I Helped Support Ralph Lauren's Pink Pony Campaign To Fight Breast Cancer

Last year, I helped fight breast cancer by walking over 39 miles in the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer. This year... I put on a shirt. Ralph Lauren's Pink Pony Polo. I was one of 100 bloggers asked to photograph ourselves in a Ralph Lauren Pink Pony Polo as part of the Ralph Lauren 100 Bloggers Unite Against Cancer Campaign.

Ralph Lauren's efforts in the fight against breast cancer has spanned more than 20 years. But this year is the 10th anniversary of Ralph Lauren's Pink Pony Fund For Cancer Care And Prevention, which is dedicated to helping the medically underserved receive quality cancer care and preventative care.

You can support the Pink Pony Fund by purchasing some lovely, luxe, limited-edition stuff. 100% of the proceeds of the luxury items  -- a startlingly chic hot pink Alligator Ricky 33 bag and a corresponding alligator cuff with Cooper Lock -- go to the Pink Pony Fund. You can also participate in the Pink Pony public auction from October 1st to October 21st at CharityBuzz.com. 100% of proceeds from the auction benefit the Pink Pony Fund. Sadly, Nacho Figueras is not included in the limited-edition luxury products nor the auction. But during the month of October, you can text "PINKPONY" to 501501 to automatically donate $10.

Finally, you can shop the Pink Pony collection -- a portion of all sales of Pink Pony products supports the Pink Pony Fund for Cancer Care and Prevention.

+ Check out Ralph Lauren's 100 Bloggers Unite Against Cancer Campaign at AOL Stylist.

Man Fashion: Shoes of the Day

Show off your casual good looks with the Fabrizio Fashion sneaker from Ralph Lauren. Its beautiful suede upper is the perfect way to dress up a casual shoe, but the lace-up front and striped outsole adds a sporty feel.

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Technorati Tags: Man Fashion, Men Designer Shoes, Ralph Lauren Men's Fashion Sneaker

Already, I Am Sick of Gladiator Sandals...

And it's barely even Spring!!! Seriously, unless you're actively involved in battling bears or guys who look like Russell Crowe, you do NOT need to encase you foot in a leather cage. Please. DON'T!

Some particularly egregious offenders:

($98, Jeffrey Campbell, Urban Outfitters)

If you're concerned that your cankle areas (for lack of a better term) are going to be chilly, MAYBE IT'S TOO COLD OUT FOR SANDALS! But you really truly do not get to do both.

($28, Urban Outfitters)

Dudes, fringe is not for shoes. Fringe is for jackets... no wait a second. Fringe is NOT FOR ANYONE outside of Branson (and I'm sure several of Branson's fine citizens don't even wear it). Don't ever wear fringe EVER. (One exception: you are Dolly Parton and/or 1967 Dennis Hopper.)

($57, Naughty Monkey, Karmaloop.com)
Seriously? What the shit??

($79, Nine West)

We get it. The American economy is in the shitter, so we're supposed to buy bright things to make us forget. I love bright things, but that's no reason to let the sandal equivalent of Bill Cosby's Coogi sweater creep up your foot.

($125, Urban Outfitters)

As if someone sent a perfectly okay jazz shoe through a paper shredder.

You get the point. So now, some lovely warm-weather footwear alternatives to the scourge of gladiators:

($48, Urban Oufitters)

Not my all-time favorites, but definitely not bad at all. At least there's no covered heel or ankle nonsense.

($105, Dolce Vita, Piperlime.com)

Perfectly reasonable, sweetly (note: not barfily) trendy metallic peep-toe that says "I'm a grown-up, and I'm perfectly mature about keeping MOST of my foot consistently -- not schizophrenically covered."

($105, Sam Edelman, Bloomingdale's)

Love both of these. (Very similar, cheaper ones here, BTW.) Wedge-y but not towering, which is more than I can say for these:

($29.50, Alloy.com)

Holy hell. Anyway, back to better spring shoes:

($175, Cole Haan, Bloomingdale's)

Rarely do I see white shoes I'd actually wear, but these are great (both versions!) all-purpose sping/ summer heeled sandals that completely do not suck or offend.

($365, Chie Mahara, Sodafine.com)

Sweet, sweet design. Sweet, sweet desire. It's like the Golden Gate Bridge found a happy home on your foot (minus the congestion and the jumpers.)

($375, Ralph Lauren, Bloomingdale's)

The price is a bit ridick for a bit of rope, and sure, they're a bit campy, but they're still fun in a WASPy sort of way. (And Ha'shem KNOWS I'm WASPY!) Though I'm not sure why you wouldn't just opt for Kinos -- Key West classics -- instead:

($11, KinoSandalFactory.com)

($11, KinoSandalFactory.com)


($41, Steve Madden)

It's not much, but it's right to the point and WORLDS better than the much-aligned flip-flop. HELP US HELP YOU!

Also, Steve Madden promo code:
$10 off: SML963BF1E (Not sure if this is a one-hitter or what.)

Finally, if sandals aren't your thing (and I get that), I like these ridiculous (and ridiculously priced!) Nikes:

($79, Nike, Alloy)

Do I offend???

Man Fashion: Ralph Lauren's 40th Anniversary Special

If you are not aware that Ralph Lauren's 40th anniversary theme, don't worry. GQ and Ralph Lauren have worked together to produce this special video.



This is an excellent piece of work, very beautiful background, cinematography, couple with perfect lighting and cool choice of music. This is really true Classic Ralph Lauren.

Beside, together with this memorable day, Ralph Lauren also released a special 40th Anniversary Book(cost about US$135.00), which is an essential addition to the library of those with a keen appreciation for the world of Ralph Lauren, this eponymous book marks the 40th anniversary of Lauren's commitment and dedication to the fashion world. This breathtaking volume, which is divided into four sections, shares an intimate view of Lauren's professional evolution, design philosophy and process and personal passions with more than 700 illustrations and photographs.

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Tags: Man Fashion, Ralph Lauren, Men Classic Fashion, RL Classic Special, Men Fashion Show

Man Fashion: Polo Collector's Trunk

If you are the fan of polo shirt, now you can have 40 different selection of colors across the color spectrum with Ralph Lauren's Polo Collector Trunk, which give over one month fill of outfits. The Polo Collector Trunk is a special edition leather and lucite trunk that contains 40 Polo shirts to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Polo brand.

Source: Polo Collector's Trunk

Tags: Man Fashion, Polo Collector's Trunk, Ralph Lauren, 40th Anniversary

Fall Trends: What To Wear With Booties & The Like

Okay. The other day, FashionBinge reader JP remarked:

"Those shoes... with what would you wear those? Skirt? Dress? Pants? Jeans? Please enlighten the unfashionable."

The shoes to which she was referring are these Salvador Sapenas from Asos.com:

Now, first, JP, there's no possible WAY you could be unfashionable because YOU READ FASHIONBINGE! But, I understand that naked feeling that comes with loving a shoe but having NO idea what to wear with it and just ruing your fucking abs for not being tight enough to allow you to wear JUST the shoes alone.

So... my take on what to wear with booties (and bootie-alikes, because the aforeblogged aren't technically booties, but whatever...)

1.) Skinny jeans or slim, fitted cigarette-style pants.

2.) A black skirt between mini- and pencil-length with thick black tights: NOT pantyhose, please, God, no. Not pantyhose. Unless you are well over 5'9". Nothing makes one look shorter than "stumpifying" oneself by wearing a dark mini, exposing lotsa flesh via pantyhose and then sealing the deal with some ankle-swallowing booties. GAH!

3.) Slightly baggy pants, i.e: menswear trousers that we're seeing a lotta. PLEASE don't mistake wide-legged pants (which so often suck) for BAGGY menswear trousers.


For instance...

OBNOXIOUSLY WIDE-LEGGED:

Lovely on Katie, maybe not on you...

UNDERSTANDABLY WIDE-LEGGED:

($285, Diane von Furstenberg, Nordstrom)

There's some flare here, but you're not swimming. I definitely wouldn't go any wider than these with a bootie.

($59, Gap)

As boring as the Gap can be, this is what I'm talking about. Roomy, but not so wide that you can sneak someone into the movies with you.

($325, Diane von Furstenberg, Nordstrom)

Now, DVF's "Gavin" pants are theoretically great, but are they bootie-friendly? No. See, I threw that in there just to see if you were paying attention...

($178, Diane von Furstenberg, Dianiboutique.com)

JUST the right amount of slouch! LOVE these! And the cummerbund is perfect for the tucking in of a button-down, or hiding a Bordeaux belly.

($135, J.Crew)

First of all, NOOOOOOO to the navy shade shown here (the black isn't bad though) and DOUBLE no to the cuff. I'm just posting these to point out that the overall shape is nice. The fact that these are available in red makes me wanna stick my head under my pillow and cry all season.


Okay... next... skirts....

($555, Herve Leger, Intermix)

Granted, this skirt is gorgeous, the only way Herve Leger should justify charging this much is if he held the patent on pencil skirt, which I'm fairly certain he does not. Regardless, this is a beautiful staple for every season, especially Menswear Mania of Fall 2007, and it ain't hard to find a lookalike for a tenth of the price. Anyway, the bootie is parFAIT with such a skirt, y'all, though you can't deny the hawtness of a stiletto or a solid-colored pump with a 2"+ heel, dig?

($264, Robert Rodriguez, eLuxury)

Just a few inches higher, and this skirt would be practically perfs.

($78, Gap)

Dudes, high-waisted black skirt + BLACK tights, and your legs are SOOOOOOO long it's practically wrong!

($15, American Apparel, Yque.com)

Okay, the fact that this is described as cotton and "spandex" and "skorts" IS slightly scary, but the cut's the thing here -- yes, this piece is super short, but you automatically de-sluttify when you pair your booties with covered-up black tights. It sorta says "Yes, I can be slutty... but not right now. No... never that. Not now at least. But I'll call you."



SKINNIES!
You can never been too skinny, right? Hellloooo... we're called Fashion BINGE, so we oughta know... seriously though... I'm curvy and have found I can pull off skinny jeans -- all about the comfy low-rise... And with a tunic, you can totes hide your unfavorite "prob areas," even though they're probably not really much of a problem at all. Anyway, let's look at some top skinny pants to wear with booties, kay? The rule of thumb is... the darker and longer the better...

($325, Ralph Lauren Black Label)

Love the scrunch and the monochromage here. Makes the booty super sexy and the star of the show, y'all. Don't love the price, but you KNOWS I found the good shit for you...

($59, DKNY, Macys)

Deliciously dark!



($69, Dereon, Macys)

Tina Knowles has given us PLENTY of reasons to NOT take her seriously as a designer, but these skinny jeans are fantastic. The contrast stitching on the seams: very smart.

($29, Forever 21)

I can't even get into how awkward these feet and sandals are making me feel, but I do love these jeans.

($36, Wet Seal)

I'd have to see this so-called "coating" in person, but from here, these look nice, especially for that price.


Finally...

($387, Luella, Net-a-porter.com)

I think much more than a body, you gotta have balls to wear leather pants. No... wait... yeah... mainly, you just have to have huge balls to wear leather pants. While I usually have a strong pair, I don't know if leather pants-wearing is in my wheelhouse, but if I had to wear a pair, I'd make 'em these. And see??? GREY BOOTIES!

Byeskies!