Table of contents for Winter 2019 in Esquire

Let’s say that tomorrow NBA head Adam Silver decommissions the Spalding basketball and replaces it with its glowed-up counterpart from Versace. You remember Like Mike? Where Lil Bow Wow turns into an all-timer after getting ahold of Michael Jordan’s sneakers? It’d be like that. This blinged-out, baroque ball would cure Markelle Fultz of the yips, make DeMarcus Cousins a big ol’ teddy bear, and keep LeBron playing until he’s 97. Just think about it. In the meantime, think about copping a pair of sneakers from Ronnie Fieg’s collaboration with New Balance. They won’t have you shooting like a Splash Brother, but you’ll at least be stylish enough to walk the pregame runway alongside Steph and Klay.…

In Terry Southern’s cult novel The Magic Christian (1959), a movie-theater owner has an idea to increase attendance. He cuts prices and widens seats so two people can (barely) sit in them at once. His advertising slogan: “Half the Price, and a Chance for Vice.” This year, moviegoers didn’t get love seats, but for a welcome moment we got something arguably better: MoviePass, a subscription service that let us see all the films we wanted for a $10 monthly fee. Many of us binged. Reader, I was among them. It felt not just good but also necessary to check out for a few hours—to find refuge in the congenial public dark, in a year when America appeared to have lost some of its moorings and meanings. MoviePass seemed too good…

Errol Morris and I are trying to figure out the hidden meaning of Steve Bannon’s stubble. Errol tells me that through five days of shooting face-to-face interviews with Bannon for his new film, American Dharma, the erstwhile consigliere to Donald Trump and fledgling leader of the new, vaguely menacing, perhaps neo-Nazi white-nationalist movement would show up on the set with his stubble always exactly the same hobo length, suggesting it was not negligence but a way of deliberately sending a message: Don’t be fooled by the vagrant-like appearance. He really thinks of himself as a grizzled cinematic flyboy, the kind who breaks the rules to win the war the brass is losing. In addition, Bannon wears three or four sweaty shirts at a time—an equally fascinating sartorial signal—which, combined with…

If you’re a man who went to college anytime in the past few decades, odds are you didn’t dress like this. Most guys today move from the dorm to the lecture hall in a mix of basketball shorts, shower slides, and bookstore hoodies. So when we say the clothes at right channel “collegiate style,” we’re not talking about any school you could visit right now. It’s a way to reference an idea of college life, the kind of clothes and images we know from films like Carnal Knowledge and Animal House. Like movies, fashion is more about impressions than reality. For whatever reason, tastemakers are returning to those collegiate references now, and they’re not holding back: reprinting logos in varsity lettering; piling on argyles, wide-wale cords, and tweeds; and topping…

Men may look better with age, but there’s a fine line between aged and… elderly. (Maybe less a fine line than a bunch of deep, gnarly wrinkles.) And while we can’t stop time, modern technology has made it a whole lot easier to slow it down. Skin care will be your best defense here: Get a firm handle on the creams and serums you need and you’ll look like the optimal version of you at any age. FIVE STEPS TO SAVING FACE A good antiaging regimen is not about using a lot of stuff; it’s about using the right stuff, smartly, to keep your skin healthy on its own. 1 Vitamin C Serum Antioxidants are a crucial antiaging ingredient, and vitamin C is their king. Regular use can brighten skin…

• Antioxidants: This family of substances combats the effects of free radicals, which are essentially rogue molecules (science!) that can damage cells and age skin. • Vitamin E: A powerful antioxidant that works particularly well in combination with vitamin C to fight signs of aging. It can also help soothe inflamed skin-a bonus if you have an issue with redness.• Glycolic acid: Chemical exfoliants like this remove dead skin cells and brighten skin more gently than those scrubs with the little beads in them. • Niacinamide: A potent form of vitamin B3 (you may know it as a hangover helper) that strengthens the skin’s barrier, improving hydration. • Hyaluronic acid: A naturally occurring acid that intensely hydrates but also helps skin cells retain moisture, a prime tool in fighting wrinkles.…

The first time I meet Bruce Springsteen is backstage at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York, where he is in the homestretch of performing his one-man show, Springsteen on Broadway. It is a few weeks before I am supposed to sit with him for an interview, but his publicist has asked me to come by before this performance so he can, I deduce, check me out. I arrive at 7:00 and am directed to a small couch near the backstage bathroom. Finally, five minutes before curtain, I see, coming down the stairs that lead to his dressing room, a pair of black work boots and black-legged jeans. Springsteen ducks his head beneath a low arch and walks toward me, extending his hand and saying, “I’m Bruce.” We shake hands,…

In 2017, BRITISH actor JOE ALWYN shot four films across three continents in less than twelve months, and the resulting projects, all of which hit theaters in the latter half of this year, reveal his impressive range in a series of small but critical roles. First came Operation Finale, about the hunt for Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley), with Alwyn as Eichmann’s son. Then there was Boy Erased, a film about gay-conversion therapy, in which Alwyn, alongside a cast including Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Lucas Hedges, played a closeted predator. The Favourite soon followed, a riotous period piece with Alwyn, as a besotted courtier, revealing a knack for physical comedy opposite Emma Stone. And this month, the twenty-seven-year-old appears in a very different kind of period film, Mary…

IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH TO STAND OUT AT BAGGAGE CLAIM (OR JUST ON YOUR WRIST). ALL YOU NEED ARE A FEW CONTRASTING DETAILS. WITHOUT COLOR TO DISTRACT, TEXTURE DOES ALL THE TALKING — WHETHER THE FINISH IS HIGH SHINE OR MATTE. FOR STORE INFORMATION SEE PAGE 123. PROP STYLING BY CHELSEA MARUSKIN FOR ART DEPARTMENT.…

A BRIEF MONTHLY EXPANSION ON A TOPIC EXPLORED IN THE ISSUE NEW YORK THINGS THAT ARE ACTUALLY IN NEW JERSEY –The Statue of Liberty –The N. Y. Jets and N. Y. Giants –The entire NYPD –A functioning airport New Jersey is the area of the United States located off exits 1 to 18 of the New Jersey Turnpike. It’s nick-named “the Garden State” because of its many bountiful Olive Garden restaurants. New Jersey is the most densely packed state and has the highest property taxes, which is why its number-one export is commuters fleeing to New York. Its biggest industry is pharmaceuticals; thus it’s bad to experience New Jersey while pregnant or on an empty stomach. The state also has the highest concentration of shopping malls in one area, so…

INTENTIONAL Goh Peik Lin in Crazy Rich Asians: Awkwafina carries the movie and makes for the most memorable BFF in recent rom-com history. SEMI-INTENTIONAL Dick Cheney in Vice: Christian Bale nails the VP’s famous side-mouth. His dialogue almost seems to emanate from an undisclosed location. UNINTENTIONAL Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War: Spoiler alert: He kills half the population. Motivation: He just wants to be alone. Thanos = most emo villain in the universe.…

Becoming, Michelle Obama’s new memoir, has all of the life-well-lived wisdom you’d expect. But her life really kick-started when at age 27 she stopped pushing papers as a corporate attorney and took up a post in Chicago’s city government—a move she spoke about with Oprah Winfrey during a recent visit to the Hearst Tower in New York. “I narrowed myself to being this thing I thought I should be. It took losses in my life that made me think, Have you ever stopped to think about who you wanted to be? And I realized I had not. I was on the 47th floor of an office building, going over cases and writing memos. One day [my mother was] driving me from the airport after I was doing document production in…

You know things are serious when two grown men are talking about the size of bubbles. The subject of carbonation is where my conversation has veered with Masahiro Urushido, head bartender at Katana Kitten, a Japanese-American bar in New York that, like other fine watering holes (including Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco and Houston’s Tongue-Cut Sparrow), is bringing the artful craft of the Japanese-style highball stateside. What’s in a highball? Whisky and soda. Cue spit take. Are we saying the whisky soda, a drink that is barely a drink, is making a comeback? Yes, but the highball is different. How? “Care and love,” Urushido says. “It’s all about how you make it.” Hence, bubbles. At a growing number of bars, highballs come from a machine newly developed by Suntory…

First it was normcore. Then it was dad sneakers. Lately, it’s been tough to stay current without partaking in the style world’s obsession with all things ironic. It raises the question: When did cool stop being cool? That’s where Gucci comes in, with an unimpeachable throwback to the ’70s. Its latest sneakers are Stan Smith meets Salvation Army, featuring a classic shape that isn’t challenging, or avant-garde, or conceptual. It’s easy to love. Consider these the sequel to the fur-lined loafer Gucci made ubiquitous a few years back (though they’re a lot easier to pull off). Don’t worry about getting them dirty, either; they come fresh out of the box prescuffed. That high-low tension—a designer sneaker that’s slightly cruddy—is the real source of their charm. You could say the brand…

When most people hear Seiko, they think quartz. And for good reason: Seiko created the first widely available quartz-driven watch in 1969, a cost-saving, accuracy-enhancing innovation that changed the industry. But few people know that almost a decade before that, the Japanese company explored the other end of the market with Grand Seiko, a line of luxury mechanical timepieces that challenged Swiss watchmaking supremacy. It was little known here in America until 2010, when the brand allowed a trickle of watches to hit the U. S. Demand quickly surged. The Spring Drive Snowflake shown here (named for the granular texture of its dial) is typical of the restrained luxury of Grand Seiko. It’s technically innovative, too—powered by a mechanical movement but regulated by a quartz timing module. It’s one of…

Caviar on a bone-marrow custard. Carnitas on a deftly textured tortilla. A Balinese chicken thigh with a crackly roof of skin. We loved them all this year—we crushed hard on fancy tasting menus and Filipino rice bowls, swooned over ceviches and tlacoyos. Where should you eat? We’re sending you here, to the Best New Restaurants in America. You’ll probably see us at the next table, because we can’t stop going back. 1 Angler, San Francisco Esquire essayist Nora Ephron once said that it’s important for a person to eat her or his last meal strategically, before the actual onset of death, at a time when it can still be most relished. Should you want to follow her advice, book a table at Angler, in San Francisco, where through the front…

Shooting a car into outer space for no discernible reason. Marketing a flamethrower for no discernible reason. Announcing via Twitter that he was building “a cyborg dragon.” (That one sort of makes sense.) Announcing via Twitter that he was planning to take Tesla private for $420 a share. (Get it?) Composing said tweet on acid, according to Azealia Banks. Being fined $20 million by the SEC for said tweet. Referring to the hero diver who helped rescue twelve boys from a flooded Thai cave as “pedo guy.” Describing his own mind as “a never-ending explosion” while high as a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Ruining Grimes. Meanwhile, back at the White House and several other places that, believe it or not, have nothing to do with Trump… TURNS OUT IT…

The Rue de Marignan is one of those thin, short streets in Paris that epitomize discretion. Tucked behind the Champs-Elysées, it’s the kind of place where le Carré would have placed a safe house. No wonder Dior—always subtle, always understated—keeps its men’s headquarters here. And yet, on this warm June afternoon… “Kim!” “Kanye!” So much for discreet. Two people in sunglasses emerge from Dior, intent on navigating the gap between the door they’ve exited through and the car that awaits them. Photographers yell and click. Horns honk. Passersby gaze but pretend not to stare. They are French, after all. But then again, this celebrity pilgrimage, this paparazzi catwalk, is one big reason Kim Jones has been brought on as Dior’s new men’s-wear designer. Because this is where fashion is right…

STORE INFORMATION For the items featured in Esquire, please consult the website or call the phone number provided. The Code, p. 35: Bottega Veneta coat and sweater, 800-845-6790. Officine Générale trousers, mrporter.com. P. 36: Brunello Cucinelli jacket, brunellocucinelli.com. Michael Kors sweater, michaelkors.com. CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC tote bag, calvinklein.com. Versace scarf, versace.com. Exemplaire hat, exemplaire.com. P. 42: Gucci jacket, gucci.com. JW Anderson sweatshirt, ssense.com. Polo Ralph Lauren trousers, ralphlauren.com. P. 44: Gucci sneakers, gucci.com. P. 45: Canali jacket, canali.com. Missoni vest, missoni.com. Brunello Cucinelli shirt, brunellocucinelli.com. Bottega Veneta trousers and loafers, 800-845-6790. P. 47: Grand Seiko watch, grand-seiko.com. Emporio Armani jacket, armani.com. The Armoury shirt, thearmoury.com. Selim Mouzannar tsavorite ring and diamond ring, selimmouzannar.com. Selim Mouzannar emerald ring, newyork.doverstreetmarket.com. A Man in Full Bloom, pp. 90–91: Dior Men clothing, 800-929-DIOR. Break…

Almost every day, as I awake to find my iPhone, my iPad, my iWhatever bombarded by yet another cycle of incomprehensible developments, making the last news cycle look comprehensible by comparison, I have begun to wonder if it’s not that we need to speed up our minds but rather slow down our clocks. Forget about GMT, EST, CST, or PST. We’re all now on DWTFT—Digital WTF Time—in which a month goes by in a day and this past November alone felt like one hell of a decade. Why can’t our Washington overlords simply manufacture more hours, just like the Fed prints more money, so we can somehow process this tsunami of disturbing and annoying daily developments before it processes us? Not likely with the cost of that border wall. But…

It’s tough to improve on the duffle coat. Guys have prized it for its sturdy build, roomy fit, and undeniably cool closures (they’re called “toggles”) since it became part of the British Royal Navy uniform in the 1890s. (It reached a second peak on college campuses just after the midcentury mark, making it part of this winter’s collegiate-style craze.) Until recently, however, the duffle has been available almost exclusively in navy. Which is handsome, sure, but also… predictable. That’s why we suggest you spin the color wheel this season. Find a duffle in bright red, hunter green, canary yellow, or the deep orange shown here. Celebrate the fact that you can still enjoy all the coat’s original perks, but now in punched-up shades weaponized to fight winter’s grayest days.…

Guys going through the grind of work parties and family gatherings this season have a limited arsenal of style moves to pull from. No wonder so many of us settle for the cop-out that is the ugly holiday sweater: Dabbing Santa, Betty White, and a talking Charlie Brown doll were all immortalized in knitwear this year. But let us tell you: There is a way to show some personality without looking like a walking meme. The answer is mixed tailoring—that is, separate tailored pieces that you have ingeniously paired together. Don’t worry if the jacket doesn’t match the pants. That’s the point. If your blazer is checked, opt for stripes on your bottom half. Do the same thing with the scale of your patterns. If one is bold, pick a…

What’s brought on this change in your aesthetic to something richer and more “designed”? You can, after a while, become a slave to your own minimalism. After your 71st perfect trench coat, it’s natural to do one that says, “I deserve the right to mess with you.” I had had enough of being part of vulgar minimalism, which is what has taken over contemporary fashion. It seems like a contradiction in terms. Like “celebrity culture”? Yeah, those two words should not… they’re an oxymoron. My principle has been to remain free and not go too much with the wind, but I have to go a little bit. The wind is my commercial team. They say, “Jean, we need a boring suit.” And I say, “Okay, I’ll do it.” You have…

Eye Bags Sagging, darkness, and creases under the eyes are often the first signs of aging. (A culprit can be dehydration.) Crow's-feet Fine lines at the outer corners of the eyes, also known as "smile lines." These are probably worth it. Jowls Sagging at the jawline, especially on either side of the chin, which can be caused by the loss of facial fat. The Elevens Vertical creases on the inner edges of the eyebrows (above the nose). This often comes from furrowing your brow, so: relax. Nasolabial Folds Creases from the outer corners of the nose to the corners of the mouth, caused by loss of volume in the cheeks.…

DEWAR’S DOUBLE AGED SMOOTHNESS What’s in a name? In a word, standards. At Dewar’s, we’ve made a name for ourselves by living true to our standards for over 130 years. That’s about how long we’ve been double aging our whisky. Why? For extra smoothness. Learn more at Dewars.com GIVE THE GIFT OF STYLE The Esquire Men’s Jewelry Collection takes the stress out of gift giving with a line of expertly crafted pieces encompassing the right blend of classic and contemporary, in a broad range of styles and materials, to complete that Man at His Best look. Save now at www.Macys.com/EsquireJewelry HIGHEST QUALITY HONEST PRICES Handcrafted with the highest quality materials to be comfortable, versatile and durable. Featuring gold-standard Goodyear Welt Construction, thoughtfully timeless designs, and sold direct-to-consumer at unbeatable prices…

“I’m getting a little tired of being awarded things, honestly. Working on a sentient AI that can stand in for me to accept statuettes and plaques moving forward. Still perfecting the hair plugs for it. Need it to look sexy; otherwise it’s just creepy. ¶ So this is a magazine award? We’re still using paper and printing presses? Such a waste. I have a better use for ink. We can use it to communicate with giant squids. Just imagine how many submarines we’ll save. You people aren’t thinking big enough. While we’re at it, don’t you think I’d be a better Aquaman than Jason Momoa? The water-breathing exercises I’ve been doing in the morning make me feel amazing. And pretty soon you’ll be able to just dump information into my…

IN the sophomore year of my undergrad education, I discovered James Baldwin. I discovered James Baldwin in the wake of a breakup. I discovered James Baldwin when my no-longer girlfriend looked at me squarely and said, “You need to read James Baldwin.” I was punching above my weight. She was further along, a senior. Her parents were (proudly) from the nation of people responsible for the first—the only—successful slave revolt in the history of the world. It was a turbulent relationship, as far as I can remember, her repeatedly allowing me my painful emotional growth, me repeatedly taking that space as a means to neglect and evade the growth she believed me capable of. It’s a wonder she bothered with me at all. In her wake, I read James Baldwin.…

Even as the hunt for Saddam unfolded, it became clear that most of the arguments and assumptions used to justify the war were shaky at best. There were no weapons of mass destruction. There was no relationship between Saddam and Al Qaeda. While the invasion itself was fast and successful, governing and rebuilding Iraq has been a near-impossible task for the U. S., which finds itself still struggling fifteen years later. And few of the Bush administration’s pre-war arguments have been proved true by history. August 26, 2002 “Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.”—DICK CHENEY, vice-president of the United States, from an…