LIFE AT HOME HIS STYLE CALGARY HERALD Sunday, February 16, 2003 F5 GREG MORAGO Los Angeles Times Newsservice HE SAYS HAIRY Heartthrobs: Women want to run their fingers through men's shag-carpet-style chests again "If you follow that genre of ads, it's been nothing but shaved guys for years," said David Banta, creative director for Mintz Hoke an advertising and public relations firm in Avon, Conn. "I think Abercrombie has kind of gone over the top a little bit. There's a bit of a backlash now." That backlash appears to be manifesting itself in recent hairy-and-proud-of-it moments. The cover of Tim McGraw's new album, Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors, shows the country star's hairy chest James Gandolfini has emerged as an atypical sex I think Abercrombie has ki nd of gone over the top a little bit. There's a bit of backlash now.
David Banta, Creative Director for Mintz Inc. about excessively hairy chests showing up in clothing ads. TV I 'L tJ 01 of the oft-told tales from the Tinseltown press ma chine is that underwear sales dropped 75 per cent when Clark Gable took off his shirt in It Happened One Night to reveal his T-shirt-less torso. Urban legend? Perhaps. Still, the film moment was a sensatioa Thirty years ago, another Hollywood hunk doffed his undies and caused an even bigger sensatioa But Burt Reynolds' nude centrefold in Cosmopolitan was a delicious scandal for an entirely different reason.
Not because he was nearly naked but because he was wholly hairy. Think back on that centrefold, and you'll remember one thing: The guy was thick-pile carpeted from head to foot. In the intervening years, though, the image of the hairy-chested man suffered. Instead of celebrating his God-given pelt, modern man has been busy trying to eradicate it. Blame the fitness culture, muscle-conscious advertising, youth-driven consumerism or women's preoccupation with Chippendales-like torsos, but a good number of men think the ideal chest looks less like a Marine drill sergeant's and more like a newborn Peep's.
That may be changing, however. Several recent advertisem*nts have shocked eyes used to seeing shaved and waxed hunks in fashion magazines. Yves Saint Laurent's fallwinter campaign for its M7 cologne features a hairy-pecs lad languishing about The more recent ads for Lacoste men's cologne also show a furry fella enjoying a cup of coffee without a stitch. Another recent ad for Chrysler Town Country shows the torso of a hairy dad (who, presumably, is as concerned about comfort and luxury as he is unconcerned about sporting an unplucked chest). Will these ads turn the tide back to the days when a "natural" chest was "normal?" Probably not: According to statistics, about 30 per cent of U.S.
men between ages 18 and 34 shave all or part of their chests. The ads, however, might indicate a subtle cultural reaction to the many years of depicting men as smooth, downy-chested boys lacking any discernible levels of testosterone (think the youth-oriented Calvin Klein and Abercrombie Fitch ads of hairless slackers and frat boys). Unfair faceoff Shania and Avril in a Juno duel I'm going with the sentimental favourite, even though her annoying Gonna Getcha video makes her look more like she took the off-ramp into that cheesy sci-fi flick Tron, than country queen. Stay true to your roots. Calgary Herald Archive Left: Pierce Brosnan makes no effort to hid his hairy masculinity from Rene Russo in the Thomas Crown Affair.
TODD KIMBERLEY Calgary Herald Three layers of towels in the half bath. I had assumed the previous arrangement dual sky-blue numbers, with a pair of smaller sand-coloured relatives on top had quenched my wife's thirst for hand-towel decor. Silly me. "It's a different texture," explained Ruth, primping the two new snow-white additions. "A third layer of texture." Well, with 13 hectares worth of terry cloth in that tiny bathroom, we're surely covered should a guest fall in the toilet or go for a soak in the pedestal sink.
Such is life, I suppose, when two sets of tastes and eccentricities merge in one household. From my vantage point, things have gone surprisingly well since we applied cardboard and packing tape to the detritus of two lives, piled it in a moving van and threw it together in our Douglas Glen home last month. For a strong-willed woman, Ruth has been surprisingly accommodating to my preferences. And, in turn, I've managed the usual male response to home decorating debates nodding, avoiding eye contact backing out of the room as quickly as possible. We're both book nerds, so she liked the pseudo-library I brought with me.
(I like it because the bloody things are going to stay in one place for a while.) I like the fact she has a coveted Brunswick one-piece slate pool table in Vancouver, even though it'll cost up to $1,000 to ship out here and gobble up too much space. Still, there has been the odd conflict. For example: The couches: Yes, I admit mine is no prize ugly, according to some people but at least it's not impossibly heavy, liberally stained and spilling out all over the place like a recently retired athlete. The compromise? That battle-scarred unit (belonging to Ruth) went to charity, mine stayed (temporarily, I'm sure) and a new Ultrasuede set arrived from The Bay with a $3,000 price tag. Somehow, I'm not sure I won that argument The entertainment unit: The TV and VCR look just fine perched on a rough cedar chest Not so, says she, who is determined to find the perfect entertainment unit.
I suspect, after a recent weekend excursion, that it's going to be found at a certain tres-chic importer in Inglewood. Price is no object, of course. The closets: A hopeless clothes horse, I managed to jettison two-thirds of the clothes I owned and gave up large chunks of the ensuite closet in an ongoing appeasem*nt policy. Still, Ruth is distraught over the lack of room for a shoe rack (she had three in the last place) and pines for her shoes, which are now entombed in the unfinished basem*nt The junk drawer: A foreign concept to me, since I like to know where things are. Let it slip from your fingertips into the swirling anti-matter cavity known as the junk drawer, and it's good as gone.
We are very happy in our new place. We get lots of sunlight in the kitchen, we back on to a large park and we haven't seen all the household bills yet Now, if I just knew which towel to KlMBERLEY IS A HERALD SPORTS WRITER; TO READ WHAT HIS WIFE HAS TO SAY, check out "She Says" on page F4. KIMBERLEYTTHEHERALD.SOUTHAM.CA 2 WashRinse speeds 3 temperature selections Dependable direct-drive system symbol for playing a hairy-chested mobster on The Sopranos. Josh Lucas proved to be a hairy heartthrob in last year's hit Sweet Home Alabama. In a recent People issue dedicated to the "sexiest men," celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito (named sexiest chef) was photographed with his chefs whites unbuttoned to reveal a hairy chest.
And, in April, the revival of the Tony-winning musical "Nine" opens on Broadway with Antonio Banderas, who probably will reveal bis hairy torso. Bear-like Stanley Tucci recently completed a stint on Broadway in FranMe and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, in which he wasn't just naked but gloriously furry. Why the sudden interest in the shag-carpeted man? Designer Tom Ford said he deliberately chose the hairy model in the M7 ads because he wanted a man who hadn't tweezered and shaved every hair on his chest. "Our male standard of beauty right now is very contrived," Ford said. "I wanted to show a man who represents a very natural, relaxed, easy image of male beauty." Whether the average Joe retires his Epilady, however, remains to be seen.
Women we adore Arsinee Khanjian, whose Genie as best actress for her role in husband Atom Egoyan's Ararat is just the latest in a long list of stunning performances. She exudes power, passion and sexuality, all in a very ethnic package. So un-Hollywood. So cooL Doug Firby, Calgary Herald Calgary Herald Archive Austin Powers (Mike Meyers) 1 proves that hairy chests are irresistible. GUY TALK What's the 4-1-1? Big week in sports.
Brett Hull finds the right end of his hockey stick and notches number 700. The Leafs, who like to think of themselves as "Canada's Team," fall into the hands of Bell Globemedia (Can they now dial 4-1-1 and find the other team's Meanwhile, Team Canada finally reads the rule book and figures out how to win at cricket. They're calling it the miracle on grass, no irony intended. Motorsport landmark The Vette turns 50, and sets a new minimum age for anyone who would consider owning one of those icons of American power. Bring me my 35oZ, please.
And, speaking of sports equipment, no doubt you've already invested the four-figure sums required to get out-S fitted in the Great Leap Forward in tskis. The new melded bindings, which bring ski and attachment into blissful oneness, are reported to enable their users to perfect those carves. Yeah, but what does it do for your basic snowplow? Disease of the Week It's often been said that guys are preoccupied with a certain feature of their anatomy, especially as it per-i tains to size. Did you ever wonder Iwhy? lip to the ads at the back of any men's magazine, and you'll find a lot of pitches that seem to have more to do with making you feel insecure than they do with solving your problems. Consider just one recent example: this month's Men's Jour-.
naL "Erectile frustration?" implores one such ad. Well, BetterMan will 0 5 wS7 i-ii i nnri.ii.! It. i get you back in the uh, never mind. One CEO testifies, "After three bottles I began to get erections in the middle of the day or while driving." Oh great, that's handy. Best as I can recall, I hated being 14.
Meanwhile, the makers of AndroEnlarge print in painful detail, "What your lover would never tell you to your face!" (Size does matter, if you must know.) For variety, there are also pitches about other areas of insecurity, such as hair loss, too. Oh, and how's your breath and body odour? This all may send you running off to the doctor, for some reliable advice. And things don't get much better. There, in the office, is a pamphlet that asks, "Should your man be tested for testosterone?" Here are the warning signs: tiredness, loss of muscle size, muscle aches, increased waistline, daytime tiredness and low sex drive. And, here I thought it was the coffee, beer and peanuts.
Pathetic moment of the week Candice Coleman, the American Idol contestant who looks all the world like she just got out of diapers, attempts a tribute to Boomer icon Janis Joplin, and proves that the '60s was more than one long drug trip. Her sincere, but shallow, rendition of Take I I Sv Large! H. Heaw Dutv Washer M' 1 mmm mm i A Canadian brand for ff I niialihi umi ran tnitt McKnight Blvd. IT Another Little Piece of My Heart sent me madly scrambling through my garage in search of the dusty vinyl originaL Was it the hisses and pops that made Pearl so great? Candice, Candice. Will ya at least stop smilin' when you sing that song? I 4 MAvanmHE Nf 23231 ls lethAnNE I tJ Television Appliances Ltd.
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