I’ve had some requests for some guy clothes, and I think it’s about time I got around to it! Here are some looks from Forever 21.

From forever21.com

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Men’s Wearhouse is giving away a $100 gift certificate for prom!

This year, Men’s Wearhouse is getting into the Prom spirit by offering you a chance to text, tweet and talk your way to a free tux or a $100 Visa Gift card or even a Camaro Coupe this year when they participate in the Men’s Wearhouse Prom Rep campaign.  Reps who recruit ten friends to rent a tux from Men’s Wearhouse receive a free tux rental. Female prom reps who earn a free tux rental can give it to a friend or opt for a $100 Visa gift card.

If you’d like to win the $100 gift certificate they are giving away on Prom Mafia, check out their top 10 tuxes and let me know which is your favorite! Extra entries if you:

• Follow Prom Mafia on Twitter
• Tweet the contest on Twitter (The more you tweet, the more you’re entered! Just be sure to include @prommafia so I see it.)
• Fan Prom Mafia on facebook
• Download the Prom Prep List facebook app

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. Contest ends on Monday, April 19th.

Spring is just around the corner, Mafiettes! Weather allowing, it’s time to start thinking about wardrobe innovations to transition smoothly and fashionably into the new season.

According to The Skinny, floral and animal prints will come into play once more during this year’s spring season. Dakota Fanning wore a leopard-print dress for the December Teen Vogue, and a similar version of it is now available at Forever 21 in its resort collection.

From teenvogue.com and forever21.com

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Dear Tuxedo Manufacturers,

For so long you have been the staple of men’s formal wear.  As the bread and butter of the industry, you played it safe in this economic downturn and saw no need for innovation with your fashions, marketing, and business strategies.

Instead, you relied on societal traditions to bring forth desperate grooms, prom dates, and other customers in need of tuxedos, despite the old and outdated selections they encountered.

Yet your complacency is catching up with you.  You’re no longer the bread and butter; you’re becoming a moldy old loaf in danger of being tossed out.  You face becoming not only unneeded, but unwanted.

With no new styles and no new merchandise, you are being replaced.  While girls still covet the latest trends in formal dresses, guys now opt for a more casual and stylish approach. As Alex P., a high school Senior from California, put it, “Tuxedos are boring.  I prefer the look from my own closet – black jeans, cool looking shirt, tie and black jacket – the perfect ‘tuxedo’.”

We hope you take this criticism as constructive because that is its intention.  We are not trying to beat you down.  We are merely attempting to motivate you because barring some Christmas miracle, it is up to you to save your withering industry.

We consumers still feel that nothing is more handsome than a man in a tuxedo, but only when it is modern and stylish.  Please listen to the needs of your changing consumers and adapt to the new market and new economy.  Try responding to our preferences with a new ‘casual’ tuxedo.  Partner with hip designers such as Vans, Zoo York, and Quicksilver.  And most importantly, provide retailers with high quality, visually stimulating images for advertising.

Please take these suggestions to heart because the status quo just won’t do. We can get along without you, but we’d hate to see you go.

Sincerely,

Note: This letter was prompted by the discovery that tuxedo manufacturers are releasing no new styles and trying no new business strategies for 2010, even though many face closings, mergers, and acquisitions. If you would like answers from an industry expert, please contact Paul Pannone from 1800MyTuxes.com.

Christmas is coming……What should I get my brother, my dad, my guy?  Anyone else at a loss? If, like me, you don’t have a ton of moolah to spend, here are some suggestions:

Graphic Tie: $25

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