Browsing suit stores can feel like a never-ending journey for a decently-priced, well-fitting suit.  Indochino — a bespoke suit shop run entirely online — ends the search. The idea’s a little counter-intuitive: you usually decide if a suit fits after trying it on — something made impossible by the internet’s cold, impersonal and altogether digital face. But what Indochino loses in tactile testing it makes up for everywhere else. It’s easily hundreds of dollars cheaper than a custom suit at the nearby tailor. The deep customization system lets buyers browse an impressive suit selection and customize it however they like: your choice of lapel shape, buttons and jacket lining. Jump over to the advanced options to add or remove pockets, change the cuffs or embellish your suit with pick stitching or natural shoulders. It’s something that might make suit snobs cringe. For purists, nothing replaces the well-worn hands of a custom [...]

Every now and then, I hear from readers telling me how much I suck. Sometimes this comes through email, sometimes it’s through comments on our website. But more often than not, online commenters post anonymously, cracking our deft filtering system by mashing the keyboard instead of entering their email. It’s a phenomenon of the internet age, and web and anonymity have always made good bedfellows. It’s something internet advocates pride themselves on. But anonymity also coaxes out the worst in people, like how the average person becomes violent when surrounded by a riot. Behind an anonymous disguise, readers feel brave enough to say things their mothers wouldn’t like. Psychologists call it the “disinhibition effect”  — the idea that, without an identity, people are emboldened to act however they like. Newspapers, on the other hand, have never allowed anonymous letters to fill their opinions pages. It’s an industry that balks at [...]

Yesterday’s protest was the low point in a long and passionate campaign for the Student Refugee Program — a charity supporting a refugee student with an education in Canada. They worked hard to get a fee for their club on the March ballot and when the University Students’ Council called the referendum invalid, months of work were also invalidated. But if the USC’s decision does anything, it gives us time to consider a litany of problems surrounding referendums and the SRP fee. The margin of victory — almost two to one in favour of supporting the SRP fee — tells a story: plenty of students voted with their hearts, not necessarily their heads. The 8,553 votes cast for the SRP question came from a mix of informed and uninformed voters, but more likely the latter. Because the fee proposal dovetailed with two more self-serving and attractive proposals — late-night busing [...]

After months of shoddy cellphone reception on campus, Canada’s biggest telecoms have announced plans for new equipment near Western in an effort to catch up with ballooning demand. Rogers is building a new tower near campus by the summer and Bell said they’ve asked Western if they could install more on-campus equipment to boost capacity. Andrea Sardinha, public relations specialist for Rogers, said this week cellphone use on campus has doubled from last fall. The demand prompted Rogers to investigate building a new cell tower. “Land acquisition for a cell site that would improve service to campus turned out to be more of a challenge than we expected and took longer than we would have liked,” Sardinha said. “We are pleased to report that we are moving forward on improvements.” Sardinha said better service would arrive by early summer at a cost that’s typically “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Back [...]

Name: Paul Benedetti Faculty: Information and Media Studies He owes his dapper sense of style to his father — an Italian who wore a suit nearly every day. Though Paul Benedetti’s dad didn’t have much money, his suits were always tailored. It’s part of a culture and style Benedetti lives everyday, requiring an air of professionalism and put-togetherness — something lost on plenty of North American men. It’s also the reason he wears a tie to nearly every class he teaches. “It shows I’m here to do business,” he says. How to get the look Benedetti’s advice for young graduates is to grab two garments once you graduate — a nice suit and, perhaps more importantly, a blue blazer. “You should get the most expensive one you can afford,” he says. Price points and brands will vary, but don’t be too concerned with labels. Instead, pick natural fabrics like wool and make [...]

Vintage stores these days aren’t your mom’s Sally Ann. Hipsters have flocked to these stores for years and proprietors took notice, improving selection and hiking up prices. These days, vintage stores are as diverse as the clothes you’ll find inside: from Toronto’s impossibly hip Black Market, to the thrifty chain store Talize, to local consignment boutique Mesh. Shop, rest, repeat Successful vintage shopping will require dedication because you won’t always find something you like, something that fits, and something you can afford in one go. Repeat viewing is necessary. Scour, young vintager, scour There’s a technique to use when vintage shopping: Look. At. Everything. These stores are always arranged in racks like a warehouse-sized closet, meaning it’s impossible to see whether that polo is a frumpy blob or a Lacoste gem until you take a genuine look. Spread those racks apart and start flipping as fast as you can to [...]

Think being in university entitles you to call yourself a man? Think again, chap. The vast majority of guys on this campus still dress like acne-faced 16-year-olds, wearing ironic graphic tees and the same blue jeans they’ve worn since the ninth grade. It’s time to upgrade. But this doesn’t mean getting all metrosexual, doing your nails and slipping into something your girlfriend would wear. It means dressing like a grown-up. 1. Get clothes that fit Where to start: This is a really important rule. If you break every other rule, you’ll still look confident and mature if your clothes fit properly. There was a time when Levi’s promoted carpenter jeans and baggy fits. The year was 1998 and you were a child. These days, it’s proper to wear well-fitting clothes. Excess fabric makes you look unconfident and unshapely. Having clothes that form around your body is flattering for small to medium sized guys. [...]

Students who have been mashing their keyboard in frustration over wonky internet might soon find relief. Western is starting a wireless internet overhaul in hopes of improving speed, capacity and reliability. The upgrade comes at a time when usage is mounting. It’s up 33 per cent from last year, and complaints surrounding wireless internet on campus are becoming fierce. “I’m just really fed up with the lack of wireless service across campus,” Natasha Willis, a second-year political science student at Western, wrote in a letter to the Gazette. “I pay well over $6,000 a year to come here and at the very least, I’d like to be able to connect to internet in a library.” According to Debbie Jones, director for Western’s Information Technology Services, Western introduced a new wireless infrastructure on Dec. 20, 2010. She said ITS is upgrading old access points with newer, faster versions as part of [...]

APK Live In a city with more watering holes than venues, APK Live is more of an indie music temple than hipster bar. Located on the south side of the city, far past Richmond Row, the APK is one of few bars actually interested in combining pub fare with quality music and art. It’s what owner Marc Gammal calls “beats and eats.” When Gammal moved into the spacious basement venue beneath Yuk Yuk’s, he took an “art-first” approach and asked four local artists to decorate the space to make it look “shabby-chic.” The result is a ceiling you won’t likely miss —  a tapestry of art with demented figures and strange shapes looming above as you imbibe. Art on the wall rotates regularly and Gammal has aspirations for outdoor art installations too. The result is a very Toronto-like bar, fit for Ossington Avenue, steeped in good tmusic and rich with amicable [...]

With just over a week until next week’s referendum, a London cab company is lashing out against the proposed late night bus service, calling it an attack on the taxi industry. The March 18 referendum will pose three questions, among them whether students want to pay $12.15 for a late night bus program. The nearly $370,000 initiative would pay for buses around campus and downtown from 11 p.m. to 1:50 a.m. Thursday to Sunday. It’s a proposal that Yellow London Taxi owner Hasan Savehilaghi is campaigning against. “This is an attempt to damage the taxi industry,” he said. “Really, this is a deal made behind closed doors between the student council and Aboutown.” Savehilaghi cited safety and service as his two main concerns, noting students will still have to walk home from campus or the few bus stops offered on the routes. He also argued while all students will pay the [...]

With a crowd of supporters celebrating frantically behind him, Andrew Forgione was elected president of the University Students’ Council in a decisive victory Wednesday night. The fourth-year social science student, who’s currently serving as president of the Social Science Students’ Council, earned 4,214 votes, trouncing runner-up Omid Salari who netted 2,310 votes. Forgione ran a campaign based on empowering faculty councils and continuing initiatives already underway by this year’s USC executive. “I’m somewhat relieved but happy. It’s the happiest feeling in the world,” Forgione said after the results were announced. Forgione came in as a career USCer with a campaign defined by a polished multimedia presence and groundswell support. At the onset of his campaign, Forgione released a heavily produced YouTube video, which was light on platform points but high on enthusiasm. Forgione said support from the social science faculty definitely helped. “My campaign team gave me the win,” he [...]

Valentine’s Day is a nice, fun day of affection where couples can canoodle in restaurants, have a date night and celebrate how much they like each other. But expecting more than a frivolous date night can cause some trouble. Because imbuing Hallmark holidays with significant meaning is bound to leave you disappointed. At this point it should be obvious that it’s not a love-filled day for everyone. Couples with floundering relationships have to face the sputtering embers of the flame that used to be roaring in their hearts while single people are reminded how painfully lonely they are during a cold, dark time of year. What you get from Valentine’s Day depends on your expectations. Romantic movies and the like force unrealistic expectations on the day — just like with prom and wedding nights. An extra serving of reality helps keep expectations low for Valentine’s Day. This is the same principal [...]

Students were recently entrusted with $175,000 that will hopefully be used to leave a legacy for future Westerners. It makes sense for students to have the final say in where the money will go, considering it was originally intended for them. So kudos are owed to the University Students’ Council for launching a campus-wide challenge instead of spreading the money around internally. But with such a hefty amount, the USC should give preference to more tangible investments into student lives with an understanding that some of this money is bound for more frivolous proposals. Because appealing to the student body for meaningful, long-lasting investments could yield more frivolous submission than organizers expect. If many students couldn’t be bothered to pick up their cheques, it’s unlikely they’ll receive well-researched proposals in great quantities. Using the money for something fun and frivolous — a giant mustang sculpture, for example — doesn’t seem [...]

Just like you can tear apart some rock, country or pop for being derivative rubbish, rap has its own guttersnipe polluting an otherwise fantastic time for the genre. Aside from the expected crap, there are several artists producing the best rap we’ve heard decades. If it weren’t for his ego and PR disasters, Kanye West would get the praise he legitimately deserves for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — a rap album so full of singing and orchestration, you can question whether it should be called rap at all. West also deserves praise for working with artists like Marco Brambilla, who directed the apocalyptic and heavy-handed video for “Power.” It’s an appeal to a higher standard for rap, obviously side-stepping tropes and endeavouring to achieve something greater. Lil Wayne, who’s been called the best rapper alive, similarly succeeds in almost every way — even when he fails, like he did with the bizarre rap-rock [...]

Portfolio websites are mandatory for journalists. I don’t even understand paper portfolios — they’re dull, cumbersome and worst of all they’re only viewable after you’ve scored an interview. Websites are portals to who you are as a person. They’re like mini interviews, where you can talk about your values and show off your skills. And since it’s a media rich environment, you can include all the videos, photos and multimedia you (should) have. Here’s the slidedeck from the presentation. I’ll add some more details about it later. Portfolio Website