe caps, lace guards, and logos from both models; doubles the…

…I’ll say it: Umbrellas make me insecure. It’s not so much a masculinity issue. (Though are they basically sturdy parasols? Yup.) It’s the way they multiply the potential for error. It may stop raining the minute I step outside, and then I’m stuck carrying this useless appendage all day. If it continues raining, I lose the use of one hand the minute I pop it open. It could snag on a tree, or a person, or dramatically invert at the slightest gust of wind. I could lose it. I usually do. This is to say nothing of the bad behavior umbrellas encourage in others, whether that’s deploying a trampoline-sized golf umbrella on crowded city sidewalks or inexplicably using an umbrella when it snows. “How do you stay dry, then?” you…

I wasn’t a huge fan of tie-dye to begin with. I’m talking about the T-shirt you find in the gas station in Baja California. It was always too colorful, too much going on at once. I like color, but I try to put things together so that it’s an unexpected element alongside classic stuff. My girlfriend is an artist and a designer, and she said to me, “I need to do some creative stuff on Saturday.” I said, “Cool, I’ll do some work,” and she said, “No, you’re gonna create something.” So she went to an art-supply store and bought me dye. She explained to me the idea of creating resistance and saturation through applying pressure to the fabric before you drop it into the dye, and then she let…

“LAST YEAR WAS REALLY BAD,” RYaN SaYS. “I COULDN’T SAY ANYTHING WITHOUT PISSING SOMEONE OFF.” 1 “GIRLS SOMETIMES JUST DO THAT” RYAN MORGAN is seventeen and happy to be a guy. To be a girl would mean he’d have to deal with a lot more drama. He’d likely have to deal with mean girls. And he could end up a mom, which he doesn’t ever want, because being a mom is hard. Probably the hardest job in the world. Also, he might not think football was as interesting. He isn’t sure what would be interesting, but if it isn’t football, then he isn’t interested. Other than that, he doesn’t think there are too many reasons it would be better to be a guy than a girl—unless you’re from the Middle…

THERE’S MORE than one way to think big—try supersizing your clothes, or just skew a little looser than usual. PEACHY TONES and graphic stripes both take sharp tailoring to new heights. MIX UP your prints. Find some statement shades. Get into ruffles. It’s about time you took more chances.…