Throw a fit over today’s style
Joseph Abboud has been dressing men for decades — so how did he start?
Joseph: “Born in Boston. Watching old films with Errol Flynn and Gary Cooper, I fell in love with Hollywood style. So I went to work for Ralph Lauren.
“Question is, what happened to style? Like men wearing shorts in an office? COVID slammed that door. Men worked home in their pajamas. People don’t dress to go to the theater anymore, to go to the office. New York, America’s style capital, was glamour and elegance. It disappeared. At the theater, they’re wearing T-shirts, schlepping brown paper bags. In the old days, they’d study GQ, Esquire, couldn’t wait for the September issue with all the fall fashion.
“You need a navy blazer and a gray suit because of a wedding, funeral or to meet your girlfriend’s parents once after dinner. Then, strolling afterward to see the windows at Saks, Bergdorfs or Barneys, and you’d see style and feel comfortable. Not now. New York deteriorated because of what’s going on politically in the city.”
Worse for wear
Cindy: Females are now on city streets in shortsand with their things hanging out. What is happening to us?
Joseph: “COVID was disastrous for young men understanding what’s appropriate. Listen, we knew Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren — the greatest icons in American fashion. Giants like Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld. I had the privilege of knowing these people. A man needs a suit. For a wedding. Job interview. We need to figure out what to do in New York City. Half the shops are closed. People sleeping in the hallways. You’re afraid for your safety. New York City, greatest city in the world, should be ashamed of itself.
“I’m going back into archives and picking out pieces I loved 20 years ago. I’ll style it differently. Maybe take that suit jacket and wear it with a cargo pant and cashmere turtleneck. Not buy less, but buy better. Our European counterparts do that very well, especially the European women. They know to tie a scarf or to wear a jacket they’ve had 10 years. I’d made maybe 7 million suits here in the United States and am proud of that.
“But today, when someone will have a bikini for $800, I say to myself, how can a bikini that’s made of a quarter of a yard of fabric be $800? Or a handbag be $25,000? How can that be? Point is you don’t need five or six suits. Buy one nice suit. Listen, when I launched in 1987, there were 100-plus great department stores in America — probably four or five left.”
Tell me if you had a lousy person you ever dressed. Didn’t you ever have a pain in the ass?
Joseph: “Yeah. I did the Olympics with NBC and CBS. Occasionally, some were appreciative. I want to dress the American man, but I am unthrilled with their long hair and tattoos up the behind.”
City Yves-dropping
Wait. More stuff. Saint Laurent dressed Claudia Cardinale, Catherine Deneuve and Capucine. So Metrograph downtown is doing this one now through the end of August. It’s a series of flicks and flacks, “Dressed by Yves Saint Laurent.” It’s seven movies in all. Go. Tell me about it.
Meanwhile, everybody else not in a theater is rushing to that whatsisname zillionaire who is heading for Mars every Thursday. I can understand that. They want to get on line. Neither Elon nor whatever our vice president’s name is — not everyone can make another baby every week.
Only in space, kids, only in space.
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