Historical Hotness

Single subject Tumblrs have me at hello. This one had me at hot. The genius behind My Daguerreotype Boyfriend has begun combing the annals of historical photography for the men who melted the lens, even way back when. I think the site makes an awfully good case for you guys out there to dust off your cravats and join something that requires a uniform. I'm going to share a few photos with you, but you'll have to visit the site for your boyfriend's stats. Some are criminals, some are soldiers, some are imports...all are hot. (Except one or two with muttonchops...)

Gosh, something about those sepia tones make the brooding even broodier.

Hey There, Big Boy.

The Fall Men's shows are here, and upon seeing a smattering of the coverage, I swooned a bit. Let me assure you, this is not a regular occurrence when viewing the parade of skinny andro pretty-as-any-long-haird-girl boys that usually sulk down the catwalk for big designers. In the past decade or so, the men's fashion scene has been devoid of testosterone, favoring instead girly men that could have passed for chicks any day of the week. They have their own beauty for sure, and their own demographic (the gay male designers who do them up, perhaps?) but they aren't so good for a girl's want-o-meter, ya know? If the runway at Dolce & Gabana is any indication, that seems to be changing and I'm happy.

Look at the bodies on those boys! I'm not usually a beefcake fan myself, but maybe there's a sea change happening because now I want me a hunk.

Fashion folks, where have you been hiding these fellas? Don't do that again, ok? Thanks.

Biker Babe.

Model Marissa Miller got a motorcycle for Christmas and makes it look good. That's an understatement, she makes this full throttle fantastic. I want one. I also want all of those accessories, the boot, the leather jacket, the all black everything? Yes please. Here's Marissa taking the bike for a spin:

She needs a tee that says "If you can read this the bastard fell off."

Swoon Worthy and In Vogue.

Oh dear, I haven't had a crush on a moviestar like this since Kirk Cameron's Bop centerfold was scotch taped to the top of my bunk bed (um, thank God that didn't work out!). I've fallen hard and I can't get up. His name is Sam and he's in a little movie called Avatar; maybe you've heard of it? Here, this is what he looks like:

Ah, a little scruff, a cute smirk, a broodiness. It's all quite amazingly delightful, no? I love his voice too. A little raspy and full of Aussie. Hot. Hot. Hot. Apparently he has fans like me over at Vogue too. He's in the January issue and there's a behind the scenes video of his shoot on their website.

Dapper with a dangerous edge; he's the man of my dreams. I'm in love. Tell me that's not the finest specimen of maleness you've seen in a while. Can't wait for him to come at me in 3D at the IMAX. Ok, I'm done swooning...for now.

Wait! No I'm not. Here's a few more:

Ok, now I'm done.

One/One-Thousand: Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber is God's gift to women, and gay men. No, it's not that he's a brutish, hot, muscly man--although he's cute in his own way (love the head scarf, Weber!)--it's that he's the constant purveyor of brutish, hot, muscly men. He's served up steaming hot, testosterone heavy photo shoots via top fashion magazines, Calvin Klein ads, and Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs for years and years. His aesthetic is very "American" read: lots of unbuttoned button fly jeans, unbuttoned flannel shirts, muscle tone, sports activities, and girls and boys next door. While undeniably heat raising, his photos always have a cool air of innocence that keeps them approachable for the masses, rather than relegated to the red light district.

My favorite Weber title, Branded Youth.

There is a specific book of his that I love, and that always manages to quicken my pulse if ever it's feeling a little sluggish. It's a sacred tome in my mind's library entitled Branded Youth and Other Stories, and it features page after page of, well, cute boys. There are also a great bunch of works of short fiction in there, but I didn't read it for the articles. If ever I pick it up, it brings me right back to the glory days of my youth when Eric Nies was my ultimate crush. (God, I was going to be his Alabama Julie! Only, I would have gotten him in the end.) My friend Devon and I used to call this book simply The Boy Book and we would make a beeline for it when our parents dropped us off at the strip mall Borders near the Old Navy. It was that good.

I know for a fact that I wasn't the only girl (or boy) in the world introduced to the wonderful world of maleness through the wonderful world of Weber. Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs were hotly anticipated mail in my neck of the woods.

Weber's famously underdressed clothing catalog shots are only a small part of his oeuvre of sexy Americana. Who could forget Mr. Weber's groundbreaking work with Calvin Klein? His images defined the brand in its heyday and set a new bar for how far one could take the whole idea of "sex sells". He's still got a good grip on that angle, and yet he's also managed to produce some of high fashion's most glamorous images.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Fashion, the massive monograph of his work published by teNeues proves that his work can reach fashion viewers with more on their minds than boys. But, for those of you who don't have more on your minds than boys, here's one....last....shot....

Yowza!

All photos are Bruce Weber, found through Google Images.