A Fashion Fit: Levis Through The Ages

Since Levi Strauss & Co., began producing modern denim jeans in the 1920s (the company was founded in 1853), they've weathered countless fashion trend ups and downs. Levis blue jeans first found ubiquity as utility wear for macho cowboys, lumberjacks and railroad workers; and during WWII, became essential for a nation involved in defense.

In the 1950s, Levis gained notoriety among rebellious youth (hello, James Dean); into the 1960s, rockers and hippies gave them new life; and through the 1970s, skinheads and punks—and then San Francisco gays—considered them essential. The company also targeted its wear, uh, ware, to the black community (see ad below: "Harlem, Saturday 2:30").

But in the early 1980s, “designer jeans” from the likes of Jordache and Calvin Klein robbed the long-lived company of its hip factor… Enter Levi’s 501’s. The button-fly “shrink-to-fit” britches were launched via an ad campaign that was audacious by the day’s cultural standards—featuring testosterone-fueled hipsters displaying that which could not be said aloud: the crotch.

I certainly recall those mid-80s ads, featuring Nick Kamen in the famous "Laundrette" commercial, as well as print images that fueled my 20-something gay curiosity—not to mention my hormones. You better believe that Levis seduced me: 501’s became my standard fashion statement for the next 10 years.The ad above, which featured pool champ John Keller Meucci, hung on my bedroom wall for years. Still wholly appealing 25 years later.What do you think 501's are marketing here? Manhood, baby.Levis goes ghetto! Their ads to the black community—set in Harlem—are so overtly transparent now. Quite a giggle.Olympian Mitch Gaylord... His role in sexy dud flick "American Anthem" did more for Levis than any ad campaign they sponsored. I had a 5-foot poster of this sexy dude on my bedroom door for years. Wish I'd kept that damn thing!By the millennium, denim fashion took a decidedly downward turn stateside, as the low-hanging underwear-revealing fashion trend that started in hip-hop was adapted by pimply suburban white boys. Levis attempted in 2009 to sex up blue jeans with a new campaign featuring young hotties with britches that actually fit. And then...Calvin Klein trumped Levis again with the 2010 release of "Body," featuring a sweaty campaign with Jamie Dornan and Eva Mendes. The jeans hardly mask their intent, with a "body-defining fit for an enhanced profile.” Read: a padded crotch. I'm afraid that 25 years after investing in my 501's, there is plenty now that will come between my Calvins and me: starting with their $80 price tag.That, of course, will never stop me from looking. May tight jeans live on for as long as God grants me the gift of sight.

Subway Citation!

That poor hot guy, flanked by two ladies who really should have checked themselves before making a public appearance. Way too much skin. Mercy, no, no, no!It's no wonder hottie looked away.

Journalism's New Generation

These damn crazy kids.

Friday Frivolity

Happy hour with my pepes at gorgeous newish corner V-Bar at 1st Avenue and St. Marks. A year ago, this joint was called Tribe, with black walls, no windows... What a diff, and 2-4-1, to boot. Sweet.From left, meese, Bernadette, Christman, Neea (visiting from Finland), Donna, Michael & Christa.And just before, three doors up......I met with my darling Tinatin to discuss progress with her memoir......At former happy hour standard Lunasa on 1st Avenue.

Why Can't Psychics Spell?

That's two in one week. One more and I've spotted an official trend!

Blog Of The Day: Snig's Spot

On the surface, Mrs. Snig and I don't seems to share a lot in common: rural Georgia vs. New York City, conservative vs. liberal, Southerner vs. transplanted Yankee... This lady is proud of her guns and her Confederate flag.

But her blog's mantra—"We use the words Shugah, Y'all & Darlin' a lot. Don't be fooled by our drawl: We may talk slow, but we think fast"—and there you have it. She's clever, smart, balls to the wall, and funny as hell. What more of a bond do we need?

And get this. A year ago, she sent me a note cautioning that in a picture I had posted on The Nun where I was sitting in a restaurant paying the bill, one could actually decipher my credit card number. I thought that was awfully neighborly. Check out Snig's Spot. You'll fall in love, too.

Cali Passes Another Dufus PC Law

The California Assembly has passed a politically correct "green" law that will turn everybody into a bag lady... or dude. The 41 to 27 vote will ban plastic bags and charge customers a nickel for paper bags, starting in 2012.

Environmentalists insist plastic bags endanger marine life and term them "pollution." Cali's typical knee-jerk reaction: Let's legislate! Isn't it ironic that this is the state saddled with a $1 billion deficit? Perhaps instead of nickel and diming its residents into bankruptcy and promoting a high-and-mighty nanny state stance, the government should be thinking of ways to stimulate its economy.

Next on the assembly roster: a ban on scowling, punishable by death. Have a nice day!

R.I.P. Rue McClanahan

The fabulous Emmy-winning Rue McClanahan, known for her indelible roles in "Maude" and "The Golden Girls"—and a dear friend to the gays—has died from a stroke at 76.

Hello, Celine!

Hand Job

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The Greatest Household Product Ever Made

Forget any other household product. I haven't used Handi-Wipes in a good 25 years—until my dearest Donna witnessed me bypass them because I wasn't willing to get off a dime and pay $3 for what I regarded as a reusable paper towel. If only I'd known!

But these puppies are the shit: an ultimate duster, wiper and cleaning product. How can there not be a Wikipedia entry for this miracle? There is, however, this:

"The ever-increasing use of paper towels, paper napkins and such help destroy our forests. But the Clorox Co. of Oakland, Calif., created the non-woven absorbent Handi-Wipes. These soft, thin cloths measure 21x11 inches, a convenient size. It does not self destruct when wet or pressure wiped on tough spots. And hello! It is machine washable and reusable!"

I think that says it all. Who needs an iPad? I have Handi Wipes.

Times Square: Ever-Evolving, Always Thrilling

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn... yeah, I know. That doesn't mean for a second that I'm not still madly in love with the borough on the other side of the river. Spent time in Manhattan's Times Square last week and swooned, as ever.

Ten Years Ago: "Where's Brooklyn?"

It was 10 years ago last month that I moved into my coop in Brooklyn Heights. It seems like only a blink or two ago that I was shopping for my first New York apartment—and had never been to Brooklyn.

It was 1999, and over the course of five years, I had worked my way through three apartments—on the Upper West Side, Chelsea and Tribeca—before I was ready to commit to ownership. Did I time the market right? Oh, come on, one never times the market; simply, when you're ready to buy, that's the right time. Admittedly, after five years as a New Yorker, I had never set foot in Brooklyn at that point. It wasn't until a friend suggested BK Heights that I ventured across the river... uh, all of 10 minutes from my digs at the time.

In 2000, interest rates were ghastly (8.5%), but I got a bargain in Brooklyn Heights for my two-bedroom dump. Since, I've gutted the kitchen, the second bedroom and hallway, and the bathroom. Safe to say it's twice the value of what I paid for it, so I guess I timed it right for me.

Little did I know then just how precious this locale would become to me. It's far from a primo unit, facing a brick wall on one side—albeit just steps from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and its precious view of the Manhattan skyline, and (upcoming) Brooklyn Bridge Park. The grocery and liquor store—essential—are steps away. So it might be shady indoors, but it takes all of 60 seconds to discover paradise on the outside.

And now some history, yes? (Below, 1920. Note the beautiful iron canopy: sadly, gone.)The Harbor View Apartments, later named The Arlington, was completed in 1887. It was designed by Montrose W. Morris, who designed and built his own residence in Brooklyn and opened it to the public as his office, as a means of advertising his talent.

Among the visitors was developer Louis F. Seitz, who commissioned an apartment house on property he owned on Nostrand Avenue in the BK. He was so pleased with the Alhambra that he commissioned Morris to design two additional multiple-family residences—a growing trend amid the prominent brownstones in Brooklyn Heights. In 1885, architectural firm Parfitt Brothers built the Montague, Grosvenor and Berkeley apartment buildings on Montague Street. Two years later, Morris was commissioned to design and construct the Arlington at the end of the street.Above, looking north from the bottom of Montague Street. You can see the Arlington's cornucopia on the right, one building up.Forty years before: Montague Street in 1850.1914: At the time, a trolley ran to the end of Montague Street, where a ferry took old-moneyed passengers to Wall Street.Bustling ship trade along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront. The Arlington is on the left, middle.For its first 20 years, the building was among the tallest in the Heights, at 10 stories.American playwright Arthur Miller (1915-2005) lived on the 10th floor, paying $60 a month, with his first wife Mary Grace Slattery in the early 1940s, one of four addresses he held in the Heights. Miller would later write "Death of A Salesman"—and marry Marilyn Monroe, who insisted on living in Manhattan.The Arlington originally contained 20 family apartments and 10 "bachelor"—or studio—units.In 1966, along with many of the buildings in Brooklyn Heights, 62 Montague was named a historic landmark in the city of New York. I just call it home.

Jason Behr for Escape

Wonderfully busy day with the Census, et al. Much to report, but for today, I simply offer some eye candy: Jason Behr for Calvin Klein's Escape. That should provide enough fragrance for a super Tuesday.