A younger couple is sitting across from each other playing chess in a coffee shop I am at the other morning. The chess pieces seem scattered across the board as if there were just there for decoration, but knowing chess, each piece was put on each square for a reason.
The couple doesn’t talk. They don’t look at each other. The girl with dark hair pulled in to a pony-tail wearing sharp thick rimmed stylish glasses rests her chin on her cupped hand. The guy is wearing one of those hats you see old men wearing, with a thick brim and flat form and has arms crossed. His left hand is over his right arm.
The man pushes a piece with a horse head with the tip of his finger. He rests back in his chair crosses his arms again and smiles. The girl shakes her head and smiles.
“Again!”
“Again…” He says back laughing.
“I’m never going to beat you.” She says as she starts packing the pieces back in to a box.
“It’s all strategy, babe.” The man says as he laughs and puts his coat on. “You’ll get it.”
The woman just shrugs looking disappointed. And for a second I am with her. I’m exactly in that shrug.
Strategy. It’s in the games we play. It’s in the arguments we have in order for people to see our side. It’s in the way we live our lives. We’ve got the rules and that’s it. How we go about succeeding is up to how we play and most of us play it to win it. Everyday is just another day to attempt to go for the gold… get that job or meet the one or finish that book we are writing or just finding something that makes us happy.
Sometimes we totally win and walk away with a smile telling others they will one day get it. Checkmate.
Some of us, though, are still trying to figure it all out.

“Bouncing is what Tiggers do best… gushing is what Byrons do best.”

And why I adore and admire little dancing Asian kids.

One of my potential students who wants to try to get in to my class is sitting down for an interview with me.
Student: You know you look like Chris Brown?
Me: I don’t know who that really is, but how so?
Student: Well, a white-boy style of him.
Me: Uh huh.
Student: And if you had different colored eyes.
Me: Uh huh.
Student: And if you could dance like him.
Me: Uh huh. So, how do I look like Chris Brown.
Student: You don’t.
Me: Then, why did you say it?
Student: ‘Cause it will get me in your class, right?

This morning I caught a stranger staring at me from his car at a red light.
It may have been because I am having a good hair day.
It may have been because the wheels I rented to go teach are pretty sweet and eco-friendly.
It may have been because he was trying to ask if I had any Grey Poupon.
Or it may have been because I made a CD and had two espressos this morning and decided that it would be fun to, you know, belt out the songs on the CD with the energy and passion that comes from two espressos which included bouncing in my seat and head banging.

Snow-blowing the snow in the alley at 5:30 in the morning where there are windows where people have their beds and lay their heads and are still sleeping because they were out kind of late the night before might be just a little bit freaking rude… especially when it happens two days in the row. I could be wrong, though. But usually I’m right about these kinds of things.

ORIGINALLY PRINTED AND ONLINE ARCHIVED IN NEW CITY MAGAZINE STYLE SECTION 11/19/2007

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It’s the holidays. You’ve got a list of people to buy for and of course there’s that one person who gets you every time: The guy or girl who has everything. Spa services are an increasingly more popular way to show someone you care (and give them some much needed R and R), but anyone can give a Swedish massage. Try one of these out-of-the-ordinary spa services to truly make an impression.

The Professional Shave
Sure, he could do it himself. But why not let him enjoy the luxury of someone else taking over the blade? The process includes luxuries such as layering the skin with different exfoliates, moisturizers, astringents and hot towels to open pores. And the result is a final product that can’t be bought: A shave so close it takes three days for hair to grow back. The Spa at Halo [For Men], 21 West Elm, (312)642-4256, $55

Heal with Liquor.
We love the drink, so, why not soak in it? The Mojito Sugar Cane foot soak combines crushed mint leaves, sugarcane, fresh lime juice and oils, creating a mixture that tames inflammation and soreness for dried out skin. Plus, the mild scent of mint will soothe the mind. Thankfully, there is no hangover involved.  
                                                                  
The Gift of Gold

Plain old jewelry won’t cut it, but rolling around in it is a different story. Try the Egyptian Golden Body Wrap, where Dead Sea salt exfoliation leads to an application of a gold-infused serum. Yes, gold. The process continues by applying Dead Sea mud to the spine to pull out toxins. A rich moisturizer concludes the process. (Four Seasons Hotel Spa & Fitness Club, 120 East Delaware, (312)649-2340, $145 for a fifty-minute wrap, $195 for an eighty-minute wrap with additional massage

Room to Breathe
Chicago skin needs a breather as complete as the Triple Oxygen Treatment. It includes a deep cleaning exfoliation with fruit acid wash, pre-extraction oxygen wrap and a calming oxygen milk mask, finished off with a vitamized oxygenspray. It’s easily the healthiest air you’ll get in the city. (Bliss Chicago, 644 North Lake Shore, (312)201-9545, eighty-five minutes for $160

ORIGINALLY PRINTED AND ONLINE ARCHIVED FOR NEW CITY MAGAZINE STYLE SECTION 11/13/2007

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I walk into The Spa at Halo [for Men] and an up-tempo song instantly sets my mood to perfect.

A friendly front-desk staff greets me with a beverage and a seat in a waiting room that mirrors a well-decorated pad. I settle into leather chairs, surrounded by candles, and face a giant plasma television (Reminder: this is just the waiting room). Ahead, the salon is bright with more televisions, books and masculine-colored walls. Adjacent to the salon is the spa, set in a low-lit, Buddha-inspired space.

I’m led to a vintage barber’s chair that the owner, Bob Patrizi, scored off eBay, for my very first professional shave. The shaver, Janell, places soothing hot towels on my skin between each exfoliation, lather and moisturizing step. She uses a sharp blade you’d see in olden days. No nicks, and instantly I have baby-smooth skin. And, apparently, her close shaves take longer for hair to grow back. Awesome. I’m a lazy shaver.

Next, I gear up for “The Man.” This service includes a shampoo, haircut, style, scalp massage, paraffin wax on hands and a hot-towel facial. Seriously. My stylist, Kelly, chats with me while she snips. That’s the thing

about this place: if you want to talk, great. If you don’t, it’s cool too. Every station has a plasma television so you can zone out if preferred. Next, Kelly takes me to the peacefully Zen spa for my five-minute back-scratch. Yes, a back-scratch. I sit in a massage chair and rest my head in an o-shaped pillow while she uses metal sculpture-like tools that relax my muscles to a jellyish state.

Last, I get my pedicure. Eva tells me to relax while she places my feet into a large basin with hot stones and bubbles. She meticulously cleans cuticles, trims nails, exfoliates the bottoms of my feet and massages a

long the arch, over the heel and up to the calf. A paraffin wax finishes the act. On the way out, I pick up a few of the hair and skin products (tailored clothing is also available for sale) recommended by Patrizi. I leave feeling like Halo is heaven.

The Spa at Halo [for Men], 21 West Elm, (312)642-4256, halochicago.com

ORIGINALLY PRINTED AND ONLINE ARCHIVED FOR NEW CITY MAGAZINE 10/16/2007 STYLE SECTION

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Let’s talk about synergy. You know, the idea that two people can partner up and create a uniquely powerful force as a result of their combined energies. It’s this synergistic effect that has propelled local line dIETERbENNET from an idea to one of the most recognizable up-and-comers on the Chicago fashion scene. Fresh off a successful showing at the Gen Art runway show during Fashion Focus Chicago, dIETERbENNET is poised to take its clean, classic women’s line to the next level.

If you ask Bennet Cousins and Dieter Kirkland how their passion for fashion started, you will see a twinkle in their eye when they begin to tell of their design beginnings. Cousins was introduced to sewing and patterns by his grandmother at a young age and remained inspired by her talent as he grew and became more involved in textiles. Kirkland always knew that design was his calling, whether it was industrial or interior, and in the end he chose to create with fabric. After a chance introduction by their Columbia College Chicago advisor in the fall of 2006, Cousins and Kirkland became fast design pals, intent on taking the fashion world by storm with their like aesthetic. After a brief time apart, they re-emerged in the spring of 2007 with a fresh outlook on women’s fashion: clean, subtle and modern. The synergy was born.

Now working out of home studios, these gents are humble about their work and inspirations. They’re not the type of artists who,when asked about what inspires them, jolt into lengthy, metaphysical hoopla. For both, inspiration comes in the everyday. “[We] may come across a building and think a structural element is interesting, and four weeks down the road realize that [we] interpreted that element into a skirt detail,” the duo says.

It’s their attention to even the smallest elements that embosses dIETERbENNET’s name from the list of up-and-coming local Chicago designers. Their subtle details range from the use of sleek, muted, organic-looking fabric to the delivery of stitch. “Our pieces have hidden subtleties, like dart manipulation, that no one but the wearer notices,” they say. But women are applauding much more than the detailing. They are excited about the realistic wear-ability. “[We] see so many runway shows and appreciate what they are doing from an artistic viewpoint, but sometimes ponder how it will relate to the real world.”

Designers need to consider where their clothing falls between the real world and fashion world. There are the mass-produced, everyday styles; the sassy, upscale items we drool over through windows; and the extravagant, how-in-hell-do-I-sport-that high-fashion pieces sprawled in magazines and on the runway. So how does this talented team fit in? As perfectly as a neatly sewn running stitch. Their Jil Sander admiration is evident, as dIETERbENNET coheres to all the realms of fashion by being functional, original and approachable. The clothes speak for themselves with sleek skirts that hug the thighs in a high-fashion cut, but are still wearable enough for the office; coats that you swear belong in a magazine spread, but will be perfect for that fall night out in the West Loop. They are designing for the women of today: elegantly styled yet living at a hectic pace. Of course the fashion world is ever changing. How will dIETERbENNET evolve to keep in touch with the times? They don’t claim to be psychics, but they foretell a resurgence of a time when clothes were meant to individualize a person. “A lot of people are over the mega-brands and the ubiquitousness of it all,” they say. “They are looking for something more intimate and special.”

A possible men’s line, a showroom and plans to take their look to New York and beyond are all part of dIETERbENNET’s goal of becoming a global player. And they are sure to succeed. Because when you see the success of their synergy resulting in the exceptional dIETERbENNET creations, you know that it would be impossible to contain that energy in one place. It has to be shared with the world.

dIETERbENNET designs can be found at Jake, 939 North Rush, (312)664-5553, shopjake.com or at dieterbennet.com.