In case you missed it over the weekend, The New York Times weighed in on the new vernacular for luxury real estate sales—a revised jargon where "luxury" itself is suddenly a dirty word. (As, evidently, "reduced" and "value" once were.)

The old:
- "trophy"
- "no expense spared"
- "lifestyle"
- "glamour"
- "the best of everything"
- name-checking architects
- name-checking amenities, from Poggenpohl to Waterworks

The new:
- "reduced"
- "value"
- "tasteful"
- "set up for comfortable living"
- "best price in the building"

This new Realtorese is best taken, of course, with a grain of salt: The most oversaturated markets—those offering many of the so-called "unbelievable values"—are still in the $3 million to $6 million range. Happy bargain-hunting.

The Pantone Color Institute has just published a report on the top colors for fall 2009 as described by designers showing at New York fashion week; the list suggests something of a Team USA bent (see "Purple Heart" and "American Beauty"). These shades (pictured above, left to right, top to bottom) are "a direct outcome of what's happening in the world around us," says Pantone's executive director. Maybe so. Notably absent: cash green.

1. Iron (Pantone 18-1306): Percentage of designers who used this color, 16.5
2. Purple Heart (Pantone 18-3520): 15.6
3. Majolica Blue (Pantone 19-4125): 12.8
4. American Beauty (Pantone 19-1759): 11.9
5. Honey Yellow (Pantone 16-1143): 10.1
6. Rapture Rose (Pantone 17-1929): 9.2
7. Burnt Sienna (Pantone 17-1544): 8.2
8. Warm Olive (Pantone 15-0646): 7.3
9. Nomad (Pantone 16-1212): 5.6
10. Creme Brulee (Pantone 13-1006): 2.8

[WWD]

Presented without comment: The top ten U.S. metro areas, ranked by average household spending on men's apparel. (Or so says Buxton, Inc., a research firm that was kind enough to present its findings to Women's Wear Daily.) The takeaway? Look forward to a stylish SXSW this year, as Austin tops the list—I'd go myself, but I'll be exploring that other menswear mecca, Salt Lake City.

1. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
2. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada
3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
4. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California
5. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California
6. Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida
7. Salt Lake City, Utah
8. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California
10. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island-Pennsylvania

[WWD]

Over the course of 2,720 posts (and counting), our humble blog managed to cover a range of topics that helped define 2008, from Bruce Willis' man jewelry to Elliott Gould's unlikely superstardom. But there were a few subjects we came back to time and time again. Here, a fond, numerical look back:

- Number of posts mentioning Don Draper: 12 (including both "What would Don Draper drink?" and "What would Don Draper browse?")
- Number of posts referencing James Bond and/or Quantum of Solace: 18
- Number of posts mentioning Barack Obama: 17 (including three devoted to his tie game—here, here, and here)
- Number of posts referencing workwear: 15 (none of which mentioned Don, Bond, or Obama)
- Number of posts mentioning the iPod and its various accessories: 23
- Number of posts referencing the Zune: 5 (Sorry, Zune. The Joy Division model was a good idea and all, but Curtis and Co. are a little overexposed.)
- Number of posts mentioning Joy Division: 9
- Number of posts showing concern for the order of your file cabinet: 29 (including such memorable recommendations as "File under postapocalyptic environmentalist porn," "File under psychedelic golfwear," "File under TV shows you probably shouldn't discuss in public," and, of course, the market-sensitive File-unders: "...bad timing," "...bad timing," "...seriously bad timing" and "...good timing, unfortunately.")

The fairer sex drew our attention, too; in fact, we posted numerous items this year containing scantily clad babes, a full six of which also included the phrase "you're welcome." (Think of it as a sort of stimulus package.) So here's our pledge to you, dear reader: We will raise that total in 2009. Um, you're welcome.

Good news: Pretending to care about human rights can still get you laid—at least in England, according to a new survey of Britons' reading habits. Commissioned as part of the U.K.'s National Year of Reading [as opposed to America's National Year of Panicking About Your 401(k)], the poll lists the ten reads that most impress a British bird. Given the study shows that 46 percent of women lie about their choice of reading material, we think it's okay to skim the following before dropping them in conversation. Of course, given that "text messages" made the list, perhaps you won't have to.

1. Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom
2. Shakespeare
3. Cookbooks
4. Poetry
5. Song lyrics
6. Current affairs Web sites
7. Text messages
8. E-mails
9. Financial Times
10. Facebook

[via the BBC]

As reported in this morning's DNR, the first phase of the world's largest mall opened this week in—where else?—Dubai. Despite the global financial crisis, Emaar Malls Group, which developed the 5.6-million-square-foot shopping center, expects it to receive 30 million visitors in its first year. Here, a brief list of what's on offer to attract them, dubious or not:

- 1,200 stores, including Versace, Burberry, Roberto Cavalli, Galliano, Hermès, Givenchy, Cerruti, Missoni, Tom Ford, and Ermenegildo Zegna
- A 10-million-liter aquarium with 33,000 animals, at least 30 of which are, apparently, very aggressive
- A 76,000-square-foot indoor amusement park called SEGA Republic, subdivided into themes including the Speed Zone, Sports Zone, and Redemption Zone
- An Olympic-size skating rink, open year round
- 14,000 indoor parking spaces

If last week's vintage watch auction at Antiquorum is any indicator, the economy's in better shape than we previously thought. The sale fetched almost $10 million total, including a staggering $596,000 for the vintage Longines, originally owned by Einstein, pictured here. (Its estimated price? Just $25,000-$35,000.) Our investment picks didn't fare quite so spectacularly, but all went for the high end of their range:

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Geographic
Estimated price: $2,000-$3,000
Sold for: $5,280

Vacheron Constantin 18K Gold Dress Watch
Estimated price: $3,000-$5,000
Sold for: $6,000

Omega Ranchero
Estimated price: $1,500-$2,500
Sold for: $2,880

Rolex Explorer "Black Out"
Estimated price: $8,000-$12,000
Sold for: $12,000

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms
Estimated price: $1,500-$2,500
Sold for: $5,040

Omega Speedmaster
Estimated price: $2,000-$3,000
Sold for: $2,640

This morning's New York Times published some intriguing stats about the most popular cosmetic surgery options for men. (Mark Spitz, apparently, advocates for Botox.) Check out 2007's top five noninvasive procedures below, and, if you're really interested, click here for the (equally illuminating) longer version.

Botox: 296,000
Microdermabrasion: 184,000
Laser hair removal: 177,000
Chemical peel: 85,000
Laser skin resurfacing: 42,000

As reported earlier, J.Crew's first book is finally available. (And nope, it's not the latest masterwork from Mitch Albom.) Written by Max Blagg and illustrated by Hugo Guinness, What a Man Should Know is a collection of 50 (very) whimsical tips for the modern male. So what should you know? Chess, wine, and figure-drawing, yes, but also:

- Where Jackson Pollock is buried: "Jackson lies beneath an enormous rock in Green River Cemetery, East Hampton, NY. Also interred in the same graveyard are several other great Americans, including Frank O'Hara, Lee Krasner, and the divine muse Patsy Southgate. Take an afternoon off from the beach to pay your respects."

- How to properly fold a newspaper (broadsheet, not tabloid): "And under extreme or life-threatening conditions, be prepared to fashion it into a weapon on the lines of the so-called 'Millwall Brick' favored by certain English soccer hooligans."

- When to ignore certain rules of clothing etiquette: "For instance, the canard that he should not bedeck himself in shades of white or linen fabrics once Labor Day has come and gone. Refuse such orthodoxy! You're a big boy now. You can dress yourself."
$20, available at jcrew.com, and at the J.Crew Tribeca Men's Shop at the Liquor Store, 235 W. Broadway, NYC, (212) 226-5476

...but the songs played at the Milan women's shows have made us wish for more MGMT. As dutifully noted by WWD and our sister site, Style.com, the ladies in Europe have been hoofing it down the runways to revamped disco. Below, a selection:

- "Sandcastle Disco," by Solange Knowles (Emporio Armani)

- "Sweet Dreams," by the Eurythmics, salsa remix by Señor Coconut (Giorgio Armani)

- "I Feel Love," by Donna Summer, and "Lost in Music," by Sister Sledge, mixes by Michel Gaubert (Gucci)

- "La Vie en Rose," by Grace Jones (Bottega Veneta, D&G)

- "Gotta Keep Dancin' (Keep Smiling)," by Carrie Lucas, and "Charlie's Angels Theme," performed by the New London Philharmonic Orchestra (DSquared2)

And, well, of course:

- "Kids," by MGMT (Roberto Cavalli)