Expect most bosses to again ban June’s Take-Your-Dog-To-Work-Day (TYDTWD). But America’s premier luxury cufflink maker, Baade II, has figured out a witty trick for pooch-passionate employees to outsmart the veto. Slating the debut of their Alpha Dogs Collection to coincide with June 24th’s TYDTWD, Baade’s solid sterling cufflinks are a clever way to tout your favorite breed and salute your Pooch-Power support for this year’s TYDTWD. Hand-crafted in America and based on American Kennel Club’s (AKC) list of the 10 most popular breeds, Baade’s all-new Alpha Dogs Collection retails for $395 and is available at over 200 of America’s top luxury fashion boutiques. Custom, hand-painting is available.

Atlantic City, NJ  May 25, 2011

When the 13th annual edition of Take-Your-Dog-To-Work-Day (TYDTWD) rolls over around this June 24th, count on most bosses again banishing it from the workplace. Blame the ban on fleas, pet allergies among co-workers, lost productivity, insurance, canine squabbles, noise and unruly disruptions. And of course, no dog-friendly PortaPotties.

But the dog-loving owners of Baade II - America’s premier luxury cufflink maker - have figured out a witty, off-the-cuff trick for pooch-passionate employees to outwit their boss’ snub and still strut their canine spirit.

Targeting June 24th’s TYDTWD as their official launch date, Mary Ann Paul and Traci Paul, the mother-daughter duo who head-up the 28-year-old, Atlantic City-based, Baade II, chose 8 of America’s 10 most popular breeds for their all-new, Alpha Dogs cufflink collection. For their Top 10 line-up of Alpha Dogs the Paul’s pulled their poll of America’s 10 most popular breeds from the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) official press materials. All are hand-crafted in America from sterling silver.

While Alpha Dogs’ official launch date is set for Friday, June 24th, Baade co-CEO, Traci Paul, pegged their release date for June 17, a week ahead of TYDTWD.

Opting for a balanced mix of big and small dogs, Mary Ann Paul and daughter, Traci Paul, chose a Dachshund, Golden Retriever, Scottish Terrier, then added a Pug, Black Lab and Bulldog, followed-up by a Yorkshire Terrier and Beagle. Most noticeable absentee is America’s top dog, the German Shepherd. Expect the top-10’s now missing German Shepherd and Golden Lab and, thanks to Paris Hilton, the now suddenly popular, Chihuahua, told Traci Paul, to arrive in the second edition, when Baade II adds another seven to their list of America’s most popular pooches, bringing the total to 15.

Custom, Hand-Painted Pooch-Portrait Finish.

Vintage-like blackened glaze is standard finish throughout Baade II’s Alpha Dogs Collection. But for the pooch proud owners itching to put-on-the-dog, Baade’s hand-painted pooch portrait option ranks payday for canine fashion extroverts. From a digital snap shot, Baade CEO, Mary Ann Paul, will personally hand-paint the appropriate Alpha Dog into Fido’s likeness.

Retail price for the solid, sterling silver Alpha Dogs Collection in vintage-blackened glaze is $395.00. Price for custom, hand-painted finishes, told Mary Ann Paul, are quoted individually and based on a digital photo and complexity of the dog’s likeness.

About Baade II:

For over two decades, Atlantic City based Baade (Bay-dee) II, has produced a limited edition collections of artisan hand-crafted and true, Vitreous hand-enameled cufflinks, formal suites and personal jewelry for men and women. Fashion cognoscenti and luxury connoisseurs, alike, hail their brilliantly colored, hand-fired designs as America’s - and arguably, the world’s - very finest, artisan-wrought personal jewelry.

Since its 1988 founding, hand-enameled cloisonne and champleve designs have remained the company’s flagship design signature. Today, Baade II’s wide ranging array of over 500 differing, limited edition designs - all meticulously handcrafted in America and now including precious and semi-precious stones as well as novelty styles - are retailed by over 300 of America’s premier specialty retailers, from Barney’s New York and Mitchells of Westport to Beverly Hills’ iconic menswear retailer, Carroll & Company.

Family-owed and co-helmed and co-designed by the mother-daughter team of Mary Ann Paul and Traci Paul, Baade II is head quarted in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Telephone for either Mary Ann Paul, Traci Paul, or Baade II’s design studio and workshop, is 609-340-8650. Website and Email address is http://www.baadecufflinks.com or baadeii(at)aol(dot)com. Formatted digital image, along with select Alpha Dogs cufflinks, are available at editorial request.

Baade II is a member of the Alliance of American Luxury Makers (ALM). Follow them on Tumblr at http://americanluxurymakers.tumblr.com

Contact:

Ms. Traci Paul
Executive Vice President, Co-designer, Baade II
609-238-1685 
http://www.baadecufflinks.com

Andy Stinson
Stinson/R. Ely & Partners
858-573-1698 
http://www.stinsonrely.com

Daringly adventurous designs, bold coloring and avant garde silhouettes signature launch of ultra-luxe men’s collection by fashion’s top brand imaging gurus. Risk-assertive collection contradicts all trends, revives long absent, ’30s and ’40s movie star fashion icons, boasts American hand-craftsmanship, exotic fabrics and stratoshperic prices.

San Diego, CA. March 16, 2011 

Andy Stinson, luxe fashion’s longtime branding whiz and co-founder of Stinson/R. Ely & Partners — the brand imaging, design and publicity firm he co-helmed for 22-years ago with partner, Robbi Ely — today announced launching Stinson R. Ely, their eponymously named menswear label. 

Bereft of basics, it is a dandies collection, exclusively. Unarguably, it promises to be luxe fashion’s most buzzed-about new men’s label.

Throughout, It is resolutely modern and visually dramatic, a salute to the seamless melding of what otherwise would be contradictory design talents between the dashing Stinson and Ely’s understated minimalism. http://www.stinsonrely.com

A narrowly defined collection, it woos a risk-assertive sartorialist, a man who effortlessly marries elegance and modernism with daring, yet sophisticated, flamboyance.

No shrinking violet, its designs, coloring and silhouettes contradict all current menswear fashion trends. Radically avant garde, it dares to take risk at every corner.

Therein its dandy’s appeal.   

That it “dares to take risk” is an au contraire description considering it’s designs are minimalistic simple and void of extraneous detail. Motifs are simple, timeless classics. Its palette, for the most part, shaved to just two colors.

Despite its simplicity, its sledge hammer wallop and dandy’s pedigree are won from a few sleight-of-hand design tricks that magically transform minimalist simplicity into daringly adventurous. The unexpected surprise of Spring patterns are transported to Fall-Winter, then powerfully executed in bold, over-sized motifs.

Vibrant colors – juggled in visually dramatic combinations – pit neutrals against the surprise of Spring’s jewel tone brights, role-reversed and unexpectedly used for Fall-Winter. Its seldom seen silhouettes – all classics resurrected from the ‘30s, and ‘40s – have been absent from contemporary fashion’s dialog for decades.

Proving the cliche that it takes-one-to-know-one, no better a dandy’s designer than a dandy. A widely renowned dandy and, with partner Ely, one of the most prolific image makers in the fashion business, Stinson’s own design reputation is for juxtaposing flamboyant design twists atop classic fashion themes.

Completed before her passing, 18-months ago, Stinson R. Ely pays tribute to the design genius of Robbi Ely, an ardent minimalist who time-and-again proved the most visually dramatic designs are those reduced to their simplest elements.

Despite their freshman status, Stinson and Ely rank veteran designers and boast an enviable list of superstar clients. Over their firm’s 22-year tenure, they co-designed the press collections for a bevy of top American and British luxury labels.

Four times a year, Stinson and Ely re-designed the seasonal lines for as many as 10 clients, transforming otherwise ho-hum collections created to be commercially successful into ultra hip “looks” with trend-setting attitude and the edgy, “fashionista appeal” demanded by fashion editors.

Shrewd marketers with a hi-octane design flair and an uncanny grasp of the luxury market, their Stinson/R. Ely & Partners championed American and British brands throughout its 22-years, successfully transforming once-obscure, Anglo-Americana labels into global brands with powerhouse reputations, from Martin Dingman, Pantherella and Cole-Haan to Robert Talbott and Audrey Talbott, Tommy Hilfiger, Traflagar-Ghurka, Lochcarron of Scotland, and others.

Using bright colors and exotic fabrics to interpret their modern take on traditional classics, Stinson turned to Rochester, New York’s Adrian Jules to hand-make its dress slacks, then tapped Carrot-Gibbs Bespoke for hand-crafted neck wear and pocket squares. Mel Gambert Bespoke is crafting dress and formal shirts while New York’s British Apparel Collection is creating its hosiery. Lochcarron of Scotland is weaving its Tartans and richly textured flannels.

Although Stinson declined to disclose retail prices, industry insiders predict a RTW collection trafficking at nosebleed prices with barely a handful of rivals and a sliver thin niche of superstar retailers that, beyond Neiman Marcus, Saks, and New York’s Bergdorf Goodman, counts less than 100 stores, nationwide. Thanks to its artisan hand-make and exotic fabrics, pundits guesstimated dress slacks at $600 to $700, neck wear in the $150 range and pegged dress shirts at $240.

About Stinson R. Ely:
Born from the 22-year-old, Stinson/R. Ely & Partners, Inc. – the brand imaging, design and PR firm formed in 1988 by Andy Stinson and Robbi Ely — the debut collection of their luxe menswear brand features neck wear and pocket squares, dress slacks, sport coats, hosiery and dress shirts.

Bereft of basics, it’s a dandy’s collection, exclusively, its designs inspired by the Duke of Windsor and popularized by Hollywood’s dashing, silver screen idols.

Stinson R. Ely — along with its parent, Stinson/R. Ely & Partners – is headquartered in San Diego, California, at 8775 Aero Drive. Zip code is 92123. Website is http://www.stinsonrely.com. Fall-Winter 2012 “look book” is available in print or PDF versions. Phone for Stinson/R. Ely & Partners corporate offices, Stinson R. Ely, or its co-designer, Andy Stinson, is 858-573-1698. Stinson R. Ely is a founding member of the Alliance of American Luxury Makers (ALM)

Contact:
J. Andy Stinson, co-designer
858-573-1698 
andy@stinsonrely.com
http://www.stinsonrely.com

Bobbi Koller, associate designer
858-573-1698 
bobbikoller_stinsonely@yahoo.com
http://www.stinsonrely.com

###

At the peak of the Arrow Collar Man’s popularity in 1920, sales of its detachable collar men’s dress shirts had soared to a then mind-boggling, $32 million annually! But just three years later, the fashion phenom that socially schismed America into a white-collar versus blue-collar society had all but vanished, itself a victim of WWI.

After being nearly extinct for almost a century, detachable collars are suddenly all the rage again, popping up in the world’s top men’s fashion labels from elite custom shirt makers like France’s Charvet and America’s Mel Gambert Custom-Bespoke Shirtmakers, to Brooks Brothers and Italy’s Brioni and Brunello Cucinelli.

Detachable collars are suddenly all-the-rage and popping up in the world’s top shirts brands, from elite custom shirt makers like France’s Charvet and America’s Mel Gambert Custom-Bespoke Shirtmakers to Brooks Brothers and Italy’s Brioni and Brunello Cucinelli.

Originally, detachable collars delivered two, very compelling benefits. Because collars could be washed separately, they slashed laundering and ironing time, dramatically. Replacing worn and frayed collars proved their second benefit. Then, fabrics, were far less durable. And beards and stubble, the norm. Consequently, collars frayed and wore out considerably faster.

But today’s detachable collar craze has zero to do with laundry chores or spiffing-up threadbare collars, tells Mel Gambert, the second-generation Gambert to helm the iconic, 75-year-old company, itself legend for the still talked about shirts it created for Michael Douglas’s Wall Street portrayal of Machiavellian financial tycoon, Gordie Gekko.

“Its mixing-and-matching different fashion collars to a shirt that’s propelling their resurgence,” explains Gambert. “Today’s fashion dandies want to swap around their collars on a whim. They want one look today, then a totally different one, next week. Add an interchangeable collar to any custom shirt and it’s suddenly a hi-fashion multi-tasker,” sums-up Gambert.

Re-dubbed “interchangeable collars” to better describe the mix-and-match collar craze propelling today’s neo-fashion revival, it’s Mel Gambert’s choice of over 400 collar styles that reigns world’s King-of-the-Collar. Stoked by a bevy of editorial praise in hi-profile men’s fashion magazines and an off-the-charts internet buzz from top fashion blogs like Fashion As a 2nd Language - a must-read site which touted Gambert’s detachable collars as “suddenly relevant” and a “good investment” in “clothes that can multi-task” - Gambert has watched his usual tally of 200 detachable collar die-hards swell to nearly 500, in just two-years.

“Being the latest ‘in-gimmick’ among fashionistas has also revved-up its buzz and ‘gotta have’ cachet,” tells Gambert, who credits trendy hipsters and their unrelenting quest to snub the status quo for a big chunk of the detachable collar’s resurrected popularity.

Despite their embrace by fashion’s top brands, it’s Mel Gambert’s choice of over 400 different collar styles that makes the third-generation, family-owned company the world’s undisputed, King-of-the-Collar. And for good reason: The detachable collar has remained a steady seller for the 75-year-old artisan shirtmaker since 1928.

“Our interchangeable collar clients buy four or five different collar styles with every shirt, including a couple of white collars for Spring-Summer months,” tells Gambert. “They might prefer a tall, sartorially elegant cut-away collar for serious business dress. But for Saturday night’s country club soiree, they’ll swap it out for a more casual, ‘Martini Shirt’ look - a tall, wide-spread collar with French cuffs, worn without a tie. Scrap the collars, completely,” tells shirt guru Gambert, “and Voila!, you have a now-stylishly shirt, band collar shirt.”

Collars aside, it’s interchangeable cuffs — more than five-dozen different choices of cuff styles — that give Mel Gambert an unrivaled trump card. When Mel Gambert was founded, detachable cuffs went hand-in-hand with detachable collars. A Gambert exclusive that’s noticeably absent from its newly-arrived rivals, interchangeable cuffs are particularly important among dandies who demand all-white French cuffs to match their white, contrast collars.

About Mel Gambert Custom-Bespoke Shirtmakers:

Mel Gambert Custom-Bespoke Shirtmakers, founded in 1928 by Joseph Gambert, has since been nicknamed “America’s Charvet” thanks to its reputation for meticulous Old World artisan handcraftsmanship. The now 75-year-old Mel Gambert Custom-Bespoke Shirtmakers (www.gambertshirts.com) ranks America’s oldest, still-family-owned custom-bespoke shirtmaker.

In addition to true, men’s and women’s custom-bespoke shirts, Mel Gambert offers made-to-measure (MTM) shirts as well as a just launched, limited-edition ready-to-wear (RTW) collection, Mel Gambert Bespoke. All are retailed by over 400 of America’s premier, luxury-niched specialty stores.

A founding member of the Consortium of American Luxury Makers (CALM)

BAADE II snap-style cufflinks

Town & Country Suits by Adrian Jules. http://www.adrianjules.com