And so…we landed on Mars!

No, this isn’t the beginnings of a Ron Hubbard novel, but actual real life. At approximately 1:31am, last night, or morning rather, Curiosity landed on Mars. And there was no cat to kill it either.

First Image of Mars from Curiosity, Provided by NASA

Fox News reports, “Through the chute, a unique robot arm and a rocket-powered hood, the rover slowed until it drifted to a stop on Mars, to cheers and applause from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory late Sunday.

“Touchdown confirmed,” engineer Allen Chen said. “We’re safe on Mars.“

Minutes after the landing signal reached Earth at 10:32 p.m. PDT, Curiosity beamed back the first black-and-white pictures from inside the crater showing its wheel and its shadow, cast by the afternoon sun.

Engineering Set Square and Protractor Cufflinks

“We landed in a nice flat spot. Beautiful, really beautiful,” said engineer Adam Steltzner, who led the team that devised the tricky landing routine. The rover then released a slightly higher resolution pair of pictures.”

And from the NASA website, “NASA Lands Car-Size Rover Beside Martian Mountain

The Galaxy

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack.

“Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. Curiosity, the most sophisticated rover ever built, is now on the surface of the Red Planet, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed on Mars — or if the planet can sustain life in the future,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “This is an amazing achievement, made possible by a team of scientists and engineers from around the world and led by the extraordinary men and women of NASA and our Jet Propulsion Laboratory. President Obama has laid out a bold vision for sending humans to Mars in the mid-2030’s, and today’s landing marks a significant step toward achieving this goal.”

Martian’s Landing, Antiqued Cufflinks

Just wait until the dust settles…

Curiosity landed at 10:32 p.m. PDT Aug. 5, (1:32 a.m. EDT Aug. 6) near the foot of a mountain three miles tall and 96 miles in diameter inside Gale Crater. During a nearly two-year prime mission, the rover will investigate whether the region ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.

Isn’t your inner Trekkie so excited??

Make the transition into fall run just a tad bit smoother. You have four weeks, gentlemen. Get moving.

Get just a few new accessories. “But which ones?” you ask. Ah, that’s the question. Simply the simple staples…

1. One long sleeve shirt (preferably the kind with buttons on the top so that you can wear it as an under shirt and outdoors on a cool fall morning).

 Slim broken-in henley $34.50 from JCrew

2. New casual boots. Hip, possibly brown, and lace up. Maybe even buy the kind from Aldo that look slightly worn and “broken in.”

NORMINGTON Boots by Aldo (Sale $62, marked down from $150)

3. One new pair of cufflinks. For the transition, of course…

Aymara Country Sky Butterfly Cufflinks

Aymara Green Tea Leaf Butterfly Cufflinks

4. One new pair of jeans. Get your denim on. And not the “mom” jeans either, spend a little extra to make sure they are soft, fit you perfectly, and have a slight fade action going on.

J Brand “Kane” Slim Straight Leg Jeans in Boones Wash

5. A new book bag/work bag. Remember the days right before a new school year when your mother would take you to JcPenney, the Mall, or even Sears to pick out your school supplies? You’d always wind up with, at least, one new book bag, new pens/pencils, a lunch box, and shoes. Treat yourself to a “Grown Up” Version of Your School Bag. Enter “The Work Bag.” It’ll make you feel refreshed for the new season and maybe you’ll be excited to tote it to work. If you buy it in the next few weeks, make sure not to wear it until the first cold breaks. Seeing it around your house, looking cozy and waiting for the crisp air, will get you pumped for fall.

Jack Spade Swiss Briefcase

6. Dry clean your light jacket. That’s right, take it out of the box in the closet, don’t even bother dusting it off, and drop it off at the closest dry cleaners. It may be in the 90s now, but in a few weeks, you’ll be extra prepared with a nice, clean fall jacket.

A Day in the Life of a Cufflink

Our Guest Speaker: Mr. Gold Stud Cufflink

Cost:$84.95

        Ever wonder what your cufflinks are thinking? What if they could talk? What would those tiny little accessories say to you? What would they say about themselves? We recently scored an exclusive interview with one of our long-lost cufflinks, who was sold a few years ago to a now-famous cigar-smoking billionaire. His subsequent cufflink set, that is, Mr. Gold Stud Cufflink, arose during our client’s rise to fame, and that is precisely why he was willing to open up and tell us what a day in the life is really life…

Say what?!?! Mr. Gold Stud Cufflink

6:30am: Beat out Mr. Royal Blue Stripes today. Ha! That’s five times this month I got picked over him. Boy will he be mad at the end of the night. So much for “blue is always in style…” What a lame-o.

Poor Mr. Royal Blue Stripes. Ha.

His price: $49.95

7am: Got a nice water drizzle from the sink when Mr. Fashionable was brushing his teeth. Hey, it’s alright I’m made of pure gold anyway…well. Not really pure solid gold, but at least I’m gold pated. Right? Guys? Back there in the jewelry box?

9:30am: Cool, no rust stains from the tooth-brush water drizzle action. Must be because I’m made from the best! 🙂 Thanks Cufflinksman.

11am: I know I look good and all but I’m not getting enough attention from these other dudes. Business meetings don’t do much for my confidence. We’ll see how the afternoon goes…

2pm: Still shining! All day, everyday baby.

2:15pm: Ran into a sweet looking, shiny Ms. Pink Lady Cufflinks in the hallway today. Wowza! Does she have style…I wish I had mother of pearl accents on my belly too. She makes my Torpedo back Closure tremble…

Mmm…Ms. Pink Mother of Pearl Cufflinks, come on over to Mr. Stud!

5pm: Spaghetti sauce dribbled on my frontal etchings. It’s okay though, as long as he wipes me off…

5:20pm: Still haven’t been wiped off…

5:45pm: Smelling like spaghetti…

Thanks Italy for your sauce…

6pm: Looks like I’m going home with sauce on me. Ah well, the night’s still young!

7pm: Scraped my face a little on the bar stool, but other than that I’m good. Ran into a rather snobby “Trust me, I’m a Doctor” Cufflink. I think he thought he was better than me, but, I know I cost more, so…little does he know. He’s probably not even a doctor.

9pm: <3 Thinking about Ms. Pink Lady Cufflinks. <3

10pm: Ready to go home. C’est la vie in a day in the life. Mr. Fashionable is talking about baseball with a guy wearing a Yankees Cufflink Set. This could quite possibly go on all night…

Who does he think he is? Little does he know, I like the Mets!

11:12pm: Back home, back in my box. The other cufflinks are super jealous. Loving life, got my bling on and the spaghetti sauce was eventually wiped off. Another day, another shirt.

Guest Speaker: Lady Speaks A lot

Some of our favorite CLM patrons have been writing to us asking about a list of “ core rules every gentleman should follow.” Is there anything that every cosmopolitan man should know? Has he been left in the dark about anything while the women of the world are conspiring against him? Any core list of rules that he may or may not be aware of, for which the universe cries, “contend to this!” So we thought we’d take a little break from fashion and the likes, just to bring it back to earth for you. Our guest speaker, Lady Speaks A lot, is a middle aged New Yorker living on the Upper East Side, bent on the following rules. Her motto? “The glass is always half spilled. Normally on my new white dress.” Favorite Motivational speaker? Nietzsche. You get the picture…

Advice Fit for the Classy Gentlemen

1. Always well dress up and wear some Superhero cufflink because women’s like superheros, and than  get up for a lady on a train/bus/any mass transit. If you are healthy and capable, it’s time to get up. Yes, you! Get UP!

Enamel Double Decker Bus Cufflinks

2. Ask women out to dinner. Sound complicated, right? Men have been doing it for decades! No, we don’t want to watch a movie at home with you, or just “hang out,” or meet at your boys’ house, or get completely wasted together. How about start with a simple, nice…dinner.

Champagne Cufflinks

3. Make a decision. Whether it’s to put $5 or $15 in the gas tank, cross on 92^nd or 95^th, Indian or Chinese, Black dress or green one, help us help you…make a decision. Please don’t have us stand there at the convenience store for fifteen minutes while you decide on which kind of gum you want…it’s embarrassing.

Poker Decisions Cufflinks

4. Never, ever, ask the bartender what you should be drinking for the evening. Just order. Vodka or rum. Beer or gin. If you can’t decide what to drink for the night, how can we trust you to decide on future house decorations and future children names?

5. Know the original authors of “misshapen forms of well-seeming chaos” and “that which does not kill us makes us stronger.” And here’s a hint: they’re not singers.

Homer Simpson: Not My Fault Cufflinks

6. Know how your lady likes her coffee. Ask once. And remember it always. Don’t ask every time you get up to make her a pot.

7. Have a license. If a man can’t drive, well…a man can’t drive.*

8. Have at least one subscription to something. We don’t really know why this is important, but it is. Even if it’s Playboy, just order something read-able. Well, actually, no, Playboy isn’t acceptable either. Try the Economist or New York Times for starters.

9. Don’t drink out of a straw. Ever.

Mix Tape Cufflinks

10. Be Kind, Rewind. This also includes Netflix movies, Premium movies on Demand, etc. Because, sometimes you just have to rewind.

*Some of you at home may be wondering what’s the deal with number seven. It is actually quite a problem in some parts of the world…like New York.

Want the best of CLM endorses? We’ve sprawled through the hottest trends and styles on GQ and picked out our favorites for the season. In order for an item to make the “favorites” list, it has to be fashion forward, affordable, and ultra wear-able. (No avant-garde, couture for men kind of thing. Let’s be real, we’re not all starring in a runway show). So here are our No-Frills Five Favorites for men. Starting with a classic summer essential….The White Suit.

1. White Suit for Summer. Just because it’s hot as [insert choice of cliché] out there, doesn’t mean you have to substitute your style. Investing in one or two white suits for the summer will be one of the best decisions you make in a while—you can dress it down while having dinner at the beach with a tee shirt, wear it with a rockstar summer-y shirt to happy hour with friends, a light cotton collared shirt for summer weddings and casual affairs. The best part is you can pair it with (yes!) shorts! So long as they’re tailored, slim cut, and go with the fabric/style of your suit jacket. Also pair it with jeans for a stylish, JFK summer look.

White Suit for Summer, Anyone?

Pair this suit with these Rectangular Art Deco Cufflinks. Click here for more info.

The white summer suit also so happens to work beautifully with all the following CLM “Picks.”

2. So, tucked away in GQ’s Style favorites was this little gem of advice: Plaid-as-Hell Scottish Ties. “The pattern that the Scottish call tartan and Americans call plaid originated a few thousand years ago and became globally cool by the nineteenth century. That was a long time ago. Today this most classic of menswear looks is getting a twenty-first-century jolt, thanks to a handful of creative tie designers. The color combinations are edgier and the tie width has shrunk, so you can feel meaner and leaner. The wool fabric stands up to your sturdier fall looks. Match one with a white oxford shirt and a flannel suit to get the boardroom buzzing, or team it with a chambray work shirt and a tweed jacket to get buzzed on the weekend. Either way, you’ll be a little more rad in plaid.”

Try these Plaid Ties from various designer brands. Prices range from $75 to $150. Or simply run to the closest Goodwill and score a vintage version.

Pair any of the above ties with these ultra-hip England Farthing hand painted Coin Tie Clips.

3. You simply can’t go the entire summer without donning the perfect pair of shorts. The newest trend is not baggy, oversized, over-the-knee shorts. Unless you’re planning on starring in a 90s inspired hip hop video, please gentlemen, drop those dated shorts (and we mean ditch them…). The new look is a tailored, tapered silhouette with a classier vibe.

Unis,  Harrison – Navy  $ 111.00

These shorts tend to be slightly shorter than the ones you wore 10 years ago, sit right on your hip bone, and show off your slimmed down summer figure. (Men have those too, right?)  The Perfect Summer Shorts work perfectly with slimmed down shirts, tucked in collared shirts, plaid ties, boat shoes, and more. Unis has some styles worthy enough to check out, a style called Emmett, which comes in five shades, ranging from grass green to pool blue. $198, by Unis. Available at shop.unisnewyork.com

4. The Boating Sweater. GQ worded it so well, we’ll just feature it again here: “We Americans might be crazy for our heritage brands, but the French have heritage we can’t touch. Take the Breton fisherman’s sweater, which has been keeping the French navy warm since 1858. It eventually caught on among the unenlisted (Jean Seberg wore one in the indie classic Breathless) and even among the un-French (Picasso and Warhol favored them, too). The Breton is marked by graphic stripes, fitted sleeves, and a boatneck and comes in a range of weights, from thick sweaters to this heavy tee. Saint James has been making them since the 1950s and always cuts them trim for easy layering—which in turn gives you a modern fit. Perfect for a more stylish spring, on land or at sea.”

Boating Sweater, jcrew. Photo by Ben Watts.

This boating sweater can be yours for a mere $85. Just truck your summer dazed-self to Jcrew and grab one. 

Ocean Stripe Cufflinks

5. The boat shoe is a classic example of shoe worthiness. It evokes memories of being top deck, with a bottle of champagne, and a classic white shirt stained with shrimp cocktail sauce. (Or maybe that’s just our memories with the shoes…) Either way, these shoes have made a serious come-back.

Aymara Yellow Flash Butterfly Cufflinks

GQ says,  “We’re talking tri-tone colorways, neon yellow soles, and jailhouse stripes. Sure, you can wear them with anything from khakis to seersucker for a shot of adrenaline. But think outside the prep and wear them with camo shorts, gray jeans, Supreme gear—in short, anything that would give the country-club set fever dreams.” The bright/interesting array of colors adds a modern flair to the classic shoe scheme and brings a touch of comfort back to your wardrobe. Kinda like chocolate syrup on your sundae…it just, works.
Read More http://www.gq.com/style/wear-it-now/201204/best-boat-shoes-colors#ixzz21kEsPM6j