At the moment I have a great young man, 23, at my breakfast table: after his BA-exams the brother of our lovely daughter-in-love does a paid internship for 3 months at a highly prestigious corporate consulting firm. I say "breakfast table", because that is (mainly) the time when I see him. His working hours make me shudder - he seldom returns home before two or three o'clock in the morning - from work!!! Sometimes, as a professional career adviser - I discuss with him a thing that's called "A Life".
We have a lot of fun.
Yesterday I showed him the up-coming fashion (always important for a rapid rise!)
"How do you like this?", I asked.
He didn't.
I mused about male models - these days they are as annorexic as their female counterparts (when I worked as a model, we were very slim, too - but healthy. At least the students among us).
This young man - and I did not change the angle of photography - makes me a bit jittery:
I am sorry to say that I would change the side of the street if I met him at midnight in a not well-lit street of Berlin-Neukölln.
But then : without any fashion he looks quite nice. Almost vulnarable.
So: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As always.
PS: All photos are taken from the fashion-catalogue of the KaDeWe, Berlin
He is a little alarming looking - but then any model on the pages of Vogue is a little alarming. As for the tattoos....I know they are fashionable, but I see too many bad ones in my work to find them anything but grotesque. I want to say to young men considering 'full sleeve' tattoos "Have a look at the arms of a 70 year old ex-soldier. What was once an eagle or an anchor is now a sagging smear of colour. Think again!"
ReplyDeleteYes Pondside - I saw women in Vogue who did not convince me to buy what they offered (faces made-up in Gothic fashion). Tattoos you see here everywhere, too - started maybe with Mr. Beckham - but then: not everyone looks like Mr. Beckham :-) Before that we had in Germany the fashion of - sorry - "arse antlers" - as a Lady I might say: lower back tatoo? Nowadays you don't see them anymore - what have they done to get rid of them - such a big portion of flesh had to be "cleaned"!
DeleteBeauty definitely is in the eye of the beholder.I do hope the appreciation of life catches up with your young man and he stops to enjoy himself.
ReplyDeleteAs I found out - over time - most things tend to regulate themselves - by time. And then you find out that you can use only one car at a time, live in one house at a time, etc. Of course success and competition are big aphrodisiacs, and I am not quite free from them myself - but one has to know which price one pays.
DeleteI like it, "daughter-in-love" lovely! - how sweet and much, much better than sister outlaw as my brother-in-law calls me.
ReplyDeleteAll the best for the young man's future.
How can shorts look sexy on a man, and worse still when these are worn with a jacket?! Today's models are a little on the anorexic. Anyway, I do not like tattoos but the "rock look" is never out of style which reminds me a lot of Mick Jagger, an icon of fashion, who was very skinny but...oh my, was he sexy! Jerry Hall, his ex wife and top model once said "nobody looks better in jeans than Mick"...(no shorts mentioned)
Greetings Maria x
The wonderful term "daughter- in-love" I have nicked - with her full consent, I asked for that - from Susan who writes the "Southern Fascinations" - blog (you find it on my blog-roll). Normally I add her authorship - because I think it very ingenious.
Delete"Sister outlaw" is very funny, too :-)
If a man has to wear shorts, he should have strong limbs - though even then I want to see them only at the seaside.
Sono d'accordo with your description of Mick Jagger - and though most people will wince: I even find him sexy now. If Jerry Hall thinks that of Mr. Murdoch too? But then: "Love conquers all" :-) Greetings Britta x
As you know, sister and brother in law is "cognatato/a" (male/female) in Italian. I once told my cognato that in English it is sister-in-law and he mixed the term up and ever since has called me sister outlaw with an horrendous accent:-)
DeleteI thought that it was meant lovingly and to tease you (and that you dare only with people you love). And I myself would always prefer "outlaw" (as in outlaw horse - meaning: not tamed) to "in-law" - it sounds much more like Mick Jagger than soft Paul McCartney... a bit of a rebel is "seducente per me" .
DeleteThe picture I like best is the young man in the sweatshirt. I do not like to see men who are too skinny nor do I like them over-muscled. Oh well. Perhaps I am ust old.
ReplyDeleteIt is the same young man as in the other photos, Emma - but gracefully hidden :-)
DeleteI like men of all sorts, if they have wit and heart and style of their own; but those hopefully won't spend their money on that jackett-shorts-combination...
I must be getting old. I'd forgotten all about you calling your son's wife daughter-in-love. That is sooooooo perfect. I liked it the first time I read it here, and I still do. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI never have been, and probably never will be, particularly stylish, but the short pants and suit jacket look leaves me cold. Don't much care for the anorexic look, either, especially on a man. He doesn't have to be muscle-bound, but I do like to see some meat on those bones. :)
As I wrote to Maria: I nicked it from Susan's "Southern Fascinations"-blog.
DeleteThe beautiful thing is: it is true, and I am also glad that I am a mother-in-love - (not taken for granted with mothers who adore their only son - or should I write "sun"? - so much).
Haha - considering your expression "look leaves me cold" I thought: him too - at least in wintery Berlin. Or imagine the cold gaze in the eyes of his boss, if he comes dressed up like that to an important client. (Maybe he could get away with it in fashion business or advertisement - but there all you need is a pair of scissors to cut a few holes into your jeans to be fully hip and up to date).
Oh, I just saw that I have a new folloer: Welcome, Olde Dame Penniwig! (Such a cute name).
ReplyDeleteThe kid looks thin and fit to me, much like most American boys looked 50 years ago. If he can maintain that physique he'll avoid heart trouble, diabetes, foot problems and be able to outrun bullies --which he will need to do if he wears that suit with shorts. I think he looks fine.
ReplyDeleteAs always to the point, Geo: he is just slim, which is fine - while I saw a lot of young models being paper-thin. Nowadays fashion puts young men in 'the normal world' under 'appearance-stress' too (big cosmetic branch flourishes on that too) - I have not only a few male anorexics in my consultations.
DeleteThis kid above will just drive away with his fine sportscar, which he can afford with the money he earns by modelling. (IF he is old enough to get a driver's licence - some female models are only 14 years old - in grown-up clothes). Though I estimate he might be 17.
The suit ...knee socks added... reminds me of what I imagine little British gentlemen wear at their prestigious boarding schools. Perhaps I have read too many novels or am still immersed in the Downton Abbey craze... Master George would be the perfect model for the suit...but of course knee socks would be required! Was Downton Abbey shown in Germany? Quite the following here in America. The tattoos are just too much for this old gal! I do like the new men's hair style...very close cut around the edges and longer on top... I do have a bit of rebel left in me! Enjoy your young man visitor... Help him get the whole work-life in proper perspective. You are too kind to credit my "love" rather than law for our precious daughter through marriage. I love the comment from Maria... Sister outlaw...special loving family humor! Sending lots of good wishes for a pleasant week...Susan
ReplyDeleteAs a surprise I invited my friend Anne, who had finished her PhD, to a surprise-journey. I had booked a few days in the "inn" belonging to Highclere Castle (the castle they use for the series Downton Abbey).
ReplyDeleteDownton Abbey is her favourite TV series, and we spent the most lovely (sun!) days there. Unforgettable!
I remember you writing about this! Was such a lovely way to celebrate your friend's accomplishment!
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