Talk of the Town: The freaky world of fashion: What not to wear at the Olympics

Get your make-up mirrors out, guys! In an increasingly metrosexual world, perhaps it comes as no surprise.

A British company recently announced that it would start stocking makeup designed just for men.

“Guy-liner” and “Manscara” to enhance the eyes of the male in your life, will appear in Britian’s Superdrug this week.

The new line is the first male cosmetics range to break into a chain drugstore company.

Last month, the company’s director of trading Jeff Wemyss insisted that its cosmetics, branded Taxi Man, said, “These days you can be macho and wear make-up. Men are more obsessed with their appearance than ever before. There is no longer any pain in being seen to be vain.”

“We believe there is a real market for cosmetic products,” he added.

“The majority of our customers are women and we believe that these products will be bought by women for their partners, as well as by men themselves.”

A spokesman for the company said that ‘Guy-liner’ pencil is chunkier than the female equivalent and therefore easier for men, who have bigger hands, to use.

“If Johnny Depp can pull it off, so can you,” another spokesperson said.

“A few years ago, you would not have found many men admitting to wearing fake tan and now that is something that you see quite a lot.

Personally, I think it will be a very long time before it is generally accepted practice for men to put on some eye-liner before coming into the office.

(Until we got married, my husband didn’t even know what hair conditioner was. He thought it was just a very low-sudsing shampoo.)

And now it’s over to China. As Beijing gets ready for the Olympics, The Associated Press reports that the city government is telling residents what not to wear, advising against too many colors, white socks with black shoes, and parading publicly in pajamas.

(Actually, I do believe the white socks and black shoes ban is OK fashion-wise, but only if they include banning socks and sandals as well. I never could figure that one out. It sort of ‘defeats’ (get it?) the purpose of wearing sandals if you add socks to the look.) Anyway, the Chinese government is passing out etiquette booklets to an estimated four million households ahead of the Olympics.

Besides fashion suggestions, it also aims to cut out public spitting and promote orderly lining up.

“It’s also giving advice on everything from shaking hands to how to stand and is part of a slew of admonitions on manners,” said Zheng Mojie, deputy director of the Office of Capital Spiritual Civilization Construction Commission, the group that published the booklet.

There should be no more than three color groups in your clothing, Zheng’s committee advises, and wearing pajamas and slippers to visit neighbors, as some elderly Beijing residents like to do, is also out. It recommends dark-colored socks, and says white socks should never be worn with black leather shoes.

Campaigns involving nearly a million volunteers have been launched to give etiquette tips at schools, universities and government offices. In some districts university students have been encouraged to go to villages to educate rural people, Zheng said.

The book advises that there should be no public displays of affection, feet should be slightly apart or in the shape of a V or Y when standing, and a handshake should not last more than three seconds.

Don’t ask foreigners their age, marital status, income, past experience, address, personal life, religious beliefs or political beliefs, it says.

Another book, published in April, details how to be a good fan when watching Olympic competitions, saying spectators should cheer all teams, and accept that a victory or loss is temporary whereas the impression of the culture inside a sports venue lasts forever.

Green Valley residents Don and Margie McBride are cheering on their son and his friend who are biking their way from Green Valley to their homes in Kansas.

Alan McBride, M.D., 60, and Kyle LaRosh, DMV, 57, set out on their journey from Green Valley on July 22 and plan to bike to Lawrence, Kan., in about 12 days meaning they should be arriving at their destination any minute now. The entire journey is an estimated 1,200 miles.

Both seasoned riders, traveling as much as 150 miles in a single day, the men said their wives, Carol McBride and Denise LaRosh, would meet them when they finished their journey but saw them off right here in Green Valley.

Avoiding the interstates as much as possible, the men intend to get hotel rooms every evening to rest up for the following day.

They also intend to keep a journal and take photos on the way.

I’ll update you, loyal readers, as soon as I get word that they have arrived safely.

The 6th Annual Kids Care Fair hosted by Safeway in Sahuarita on July 26 was a big success and Karen Rans, recreation supervisor for Green Valley Recreation, was there helping out.

She wants to thank Safeway store managers John Preininger, Green Valley, and Doug Fallwell, Sahuarita, and the local Salvation Army, whose efforts provided more than 200 children with a new pair of shoes, a backpack and school supplies.

Green Valley Decorative Rock hosted the KGVY AM 1080 live broadcast. Safeway provided a healthy lunch for the children, parents and volunteers. Volunteers from Salvation Army, Safeway, Payless Shoes, Wells Fargo, Green Valley Fire District and Green Valley Recreation assisted with this wonderful community event.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740