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Tea and crumpets served — Downton Abbey style

A slice of Georgian history visited the Burlington Public Library on Saturday afternoon. Librarians dressed in the opulent “Directoire-style” of 1912 and in formal maid costume, serving in a beautiful tea service small cucumber sandwiches along with Lady Grey tea and cinnamon and cheddar scones. Patrons sat at two large round tables that featured the handwritten cursive placards of guests’ names.

It was all part of the free “Downton Abbey” Tea Party at 34 Library Lane at 1 p.m. prior to a screening of the PBS TV show’s fifth season’s finale in the library’s video screening room.

Assistant Library Director Diana Rudzinski dressed in period costume in the style of an upper-class British matriarch, complete with a green gown, a long strand of pearls, and purple gloves. Rudzinski said, “This is the first time we’ve ever done this. We, at the library, are all fans, and it’s been a fabulous turnout among all ages.”

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Some of the 13 attendees included teens and adults, who said they would later attend the “Downton Abbey” final sixth-season’s premiere-episode screening at Torrington’s Warner Theatre Saturday evening. The British drama series, which follows the lives of the 1910s aristocratic Crawley family and its servants, is also broadcast Sunday evening on PBS at 9 p.m.

Teen librarian Sara Lo Presti represented the “downstairs” life at an English manor, dressed in a formal black-and-white maid’s outfit. She said, “I am tickled by how many people are here and how many ‘Downton Abbey’ fans there are out there.”

Lo Presti added, “At first, we were thinking it may be just an adult event. But then we opened it up to teens as well. And they came.”

Megan Porga, 16; Meghan Conlin, 16; and Emily Porga, 14, who attend Burlington’s Lewis S. Mills High School, represented the younger fans of the show who dined under the watchful eyes of a photo at their table of the “Downton Abbey’s” sharp-tongued Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Dame Maggie Smith).

“I like the show but I like that they are ending it at this time,” Porga said. “It’s a good series.”

Meghan’s mother, Lisa Conlin, sat nearby, adding, “My daughter and I started watching a few seasons ago. Now, we watch the show regularly.”

Lo Presti, Rudzinski, and other library staff had prepared for the party tuna-salad, egg-salad, and cucumber tea sandwiches and cheddar savories in the shape of hearts. Varieties of Earl Grey and English breakfast tea were served as well, topped off with chocolate-covered cherries.

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DESIGNER Paul Vasileff was just 16 when he started his own label, Paolo Sebastian.

Now 25, the young Adelaide man is killing it in the fashion arena, with his designs being worn by the Kardashians, Giuliana Rancic and brides all around the world.

The down-to- earth designer took some time out ahead of the launch of his new couture collection, The Nightingale, to speak with Sophie Perri at his new design house on Gouger St.

How many wedding dresses are you working on?

We’re generally working on 50 to 100 clients at a time.

Do you have to turn people away?

We were, but since we have moved here (into the bigger space), we haven’t had to. Where we were in Torrensville was really limited.

Have you ever ruined a dress — have you stepped on it, or spilt coffee on it?

I don’t drink coffee first-up but we’ve got a strict no-food rule. I did ruin a pair of pants I made for myself once. I accidentally cut them at the back with the scissors.

Would you ever make menswear?

I used to, but menswear is surprisingly a lot harder than womenswear … technically and also style-wise. Because men’s clothes are so basic, the lines have to be perfect and if I do something I want it to be 100 per cent. To do an old-school tailored suit by hand takes a lot of time and dedication and patience.

When a celebrity is photographed wearing one of your designs, what happens afterwards?

We get inundated with calls for the dress. People will either ask, “where is this available, or, can I order one?’’ Some people will want it in different colours, or want it in white as a wedding dress.

What was it like when you dressed Carrie Bickmore for the Logies, were you watching the red carpet from home?

That year I went over and helped dress her and all of that … I think last year we had five girls we dressed so we had to do the rounds. They all get dressed at the same time so it’s like you have to be in five places at once. They all book out the Crown so you’re in the same complex but you’re running from one end of the building, going up and down floors. Sara (Paul’s media co-ordinator) and I were running from pillar to post, and I’m wearing a suit and sweating. I think I got vertigo because I was going from ground to top floor in a few seconds and bolting out.

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Would you open a store overseas?

We actually just signed up with Harvey Nichols Kuwait just out of Dubai, which is really exciting. And New York we are stocked in so we are looking to sign with a few stockists there. But long term down the track I would love to have a store in Paris or somewhere like that. That would be amazing.

Is that the ultimate dream?

Yeah. It’s kind of hard to think about that at the moment because there’s just so many things going on and it gives me a headache thinking about all the work that goes into that, but ultimately that’s the dream, to have something in Paris or Milan.

What are you thinking about when your head hits the pillow?

It’s crazy, it’s like, ‘go to sleep, don’t even think about what you have to do’. There’s so many things in one day that will go through my mind — I’m designing, I’m meeting with clients, my head has to be around all the dresses we’re making, and we’re a staff of 12 now so I need to know what everyone is doing. Plus I’m constantly trying to think of ideas for other collections and all of that.

When do you wake up?

On an average day I get up at 7am and go to the gym and get to work at about 10.30am but for example on Sunday night I was here until 2.30 in the morning.

What were you doing?

Drawing. Inspiration hit so I had to take it when it came and just go with it.

You learned about fashion from your nonna?

Both of my grandmothers were sewers, not professionally, but were very good at it. My dad’s mum passed away when I was six months old so unfortunately I never got to really meet her but my mum’s mum has always sewn since I can remember, and she looks at it as an art form which is how I treat it.

She must be proud.

Every time I’m in the paper she keeps it and calls me to tell me. My family and friends have been there for me the whole time. That’s something that’s really important to me and that’s why I’ve chosen to stay in Adelaide, because I can be around them and have that support. When I lived in Italy so many amazing things happened to me but most of the time I was by myself — and who do you get to share that with?

When you think about what you were like when you started this at 16, to how you are now, how different are you — what have you learned about business?

Oh, so much. When I started I had no idea what I was doing, I was still in school. I literally just wanted to start a fashion business and my own label. I was really lucky with the support I got from family and friends. I had that goal in sight and I still have that same goal in sight. At the end of the day I just wanted to make people feel special in the dresses I made. And I love making those statement pieces that when girls it put on, they have that Cinderella moment and I love being able to do that. I can’t describe what that feeling is but it’s really special. And that’s just how I run my business, with heart. That’s the basis of how I’ve run my business over the past eight years. Every decision that I have to make is made by instinct and by gut.

Having great success at a young age is something that could go to your head. Have you ever caught yourself having a diva moment?

We joke about that. That’s not me and I think if it was and I started being that way I would get cut down pretty quickly by my friends and family. At the end of the day they’re just dresses, I’m not curing cancer or anything like that. I don’t think anyone really has the right to be a diva … I think everyone should treat others the way they want to be treated. Respect is a big thing for me and has been since I was little. But yeah, we do joke about being diva-ish at work, I have fake tantrums and demand a coffee or a juice from one of the girls.

Are you an organised person? Do you make lists?

No (laughs) I’m a creative person so by nature I’m not organised. But I am in my own way, if that makes sense. I’m not a list person. I have a small list on my phone but that’s it. It’s harder now, but back when I first started I never had to write anything down. I’m getting a bit older and not as alert …(laughs) Seriously when I was younger I used to be able to work until 3am and get up for school the next morning.

How did you deal with that?

I was fine. I just loved it so much it didn’t bother me. Some classes I do remember getting told off for falling asleep but I think that was the class.

Do you get stressed?

I don’t really lose my head or get stressed too much because my mentality is, at the end of the day, the job has to get done, whether you stress about it or shut up and do it. Don’t get me wrong, there have been times where everything has fallen to pieces but you can’t sit and cry about it, and I don’t cry, I’m not a crier. Tear ducts don’t work! If you’re the type of person who does cry it’s probably the wrong job for you, because you’ll be crying a lot.

Do you get recognised a lot?

Yes. And it’s funny every time. I still don’t believe that it happens. People are lovely, some people want a photo, some just say ‘hey’ … It happens on Saturday nights. Then my friends are stupid and whisper to people, ‘do you know that’s Paolo Sebastian over there?’. It’s mainly when I’m out with the boys from school. I don’t really notice most of the time. It’s my friends who will say, those people over there are staring.

Does it unsettle you?

It does get a little unsettling when they just stare, I prefer it when people come up and say hello so I know what they’re looking at me for, because sometimes I get selfconscious and think, ‘is there something on my face?’.

Do you have a big wardrobe?

Huge.

How big?

There’s a thing in my room I call clothing mountain.

Sounds small.

It’s all clean clothes, it’s just there’s nowhere for them to go. My whole life I’ve bought items that are good quality and I have things from when I was 16 that still fit me and still look brand new because I take care of everything. Whenever I wear my trench coat I bring the little Burberry bag with me in the car (laughs).

What’s the last thing you splurged on?

I always splurge on food. Whenever I’ve had a busy day at work and I think, yeah we did some good work today, I’ll go walk to the markets and get some cake. I’ve just discovered Lucia’s which I really love.

Do you still live with your family?

Yeah. I ain’t moving out (laughs).

What do you do at home?

At the moment I haven’t been able to do anything for ages but I normally just hang out, watch TV if I get time … eat dinner, get changed into my pyjamas and go to bed. Or I’ll go for a walk, I’m lucky that three of my best friends live in the same street, so we just catch up. I think a lot of people expect me to do something special but mostly it’s getting food. I’m mostly just eating.

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Humberto Leon and Carol Lim set up an open-air movie theater in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris on Friday night for the premiere of their collaboration with American independent filmmaker Gregg Araki.

As temperatures sizzled late into the evening, guests including Rufus Wainwright, Simon Porte Jacquemus, Gildas Loaec, Joana Preiss, Grace Bol, Lily McMenamy and Toilet Paper founders Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari gathered to enjoy burgers and beers at the pre-Fourth of July bash.

“Carol and I are huge movie buffs and for me, Gregg is, like, up there with the best of the best,” said Leon, explaining how the short film came about.

“We always kind of give people different entry points into the brand, and I think it’s exciting that some kid in the middle of nowhere is a Gregg Araki fan and is going to watch this, and I think that it’s interesting, because then he or she might say, ‘Oh, what is Kenzo?’” the designer explained.

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“Here Now” features a cast of young actors including Jacob Artist, Jane Levy, Grace Victoria Cox, Jake Weary and Avan Jogia. The film also stars Nicole Laliberte, who appeared in Araki’s 2010 film “Kaboom.”

“One of my favorite things about filmmaking is casting. I love discovering new people and working with rising stars,” said Araki. “One of the saddest things about this movie to me is just that we only shot a day and then it was over, because I wanted it to sort of go on.”

It was the director’s first time working with a fashion brand. “I could see how their sensibility very much sort of was on the same wavelength as mine, and so it was kind of pretty easy,” he noted. “My fans tend to be so loyal and they’re so passionate, and so I kind of made the movie as a little love letter to them.”

As guests gathered to watch the film on a giant screen, Araki chatted up a storm with Brady Corbet, who is putting the finishing touches to his directorial debut, “The Childhood of a Leader,” starring Robert Pattinson, Stacy Martin and Bérénice Bejo. Before anyone asks, the feature is not about Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini.

“The entire film is a kind of fable set around the weaknesses of the Treaty of Versailles, which is a very particular subject. But the film takes a lot of poetic license. It starts off in a place that is very correct and accurate in terms of the history, and then at a certain point, decisively takes a dive into a virtual history,” he explained.

“It’s a very, very ambitious art project and so everything that’s great about it is also what’s been very painful to make happen,” Corbet added, noting that the movie features a grand orchestral score by musician Scott Walker and should be ready by the end of the year.

Rad Hourani is finding that combining his passions for fashion and art involves the occasional hiccup: The Canadian designer was forced to cancel his couture show this season. “I wanted to do something in a theater and in the end, it didn’t work out with the actors, but it’s going to be a movie that I will preview in January,” he said.

“I’m no longer really interested in seeing models walk down a catwalk. I find it really boring,” explained Hourani, who will stage his first solo contemporary art show at the Arsenal in Montreal in November.

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Bloomin’ lovely! Charlotte Hawkins shows off her slim post baby body in pretty floral dress as she attends theatre press night

Charlotte Hawkins showed off her amazing post-baby figure in an on-trend floral dress as she attended the press night of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time play, on Tuesday evening.

The 40-year-old news anchor looked incredible in a short floral dress that showcased her toned pins to devastating effect.

She added height to her look with pair of fashion forward pointed nude heels, which perfectly matched her clutch bag.

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Charlotte wisely kept her accessories to a minimum – opting only for a dainty bracelet – and let the dress, with its sparkling embellished collar and bright blue and red floral trim, do the talking.

The Good Morning Britain presenter highlighted her features with natural looking make-up and styled her honey blonde locks in luscious loose waves.

It was a rare night out for the TV personality who gave birth to her first baby, Ella Rose, earlier this year.

Charlotte has dubbed Ella – who was born on February 8 – a ‘miracle baby’ after she arrived following years of unsuccessfully attempting to conceive.

The presenter, who married senior executive at drinks firm Pernod Ricard Mark Herbert, at Chichester Cathedral in 2008, revealed that the birth of her daughter had helped her come to terms with the death of her dad.

Her father Frank was diagnosed with the debilitating and incurable disease MND in 2011, and tragically lost his battle with it in January this year – just one-month short of meeting his granddaughter.

But the new mother was all smiles last night as she happily posed for pictures outside the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End.

Other stars at the exclusive event included Game Of Thrones actress Nathalie Emmanuel, TV presenter Andrea McLean, pop star Conor Maynard, former X Factor contestant Luke Friend and aspiring model Imogen Waterhouse.

Imogen recently signed up to modelling agency TESS Management, which also represents her sister Suki.

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The artsiest collections at the men’s Spring 2016 shows involved inspirations culled from Japanese traditional dress, photography, architectural landscapes, and religious iconography.

At Études, the collective headed by artist Aurélien Arbet and graphic designer Jérémie Egry, the collection’s theme riffed on David Weiss’ illustrated book of rain-drenched cityscapes from 1975, Up and Down Town. Silk-screen patchworks by Adrian Horni and Linus Bill made their way onto tunic-like tops and baggy trousers that were layered one over another, as did geometric gradients of grey appropriating urban camouflage as architectural landscapes.

Designer Yusuke Takahashi at Issey Miyake also took cues from photo books: Yoshinori Mizutani’s Tokyo Parrots and Colors, to be exact. Painterly parrots were rendered on sumptuous silk blazers and sport coats in cobalt blue, pastel yellow and chartreuse, while references to Luis Barragán’s buildings in Mexico City led to a series of outfits in equally bright hues of fuchsia and cyan.

Japanese themes were taken over the top at Thom Browne, whose perennially elaborate sets this time manifested as a teahouse surrounded by scarecrows in kimonos in a field. Models, four of whom were dressed as geishas in full kimonos and crowned by Stephen Jones’ sculptural head gear, showed off sharp suits of traditional pinstripe, houndstooth, herringbone and seersucker, topped by heavy embroidery of traditional Japanese motifs including fish, cranes, flowers and event Mount Fuji.

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At Loewe, designer Jonathan Anderson decided to appropriate images from an early 18th-century screen from Japan that he had stumbled upon in an antique shop in Hong Kong onto clothes and bags. Beige linen trousers featured embroidered cartoonish motifs, say, while a pajama-looking ensemble with contrast piping on the pockets sported an all-over manga print in shades of red.

Meanwhile, playing with religious iconography were the Italian designers at Givenchy (Riccardo Tisci) and Dolce & Gabbana.

At Givenchy, Jesus was depicted in his thorn-crowned passion across T-shirts and — yes — skirts, as well as printed onto transparent sweatshirts. Tisci was riffing on “bad boys” and prison stripes, but applied a great couture finesse to the masculine tailoring and sportswear that was so refreshing to see amid the gender-bending, hyper-feminine collections at shows like Gucci, Valentino and Acne Studios.

At Dolce & Gabbana, the collection was a mash-up of a Chinese fantasia dreamed up in the heart of Catholic Sicily: motifs of peacocks, pagodas took pride of place alongside various iterations of the Madonna and baby Jesus. Suits were immaculately — no pun intended — constructed to resemble fine Italian silk scarves overlaid with Chinese prints, while the palette of russets and blue-greens of the Asian theme gave way to the gold, black and white of the Italian one.

Painterly effects were splashed over Yohji Yamamoto’s runway, as the Japanese designer played with brush-like prints and collaging, first with soft strokes, and toward the end, with hard slashes. “Like the caution signs in army places, the stripe is always strong because it means ‘dangerous,’” he told reporters.

Another Japanese designer Junya Watanabe, played with a lot of shapes, patterns and colors in a collection that was themed “Faraway,” but was really about his collaboration with Vlisco, the Dutch company that has been the major supplier of fabric to West and Central Africa since the mid-19th century. Excessive patchwork, paired with straw hats, made some of the models resemble scarecrows, but oddly enough, some of them, in more painterly ensembles, evoked a young Vincent van Gogh.

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As a fashion-obsessed preteen, Michael Nguyen worked as a Holt Renfrew stockboy, folding cashmere sweaters at the Yorkdale store. Two decades later the upscale retailer is hosting a pop-up shop of curated formal wear from the designer’s Garrison Bespoke line.

It’s an apt homecoming for the sartorial savant whose passion for fashion began in Grade 2 with the pristine white outfit he donned for first communion.

“In my tux coming down the stairs, I remember everyone telling me how good I looked, how great a guy I was; that day I actually felt like I was somebody,” the 33-year-old recalled in an interview.

“That probably was the defining moment of the importance of the way you dress.”

Nguyen turned that feeling into the pursuit of menswear expertise. The second-last of five children, he learned the art of fit by altering his older sisters’ hand-me-downs to pad his meagre wardrobe. There were two more stints at Holt, as well as on the sales floors of Harry Rosen and Grafton & Co. He studied fashion design at George Brown College after completing a parents’-mandated accounting degree at York University, and worked briefly in audit at KPMG prior to launching his own tailoring shop in 2007.

Headquartered at Wellington-Yonge Sts. with a staff of 35, Garrison has built an enviable business. It dresses Bay Street heavyweights, television characters and A-listers such as, rapper Drake, NBA star LeBron James, actor Ryan Gosling and music producer David Foster.

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The owner’s family history and upbringing are stamped on the company: Garrison’s fabric suppliers include French mill Dormeuil for whom Nguyen’s grandfather worked in Vietnam; and his determination to create a nurturing environment and experience for clients comes from watching his late mother toil at home as a remarkable yet unsung seamstress.

While the flagship store has a covert, men’s club feel, Garrison Weddings at the King Edward Hotel location — dedicated uniquely to dressing grooms and groomsmen — is marble-accented and couple-friendly. The Holt extension is an airy, female-welcoming site with shaves and shoe shines available in the store’s adjacent men’s lounge.

Recently launched at Holt, Garrison’s Celebration Collection starts at $2,800 and aims to simplify the made-to-measure experience by giving men six styles to choose from for any formal occasion.

Garrison, which suited men for more than 300 weddings last year, has developed a niche within the bespoke industry by engineering formal wear that they say photographs better because it’s heavier, more padded and darker than off-the-rack suits.

“I learned it from my work on (TV programs) Hannibal and Suits,” said Nguyen. “On both shows the actors are fluctuating like crazy in weight and they need to look very clean and crisp on television.”

With the television work and high-profile collaborations with the Toronto FC and the Toronto Raptors, it’s little wonder Garrison doesn’t advertise. The clothier also generated a lot of international buzz with a lightweight bulletproof suit developed in 2013.

“We actually haven’t figured how to scale it,” said Nguyen of the ensemble which starts at $20,000.

“It’s six weeks of one person’s time to make it. Then have testing and you still have to ensure with the client that it’s bulletproof because you don’t want to not deliver on your promise.”

At Garrison where a jacket typically takes 25-35 hours to construct and is worked on by up to eight tailors, word-of-mouth and long-term relationships are key.

“We’re in a business where people are very busy; they have a lot of priorities,” said Nguyen. “If we give them a level of experience and level of product where they going to recommend us to friends and colleagues, then we’re succeeding.

“The philosophy around bespoke is we create long-term relationships with clients and over time we get this roster where we don’t have to get new clients.”

Hanging out at the Yorkdale store where his sister worked got Nguyen that initial holiday job at Holt and stoked his fashion sense, but his parents never wanted him to make a career of tailoring.

“As Asian parents they wanted their kids to work in professional services,” he recalled. “Even today, my dad is kind of cool with what I do, but still is of the inclination that his friend’s son who is an engineer is in a better business.

“There are a lot of really valuable tools you can learn in retail and fashion. Maybe you’re not going to work in it forever, but you can learn how to sell, interact with people and customer service. There is just as much value in working here as there is in working at a law firm or an accounting firm in the summer. Parents and mentors should recognize that.”

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How to Bike in a Skirt Without Flashing Your Entire Block

Summer is finally here, which means prime bike-riding season is in full swing – and with Minneapolis being one of the top 20 best cities for biking in the world, and cities like San Francisco on the rise, we think we’ll opting for our bikes even more this summer!

While we love our bikes, fashionistas don’t exactly love the fact that riding a bike basically eliminates us from wearing all the cute sundresses in our closet – but not anymore! Believe it or not, it actually IS possible to enjoy your mini skirt and bicycle together this summer!

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While biking in a skirt or dress can be a struggle on your first try, it’s definitely not impossible. Some skirts and dresses are better suited for your bike ride than others – contrary to popular belief, a mini skirt is actually probably your best bet. Longer midi or maxi length skirts and dresses might ride up as you push the pedals, but a mini skirt is less likely to move since your hemline is already above your knees. Not to mention it’s probably not going to be pretty if you wear something long enough to get caught in your wheel. If you really just can’t bear to part with your favorite maxi dress, try tying it up in a knot before riding!

Still a little nervous? It’s not a bad idea to throw on a pair of spandex or other mini, tight-fitting shorts underneath! We’re guessing that pair of Nike Pros you usually reserve for the gym would work great here.

Other Pinterest-worthy hacks? Try putting a small hair clip or safety pin along the front hem of a floaty skirt to weigh it down. While a trendy wrap skirt is probably the least ideal shape for a bike ride (hello gusts of wind blowing up an entire HALF of your skirt!) a safety pin connecting the front of your skirt will definitely help.

Riding a bike in a skirt doesn’t have to limit your #ootd game this summer! With a few simple hacks the struggle of “bike or best-dressed?” won’t be an issue.

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In fashion, as Heidi Klum has made a television career of opining, one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.

Unless you happen to be Jim Moore, the long-serving creative director of GQ, in which case you’re “in” practically in perpetuity — or at least as long as anyone seems able to remember.

On Saturday night here, GQ celebrated Mr. Moore’s 35th anniversary at the magazine at the private home where Leonardo da Vinci lived while working on “The Last Supper.” Wine grapes of the type da Vinci planted in the garden vineyard were once again growing out back, near a giant illuminated GQ logo.

The magazine has absorbed Mr. Moore for the entirety of his career. “Someone was like, ‘What job did you have before GQ?’ ” Mr. Moore said. “I was in school.” (He had studied fine art under Chuck Close but high-tailed it to New York, fearing the lonely life of an artist.)

The show season was in full swing, but this evening was “all about Jim, Jim, Jim,” said Jim Nelson, GQ’s editor, himself a long-serving veteran of the title. (“Other Jim, Jim, Jim,” he clarified.) Attendance was very nearly mandatory for Milan’s designers, many of whose careers Mr. Moore has nurtured and watched grow from seed.

“He was in my showroom when I had one rack of clothing,” said Thom Browne, in Milan to show his collection for Moncler Gamme Bleu. “He loved it. He was brave.”

Mr. Browne was waiting to greet Mr. Moore alongside Bottega Veneta’s Tomas Maier and Neil Barrett; Brunello Cucinelli was chatting in the foyer. By the end of the night, Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared2, Marni’s Consuelo Castiglioni, Kean Etro and Zegna’s Stefano Pilati had all been through.

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In an exercise of bilateral diplomacy, many had, before or after, been to a competing party not far away. Details magazine was commemorating an anniversary of its own: the 15-year mark for its editor, Dan Peres.

“Have you celebrated Jim Moore’s 35th yet?” Mr. Peres asked in the open-air courtyard of the Villa Clerici. There were giant blowups of images from the magazine, though GQ had the edge on entertainment: Unlike Details, it had a groaning table of food in addition to drinks, and a live performance by the R&B singer Miguel, versus Details’ D.J. set echoing down the Via Clerici.

The two camps were full of diplomatic praise for each other (befitting their status as brothers in the Condé Nast family). “I think we’re all, as an industry, unbelievably inspired by Jim and his tenure at GQ, and the impact that he’s had on men’s wear in general,” Mr. Peres said.

He insisted that the scheduling was a coincidencem saying, “We’ve always done events around the same time as them, but I didn’t know until I was coming over here that it was Jim’s anniversary.”

Mr. Moore said of the night’s double bill: “I think it’s fantastic. I was telling Dan tonight, 15, 35, put it together, and. …” That number seemed to invite awed silence, so he trailed off, and said again, “I think it’s great.”

Though it is a few years shy of 35, 15 years is no small span to run a magazine, and a similar crew of designers and industry executives — including, at that particular moment, Mr. Etro, Mr. Maier and the Canali group communications director Elisabetta Canali — was there toasting that achievement in measures carefully calibrated to equal GQ’s.

Even for fashion week, this was an usually busy night in Milan. Ms. Canali allowed herself a glass of Champagne to toast hitting not one party, not two, but three. (“We also went to Leon, the Chinese magazine,” she said.)

Mr. Peres, for his part, was feeling both celebratory and reflective.

“So much has changed within our business, and so much has changed with me personally,” he said of 15 years at the helm. “It feels like a lifetime, and it feels like I was just coming over here to meet these people for the first time. Fifteen years ago, my first collections, I was wearing sneakers and jeans and not shaving.”

That’s become a fairly popular look among attendees again, though not on Mr. Peres, who was wearing a navy suit and open-collared shirt. (He said he felt too long in the tooth for the unshaven look any longer.) Which made one wonder whether he was looking forward to another 20 years, to a 35th bash of his own.

“Let me tell you something,” Mr. Peres said. “It’d be great to make it to 16.”

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Fashionable boomers are wistful for the era of personalized customer service. Like the time when your favorite independent boutique called enthusiastically about a pretty periwinkle dress in your size that just arrived. And, of course, you got to try the dress on before you bought it.

But online buying is a way of life that you must learn to master. Today’s marketplace is teeming with an oversupply of apparel, including all those everyday fast-fashion bargains. Online shopping is a streamlined way for retailers to do business by shipping more goods directly to consumers from a central warehouse. Stores still serve a purpose, but they tend to be stocked with the merchandise with the fastest turnover. There is just no room for all the shoe colors in every size at every branch store. You will get the broadest array of merchandise from online merchants and save yourself the hassle of driving from store to store in search of your size.

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Master the tricks of online shopping. Use every tool on the Internet—from the likes of Pinterest to Shopstyle.com as well as all the trendy style blogs—to locate the latest fashions and fresh ideas. Develop a skill set on how to buy clothes that you can’t try on first. Get out your tape measure, carefully cull the customer reviews and direct the rest of your questions to customer service.

Yes, the downside of not seeing an item before you buy it is that the fabric may not be so great or the fit may be off. But proper tailoring can work wonders on budget as well as designer garments.

I guarantee you’ll soon become adept at buying more accurately. I am especially proud of the terrific frocks I bought online from new fashion brands that I’ve never heard of. I applaud Net-a-Porter and every fashion retailer that includes the five-second videos of models walking in each outfit. And I patronize stores with free round-trip shipping because trial-and-error is always going to be a factor when you’re buying online.

If you really want to try before you buy, use a personal shopper at a store. It takes time to find the right shopper who really understands your taste and needs. You may have to visit several shoppers and stores before you forge a relationship that works.

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Penny Lancaster shows off her long legs in a short purple dress and bright yellow blazer on Loose Women… as she reveals she keeps Rod Stewart out of the kitchen

She revealed she’s ‘a bit old-fashioned’ when it comes to gender equality.

But Penny Lancaster’s dress sense is anything but – as the 44-year-old appeared as a panellist this morning on ITV’s Loose Women in a rather daring outfit.

The model, who is married to Rod Stewart, 70, flashed plenty of leg in a short form-fitting purple dress and a bright yellow blazer on top on Monday.

Penny looked years younger as she boasted a flawless complexion and wore her blonde hair loose around her face.

Looking summer ready, she completed her look with a pair of purple strappy sandals and accessorised with gold bracelets on her wrist.

But while her choice of outfit was bold, it was her comments on the ITV show that attracted the most attention.

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She revealed that she keeps Rod Stewart out of the kitchen because cooking dinner would ‘take his masculinity’.

The model, who married the Scottish rocker in 2007, said that she was all for ‘equal rights’ but that she believed in ‘the hunter gatherer, the macho man, looking after the family’.

‘I do agree with equal rights and if women want to go and work that’s fabulous,’ she said.

‘If anything, when men come home I think it’s more a case of being more a part of the family, being with the children, spending more time with the children, being a strong role model.

‘But going as far as cooking and putting the apron on, I think that, not belittles men, but takes the masculinity and I would miss that.’

She added: ‘We’re different… men are from Mars and women are from Venus, testosterone, estrogen, we’re different creatures, I think you’ve got to let men do it their way…’

Penny also revealed that her husband dresses up for family dinner at home, saying he puts on a ‘smart pair of pants and a shirt’.

Later, she was seen leaving the studios in more casual attire, carrying a large Louis Vuitton garment bag.

She accessorised her outfit of white shirt and jeans with a long leopard print scarf.

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