Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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Parting Shot Your Feathers Are Showing SUCCESSFUL VEGAS MEN TAKE PRIDE IN THEIR APPEARANCE, BUT HAS THEIR VANITY GONE TOO FAR? AND ARE WOMEN RESPONSIBLE? BY BETSY F. PERRY I doesn't discuss beauty routines with other guys. They ask for clothing advice, but it's never "Who does your eyebrows?" Says Neiman Marcus personal stylist Lindsey McKane, "More straight men are comfy now with their beauty routines, and women are encouraging them." While she insists that you not push anyone past his comfort zone, her Vermont-born husband takes pride in his looks and lost 30 pounds running five miles a day because "he cares how his clothes fit." McKane says he's gone from wearing no cologne to never leaving the house without a Tom Ford or Hermès scent. She adds, "All his friends have left their barbers for this trendy haircutter that features girls in low-cut shirts." Ta-da! But when a man no longer likes his reflection in the mirror, how willing is he to turn to drastic measures? According to Dr. William Zamboni, chief of plastic surgery at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, male patients now constitute 15 to 20 percent of his practice—up from 10 percent five years ago—with facial rejuvenation, liposuction, and breast reduction the most favored procedures. Asked if he'll turn down a patient's request, Zamboni says, "I have to be honest if I think expectations are unachievable." (Mario Lopez abs? Not happening.) When once our dads showered, shaved, clipped their nails, and did little else, we've now bred peacocks vying for the blow-dryer and elbowing us aside for more mirror time. I think I can speak for most women here: We don't enjoy a man with foil in his hair in the adjacent chair asking what color polish we're wearing. A little mystery is good. V ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL O'LEARY n a city whose male role models include Elvis, Liberace, and the sartorially splendid Siegfried and Roy, it's not surprising that gelled hair, injectables, and manscaping are becoming routine. Men, infected by the strains of razzle-dazzle in the Vegas air, seem to be sprouting peacock feathers. Inspired by our body-beautiful culture and its strong anti-aging aesthetic, this flock takes its plumage seriously. As Simon Doonan, Barneys New York's creative ambassador-at-large, proclaims, "If there's a revolution in male vanity, it's in Las Vegas and it's contagious. It goes back to Elvis, who never had a hair out of place." But are we ladies to blame for this burst of narcissism? For the most part, guilty as charged. Dr. Morris Schaner, a noted Las Vegas radiologist, confides, "My wife, Ellen, points out the hairs in my ears and tells me where to go so I don't look like a hairy ape." Admitting to waxing, a personal trainer, and the occasional mani-pedi, he reveals, "I don't consider myself vain, but it's better to follow through so I don't get nagged." He is the one who discovered Kemistry Professional hair products, but his wife encourages him "organically" by leaving special creams in the bathroom. Claiming that women are the force majeure behind this male trend, Dominick Gagliano, merchandise manager at Neiman Marcus at Fashion Show mall, says, "My interest was piqued when I would tiptoe around looking at my wife's skincare products in the bathroom." He'll confess to manicures, pedicures, and having his eyebrows done, but Gagliano 128 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 128_V_BOB_Closer_Oct13.indd 128 9/18/13 1:35 PM