Loosen up, please!

I’m still disturbed by the prevalence of skintight jeans on guys in New York. It inevitably makes them look pigeon-toed.

I’m willing to cede the unnaturally high hems on dress pants if we all just loosen up our denim a bit. Deal?

(And no, I’m not just saying that because my Trainer-created calves are testing the limits of some of my slimmer-fit pants.)

Bystepping the birthday

“The ratio of people to cake is too big!”

I am not the biggest of birthday fans.

Not that I have anything against the event itself; I’m not bemoaning the idea of adding one more year to the roster. And I’m certainly not against gifts.

I think it comes down to the celebrations.

You smell — like FLAMING ROCK!

Yesterday I set foot in Scottsdale Fashion Square for the first time in about a year and a half. I had free-product certificates to be redeemed at Aveda (fragrance spray) and Sephora (shave cream), and I’ve been on the hunt for workout shorts that aren’t basketball-length and baggy, so I thought the Euro-cuts of H&M might proffer an option or two.

Welcome to Barneys in Scottsdale.

We parked under Barneys, and when the elevator doors opened, I was amazed by how desolate the store was. Remember the eerie-looking pre-Hurricane Sandy photos of evacuated places like Grand Central Station, suddenly stripped of the bustle and humanity you’d expect to see? Barney’s was the retail equivalent of that, nearly devoid of both customers and sales associates to assist them. (If I had to estimate the number of employees in the cosmetics/fragrances department of Macy’s in the same mall, I’d conservatively guess 20–25. At Barney’s, I remember seeing three.)

DDouble entendre?

This weekend the people who are turning the former D’licious Dishes store into something called French Grocery finally painted over the curb stops. Which means I’m too late to ever grab a photo of their previous incarnations, which had been stenciled with “I ♥ DD’S.” My inner 13-year-old snickered every time.

WHAT SAM WORE: 6-3-13
The shirt: Cotton polo shirt by Superdry, from Last Chance.
The shorts: Slim straight jeans, from Uniqlo, New York.
The shoes: Monk-strap loafers, from Charles Tyrwhitt, New York.

Necessity breeds ingenuity: Introducing the Marietta Mule.

Peach vodka, ginger beer and a squeeze of lime juice.
In honor of Georgia being the Peach State, I have dubbed
this drink the “Marietta Mule” (instead of Moscow Mule).

Today while I was putting away groceries, I decided to clean out the refrigerator, starting with a leftover bottle of ginger beer. (Ginger beer, like root beer, is nonalcoholic; it’s like a more potent-flavored version of ginger ale.) “What would be good with this?” I thought, and began reminiscing about the Moscow Mules we had at Wang’s in Palm Springs. So tasty … and served in copper mugs for multisensory enjoyment. Could I re-create?

Which will it be, JCP?

JCP sells both Happy Chic by Jonathan Adler lamps and less-than-great suits.

Today’s visit to JCP — the retailer formerly known as JCPenney — made me realize why the brand’s been having such trouble lately.

Four things to ensure your day starts off well.

1. THIS IN THE SHOWER.

Last weekend I splurged on tea tree shampoo and conditioner by Paul Mitchell, because I remembered how delightfully tingly it made my scalp in the morning.

2. THIS ON THE STEREO.

Almost any early-era Erasure would do, really, but there’s something so over-the-top about “Drama!” — the exclamation point in the title should give you a hint — that you can’t help but smile by the time the track is done.

3. THESE ON YOUR BODY.

The orange pants, specifically, although I did wear that exact shirt with them as well. (I first tried them with today’s shirt, but really didn’t feel like tucking in a shirt, wearing a belt, finding matching shoes, etc., so I switched.)

And one that was not under my control but kept the trend going nicely:

4. THis on your desk when you get to work.

My co-worker Pamela and I were iChatting iMessaging last week about how I was so overwhelmed on my last trip to Total Wine that I walked out empty-handed because I couldn’t decide what to buy: Pernod? Absinthe? Fernet-Branca? Root beer liqueur?

Yesterday I walked in to discover a not-so-wee bottle of absinthe on my desk. (Added bonus: The ribbon? Gingham.) Pamela’s husband was disappointed when he learned that the bottle wasn’t for him … but I was equally delighted to learn it was for me. Monday couldn’t have begun any better, really.

WHAT SAM WORE: 5-21-13
The shirt: Long-sleeved cotton dress shirt, from the Ralph Lauren outlet at Anthem.
The pants: Slim straight jeans, from Uniqlo in New York.
The shoes: Sneakers by Puma, from Nordstrom in Scottsdale.