NEWS: What's Zo Wearing? Special Men's Edition, December 17, 2006

CULTURE: What's Zo Wearing? Special Men's Edition, December 17, 2006

Secret Photoshop Agent and resident Fashion Icon zoetica often has the staff at SGHQ asking, "What's Zo wearing?" Her unique and eccentric style is a rallying call to those who suffer from mainstream malaise. Each week, she tells us how she's combined ordinary items to create her extraordinary look. Undaunted by unusual combinations, "What's Zo Wearing" is SG's answer to middle-of-the-road makeover shows.

This week, Zo offers up a little fashion guidance especially for the guys.











Zo Says: After so many requests i decided i ought to offer a little menswear advice, thus i present our model and, coincidentally, my significant manfriend. We'll call him D. D is wearing a transformer outfit, which changes from office-wear to club/concert/street wear by shedding a mere two layers. A tight 3/4 length jacket over a thin sweater over a sleeveless button down allows for layers without unnecessary bulk. It's stylish and illustrates D's structure while keeping him warm.

I must address the trouser issue, which seems to boggle the minds of many: They. Must. Fit. It isn't in every man's best interests to wear them quite this tight, but under no circumstance do i want to see your underwear. Or lack there of. Despite popular belief, the "i just had an accident" look is not attractive - pants which threaten to fall to your ankles at any second cause alarm. Loose-fitting doesn't mean ill-fitting. Trousers with too-high waistlines are equally unsavory. Not only do they make for heinous anatomical squishing, they *will* make your rear look bad, no matter what it looks like on its own. This is truth.

Do not fear bags. You do not have to endure lumpy pockets any longer. You do not absolutely have to carry a messenger bag, either. Both D and i have this incredibly roomy attractive bag from Maxpedition. It will fit everything you ever need to carry including phone, wallet, keys, iPod, sketchbook, Nintendo DS and so on, while adding dimension to almost any outfit.

Boots - $19 - Supply Sergeant
Boot zippers - $5.49 - Barre Army / Navy
Stretch denim boot cut jeans - $60 - Lip Service
Belts - $5 each - Downtown LA fashion district
Red stripe shirt - $15 - 181 Martel mega sale (sleeves removed with scissors)
Tripp gray striped sweater - $35 - Hot Topic
Girl's gray jacket - $10 - small thrift store, Koreatown
Fingerless gloves - $5 - Wilson's
Bag - $50 - Maxpedition

All styling by yours truly.

Zoetica Ebb is a painter, SG style technician, make up artist, alt. model, photgrapher & occasional cosmonomad. Born in Moscow, Russia, she was raised by a troup of gypsy scientists from space, who coldly sold her to an American technological research facility in 1992. After a daring escape, she graduated from the LA County High School for the Arts, retreated into the rumored underground atelier where she studied with the much-revered fashion guru Madame Von Kuntzertag, followed by a brief stint at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She's traveled the world, gathering fashion expertise and is thrice certified as official Finesse Monitor to the Khan throne. For further details, visit Zoetica's member page, or her portfolio website, BioRequiem.

Bags are practical, useful and can probably look okay. But dammit! I just can't bring myself to carry one unless I have so much to take with me I have no choice. But I usually do an inspection of myself and ask myself: "What the hell do I want to be carrying all this junk for?" After that I usually find I can half the amount of stuff I want to take with me and ditch the bag.

I can say with absolute certainty that this outfit would look absolutly RIDICULOUS on me.

Same here

who cares about the clothing. that guy is hot.

I'm buzzing off the neo-victorian monocrome scarf outfit

3 Cheers for Pants that Fit! Seriously, you just can't walk past an art school these days without wanting to slap 2/3 of the students.

Definetly not for your average guy, but it does look good on him. I don't understand why other guys wear ill'fitting pants, it just gets cold after a while.

A man obviously confident and comfortable with his sexuality .. I like it .. a cool look!

He's reealll purdee

Office wear? Seriously?

I know, right?

Almost as silly as someone wearing scarf in LA.

GYP! Is it wrong to admit that I read this piece to see what you're wearing?

Well i like the bag but thats it

not my style

As someone who begged for a "Men's Edition" of WZW, I'm definitely pleased.

Admittedly, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with jeans quite that tight. Nor do I want to show off my boney girl arms , but this gives me a much better understanding of how the look works.
I was hoping to see a bit more in the accessories department, though.

That aside, love the jacket (notice it's a girl's one, too). And that is an awesome bag. At the moment I'm using a plain black Muji canvas bag with a flap and it's minimalistically wonderful, but this bag is even better; modular.

Good work!

I've got D's build, so I'm not real anxious to adopt a look that "shows off my boney girl arms" as Lexiphanic put it. But overall, this works.

Zo knows her stuff. This is turning into one of my favorite SG features. Sundays = Breakfast in bed, NY Times Feature Section, and What's Zo Wearing?

Pants that fit, yes. Stretchy girl pants on a really skinny guy, no. That's just the most obvious point to me. Leaving a lot out, I'll just say this was a good idea that went bad.

not office wear, but i dig the first one. the second one throws me off with all the belts. too many belts!

1. D is wearing men's pants here.
2. this here is a statement i can not get behind. Much like there's nothing wrong with a guy wearing a women's jacket, there's nothing wrong with him wearing girl pants. if they fit. think outside the pant-box, my angry friend. If you take issue with skinny men in tight clothing in general, i advise you to examine the true nature of these feelings.

I suppose it wouldn't fly in every office, but D and i both have the fortune of being able to dress like this at work. So yes - office wear! mwahahahrrr

As far as the scarf - it was 45 degrees here just yesterday. brrrr!

why, thank you!
skinny girl arms for teh winz!

Since I wear that exact brand/cut of pants almost exclusively, I have to get behind Zo on this one. ;P

what if you're not as skinny as the handsome fellow in the pics? I wish I were...but I'm not....
I suppose the scarf will still work for me...I love the scarf. and the bag. I have one just like it. bags rule.