Italians conform to the clichés of cool

"Diesel jeans, Dolce & Gabbana belts and sneakers by Nike or Puma," said Giulia Crivelli, a fashion journalist in Milan. "They all want the same thing."

This unofficial uniform of T-shirt and jeans, with colorful athletic shoes thrown in for good measure, and perhaps an It bag too, can be spotted on streets from Milan to Palermo. The look is spruced up with loud accessories by Italian name brands — Fendi, Gucci, D&G, Prada and Armani — whose logos often appear conspicuously on leather tennis shoes, belt buckles or the frames of oversized sunglasses.

"Everyone is wearing the same thing," Crivelli said. "They all want to be alla moda." Wearing trendy clothes to fit in — rather than risking an unconventional outfit — is a common goal reiterated among Italians.

Issue-based marketing offers a deceptive solution to social problems

Somebody better tell Al Gore that global warming may not be so bad after all. How do I know? Diesel Jeans said so. Diesel, the Italian based fashion company, has come out with possibly the most genius concept ever for their spring/summer fashion ads: Hot Jeans, global warming ready.

The ads show fashion capitals like Paris and New York, transformed by climate disaster. The glacier that submerged much of Britain, however, didn't manage to kill the rich and idle set. In fact, in Diesel's post-apocalypse everyone looks like a super model and wears stylish summer white denim. It's enough to make you want to buy a fleet of SUVs to speed up the climate change.

Urbanwear has gone through many incarnations, most recently the big and bulky, dull and droopy.

It's impossible to state how glad we are to see that the latest turn for urban fashion is a slimmer, more styled, more colorful look - even for the guys.
At Mondawmin Mall recently, easily the city's urban fashion center, we found Ervin Abalos, a man who came all the way from Northern Virginia to catch a Nike event going on at the mall, and dressed up to do so. He even considered wearing a tie.
Self-described style: "Uniqueness. Some people will wear certain colors; but I'll wear any color. I always tell people, don't match the outfit to what you have, make the outfit look good for you."

The look: Striped Mark Ecko sweater with skull detail. Brown Armani button-up shirt. Diesel jeans. Nike Air Force 1 Premium Fantastic 4 Invisible Woman edition sneakers. His own socks, painted to match his sweater.

Where it came from: Sweater from Ecko store in New York. Shirt from Neiman Marcus. Jeans from Up Against the Wall. Sneakers from Sports Zone in Washington.

Determination: "I waited a good hour in line outside the store [for the sneakers]. This was a weekday and I had to come to work that same day, but I had to come in late just to get these shoes. It's crazy, but if I went online now, like eBay or something, I'd have to pay $200 or $300 for these shoes."

Tie one on. Or not: "I like to be unique. I like to be apart from everybody. I was going to throw on a tie with this. It's always good to dress up. I could've got away with it with a tie. But I think the outfit looks good with or without the tie."

Misread presentation: "I always like to present myself. A lot of people get intimidated by me. They say I'm cocky or arrogant. It's the way I dress and the way I look. My friends always tell me, 'You're always dressed up wherever you go.' But I don't consider it dressed up. I just put on a collared shirt and jeans and sneakers and they say that's dressed up."

On pink socks: "I had to put something out there that was eye-catching. I had to put pink out there, so that people would be like, 'Ohmigod, he's wearing pink shoes.' But it's not; it's pink socks. I like that."