Handsome designer Thom Browne may need a new sartorial schtick.

Sure, critics loved his high-water suits, but Page Six offers a sobering wake-up call:

[Browne] is a darling of the fashion elite, but the masses aren't enthralled. Despite his being crowed over by the New York Times and vying for the CFDA menswear designer of the year award (he lost to Tom Ford), fashionistas point out Browne's deal at Brooks Brothers is over, and just last month, Bergdorf Goodman was still selling his Spring 2006 tuxedos. "His stuff may be acclaimed, but it's not very popular with the consumer," one insider said. Browne's rep didn't return repeated calls.

Wait - Bergdorf is still selling 2006 tuxedos? Gawd, we can't believe we live in such a gauche city!

The New York Times style section today tackles a big, hard, throbbing sartorial debate:

If Thom Browne has come to represent sartorial arrested development, the proponent of a kind of masculinity that suggests one is never sexier than when being carded, Tom Ford is a throwback to a different manliness. In one of those funny confluences that retailers like Bergdorf Goodman are seemingly built to showcase, the two designers and their variant ideas of how men should dress now find themselves cheek by jowl.

We suggest Browne and Ford settle this the old fashioned way: naked oil wrestling.

It's only fair…

[PS: For those of you not in the fashion know, Ford's design is on the left, while Browne's short-legged suit can be seen on the right.]

Hark! Do you hear what we hear? Clip-clop, sniff, clip-clop, barf… That's the sound of the armies of models, posers and fashionistas who are currently stampeding toward New York's fashion week. And designer Thom Browne's super excited!

Refinery29 recently caught up with the dreamboat to talk shop. Browne doesn't give away too many details about his show - prude! - but does discuss his fashion show philosophy: performativity. This year's offerings will be shown amidst a circus theme with "multi-talented models".

We can only imagine…

• You really do learn something new everyday. Crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, whose work we've never read, apparently likes ladies. She liked a woman so much, in fact, she married one! Cornwell opens up to UK's Telegraph about her wife, Dr. Staci Gruber:

I finally feel rooted somewhere. I feel a sense of responsibility and stability that I didn't have before.
…
I've never been a soapbox person for gay rights, but now I'm in a same-sex marriage I tend to be more open, because I am outraged that it should be illegal in other states.

Looking at this picture really puts things in perspective.

• Refinery 29 gets behind our imaginary main squeeze, Thom Browne.

• Barack, Babs, Oprah and Hillary get into a campaign menage-a-quatre.

• Legendary lobbyist Aubrey Sarvis goes after Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

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• PlanetOut-owned Men magazine named abdominally-bless Johnny Castle as their "Man of The Year". On a somewhat related note, Matt Damon won People magazine's Sexiest Man top slot. Note that the gays have far more flare - and flesh. [See a NSFW shot of Castle, after the jump. And be sure to check out the magazine's new blog.]

• Iranian Chief Justice halts "gay" execution, calls sentence violation of Islamic teachings:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has learned that the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, has nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen found guilty of multiple counts of anal rape (ighab), allegedly committed when he was 13 years old. The Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.

For the record, no one accused the man of rape.

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Out out did itself for this year's Out 100.

Check it…um, out, after the jump…

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Out magazine finally unveiled its hush-hush Out 100 cover. As you can see, Jennifer Hudson, choreographer Bill T. Jones, Mad Men's Bryan Batt, Mary-Louise Parker and our future husband/designer Thom Brown grace the gay glossy's mammoth year end issue.

These luminaries and 96 others will be honored tonight at the monthly's queer celebration. Yes, we said "96" - the Out staffers just revealed that Annie Lennox will be named the "Humanitarian Of The Year" for AIDS activism. We're dispatching our editor and camera man to record all the fun, so tune in Monday for all the homo highlights.

Today's shows were light on men's wear. Thus, we've dedicated today's entire Fashion Week roundup to Thom Browne's new collection. It's, well, take a look for yourself and let us know what you think…

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The fashion world's buzzing over dreamboat designer Thom Browne's collaboration with classic courtier, Brooks-Brothers. Busy as a beaver but still making time for press, Browne conducted an email interview with Boston Globe:

Q What did you think when you were first approached by Brooks Brothers for a collaboration?

A It was a dream come true, since I've always associated Brooks Brothers as an iconic American brand. Also, I wore Brooks Brothers, my father and my grandfather wore Brooks Brothers, so I thought that this would be a great fit.

Oh, Thom, you're such a cut-up! (Cue rimshot.)

Browne also justified his love for the 189-year old brand and described the new "Black Fleece" line's target audience: "…It would be someone who is a true individual, and independent thinker."

And loaded - the suit's are around $2,700.

• Super Aryan model Joseph Sayers sat down with Connexion 247 for a bit of chat, including how he'd react to a gaggle of crazed fans: "I can't even imagine a crowd going wild, but if they did, I'd handle it well." Oh, we've got no doubt.

• Rhiannon O'Donnabhain declared her $25,000 same sex operation as a medical expense. The IRS told her to turn her head and cough up the dough. Now she's suing.

• Will Brooks-Brothers' Thom Browne gamble pay off?

• If this happened today, the seemingly helpful, zoo keeping penis guru would be in jail. Or a priest.

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