Come On Out! with David Leddick ~ Episode 43

Welcome to the 43rd Episode of "Come On Out! with David Leddick" where I talk about my new book Gorgeous Gallery, art, and all the fun projects I'm working on!

Fashion - Sweaters. Pullovers. Whatever you call it!

July is soon upon us but I am not going to talk Autumn until it is much nearer. I hate the fact they talk about summer when the snow is still flying and just about the time you are wondering what to wear in the summer, all they are talking about is September. Not me. So here is your fashion direction:



Sweaters. Pullovers. Whatever you call it! The short-sleeved sweater for men I think is good. This is from Calvin Klein, I'm sure for Fall. But you could copy it now in a lighter weight.



And here's another from Armani Exchange. I like this cotton sweater with nothing under it. With white pants or shorts. Excellent.



D-Squared has this sweatershirt and sweatpants pair going, probably for a lot of money. But keep your eye out for the sweatshirt that can be worn like a sweater. This one has those inset sleeves. What did they call them? There was a name when they used them in overcoats. Good luck.



And D-Squared also has this kind of bulky shape, lightweight double-breasted white jacket. The little jacket is in, but this looks good. I would wear it. We will keep our eye out for this in heavier weight for Fall.

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Dear David,
What do you think about those rings for your "you know what"?
~Party Goer

Dear Party Goer,
I am more of a party pooper. I don't get this accessory stuff. It's sort of to show off. Romance isn't about showing off.

Handsomest Man in the World ~ John Douglas Thompson

John Douglas Thompson is our Handsomest Man in the World this week. I am crazy about him because I just read about him in the New Yorker. He is an actor on the New York stage. He is 48 years old, tall and brawny. Considered to be the best Shakespearean actor in the U.S. by many.  We salute you, John Douglas Thompson!

(Photos by Kevin Sprague)
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Dear David,
Have you ever had crushes on "Impossible Dream" men who are married, heterosexual - basically out of the question for you?
~Easily Obsessed

Dear Easily Obsessed,
No, never. I think having crushes on people who are out of the question is often a way to stay out of the running. You will not be rejected if you never had a chance in the first place. As a transvestite friend of mine said to me, "If you can't take rejection stay out of sales." Remember darling, if someone doesn't want to cozy up to you, that's just one person, not the world! And their loss. I personally like to fall in love with someone who wants to crawl all over me in the first place.

What quality do you admire most in others?

Dear David,
What quality do you admire most in others?
~Jess Askin'

Dear Jess Askin',
Courage. I admire courage more than anything else. We are all afraid, but when you have a choice between living and just passing time you have to muster your courage and choose to live. As I get older I see many people married just because they "should be," with a job they can't be bothered to upgrade, killing time with electronics and movies. Honey, we only go through once. And win or lose, it's doing it that counts. Losing feels like winning when you look back. And you will always like yourself because you tried!

Entertainment Weekly's cover story about actors coming out

Dear David,

Entertainment Weekly recently had a cover story on actors in the entertainment industry who have come out and are openly homosexual. Is this a trend or a little ass-kissing to a trend? There were no major stars in their story.

~Dew. B. Us

Dear Dew B., 

What do I think? No, I don't think a big romantic male leading man can come out. American men imagine they are George Clooney, etc. They can't handle their alter egos being gay.

More major, I think, is the death of much of the entertainment industry as we know it. All these big splashy movies have leading ladies and men you've never heard of, probably won't again and have about as much personality as the leading characters in video games. The public will stop thinking of them as real people and won't fall in love with them. So they can be sexually attracted to wallpaper or anything else and who cares?

Plus, the whole entertainment industry is probably going on a little screen in your lap, so having movie idols will be even more quickly hastened away. When everything is on screen it all becomes like porn. You're excited but no one is real. Therefore, whether they are gay or not just doesn't matter.

Come On Out! with David Leddick ~ Episode 42

Welcome to the 42nd Episode of "Come On Out! with David Leddick" where I talk to my pals Reniel Diaz & Micheal Glidden about my new book, Gorgeous Gallery.

Fashion my darlings, fashion!

Fashion my darlings, fashion! In the midst of chaos, fashion is important. Years ago my great friend Norma said, "David, we've been through a lot, but we always looked good and we were always fun to be with." There you have it, my darlings. There's a lot of ladies' fashion around right now that I don't think makes you look so good, but here's some stuff for you girls. And couple things for guys:

This white Jil Sander suit on Tilda Swinton. It's got those fuller pants, that smaller jacket that's creeping into men's wear but it looks great. Jil Sander, no matter who is designing, pulls it off for me.

I don't pay attention to haute couture but these two dresses would really look good on a woman as she moved and sat. The one above is Valentino. You know it could never really be dry-cleaned - but how beautiful for its moments of glory.

This one is Dior and it really covers a women up, but is still so fragile and magical. Both great dresses.

Men, short shorts are back. I am not so sure that most men have the body for this look - but I think it will happen. We will look around this summer.

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Dear David,

Can you tell when a man is really a sexual person?

~Sex Confusion

Dear Sex Confusion,

I can. The moment they walk in the room. There is something about men who really like sex and are not intimidated by it that is immediately recognizable. I will have to add that they are usually Latin-American.

Handsomest Man in the World ~ Matt Bomer

I have a new respect for Matt Bomer, this week's Handsomest Man in the World. He's in the new "Magic Mike" movie with major competition (as far as hunkiness goes), and he can hold his own. He's not only very sexy but you can imagine he has a brain. Matt Bomer. He gets the vote this week. He's gay too, hello!
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Dear David,
You know about everything. What about sun flares?
~Dr. Woo Woo

Dear Dr. Woo Woo,
Are you making fun of me because I always say I don't believe in all that woo woo stuff? Sun flares, however, are real. Back in the 19th century they actually knocked out the entire telegraph system, a new thing then. Imagine if they knocked out the electricity system of the U.S.?! But more than that, they have a strong effect on your emotions. And I will say this, last week a lot of people seemed to be struggling with their emotions, jobs, you name it. I don't know whether you can blame it on sun flares, but I can feel it necessary to keep organized and keep my spirits up!

Can you be in a relationship when you aren't in love?

Dear David, 
Do you think you can have a long term satisfactory relationship with someone with whom you are not in love with, even though they are in love with you?
~Love Wonderin' Again

Dear Love Wonderin',
You do have important questions. Yes, I think you can have an intimate relationship that is not based on your being in love with that other person, but it is a dangerous game. John Updike once wrote something about someone who was gay and married to a woman. He said it was like living in a room where one wall was missing. Whenever you are not there because of love, love can suddenly appear from elsewhere and all will be swept away. Remember this.

Is love more important than anything else?

Dear David,
You always say love is more important than anything else. Why?
~Love Wonderin'

Dear Love Wonderin',
Well may you wonder. I believe that love is what must be pursued more than all those other attractive things like money, fame, popularity, you name it because love is the one thing you experience that is beyond the framework of our daily life. Remember, we are on this spaceship ball whirling through space, which everyone wants us to ignore. They want you to pay attention to the neighbors, your boss, getting ahead, etc. But when you are in love you have this experience where the one and one of you is so much more than two. You realize you are experiencing something big emotionally that justifies your having come here on earth. You lived. Without it, you have just gotten stuff, bumped into a lot of other people and at the end you may well wonder, "What happened?" But if you have experienced great love you know what happened.

Come On Out! with David Leddick ~ video

Happy Friday my darlings! Today I thought I would repost my 32nd Episode of "Come on Out! with David Leddick" where I talk about my "Mad Men" days in advertising in New York City, I was the World Wide Creative Director for Grey Advertising - our main client was Revlon. Did you know Revlon spent 34 million a year in advertising back then?! They really revolutionized the advertising world!

If you missed my article in the Huffington Post "Being Gay in the World of Mad, Mad Men:What It Was Really Like", please click here.

And, my new book Gorgeous Gallery is hot off the presses! I promise you won't be dissappointed! Please click here.

Fashion day - suits, jackets, and espadrilles

Here we are, fashion day. You're probably getting bored with me as I recommend the same things for summer, but here are some new pictures. The look for this summer is quite clear. Lose some weight and get into it!

This Ermengilda Zegna suit at more than you want to spend but I will bet much less expensive copies are all over town. Check out the cut of the jacket - short crop and the one button is high.

The short blazer, shorts and big bag is definitely the look for the weekend. This is such a good look.

I love this bright red jacket with the really blue blue jeans. This is the "two bright" colors look - all you need is a bright color jacket and some new jeans and you've got it.

Espadrilles. These Tom Ford ones here are crazily expensive. But I like them a lot in the summer instead of sandals. You can push the back down and shove you foot in and they stay on. For a cheaper version try Toms shoes.

This little look by Hugo Boss is excellent if you are lacking nerve. The striped T-shirt, blazer and big dark glasses. Come on. Go for it.

This is the ladies version. Excellent.

Handsomest Man in the World ~ Swedish Male Model

Handsomest Man in the World today is this Swedish model (on the left) who had recently resurfaced in the fashion business. He was a top guy about 15 years ago and stop working all of a sudden. Now he's back. He has to be about 40. Looks good, no?

I'm just throwing this in. I stand on my head every morning to keep the blood flowing through my scalp and the hair in my head. Try it:

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Dear David,
What do you think about foot fetishes?
~Pinkie

Dear Pinkie,
I ran into this many years ago when I was a dancer and at the opera. What where they called? "Shrimp  queens"? Something like that. I never got it - but I never have gotten fetishes and why someone wearing a baseball uniform would get you sexually excited. But that's me. As the lady witness at the Oscar Wilde trial said, "As long as they don't do it in the streets and frighten the horses, I don't care." Exactly, it's not my business.

Family secrets...

Dear David,
I have recently been contacted by a fairly distant relative who is very interested in family history. This pleases me very much as I have memorabilia and remember all my mother's stories. However I don't think I should divulge any of the perhaps "less attractive" details. Am I just being old-fashioned?
~Dubious

Dear Dubious,
Keep it to yourself. I don't think it adds anything to the family history which is largely a pursuit of fantasy and folklore. I do tell some of my relatives on my fathers side that we had a sheep and horse thief. I am not sure if they had him hung or not. If someone is proud of their family it's of no purpose to make them feel less about it.

Taking a break from sex?

Dear David,

What do you think about taking a break from sex?

~Justina Wonderin

Dear Justina W.,

When I was about 38 I sat up in bed one night, I was all alone and I said to myself, "What a relief!" Then fell back on the pillows and went to sleep. Men want to have you, then want it clear that they are smarter, better, etc. They are easy to handle, men. You know that. They just can't be allowed to be sure that they have you. That's one of the pleasures of being gay and not married.

So to answer your question, yes, you can get tired of sex but it's probably because you are tired of that person and tired of having to be the one running the relationship. I am a very romantic person but when the pain-in-the-neck outweighs the pleasure-in-his-arms, you can just get out of there. Of course, until the next one shows up. So, yes, you can take a break from sex. But it never goes away!

Come On Out! with David Leddick ~ Episode 41

Welcome to the 41st Episode of "Come On Out! with David Leddick" where I talk to my pal Donovan about his personal coming out story.

Fa-shoon! Fas-hoon! Fash-oon! Voilet moccasins, celebrity nudity and more...

Fa-shoon! Fas-hoon! Fash-oon! There's a lot going on in fashion right now. All of which I like. Very quickly:

1. Violet Moccasins. Are these great or what? I found a lot of stuff in the Spanish GQ, which is as different as the American one as night is from day. You never see anything in American GQ you haven't seen a million times before. Spanish GQ gets well dresed guys to edit choices and they put up some great stuff. These shoes are by Car Shoe (and expensive) but they are unforgettable.

2. New combinations of colors. Also from Spanish GQ. Here is bright dark blue, yellow and green. Don't be afraid of color. This looks great, and not particularly gay. This is THE look.

3. I think this new heavy knit T-shirt is a very good look. I don't usually like this very unusual stuff, but I think this may be a new trend. And it looks good with the new short shorts. Brace yourself. Short shorts and a heavy knit top can look really sexy any manly. Really.

4. That white suit. This is exactly how it should look. You could look really swell this summer. Get going!

Now: celebrity nudity. What is going on? I found this picture of January Jones ( from Mad Men) wearing Versace shoes and nothing else. Is this correct for a not-exactly-a-teenager rising actress? Am I wrong? Tell me.

And then Marc Jacobs with his new fragrance "Bang." Marc, I don't this it's right. I think you should keep your excellent body private. It's for making bamboola, not news. And I found this picture of him in a suit at a runway show. Those pants fit terribly. Low crotch, wrinkles, too long jacket. What was he thinking? Wasn't there anyone there to say "Marc, that suit isn't working?"

How about Amanda Hurst? I think she's shocking. Rich and can you spell s-l-u-t? Really.

And lastly, poor Karl Lagerfeld has a muse. Young Baptiste Giabiconi. Mr. Giabiconi is supposedly a major model. Has anyone ever heard of him? Me either. he supposedly inspires Karl. Poor Karl. You're around this stuff all your life and you're still not immune.

Handsomest Man in the World ~ Joe Manganiello

Handsomest Man in the World! Oh, who should it be? Suddenly there are a plethora of choices. I think this week we should choose Joe Manganiello, that great big brute in the new movie about male strippers called "Magic Mike" with Chatum Tanning and Matthew Mcconaughey. I think there is a lot more to Joe Manganiello than just being a handsome brute, but let's just wait and see!

Is my "you know what" big enough?

Dear David,
Is my "you know what" big enough? I never know.
~"You Know What" Ponderer

Dear "You Know What" Ponderer,
I love your name. As for your question, this size competition thing is kind of old. Very 20th century. Sex is about two people who are very into each other. Now, if you are a person to whom the size of someone else's parts is very important I think you have some thinking to do. Then you're not in love with people, you're in love with parts. And that's something else. Once in a while you meet a guy who is really just a part with a man attached. You don't want to be the person attached to that, do you?

My lover is interested in women...

Dear David,
My lover has suddenly said he thinks he's interested in women. Never has before. He is in his late 20's. I am five years older. This kind of makes me panicky. What should I do?
~ Strictly Homosexual

Dear Strictly Homosexual,
Interesting. There is a biography on Duncan Grant's daughter, Angelica Garnett. Duncan was as very gay English painter who had a daughter with his best friend's wife, Vanessa Bell (Virginia Wolfe's sister). You're saying to yourself, "Who the hell was Virginia Wolfe?" Ok, so you know nothing about the Bloomsbury Group. Read up about it, it's all very interesting. Men who were with men AND women as well. Back to your problem...

If it was me I would be very cool. Remember, you've got one "thing" no woman has. And I think if he has been gay so far, he's not going to want to get along without it, women or no women. Just be sure to be available sex wise and otherwise be mature and tolerant in your attitude. Once he sees you're not particularly upset it will blow over. He may fool around a little, but I don't think he's going anywhere long term.

Come on Out! with David Leddick ~ Episode 40

Welcome to the 40th Episode of "Come On Out! with David Leddick" where I talk to my pal Shawna of the Shaun Dorsey Dance Company (San Francisco) about her personal coming out story and about dance.