Welcome to a new kind of blog. For those who have followed my previous blog, Beauty Hurts....,  you know that I primarily discussed the world of Plastic Surgery.  I mostly kept to the safety issues because I felt that was being ignored.  Most of the blogs were self promoting rubbish and I never believed a word of what they were saying. Just finished twelve breast augs and now sipping a Cabernet.  That sort of pretentious crap. If I saved one patient from a bad experience or from going abroad and being injured and ripped off then I did my job.  I think this new and extended blog will probably do the same thing. And now the reason I'm extending my views on other vitally important topic.....

 About 2 weeks ago, a close friend invited me to a celebrity golf outing in  New Jersey. It was hosted by a large well known radio station as well as a large well known American League baseball team.   Typical golf crowd, 20-60 year old men, predominantly white, salesmen, white collar workers, etc. About 20 retired football and baseball players interspersed.  You get the point.  To make it more interesting, I had had recent neck surgery and was trying to keep my stitches and scar out of the sun and was wearing a scarf around my neck.  On a hot day in May, when everyone is wearing shorts and a polo, wearing a scarf looks a bit out of place.  Granted I didn't wear it like the French on the side but like an Ascot in what I considered the most normal way possible. And I did stand out, but it was not because of the scarf.  It was because I was the only one not wearing pleated shorts.  And I thought to myself, how is that possible?  Pleats have been out of style for at least 5 if not 10 years.  These are professionals. They have money. They must know that they can't wear pleats.  Haven't they read GQ, Esquire, Details?  Okay, nobody reads Details.  And then it struck me.  They don't know because they don't read fashion magazines and they don't read any articles that have to do with fashion.  The closest they get is the occasional fashion spread in Golf Digest but that really doesn't cover much.

            After the round of golf, there was the required cocktail party and dinner.  I've been to a bunch of these,  mostly Hospital outings and almost everyone there changes into a jacket and pants after golf.  Not here.  Here the patrons changed out of their golf shoes and into their running shoes.  One of the well known Morning talk show hosts actually put on a blazer on top of his outfit and his other well known morning talk show host made fun of him for putting on a blazer.  That believe it or not got the most laughs from the crowd.

            And so on the long drive home to the city,  I thought to myself, there has to be a way to help these people.  I mean, this is most of America, and they're not getting what Fashion America is selling or telling them. They're not reading any fashion magazines and their wives,  if they are buying their clothes, aren't reading them either.  So I've decided to help them out.  Why me? Well, I'm like them.  Middle aged doctor, 2 kids, wife, nice life.  But I'm also not like them.  I read men's fashion magazines and I've been reading these for at least 30 years so I've got perspective.  And as my friends tell me, I have style and taste too.  And I have to be honest, most of the fashion out there or in magazines  doesn't appeal to me or them.  I don't find the $3500 red Gucci suit particularly appealing. I also don't find the $4000 Ralph Lauren Purple Label Blue suit appealing either.  Why? Because the first one doesn't fit my fashion sense and the second one is pretty boring.  Oh, and I don't think you need to spend that much money on a good suit.

            Well, I'll have lots to cover as we take this journey together. We'll have fun and I expect you to tweet or write on this blog and ask me questions or just post some irreverent nonsense, as I will.  As an avid skier, I consider this course in fashion to be similar to Snowmass's famed intermediate area, the Big Burn.  Fun, easy, a pleasure to ski.  It will not be Corbet's Coulior. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up.

Due to popular demand and a request from my son and wife, I will be  closing this blog and opening a new one to include both plastic surgery and Men's fashion and style.  Be on the lookout for the new blog, Two Types of Stitches.

signed,

Steve Fallek, MD

US warns of cheap, potentially fatal Dominican plastic surgeries | New York Post

US warns of cheap, potentially fatal Dominican plastic surgeries | New York Post

          Nothing warms up the winter more than Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit issue and nothing sums up our culture’s obsession with the female body more adroitly.  As an intermittent subscriber and a yearly viewer it’s pretty clear to see that the standard for attractiveness, at least to a certain male audience, changes from year to year.  When I was young it was thin, blond, and American.    Now it is curves, multicultural, and still mostly blond.  It is no different in my practice which is based in the New York City area and is rather cosmopolitan.  I see almost every nationality here and though there might be big differences amongst them, the general trend is still there.  Curves are in and it doesn’t matter if it’s the top or the bottom. But it’s also about proportion.  Almost none of my patients want to be DD’s.  They want to be a full C so that they look good but not a caricature.   As for buttock shaping, I tell them that it is shaping.  Not only adding fat to the buttock area, but also removing fat from the surrounding area to give them a more defined backside.  After I tell the patients that, my staff laughs and says the same thing. “Great Dr. Fallek, but make sure you give them even more than you think, because that’s what women want.”

                I think that by the time a patient shows up in my office, she knows what she wants.  She may not know exactly if it’s a lift or an implant but she knows what she is looking to improve.  For body contouring, it’s usually a bimodal peak.  It’s either something they’ve been thinking about since they were teenagers or early 20’s or in the time period after pregnancy.  And for almost all of my patients, they are right.  They do need improvement in that area.  I don’t have the hard statistics which are available every year from our society’s but if we were to factor out the economic issues, it’s pretty clear that the number of patients wanting  these procedures are going up.  For breast augmentation, I believe it’s because we now have a great product to give patients.  Patients are extremely happy with the newer silicone implants and they are telling their friends and showing them off.  As for buttock lifts/augmentations yes, the media is pushing it.  Yes, the designers are showing it. Yes, yes, yes, everyone wants the J-LO or Karshadian buttocks but I think it’s more profound than that.  We are a multicultural nation now with different ideals of beauty and what makes a woman beautiful.  Sports has always been considered as being a  mirror to that  a nation’s society.  It’s only once a year and is certainly no longer as titillating  as it used to be but when that nation’s iconic sports magazine shows off women, I belief we all have to take a look and see what’s in that mirror too.

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