Boys about town including actor Josh Hartnett, artist Aaron Young, and Adrian Cowen — co-designer of Pleasure Principle — know how to tie a sexy neck

The lady birds knew it first: that a spring scarf tied around a bare neck over a slim tunic oozes sex appeal. Then hipster boys hit Canal Street and vintage hubs in  the Lower East Side in NYC to pick up some hippie neck accessories. And last spring, Christopher Bailey — the designer of Burberry — introduced a nifty gray/black check that has re-emerged this season. Lanvin also showed silk scarves tied more formerly at the neck with slim jackets this year. From our perspective, a  simple cotton scarf a top a fitted tee or tank and some fierce Hudson jeans, means a cool ensemble for any bloke.

Fans of dare to unwrap me neck embellishment include actors Orlando Bloom, Hugh Jackman, Josh Hartnett, and artists like Adrian Cowen, and Aaron Young. (The last three are in slideshow above.) Work it boys!

Above: Work by artist Dan Colen, illustrators  Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Colin Firth, David Schwimmer and others…

DBA. It sounds like an underground CIA operative measure. And the event DBA sponsored at the Standard Hotel last weekend in New York could be seen as a rebellious stance of sorts. Lots of arty names lined the walls including author Salman Rushdie, actors Colin Firth and David Schwimmer, artists Dan Colen, Terence Koh and Spencer Sweeney, and illustrator designers Ruben and Isabel Toledo, to name a few.  They were all given two blank booklets and a 98% biodegradable pen — made from potato starch and other natural leftovers — so that each could write or draw a booklet to be auctioned. The bids started at $98 (reflecting the 98% content) and all the proceeds benefitted Riverkeeper, the organization created by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to keep our rivers clean.

The crowd, however, including Rushdie, the Toledos, and Warholian artist Jenny Holzer, who simply wrote “THE FUTURE IS STUPID” on her booklet, lined up to a bar of free vodka and Scotch whiskey. Nothing like a room full of boozy artists to usher in Springtime in NYC. **At least, half of the booklets sold but some are still on the block. Check out this site on Wednesday (tomorrow) to view what’s up: DBABOOKLETAUCTION

Don’t even think about tramping around Paris this spring without the prerequisite Chanel clogs. I’ve seen them worn with colorful tights when it’s a bit breezy. They are the perfect accessory for the new hot Hudson cargos and soft tanks. (Try wrapping a Hudson tank with a vintage skinny belt, then kick in the Chanels.) But the shoes don’t come cheap! They retail at Chanel for roughly $2,000 or lucky gals can find new pairs on Ebay for $1,339, around the same price as the less sexy shorter Louis Vuitton clogs.

For a hot little knock off, try Stuart Weitzman’s peep toe clog, seen below, which goes for $375 at Bloomingdales.

For now, I’ll see you girls clogging round town!

Stuart Weitzman clogs, a cool bargain

O Children – ‘Dead Disco Dancer’

Goth rock is back and its fronted by a 7 foot giant. O Children are a psychedelic, post-pop-punk group whose music reminds you somewhat of early Joy Division along with the tight Levis, black attire and (of course) those pointy Chelsea boots. The band are named after a Bad Seeds track and the front man has been described as the mutant spawn of Grace Jones.  The band’s first single ‘Dead Disco Dancer’ sports a Rocky Horror ideal mixed with MJ’s ‘Thriller’ video and Ian Curtis’s ‘An Ideal for Living’.

myspace.com/ochildren

Even though it’s May, New York is chilled to the bones lately with several days dipping into the forty fahrenheit mark, which is why the new exhibit — Les Roses Blanches (the white roses)– at James Fuentes gallery feels so warm.

Renowned French artist Claude Lévêque steals the show with one room only, as seen in the above video. (The collaborating French arm of this show is Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris.

As described by the gallery: “Scattered across the floor, in the installation LES ROSES BLANCHES, are plates, cups, cutlery anddisposable food packaging – all entirely white. Powder and broken windscreen glass herald death.  The items, scattered in a state of distress, refer to the collective experience of mourning; their colour evokes the whiteness of a shroud. The whole is specked with swirling spots of light, produced by a disco ball that gives a vertiginous sensation. The melancholic and piercing singing of a child”s voice permeates us. The song speaks of the death of a mother who takes with her the last white roses brought by her son.  The fragile, disposable and standardised nature of the items on the floor provides a stark contrast to the evocation of disappearance.”

Claude Lévêque represented France in the 53rd Venice Biennial in 2009.

Check out what you’ve seen in the video, live, until May 30th at James Fuentes, 35 St. James Street, NYC, NYC.

Just when you thought that 7 Eleven could only mean the convenience truck stops and giant icey drinks called “Slurpees,” THINK AGAIN. At the 7 Eleven gallery in Chelsea, several artists literally build a home in a show called “Make Yourself At Home.” Talented visionaries from Gordon Stevenson, Jill Levine, Leo Villareal, to India Donaldson,  Carlton DeWoody (son of collector Beth DeWoody) and Tom Sachs, created art pieces into furniture and vice versa. Collectors like Tim Nye and gallerists like Stefania Bortolami filled the space, curious about the many creations seen here in the slide show. Designer Nicole Miller saw Gordon Stevenson’s neon vacuum cleaner and bought it on the spot! No word on the pricing, but it was love at first sight. One cool detail, so that new artists would not be outshone by bigger names, the works were displayed without tags. So, it truly turned into an instinctual visceral delight. To see and possibly buy for yourself, check out “Make Yourself at Home” at the 7 Eleven Gallery at 169 Tenth Avenue, through June 6th.