Cargo Magazine Hits Newstands! Metrosexual Backlash Starts... NOW!

There were some false starts to the backlash earlier. When South Park dedicated an episode to skewering the phenomenon, it looked pretty certain the trend would collapse in on itself leaving only a trail of barely worn Size-38-waist Diesel jeans, but alas Matt and Trey were too early.

Maybe this is because the metrosexual thing was a naturally occuring trend long before Queer Eye embedded itself on the nation's television sets and its conciousness. In other words, the metrosexual thing pointed to something real, not an invented fad. The straight men who really are hyper-vigilant when it comes to personal grooming and clothes-sense are not the product of hype but of good timing.

What is new is that such men are not considered freaks anymore. Now it's the metrosexuals who had got it all along and were way ahead of the curve, which the rest of the male populace is only now discovering.

This is indeed due to the mainstreaming and popularity of Bravo!'s cable show and the lifestyle coverage of metrosexual poster children like David Beckham, the international soccer star who plays for the Real Madrid football club and changes "edgy" hairstyles more often than you and me change pairs of socks.

So what can we expect from Cargo? How about "House Rules: Pieces to upgrade your living room with Thom Filicia." Hmmm ... name sounds ... familiar ... Thom ... FI-LI-CI-A ... ooooooh, of course, THAT Thom Filicia, the Interior Design guy from Queer Eye (Duh!). (Filicia, by the way, has just inked a deal to appear in commercials for Pier 1 Imports, replacing Kirstie Alley as official pitchperson.)

Here's what else is in store for readers: a feature called "Lube Job: Shaving Oils That Save Face." Here's an excerpt...

"Until recently, shaving oils were considered the 98-pound weaklings of the grooming world. A few puny drops might work as a pre-shave treatment, perhaps, but who would pair them with a razor when you could have a thick, creamy palmful of foam instead? The newest crop of oils, however, has bulked up with richer and more advanced formulas designed to increase lubricity."

Well, that's just great. No, seriously, that is great--really and truly, no snark-asm here. Honest! This is really useful stuff. In fact, after flipping through Cargo a few times, we think they're definitely onto something here. It's actually good. So maybe this backlash talk is in vain.

What's more to love? How about a Cargo messenger bag? We're not convinced that you're going to start seeing real bike messengers racing through cross-town Manhattan traffic with one of these. The bag is nice in a basically stylish and inoffensive way, but like all schwag it's likely to end up as a hand-me down to younger brothers and distant family members who probably need Cargo like Antartica needs ice.

What Cargo is attempting to do is something that no other "men's" magazine has successfully done in America, and that is provide men with practical information about how to look better, dress well and put it all together for life in the real world. Until now, the only thing that came close was GQ, which was fine as long as your wardrobe consists mostly of $1200 Zegna suits and you spend your weekends lounging with supermodels on St. Maarten.

Cargo reminds us of men's magazines in Japan, where titles such as Men's Non-Non and Smart can be found in abundance on the news racks. The Japanese have about a dozen such monthly men's shopping mags and they're way cool and have lots of photos of real people wearing stylish, well-designed and fashionable new clothes that don't cost a month's paycheck.

Whether Cargo succeeds or fails is anyone's guess. We're hoping they don't drop the ball, metrosexual backlash or not.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go exfoliate my skin... did anyone see where I put my Clinique Scruffing Lotion?

--Da Smitho

RELATED LINKS

Cargo Magazine Web Site
House Rules: Upgrade Your Living Room [Cargo]
Lube Job Shaving Oils That Save Face [Cargo]
Metrosexual, Definition of [The Word Spy]
Essay: Meet the Metrosexual [Salon]
Manchester United's David Beckham Bio
Official Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Web Site [Bravo]
Thom Filicia Bio
Thom Filicia's Official Personal Web Site
Official South Park Web Site