Looks like the bow tie's semi-bizarre comeback is now official: It's even made the pages of The Wall Street Journal. Christina Binkley reports that sales are up and adds, correctly, that one should opt for hand-tied bow ties only. Just don't tell Band of Outsiders' Scott Sternberg, whose fall collection showed clip-ons exclusively.

["Bow Ties Turn Up on the Cool Crowd"]

MORE: Bow-tie-maker extraordinaire Alexander Olch's Obsessives video

With his regular series of profiles of notable local gents, New York Observer reporter Spencer Morgan has proved he knows when to shut the hell up and let the tape recorder do the work (cf. his recent profile of banker/model David Webb). Andy Spade, meanwhile, is savvy enough to know how to avoid the kind of foot-in-mouth moment that makes for good copy. But that doesn't make Morgan's profile of the Jack Spade founder any less worth reading. A few of the random, and very Spade-ean, facts it contains: Andy and his brother David (yes, the sarcastic little guy from Tommy Boy) used to skateboard in Stevie Nicks' empty pool in Scottsdale, which they called the Pink Sink; the brothers call their free-spirited (or maybe that should be freeloading) father "the hot potato;" and Spade is evidently in talks with Coca-Cola about a new drink that's only available in "installation form."

["Andy Spade Is a Giant in New York"]

MORE: Andy Spade's 10 Essentials

File under Europeans being European: The Times reports that the continent is up in arms about the E.U. HQ's purchase of 21 $7,500 deluxe espresso makers. Not about the cost, mind you, but about the coffee—evidently, it sucked. But rather than get its money back—isn't there a recession happening or something?—the Union is bringing in experts to train employees how to make a better brew. Look, if you're gonna waste government money on a fancy-pants coffee machine, at least pony up a few extra bucks for some 11-grand Clovers.

For obvious reasons, the new BMW 7-Series might not rank high on your spring to-buy list. (And if it does, congrats.) Still, we'll all be buying cars again someday, and (judging from the reviews) the automaker's latest—and one of controversial designer Chris Bangle's last—will be as good an option as any. Among the highlights: The new-and-improved iDrive control system, once known for being clunky and confusing, "has gone from worst to first," according to Lawrence Ulrich in the NYT. And then there's the design. The most recent version, from 2002, had BMW loyalists howling, largely due to its wonky, crinkly trunk, derisively dubbed the "Bangle butt." The new one is considerably reined-in, which should please both purists and more mainstream drivers. Of course, that earlier edition went on to become the best-selling 7—and thanks to circumstances, that's a fate we don't foresee for the '09 one, however much it might deserve it.
Starting at $81,125 for the 750i, bmwusa.com

In our efforts to bring you the day's most important stories, we missed the Palm Springs' Desert Sun's q-and-a with Ace Hotel cofounder Alex Calderwood, who is about to open the chain's much-anticipated Palm Springs branch. The piece is well worth reading—Calderwood seems to have a good sense of perspective about opening not one but two designy hotels in this economic climate. (An NYC edition opens later this month.) There's also a bunch of pictures (on the hotel's site too) that reveal how much the location looks like its old incarnation as a Howard Johnson. (On the outside, that is; as you can see above, the rooms are mostly tentlike.) For the story and photos, click here.
701 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, (760) 325-9900, acehotel.com

In our ongoing mission to cover the day's most important stories, we somehow missed Paul Smith's recent guide in the Guardian to customizing an old (by which he means vintage) shirt. It covers everything from darting the back to making and attaching a new collar; that's the pattern, above (click to expand). Sound tricky? It is—he's even included a step-by-step slideshow. Cool (if daunting) stuff, and certainly appropriate for the times, which are more DIY than b-u-y. (And given that Alex Kapranos listed both Paul Smith pants and a sewing machine in his recent 10 Essentials, something tells us the Franz Ferdinand frontman is taking notes.)

It only figures that rock stars (well, sometime rock stars, anyway) would have good travel stories, but even still, the Times piece this morning by Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French is truly amazing. He was asked to deplane a British Airways jet in 1986 when a last-minute baggage count didn't match up with the passenger manifest, leading the airline to believe there was a bomb on board. The good news? It turned out to be a false alarm—and the pilot, at least, kept his (grim) sense of humor. French recalls that when he took his seat, the captain announced over the loudspeaker, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are so sorry for the inconvenience, but here at British Airways we have a motto: better late than dead on time." We're rather more fond of BA's current slogan: "The World's Favourite Airline."

Maybe it's the recession or the holiday season, but whatever the reason, even the most venerable institutions seem to have drinking on the brain lately. Both The New York Times and The New Yorker have recently devoted space online to the honorable art of imbibing—a move we heartily endorse. But Proof, the Times' spirits blog, and Lit Spirits, a new recurring feature on The New Yorker's books blog, aren't exactly festive.

Proof solicits contributions from a panel of mostly sober writers (including Susan "buzzkill" Cheever), and the results are, well, dispiriting. From suggesting celebrating prohibition's repeal "with a glass of some alcohol-free fluid" to tsk-tsking at "drunkenfreude," the blog reads like the minutes of some particularly unfun A.A. meeting. Even yesterday's post on buybacks includes some finger-wagging.

If all that dry hand-wringing leaves you hankering for a drink, The New Yorker, at least, can help. Lit Spirits asks master mixologist Michael Cecconi (who created the Red and the Black cocktail we enjoyed this summer) to create drinks inspired by literary heroes. But of all the tippling characters of the canon he could have chosen, the first selection is Winnie the Pooh, whose usual fare of honey is dosed with red wine and tequila to create a "Honeysuckle Rouge." Not that it doesn't sound tasty, but we wonder about the ethics of spiking Pooh Bear's punch. After all, Christopher Robin, the elder statesman of the Hundred Acre Forest, was turning six last we checked in on him.

File under intriguing (if curious) brand extensions: Dolce & Gabbana's online magazine Swide.com, whose name, as the company told WWD, is deliberately senseless. (Evidently it's a "short, immediate word" that's "irrelevant to the language of fashion.") And while that doesn't sound particularly noteworthy, the site's irreverent tone is appealing—between short articles on the likes of Terence Koh and Olaf Breuning, a guide to Milan, and, naturally, Paris Hilton's Christmas wishes (for a pink Bentley), we can think of less interesting ways to spend a few minutes. Our favorite, though, is D&G's Christmas card. We always suspected those guys had elfin tendencies: Here's proof.

That's what one investor in the Broadway revival of Speed-the-Plow told the New York Post, anyway, after Jeremy Piven withdrew from his role due to mercury poisoning. (Allegedly, Ari became incapacitated because of his voracious appetite for sushi.) Another investor was more direct: "We didn't have star insurance, but we should have had asshole insurance." Playwright David Mamet, however, was more subtle (if just as pointed): "My understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer." As yet, no word from Piven himself about his ailment—we wish him all the best!—nor from any other bedeviled sushi enthusiasts (like, say, the citizenship of Japan).