A Felony Just to Own': The Sleazy Story Behind Penthouse's Most Controversial Issue |
Because my mind is in the past (the mid-eighties) and in the gutter (the porn biz) for reasons that will become clear, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the September 1984 issue of Penthouse. How to convey the magnitude of the frenzy? Maybe this does it. Peter Bloch, Penthouse's then-executive editor: "It was the best-selling issue of Penthouse of all time. Hands down. A complete sellout in, like, two days. You couldn't get a copy. So there were guys paying—and this is something I saw with my own eyes—a dollar for a peek. A peek!" Or this. Richard Bleiweiss, Penthouse's then-art director: "The thing about this issue is, it became the biggest news story in the world. Somebody in the press got an advance copy, and released it to the New York Post or the Daily News, one of those, the same exact day that Walter Mondale announced he was picking Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. The front page of that paper was our story. The most important news in the history of our country, having a woman vice presidential nominee, was overshadowed by the fact that we had…well, that we had what we had." |
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| 2023 Is the Year of the Baggy Suit |
There is a certain connotation, in my mind, to the term menswear. I think immediately of suits, and when I think of suits, I think of a certain kind of tailoring. Namely, a fitted jacket and slim trousers that just barely graze the tops of your shoes (leather, of course). It's about looking not just polished but sharp, and it's been the default mode for most men for nearly two decades. Which, naturally, means we're right on time for a rethinking of what the suit means—and how it should fit. In 2023, if the suits we've seen so far are any indication, it's all about bagginess. It's about relaxed silhouettes, oversized blazers, wide-legged trousers, and a general air of, "Oh, this old suit? It's just something I threw on." It's about being oversized and underworked—not in the Big Suit-era David Byrne way, necessarily, but in a gentler, softer, more androgynous way. One that recalls American Gigolo-era Armani and the '80s and '90s heyday of slouchy tailoring but tweaks it. One in which streetwear and high fashion intersect, and the lines between the elevated and the everyday are blurred. |
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Måneskin Doesn't Care If This Has Been Done Before |
Whatever the audience for a typical rock show looks like these days, this sure isn't it. There are pre-teens here for their first concert, middle-aged dudes in desperate search of loud guitars, sparkly queer couples, and lots of…Italians? It's early December and Manhattan's 3500-capacity Hammerstein Ballroom is stuffed to the walls for the second of two sold-out performances by the Rome-based sensation Måneskin. And any lingering suspicions about the band—who came to international prominence through the unlikely route of winning the 2021 Eurovision contest—are shot down by a sweaty, joyous crowd literally jumping for joy and screaming along to every word. "We didn't expect this kind of feedback," says singer Damiano David a few weeks later. "We saw so many people singing back, even the Italian songs and the less-known songs." |
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A Dior Helmet Saved My Skull (and Maybe My Life) in Antarctica |
"Hectic" is a word heard often in conversation in South Africa, a sort of reflexive slang response to describe something as amazing, extreme, or crazy. I heard it a lot during a short trip to Cape Town this past December, not only in preparation for a trip to Antarctica (more on this very shortly), but also in the daily sounds of the city. "This route up Table Mountain can be a little bit hectic," said a guide from the One&Only Hotel, where I stayed, while taking me up the area's most famous geographical feature (Table Mountain is kind of like Cape Town's version of Los Angeles' Runyon Canyon). "That table is getting a little hectic," said a friendly maître d' at the hotel's offshoot of Nobu, referring to a group of men drinking what looked to be three cocktails per person in tandem. "It was hectic," said a publicist, describing an effort made by another local hotel to develop its own rose variant to be planted on its grounds. This being said, hectic is also a good word to describe the decision to bring cold weather essentials from some of our favorite fashion labels all the way to Antarctica in an effort to test them against the hyper-harsh conditions of the Seventh Continent. How would a Loro Piana cashmere bomber hold up in the barreling wind? What about Moose Knuckles' famed "Canada cold" outerwear? What about Alessandro Michele's iconic fur-lined slipper loafers for Gucci, arguably his greatest hit—and certainly a core legacy piece—at the house he'll soon be exiting? It turns out: Far better than expected. |
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Behold the Full, Completely Real Resumé of George Santos |
George Santos is a true American archetype: the snake-oil salesman. It's a story as old as this country, though the truth pretty much ends there. I'm just waiting for this guy to announce he's a four-time champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. For his part, the freshman congressman from New York has admitted to "embellishing" some things, though he's also said he's "done nothing unethical," and where-oh-where did he get the idea that completely shameless behavior could be an asset in our politics today? The mystery abounds, just as further mysteries do with regard to the specifics of who George Santos is and where he came from. His colleagues in the House Republican caucus don't seem too fussed about it, to be fair. When it was put to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy that Santos has made some claims that have come into question, he responded that "so did a lot of people here in the Senate and others." Newly-formed House GOP star Byron Donalds seemed to spell out the what-about when he floated the name of Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who did indeed "misspeak" when he said he "served in Vietnam." He seems to have always gone by the name "Richard Blumenthal," though, which as we will see is an important distinction. A lot of the fuss here seems to be about what committees Santos will sit on, but I hope he sits on them all. He can use a different name for each one. Speaking of which, here's our best approximation of his completely real resumé so far. Which li(n)e is the saddest? That's for you to decide... |
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The Case for Situation-Specific Deodorant |
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and the subject of deodorant came up (as it does). She told me she'd just tried a new one that she'd liked, so she put it in permanent rotation in her deodorant wardrobe. "Wait, what do you mean deodorant wardrobe?" I asked. The idea is simple: She has multiple deodorants that she uses based on what she's doing or how she wants to feel. The catchy name surprised me, but the idea didn't. I realized I've been doing the same thing for years. For me, it started with the natural deodorant explosion a few years ago. I'm a fan of natural deodorants. I like the idea that I'm not slathering my pits in harmful chemicals ("harmful" being a subjective word here) and I do find that natural deodorants tend to smell better. But let's get real: I'm a sweaty guy and sometimes I need a little extra sweat protection that a natural deodorant just can't provide. So, I started switching up my deos depending on what my body needed. You probably switch up your cologne depending on where you're going, what you're doing, and who you're going to see, right? The idea of a deodorant wardrobe is the same—except with the added element of functionality. |
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