Innehållsförteckning för September 2013 från Esquire

In the March issue, we asked 11 men's style experts to assess the sartorial shift of the previous decade. Six months later, that shift continues at an even greater pace, which we address in detail starting on page 157. But first, a few words from our impeccably dressed style department on the progress they've observed since just last season: > NICK SULLIVAN, fashion director: The one thing that struck us was this very strong division between a modern, contemporary vibe and this funky-but-chilled-out classic vibe. That's why we did two portfolios this month ("Just Another Day in Kick-Ass City," page 158; "The Dark Suit Rises," page 172). > RICHARD DORMENT, senior editor: It's sort of fragmented. There are so many different things going on, but that's symptomatic of the overall…

First, some qualifications: Two years ago, Milano launched her own line of female-focused NFL apparel, Touch. Her father-in-law has worked the chain gang for the Giants for 35 years. Plus, her TV father, Tony Micelli on Who's the Boss? was a retired baseball player. And she's currently hosting the new season of Project Runway All Stars, which has nothing to do with anything except for the fact that it premieres around the same time as this year's football season. On this year's favorite: I would like to think it's the Giants, but the Broncos will be very tough to beat. On this year's least favorite: The Jaguars. On the Ravens' odds to repeat as Super Bowl champs: Somewhere between not happening and no way. On the new scariest player in…

A BLACKSMITH IS TRAINING his new apprentice. Getting to know the boy's skills, the blacksmith asks, "Have you ever shoed a horse?" The apprentice replies, "No, but I did once tell a donkey to fk off." ABOUT THE JOKESTER: Nicole Beharie is in no danger of being typecast. Before she played Mrs. Jackie Robinson in 42, she sexually frustrated Michael Fassbender nearly to sincerity in Shame. And before that, she was on Broadway in a 19th-century farce in the role of a pregnant teenage farm girl. Now the 28-year-old Juilliard grad is playing a modern-day cop chasing after the Headless Horseman alongside Ichabod Crane on the new Fox show Sleepy Hollow. And while the prestigious school prepped her for these wide-ranging roles, it failed to equip her with the gun-toting…

Q HOW DIFFERENT IS SEX GOING TO BE AFTER MY WIFE HAS HER BABY? Be prepared for more bibs, more vomit, about the same amount of diapers, and a lot more crying. At least that's what I gather from the mommy blogs. Now, since you didn't ask how sex will be different for her, I'll assume you want to know how it will be different for you. That's good—I'd hate to have to try to summarize the varied and endless psychological, social, and sexual affronts that your wife will experience through this black deed. You, on the other hand, might feel something like a mildly annoying bump. That's because some degree of tearing usually occurs with a vaginal birth, and "if the woman had a lot of stitches that were…

When Michelle is taking Sasha and Malia to tennis on Saturday afternoons, Barack heads to the office, claiming he has work to do, and secretly watches Homeland. That's what the president told Damian Lewis at a White House state dinner, anyway, and I think it must be something more than flattery. Has there ever been a show more in tune with its times, more absolutely plugged into the zeitgeist, than Homeland? It's the definitive show about the empire of anxiety America has created for itself. Homeland's third season begins this month, with ex-marine and terrorist sympathizer Nicholas Brody hiding out in Canada and CIA agent Carrie Mathison trying to clear his name. The plot details are much less interesting than the psychological portraits of the two leads: the devoted agent…

AND IF THE POLITICIANS HAVE THEIR WAY, THE SECURITY OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER WILL BE SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED. THE FOREMOST WRITER ON THE REBUILDING OF GROUND ZERO ASKS THE QUESTION: WHO WILL PROTECT THE BUILDINGS IN THE CROSSHAIRS? I walked the World Trade Center memorial plaza not long ago as a tourist—one of the eight million or so who've come since the plaza opened on 9/11/11. It was noon on a Monday of tropical humidity and fat rain; street vendors were hawking umbrellas along with the usual schlock, and the smokers huddling under each building facade en route to Ground Zero stank like wet mutts. You're not supposed to call it Ground Zero anymore. The phrase is fine in reference to Hiroshima, its place of origin, but it bums folks…

ESQ STYLE TIP NO. 633 WHY IS THIS MAN WEARING SO MANY LAYERS? COULD BE BECAUSE HE'S FACING ONE OF FALL'S KINDA HOT/KINDA COLD DAYS. OR COULD BE THAT HE KNOWS THAT EACH ITEM MAKES A BOLD STATEMENT. PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH. Wool-cashmere-and-silk coat ($3,795), two-button cashmere jacket ($3,795), and cotton shirt ($435) by Ermenegildo Zegna; cashmere tie ($60) by Massimo Dutti; cotton trousers ($495) by Marc Jacobs; leather shoes ($700) by Church's; wool scarf ($245) by Tod's; leather-and-cashmere gloves ($268) by John Varvatos. Three-button wool-silk-and-cashmere jacket ($2,785), cashmere vest ($1,495), and cotton jeans ($550) by Brunello Cucinelli; cotton shirt ($690) by Bottega Veneta; wool pocket square ($125) by Isaia. ESQ STYLE TIP NO. 582 IT TAKES NEITHER COURAGE NOR COJONES TO WEAR ONE OF THE SMALLER-SCALE PATTERNS…

UNLESS YOU'RE MORE OF A PLAYER THAN WE THINK YOU ARE, THAT NEW HUNDRED-DOLLAR BILL COMING THIS FALL WON'T WIND UP IN YOUR POCKET VERY OFTEN. BUT IT MAY BE AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR EXPORT, THE MOST COVETED BILL IN THE WORLD. AND THE STORY OF THE NEW HUNDRED—STILL MADE BY HAND WITH ANCIENT TOOLS—IS THE STORY OF AMERICAN MONEY ITSELF. OUR NEW HUNDRED-DOLLAR BILL, LIKE EVERY other single piece of American folding money, is born in this rotary boiler. It's a perfect sphere, an angry kettle fifteen feet across, spinning high off the ground between two stained concrete towers. Most people swear out loud when they see it for the first time. A network of gears, each tooth the size of a fist, churns away in the darkness behind it.…

Even now, Alex Jones can't relax. Two weeks after he enraged the entire country by naming the U. S. government as Suspect No. 1 in the bloody slaughter at the Boston Marathon, the radio host and avatar of modern American paranoia is on vacation with his family in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He goes to museums with his kids, takes in the Romanesque baths, laments the decay of the grand old hotels that drew high rollers like Al Capone and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, hikes up hillsides steamy with the mist from the natural hot springs that bubble right out of the rocks. But everywhere he looks there are fresh assaults on the American way of life, on liberty itself, and the raging radio voice that transforms him from a gentle family…

Lunch, Cafe Cluny, Greenwich Village, New York. SCOTT RAAB: I'm a little worried because the last time I was here, I was with Philip Seymour Hoffman and within six months he was in rehab.1 ANDY SAMBERG: Oh, no. Was it you? SR: I can't rule it out. AS: Oy yoy yoy.2 SR: Were you ever bar mitzvahed? AS: No. My father says he regrets me not doing it. When I was younger, it was a choice between getting bar mitzvahed or playing soccer. And he was the coach of the soccer team. SR: I don't understand the choice. AS: Saturdays. SR: You have a bris?3 AS: I remember it fondly. SR: Any tattoos? AS: No. SR: Planning any tattoos? AS: No plans. SR: Have you set a date for the…

TECH SCHOOL By now you know most of the acronyms and misleading specs that go into selling you a TV. But what you might not know is which of them are actually important. Or how much you'll actually need to spend to get a good set. If that's the case, we're here to help. For the really nerdy stuff, we even consulted Gary Merson, editor of hdguru.com and one of the few people who gets excited about things like pixel density and refresh rate. With his input, we put together this guide to navigating your shopping experience the best way we know how. PLASMA VERSUS LCD Among plasma, LCD, and LED LCD, your best bet really seems to be plasma (unless you're looking for something smaller than 42 inches). Although…

BUY THE BUILDERS HOUSING IS BACK, AND THE BEST-POSITIONED HOME BUILDERS ARE ABOUT TO TAKE OFF. YOU JUST HAVE TO KNOW WHICH ONES… . The thing that has united financial bubbles over the years is that nobody needs the commodity at the heart of them. Tulips, Internet stocks, even gold. Gold is deflating quickly right now not because the jewelry industry or the speaker-wire industry or the hip-hop-teeth industry suddenly needs less of it. It's collapsing because the people who bid it up in the hopes that someone else would bid it further are losing confidence. What happens when the bubble being inflated is not a useless commodity but instead something Americans want, need, and are willing to pay for even in the worst of times? That's what we're finding…

THE ESSENTIAL: THE DOCKERS ALPHA COLLECTION It's been three years, give or take, since the good people of Dockers took a long look in our collective closet, shook their heads, and decided the men of America deserved better pants. The Alpha Khaki, a chino with a slightly tapered leg, a slightly rough feel (almost denim-like), and a dizzying array of color options, quickly made Dockers the brand of choice for men who wanted the ease of wearing khakis without the baggy, saggy, Dad-playing-putt-putt fits. Now the khaki pioneer is capitalizing on that success by offering improved fits and feels in a full collection of shirts, jackets, and sweaters. In addition to the trim patterned button-downs, cotton piqué blazers, and chunky cardigans that make up the new line's top half, there…

Everyone is so damn mindful these days. Doing yoga and meditation, having "alone time." Sounds like glorified napping. Until you discover that a few minutes of meditation a day can lower blood pressure, promote stress-relieving neuroplasticity, combat autoimmune diseases, reduce anxiety, and even make you a nicer person. No joke. And you don't have to go to an ashram or join a cult or anythinglike that. In fact, there's this app you can get… . FIND THESE RELAXING STORIES INSIDE: A CALL TO ACTION, BY A MEDICAL DOCTOR (FROM HARVARD!), P. 130 // SCOTT RAAB FINDS INNER PEACE, P. 132 // FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, P. 134 // HOW TO DO IT AT HOME, P. 130 // AND PROOF THAT IT WORKS, STARTING ON THE NEXT PAGE. *BY WAY OF "MINDFULNESS,"…

SATURDAY at the beach. Chris Hemsworth is a black speck on the horizon, surfing well past the point break, a mile, maybe two, off the coast. He can be seen clearly through the best binoculars. He's out there looking for a good set of waves in between the choppy-chop, tearing into some monster shoulders, working his cutbacks just before the waves close out. Once he notes the time, sees the distant glint of the binocular lenses staring out at him, he starts in to shore. From that distance, he works a serpentine path, the rails of his board cutting a shimmering trail of blue- white across the black surface of the Pacific, standing in what surfers call a soul arch, upright and sure, pulling a sloping weave between the kooks…

THE NEXT STEP This page: Two-button wool jacket ($825) by L.B.M. 1911. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Two-button wool-and-silk jacket ($3,295) and cotton pocket square ($125) by Isaia. Double-breasted wool-blend jacket ($1,450) by Boglioli; leather gloves ($195) by Thomas Pink. Two-button wool jacket ($995) by Thomas Pink; glasses ($240) by Gucci. Two-button wool-cotton-and-cashmere jacket ($2,345) by Ravazzolo. THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS BEYOND BASIC NAVY BLUE TEN YEARS AGO, back when a man had his suits on one end of his closet and his business-casual gear on the other, he probably had one good sport coat that he wore only when he didn't know what else to wear. It was a backup, a just-in-case, a navy-blue afterthought with wobbly gold buttons. That began to change when our approach to style…

Interviewed by Cal Fussman, June 4, 2013 WRITER AND DIRECTOR, 77, NEW YORK CITY > My two teenage girls think of me as ancient. But I'm up before them and wake them to go to school. > What people who don't write don't understand is that they think you make up the line consciously—but you don't. It proceeds from your unconscious. So it's the same surprise to you when it emerges as it is to the audience when the comic says it. I don't think of the joke and then say it. I say it and then realize what I've said. And I laugh at it, because I'm hearing it for the first time myself. > Without fear, you'd never survive. > My dad didn't even teach me how to…

COMING NEXT MONTH: THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF ESQUIRE As part of our celebration, we are undertaking a landmark project to reflect the history of modern America—an unforgettable portfolio of original portraits of American men, from age 80 to age 1. We are calling it THE LIFE OF MAN. It will be a river of faces born in each year of the last eight decades, together forming a living embodiment of who we are now. One part of this portfolio will consist of 80 unique portraits of prominent American men we have commissioned for our special 80th Anniversary issue—from Willie Nelson and Bill Belichick to Dr. Dre and Jonathan Franzen to a couple extraordinary babies—one famous face born in each of the last 80 years. But we intend this unique work…

THE BIGGEST SURPRISE THE NETWORKS JUST MIGHT BE GOOD AGAIN For the last few years, you were smart to avoid new broadcast TV shows until at least November. By then, the blatantly ridiculous (How to Be a Gentleman) had been canceled. The disappointingly mediocre (The Mindy Project) had had time to shake off the burden of expectation and turn into something surprisingly watchable. And inexplicably supported drivel—like 2 Broke Girls or The Neighbors—well, it was still around, but at least you knew to avoid it. This year looks to be different. If there's anything you can say about the new shows on NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox as a whole, it's that they're all … not bad. In fact, some are downright good, like The Blacklist, NBC's pleasantly…

In the first few pages of Doctor Sleep (Scribner, $30), Stephen King's sequel to 1977's The Shining, the fear takes no time rushing back. Here's eight-year-old Danny Torrance—just that name can give an entire generation of sleepless children goosebumps—listening to his mother still choking on the injuries she'd received at the hands of her husband, Jack, that terrible winter at the Overlook Hotel. Danny has to pee, and when he creeps into the bathroom in the night, he sees Mrs. Massey, the woman from room 217, sitting on the toilet, leaving stains in her bloated wake. That's page 3. I'd started reading Doctor Sleep in bed, and I decided to close it right then, hoping to delay the inevitable nightmares. I read The Shining when I was a kid, and…

For the love of god, one more drink an endorsement of the nightcap "Alcohol affects sleep onset, duration and architecture," as the Lexicon of Psychiatry, Neurology, and the Neurosciences puts it, "increasing slow wave sleep"—the deep, wake-up-groggy kind—and "reducing the amount of rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep"—the kind that … well, we don't know exactly what it does, but we'd die without it. What's more, "as the night progresses blood alcohol levels fall," leading to "heightened arousal … and recurrent awakenings associated with tachycardia, sweating, headaches, and intense dreams or nightmares." There's still more, but if all that isn't enough to make you lay off the sauce at bedtime, you're beyond telling. Like we are. See, against all that unpleasant stuff, there's this: It's late. You're in bed, comfortable. The room…

WHAT ARE SOME DIFFERENT WAYS TO FOLD A POCKET SQUARE? I LIKE THE LOOK OF THEM, BUT I NEVER REALLY KNOW IF I'M FOLDING THEM RIGHT. JUSTIN STEWART SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. Justin, there are several ways to fold a pocket square, but a lot depends on the material from which it's made. Both cotton and linen work a lot like origami, and once folded into one of any number of possible shapes, the cloth holds a sharp crease that tends to stay put [Fig. 1a, by J. Press, $45]. Not so with silk, which really looks best billowing nonchalantly from the mouth of the pocket [Fig. 1b, by Brioni, $100]. Master the techniques and you'll probably find one that you favor over all the others. Just don't faff about it…

THE BMW WE'VE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT And four other completely impractical, rather expensive cars that make us happy to be alive THE SPECS 2014 BMW M6 GRAN COUPE ENGINE: 560-HP TWIN- TURBO V-8 MPG: 14 CITY/20 HIGHWAY PRICE: $113,925 When the first BMW M5 launched in the 1980s—a 152-mph top speed, styling like an anvil on wheels, sold in America only in black—fast four-doors barely existed. That car did its job by brute force, with an engine derived from BMW's M1 supercar and a five-speed gearbox and more power than a lot of Italian sex mobiles with unpronounceable names. It ripped the lid off what everyone thought a fast sedan should be. That sort of wake-up moment no longer happens, because honest-to-God fast has become an everyman commodity. Today, for…

A CELEBRATION, AND EXHORTATION, IN THREE PARTS The average American man is better dressed today than at any point in recent memory. This is a bold statement, and we can't really prove it, but everywhere we look, we're all sharper fits and smarter choices and easy, well-earned confidence. We finally grew up and started dressing like the men we always wanted to be, and for the first time in a long time, we're wearing clothes the way they're meant to be worn. With appreciation. And respect. And a pleasing, surprising sensation that can sometimes feel like fun. Here's the thing, though. (Yes, there is a thing. There is always a thing.) We can all do a little better. We've spent the last three, four, five years adjusting our comfort zones…

This page, on Thomas Wirthensohn, documentary filmmaker: Cotton trench coat ($3,950) by Louis Vuitton; three-button cashmere-and-silk suit ($8,562), cotton shirt ($870), and cashmere-wool-and-silk tie ($280)by Kiton; leather shoes ($900) by Santoni. Opposite: Two-button wool-and-cashmere suit ($2,950), cotton shirt ($730), and silk tie ($215) by Louis Vuitton; steel Ballon Bleu watch ($5,900) by Cartier. TIP NO. 452 FORGET THE FLAT, SOULLESS SURFACES THAT TYPIFY MOST DRESSY SUIT CLOTHS AND LOOK FOR WEAVES WITH UNCOMMON TEXTURES. THE SUBTLE HORIZONTAL GRAIN OF THIS TWO-PIECE ADDS DIMENSION AND DEPTH TO THE SUIT AND DEMANDS A CLOSER LOOK. On Townsend Ambrecht, actor and filmmaker: Wool-and-cashmere coat ($2,445) and cotton shirt ($545) by Dolce & Gabbana; silk tie ($150) by Burberry London. TIP NO. 517 LOOK CLOSE. CUH-LOOOSER. SEE THAT SLIGHT SHEEN? THAT'S WHAT YOU GET…

LESSON NO. 1 COOK LIKE YOU MEAN IT A TOP CHEF MASTERS CONTESTANT ATTEMPTS TO TEACH A WRITER WHO CAN BARELY MAKE A BOWL OF CEREAL HOW TO CREATE FOOD THAT EXPRESSES LOVE AND TASTES DELICIOUS. IN FOUR HOURS. NO PROBLEM. WRITER: Francine Maroukian CHEF: BRYAN VOLTAGGIO / LOCATION: RANGE, VOLTAGGIO'S RESTAURANT IN WASHINGTON, D. C. / DATE: JUNE 18, 2013 PHOTOGRAPHS BY MELISSA GOLDEN CHEF WISDOM 1 Once in a while, make the tartar sauce yourself. 2 Clarified butter is butter from which the milk solids have been removed. It has a high smoke point, meaning you can get it hot enough for frying without setting off your smoke alarm. 3 Cooking is not art. Cooking is generosity. It took a bit for Bryan Voltaggio, the famous young chef…