Just as I was writing the Oscars off as boring and a sea of black tuxedos out comes along a group of guys having fun on the red carpet. While the womenswear has gone safe and dull, there’s not much ‘fashion’ to see anymore, the menswear has seen the opportunity to express the wearer’s personality. The trick is to have fun yet also look cool and stylish; a hard task, let me tell you.

Here are my thoughts on the night’s highlights:

What a peach of a picture! A king is born. Timothée Chalamet is giving me young Sun King here in virginal white. We all know what happens in the film! It feels like a costume, yet it's cool, and the black boots keep it grounded in youth. Hammer has gone fairly safe in a standard red velvet number, but it's the contrast between the two which makes the cool factor high.

Left - Timothée Chalamet in Berluti, Armie Hammer in Giorgio Armani See the Call Me By Your Name Get The Look here

What a homage to the above by James Ivory. Wearing a shirt with the face of Hollywood’s new golden prince on. The shirt was painted by artist Andrew Mania.

Left - James Ivory in Andrew Mania

It’s difficult for any man to look anything other than elegant in a Tom Ford tuxedo jacket. It's the long jacket and turn-back cuffs that make it. A red one made it onto TheChicGeek Christmas Wish List 2017 - here

Left - Ansel Elgort in Tom Ford

Straight off the AW18 catwalk, this S&M take on a black tuxedo works because it still looks put together and polished.

Left - Adam Rippon in Moschino

These suits always say 'Prada' to me. The high shape makes it feel vintage especially with the less structured black bow tie.

Below - Tom Holland in Hermès

More ChicGeek Oscar fashion here

These vintage postcard intarsia knits just don’t get old. JW Anderson did them ages ago in tank top form and Hermès has done a few similar styles for AW18 see here  

This is TheChicGeek on one of his Famous Five adventures. All I need is a steam train and a canvas rucksack. Somebody pass the ginger beer!

Left & Below - Not sure where they got the model! But I like the jumper - Pringle of Scotland - Postcard Landscape Jumper in Black/Vintage Cream - £550

News on the grapevine New Look is close to going under. I don’t think this will mean that New Look will disappear, it’ll probably be pre-packed into a slimmer and more nimble retailer while shaking off its debt. It has 600 stores, which seems rather top heavy in this current retail environment.

Ironically, when it’s not cold enough many retailers blame the weather for not shifting clothes, and this week, the whole week, or even two, will be a write off, for the majority of retailers, particularly fashion, because people aren’t leaving the house or simply can’t get to the shops due to the snow and many items there won’t be suitable anyway. Two disruptive weeks could push a few more retailers over that administration edge.

Left - Expect to see more of these and for longer

I think we’re at a tipping point for physical retail, particularly larger shops with big overheads. These gaps are big and aren’t being filled. 102 of the 164 BHS stores that went out of business are still un-let nearly 2 years after its closure. Add in Toy R Us and the announced store closures from many retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Debenhams and you have a very gappy and unattractive grimace to the majority of shopping areas or high-streets.

This downward spiral simply speeds up the death of these areas: fewer shops, means fewer visitors and therefore fewer shops.

Any retailers who sell the same items as Amazon seem to be in trouble and fashion has to acknowledge that the ASOSs and Boohoos of this world have taken a massive chunk of spend and continue to do so. 

Fashion retailers are damned if they do and damned if they don’t when it comes to the internet. Even the best website in the world will still eat into physical stores. The bigger and better you make your online offering will only encourage people not to visit your stores. It’s a feeling of struggling to stand still, and, with many cases, going backwards.

I live in Croydon and there’s been talk of a big, new Westfield for a long time. The town centre is very dated and run down and needs the investment and also the ‘Westfield’ name to put it back on the map. But, Westfield has gone very quiet. They’ve kicked the development back to start in 2019, not really sure why, and having just been taken over by a French company it wouldn’t surprise me if they wanted to relook at any new developments.

Croydon is a risk. It isn’t White City. While it has good transport links, it also has many shopping centres close by. I’ve said to people buying into ‘up and coming’ Croydon, not to buy thinking a Westfield is definitely coming. John Lewis was always muted as an anchor tenant and they’ve said they don’t want to open anymore stores ATM. If it does happen, it will affect the Bromley, Kingston, Bluewater and even Brighton shopping centres. The pain will be felt somewhere.

So, what to do? These units are too big. Shops and shopping centres will have to contract. These spaces need redesigning and dividing. What we need is housing and leisure facilities. The future of physical retail will be ‘want’ and not ‘need’. It’ll will be about service and human interaction - Read TheChicGeek's Human Cookies. Online is unbeatable with need, and its dominance will speed up even more with automation and driverless delivery. But, we’ll still want to get out of the house, see what’s new, try and touch things. It’s just unfortunate that some of these larger retailers and their footprints are unsustainable.

The first episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story premiered last night, and, while we already who know whodunnit, we don’t know why? Will we ever know? Andrew Cunanan killed himself shortly afterwards.

Left - The Andrew Cunanan character in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

One of the highlight looks from the first episode was a Sara Lee yellow, full look of slouchy 80s-style trousers, polo shirt and matching cap. Yellow can frighten many guys and is therefore quite difficult to find in the shops. This is a softer, more pastel hue.

Right - All about Sara Lee yellow this Summer

Look at it like a dose of wardrobe vitamin D. Okay, so this did have the backdrop of Art Deco Miami, but just imagine the palm trees when you’re rolling down your local high-street with your jacket slung over your shoulder and your big serial killer shades on.

Left - adidas Originals - Trefoil Cap In Yellow - £15 from ASOS

Below - Don't want to be recognised? Go for serial killer sized shades

Below - Lacoste Live - Unisex Slim Fit Petit Piqué Polo - £85

Left - Versace - Sunglasses - £96

Left - DSquared2 - Light Yellow Suit - £521 from YOOX

See Get The Look - Call Me By Your Name

Get The Look - Wild, Wild Country