The Choosy Beggar

Through the end of the month, Alexander West is sponsoring a Haiti Clothing Drive to help those in need. Send in your shirts, t-shirts, long pants, and shoes — all clean and in good condition — and/or cash donations in exchange for up to $100 in store credit. Each shirt donated equals a $4 credit; t-shirts equal $1.50; long pants equal $4; and pairs of shoes equal a $6 store credit.

Send or drop off your donations to the following address:

Alexander West
Attn: Haiti Earthquake Clothing Drive
45-50 30th Street, Suite 12
Long Island City, New York, 11101

Located inside LaGuardia Community College — Cross Street 30th Street and 47th Avenue. Call 866-647-1740 to arrange a pickup time.

Arguably the city’s top designer reseller, Ina NYC, will officially kick-off its biannual sale on Thursday. Everything will be marked down — new items by an additional 10-15% off; older items by up to 70% off existing resale prices. The real gems can typically be found at Ina’s Men’s shop on Prince, and a rep at the store tells us they’ll be ready to do business by Wednesday late afternoon. Don’t miss it.

INA Men’s – 19 Prince St between Mott & Elizabeth – 212-334-2210 – Map

Wednesday and Thursday, 1/27-1/28, get to the Bonobos sample sale for cotton and cord pants down from $100 to $50; wool pants down from $165 to $75; polos down from $55 to $25; and swim trunks down from $80 to $15. Also, buy 3 pairs of pants, and get the 4th pair (of equal or lesser value) free of charge.

Bonobos cuts its pants to fit “regular” stockier guys. (If you’re interested, AP reporter Chris McNamara compared Bonobos to cheaper models made by Banana Republic and Dockers back in ’08.) You might also be interested to know that co-founder Andy Dunn hates to shop:

Bonobos sample sale – Bonobos HQ – 59 W 19th St between 5th & 6th – Suite 6B – 877-294-7737 – 5pm-8pm daily – Map

Man, I wish every brand the best, but couldn’t not feel some schadenfreude on the news that Abercrombie & Fitch just recorded it 21st consecutive month of sales declines — leading one retail analyst to note that the store’s “business model now appears fully broken.” Apparently, those droves of tourists that flock to A&F’s 5th Avenue flagship for overpriced tween thongs aren’t keeping the (wet) dream alive. The issue, say analysts and trade media types, is price — they’re too high, and they don’t mark them down. The moral of the story? All the marketing in the world can’t gloss over a poor value proposition. [The Cut]

Albeit at a stiff-arm’s length, I do, er, acknowledge the circuses that are fashion shows. For all their self-indulgent wackiness, they do reflect modern culture and events, and even inform what die-hard traditionalists call “timeless style.”

From the Paris shows, which ended Sunday, Times columnist and fiery fashion skeptic Cathy Horyn sends good news: Versatility — that great bestower of value and convenience — is in! In particular, Horyn says with regard to Louis Vuitton designer Paul Helbers: “Designers often talk about blurring the line between formal and casual, and then proceed to define each as rigidly as possible, with casual being a potluck of sports and ethnic garments … and formal being business suits … Mr. Helbers, though, actually balances the two.”

Meanwhile, The Times‘ Suzy Menkes perceived the Paris shows to be “all about handling the heritage. Should you shake it, break it or fake the style of the past?” Interesting, but the idea that perpetuating heritage isn’t an option — only faking it — is a bit depressing. Likewise, Heraclitus believed that, “You can’t step into the same river twice,” i.e., nothing stands still because change is a central doctrine of the universe, which actually makes the perception of “timeless style” just an illusion.