The show Mad Men gets quite a bit of coverage here on ACL, everything from the sixties era style, to the character’s excessive alcohol consumption. While I don’t want to go overboard obsessing about the show (might be too late, the AMC series even has its own category), it is worth pointing out that a few enterprising people (or the AMC marketing department, but I doubt they have what it takes to pull this off see comments) have picked up where the show leaves off and are keeping the characters going 24/7 on Twitter. At first glance it seemed a little goofy, but after a while I really started to enjoy the constant twittering of Betty saying things like: “Trying to spend more time with @sally_draper and @robert_draper, so they don’t feel invisible. It’s hard on them with Don not around” and “Looking for my grandmother’s recipe for German noodles.”

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Matthew Weiner, Jon Hamm and John Slattery stopped by Charlie Rose this past week for a discussion about the comings and goings of one of the best shows on television. The lead-in to the segment featured some Mad Men influences like Gentleman’s Agreement, The Apartment, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Classics, all of them. The conversation with Weiner (the show’s creator) and the two lead actors was interesting and insightful. Seeing Hamm and Slattery out of character is always strange to my eyes, but the discussion offered good insight into where season two is heading. Rose never fails to amuse me with his constant paper shuffling and magazine touting — never missing a chance to show off a good periodical and give an actor a good ribbing.

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The fine gentlemen at Top Gear continue to impress with their inventive programming. Presenter Jeremy Clarkson recently profiled the new and breathtakingly awesome Range Rover Sport (supercharged) for the much revered BBC series. After going over the performance (naught to sixty in 7 seconds, not bad for a SUV), Clarkson took the Range Rover to the proving grounds to do battle with a British Challenger II tank. The result is automotive television at its finest.

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A screening was held last night at the Museum of Modern Art for season two of Mad Men. The much anticipated second season of the show is set to air a little less than five weeks from now on July 27th (mark your calendars) and I couldn’t be more excited to see team Sterling Cooper back in action.

Ms. January Jones

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One of my favorite weekend past times is watching CBS Sunday Morning. The program tends to have an eye for classic style and covers lots of old school Americana. With two great stories for men, this weekend’s episode did not disappoint. First came a history of men’s hats, which I found to be extremely interesting. Later was an opinion piece from Ben Stein about the previously discussed demise of the necktie.

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Robert Webb and David Mitchell are the British comedians from two of my favorite television programs, Peep Show and the sketch comedy show That Mitchell and Webb Look. Thank god YouTube and Apple TV make it possible for me to keep up with theses hilarious programs. Not sure why I fancy English comedy over American (maybe because most American comedy shows are slap-happy and stupid or maybe I’m just a snob) but these Mitchell and Webb shows are clever and amusing.

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The Discovery Channel put together an awe inspiring documentary called When We Left Earth, about U.S. space exploration over the past fifty years. The six part mini-series takes you from the Mercury missions all the way to the International Space station and all in HD. Pretty awesome stuff.

Part two of the series airs this Sunday, June 15th at 9pm E/P.

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My friend Jauretsi’s documentary film East of Havana —a look into the burgeoning underground Cuban hip-hop scene —is making its television debut tonight (May 30th) on the Sundance Channel at 10PM. If you are as interested in Cuban culture as I am, you will make sure to check it out.

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I have been patiently waiting for my opportunity to post something on the prepfest that is Gossip Girl and last night I got my chance. Let me preface this conversation by saying that I generally toggle between PBS, The History and Military channels, so my fixation with Gossip Girl is as strange to me as it is to you. During last night’s episode my favorite character on the show —the J. Press scarf wearing Chuck Bass —was dressed in a beige and red striped linen necktie by my client Alexander Olch. Throughout the first half of the show, Mr. Bass was called in by Blair a la Michael Clayton to help rectifie one of Serena’s difficult situations, all while wearing another one of his ridiculously preppy outfits. The look consisted of said Olch tie, blue Oxford cloth shirt with a white Oxford cloth club collar, camel cardigan and plaid paints. It was Upper East Side preppy drama at its best!

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Those are good words, Rocco Ciccarelli Custom Tailoring. What is better than just those words, is the place, the man and what he makes. This past week my friend Antonio told me he was going to Rocco’s for a fitting and asked if I wanted to tag along. He knew I was dying to check it out. Going to Rocco’s is like membership into an exclusive, hard to find club for the sartorially obsessed. This is especially true considering Mr. Ciccarelli makes suits for some of the most well respected and fashionable brands in the U.S. I naturally jumped at the chance to go and Wednesday we made our way out to Long Island City, Queens. My friend Mark was the person that really got me interested in seeing factories. A few years ago, he took me to a tie shop in Chelsea and I was hooked. That factory and Rocco’s are the meeting of two of my favorite things, manufacturing and clothing. The art and skill involved in making a suit of clothes is a special talent that is disappearing. That is one of the reasons why Mr. Ciccarelli and the people working for him in Queens, are so exceptional.

Mr. Rocco Ciccarelli

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