GAYLETTER

The New York City based men’s underwear and loungewear line YUASA started a new social media campaign a couple weeks ago called #hangloose. YUASA sent boxers out to a few of the top mens modeling agencies in NYC, including Wilhelmina, Red, Fusion and Re:Quest. They requested the agencies to take photos of some of their boys in the boxers. Then later YUASA posted the pics on their instagram (@yuasastudios).

Michael Yuasa, the founder of the company explained to me that “the hashtag is hangloose because your balls hang loose in boxers as opposed to briefs which they are held tight.” That’s a true statement, it’s also freeing to wear boxers, especially if they are as short and modern as these. The boxers are also perfect to wear as shorts, when it’s really hot out, I wore a black pair out last summer and I felt very comfortable.

Check out some of the models below wearing YUASA undergarments, they look very sexy wearing them (I dare you to try and look at the pics and not imagine their balls hanging loose). The boxers are available in a few different colors and you can purchase a pair at yuasastudios.com and at International Playground.

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A few months ago I came to the conclusion that I needed a suit that fits me correctly. I’ve never owned a classic suit that I could wear often without people getting sick of it. Cheap suits don’t fit me well (I don’t have model proportions) and I also have high standards when it comes to fashion. Unfortunately I can’t really afford full price Raf Simons, Jil Sander or Prada at the moment.

I heard from a friend about where to get a great suit, so he introduced me to Paul Marlow at a social event, who’s the former Creator and Designer for Loden Dager — and he’s now on his own in the custom suit business. As he explained to me “I started making suits 3 ½ years ago, so when we closed Loden Dager, I shifted my focus. I opened the studio last May to receive customers.” At Paul Marlow made to measure suits start at $1800 and his custom fabrics are beautiful. “I design five fabrics each season, the rest are sourced from wool mills around the world. Mainly Italy and England. But now and then Scotland and Japan.”

I went with Tom to select my fabric, you know this is a big decision, so I really needed to go with someone that I trust — I left with two small samples of fabric and later that day 5 drinks in, I made my final decision. I texted my mother a photo of my selection and she felt strongly about what I chose; she always knows what’s right. …

If there exists a singularly fitting way to describe the press surrounding the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, it is probably best labeled as a complete and utter shit show. First there was open speculation about the inconceivable $51 billion price tag for the games (to compare: the last Winter games in Vancouver in 2010 cost a mere $7 billion).

Then there were the October and December suicide bombings in Volgograd, prompting massive questions of safety for the athletes that will be traveling en masse to the Russian resort city come February 6th. And then there’s the linchpin that helped set off the entire press storm: the repulsive federal laws passed last summer that nationally banned “homosexual propaganda,” essentially shutting down all public expression of homosexuality in Russia with threat of imprisonment and thus giving openly gay athletes and politicians reason to fear for their safety while participating in the Olympic games for reasons other than terrorism.

In response to this widespread persecution of the LGBT community in Russia, make-it-yourself clothing company Print All Over Me has commissioned a group of queer artists to design a capsule collection of athletic wear in time for the opening ceremony of the Sochi games next month. The collection of track suits are each uniquely designed by a different artist, including Jack Pierson, Jibz Cameron, David Benjamin Sherry, Ryan McNamara, Kalup Linzy, Wardell Millan, Christian Dietkus, and many more. As a symbol of support, all of the proceeds of the capsule collection are directly benefitting the Russian LGBT Network, a human rights organization providing social and legal services to the Russian LGBT community. …

For all you men on the go who are looking for a good canvas tote I have a suggestion you’re gonna love. Fashion Designer Abigail Lewis has created ‘The Selvage Denim Tote,’ it’s a 100% cotton tote, created with a stiff dark denim. I have been using this bag for a couple months now and it’s shape has not changed. In fact it has become my to-go bag for professional meetings and train rides around NYC. I can fit my iPad, my notebook, a few publications, a bottle of wine, my eyewear case, all my winter accessories in it at once.

The great thing about this bag is that it looks expensive, and you can throw it over almost every outfit — you’ve probably heard people say before “denim goes with everything,” I agree with that, but only if the denim is dark. In addition, this bag is minimalist, sleek, masculine (for those of you that have issues with carrying a women’s purse) and if it gets dirty no one will really notice.

$65, Click here to purchase it. …

An abusive mother, throwback “Crazy Eddie” fan commercials from the 80s, and a prostitute sporting magic, multicolored knee highs — and that’s only in the first 3 minutes of ‘Exorsocks,’ David LaChapelle’s new short film for Happy Socks. The Swedish hosiery outlet gave the provocative photographer license to do whatever he wanted for the ad, and the result is just about what you’d expect: a bizarro journey through sexuality, socks, and dance, filtered through LaChapelle’s uniquely demented vision of camp and gore.

The 10-minute clip, drawing inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Red Shoes, revolves around a down-on-her-luck prostitute who finds a mysterious pair of Happy Socks’ polychromatic knee highs that give her the insatiable urge to pirouette her problems away in an incredible, Girl Talk-soundtracked dance number. Of course, this being LaChapelle’s particular brand of candy-colored insanity, the dancing quickly becomes brutal, and our unlikely heroine finds a grisly, super-NSFW end to the uncontrollable dancing.

Check out the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqaAypvMmno

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Angel Kent is a young Fashion Illustration student at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He lost his virginity at 17. He is originally from Mexico City, he doesn’t play any sports, but loves to dance Hip-hop, latin music and Reggaeton. The favorite part of his body is his neck and he works out 4-5 times a week (including dancing). He mantains his beauty with a very simple regimen, “I Let my hair dry by itself, apply Oribe hair products to get the desired effect. I love Palmers’ Cocoa Butter on my body.” 

When it’s time for bed, he doesn’t sleep naked, he likes to wear soft t-shirts and boxers and he always covers his eyes with a sleeping mask. He is single at the moment, and he told us that his dream date would be “for somebody to take me to a beautiful aquarium, and it would be perfect on a summer day.” For those of you living in NYC and looking for a date with Angel, now you know what to do.

We recently took some photos of Angel wearing underwear by Stonemen. The jewelry and shoes are his own, and as you can see he looks very handsome wearing our GAYLETTER t-shirt. If you see him around don’t be afraid to say: Hello, Angel.

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I went on a date with Jean Paul Gaultier in 1991. He took me to the opening night of Madonna‘s ‘Blond Ambition‘ tour in a white stretch limo. My boss and brilliant photographer, David Seidner, friend of Jean Paul’s, couldn’t go so I went in his place. Warren Beatty sat right in front of me. The concert was banging but the date didn’t go so well, I heard him talking about me in the limo on the way back in French. Guess he thought I wouldn’t understand. How wrong he was. We pulled up at a traffic light and I wished him well in French and exited the vehicle. What an extraordinary genius he is, but I didn’t know it at the time. Not until I finished an extensive tour of his retrospective, ‘The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk To The Catwalk‘ opening on October 25 at the Brooklyn Museum did I realize it.

The show features 130 haute-couture and pret a porter ensembles as well as photos, videos and sketches spanning four decades of the designer’s cutting edge carreer. The custom created mannequins are brilliant. Video of human faces are precisely projected on the life-sized mannequin faces. Some talk, some cruise you and some just wink and smile. Quite honestly they left me gagging in the best way possible. There’s even one of JPG himself who greets visitors in his own voice.

All the stand outs are on view, from the iconic cone bra corsets from the ‘Blond Ambition’ tour, to his rabbi collection and on to recently worn costumes by Beyonce as well as artistic collaborations with Warhol, Avedon, Cindy Sherman, Pierres and Gilles and much more. …