For those of you who only read WWD for the news, you might not know that Thursday’s the start of the G20 Summit in London, a yearly meeting between the world’s largest national economies to discuss an agenda that usually includes IMF reform and strategies to revive the global economy. Naturally, this attracts protestors of all kinds, which naturally makes the world’s bankers both in attendance and in the general vicinity a little nervous since most people blame them for the current global credit problems.

In anticipation, the British police have advised bankers to dress down so they’re not as easily recognized. But here’s what’s funny: They’ve also been told to avoid “chinos and loafers” since those too readily bellow “banker trying to dress like a normal person” - kind of like when you see an Olsen trying to blend in on Bleecker behind her neon Oliver Peoples and venti latte that’s bigger than her forearm, or when a kid plays hide-and-seek in the middle of the room.

So we’re wondering - Can you spot an off-duty banker? What gives them away? The untucked Thomas Pink shirt over dry-cleaned jeans and never-before-used Nikes? The super gelled Ross Geller hair, like they’ve been swimming against the tide all morning?

We don’t really know any bankers, so we’re curious - what exactly do they look like whilst they walk among us?

The facts: It’s freezing outside, you love male models, and you haven’t been to Bloomingdale’s in forever.

So? Tomorrow, in celebration of DKNY’s latest fragrance man meat, Dutch model Mark Vanderloo will be at the 59th Street Bloomingdale’s, in the men’s fragrance section, at 1pm.

Officially, he’ll be there to promote the brand’s latest men’s scent, DKNYMEN, taking photos and signing autographs. Unofficially, he’ll act as a life-size teddy bear for iPhone pictures and YouTube.

We can’t make it. But if you can, you know what to do.

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

Natalie: Have you noticed all the press watches are getting lately? I feel like I’ve seen at least three or four round-ups in the past month alone.

Brett: So..?

Natalie: But who still wears a watch? I mean, isn’t that what cell phones are for?

Brett: I wear my watch every day!

Britt: Well, I used to always wear my dad’s watch, but lately I forget to put it on in the morning.

Natalie: Because you can just check the time on your cell, right?

Britt: Right. And I’m always late anyway.

Brett: But watches are a thing. They say something about the owner, and they’re necessary.

Natalie and Britt: But they’re not.

Brett: Well yeah, but there’s something amazing about pulling up your shirt sleeve and checking your time on your watch. I mean, if someone walks up to you on the street and asks for the time [Editor’s note: Natalie swears no one ever asks her for the time, Britt and Brett say “all the time.”], it’s so much cooler to look at your watch instead of your cell phone.

Britt: But I think men should wear watches.

Natalie: But why? Why men and not women? We all have phones.

Brett: (Cuts off Britt) Because watches are to men what handbags are to women.

Here’s an exciting rumor:

Balenciaga’s been calling in models to Paris for castings. Male models.

Yes.

We don’t know if this means a full line of menswear or just boys in drag, but keep your eyes peeled, especially since his next show is just next week.

Obviously, we really want to see if Nicolas can do for menswear what he’s been doing so successfully for women’s wear.

Will he make feminine boy clothes to complement the way he’s kicked wide open the door for masculine women’s wear? Will he take the futuristic direction that he’s planted in the minds of so many other designers to another exponential level? Does this make Nicolas the new Hedi?

Stay tuned…

—LEAH MELTZER

Ombre is normally something reserved for flowing silk chiffon dresses in vibrant colors (see Badgley Mischka’s Resort 09 for some current examples). And our love for Lacroix’s ombre leggings made us start dip-dying everything we own.

So we were pleasantly surprised to see an abundance of ombre effects in menswear for Spring 09, and with slightly more creative techniques.

Givenchy played up their simple black and white ombre by adding a pattern to the dressed up oxford shirt and shorts. And Alexander Mcqueen’s collection featured a vertical ombre stripe on men’s suits (and women’s dresses) that have a surprisingly slimming effect (hey, guys think about that, too).

The best part? Not only has the look successfully snuck onto the men’s runways, but the look’s infiltrated the mass market for Fall, too. We’ve seen belts for guys and skirts for girls popping up everywhere from H&M to JCrew. Should we pun that it’s faded down?

—KYLE HAYES

On a SoHo shopping excursion earlier this week, I was running to the subway and looked up only to be greeted by two ass cheeks peeking out from underneath a floating shirttail.

That’s right. No tights, no shorts and nothing to hide.

We’re all for pulled together shirt dresses that take a menswear standard and elongates it for a fun summer staple for girls. But we’re not entirely sold on the idea of wearing an actual men’s shirt that’s meant to be tucked into a pair of trousers, but barely skims your butt.

The idea of shopping in your boyfriend’s closet sounds like an easy way of stealing his blazers and cuffing the sleeves so you can look just like Gwyneth. And throwing on one of his shirts with a cute sandal is the definition of effortless. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Our only problem is that men’s dress shirts aren’t really meant to be worn as a dress so they’re a bit disproportioned. Belts can help with making a shape, but the hemline continues to creep up and collars begin to look messy. Hence, your ass on display.

It always looks good in the movies and around the house, but would you wear it on the street?

—KYLE HAYES

I’ve been carrying around a zippered Y-3 wallet under my arm for a week, and suddenly, life is easier. I grab everything I need, all at once on my way out the door, which is too much to fit into a pocket-sized wallet.

So I’m particularly delighted with the newest unexpected twist from this season’s menswear runways - the introduction of clutches to men’s wardrobes.

If you think about it, it’s really not far-fetched. Men carry briefcases and portfolios, which are just as hard to carry as a clutch. So why not switch out an attaché case for a sleek Marni envelope? Plus, these days, we’re carrying cell phones, wallets, Blackberries, keys and a bajillion other things. A giant messenger bag isn’t always a convenient, or appropriate, accessory for a night out.

Dries Van Noten’s zippered patent leather option is pretty basic without adding too many buckles or other distractions we’re sure most guys wouldn’t approve of. We love the blood red Ferragamo, left - it’s big but not annoying.

We bet Marc will be next in line with some playful clutches, since he’s obviously a fan of them himself.

The only problem? Keeping your girlfriend’s hands off them.

—KYLE HAYES

There’s something strange happening on the runway at the men’s Spring 2009 shows, and we’re kind of liking it:

First, Vivienne Westwood sent out a rather burly man to model little sandals and an enormous gold chain (he was actually an actor/bodyguard). Then, Dean and Dan Caten cast almost all black models for their line-up, which will supposedly be the case in next week’s Lanvin show as well.

And just yesterday, Yohji Yamamoto pulled his own model stunt, sending out ten (much) older models down the runway to balance out the baby softness of the usual model boys, one of whom was especially regular life-sized.

We don’t know where this is going to go with the other designers, but we’re extremely curious to see if any of this will be attempted during the women’s shows (we’re not counting Gaultier’s Spring 07) and how it’ll translate if it is.

But so far, we’re tickled. Especially after we read Yohji’s message about the models - “Let’s be happy.”

Silvia Venturini Fendi dedicated the latest Fendi menswear collection to poverty, but that wasn’t the only strange thing about it.

Enter wedges for men.

We’re not really sure where they came from, or how they made it to the runway, but what we do know is that this is right up there with Mcqueen’s one-piece bathing suit on the weirdness spectrum.

We know we might take some heat for this, but we feel like this is just another example to add to the list of this season’s misappropriation of women’s wear, to go with cinched waists for guys.

We guess we could see them on certain attention-loving men - They would garner some looks on the street. And we know some guys may want a little extra height, too, but we’re not sure this is the way to go about it.

Who knows, maybe this could be the next big thing, but for now we’re predicting that this is a trend that stays right where it should be - on the runway.

—KYLE HAYES

We know more than a few of you have already noticed the models at the Dsquared² show this week.

In reverse of how shows usually go, the majority of the models were black, with just a couple majorities.

Now, there’s a delightful rumor on COACD, that next week’s Lanvin show will have an “all ethnic” line up.

We’re just going to skip over the part where we debate the definition of “ethnic” and admit we know exactly what he’s talking about, so here’s the better question -

Is this in response to the upcoming Vogue Italia? Or would designers have made an effort to cast entirely non-white model line ups in their shows without it?

(And better yet, will this trend carry over into the women’s shows?…)

This just in from Milan:

According to a hospitalized eye-witness at the Tom Ford party in Italy, one of the spotlights came crashing down at the bash, landing square on the head of a former male model.

He was shipped to l’ospedale, informed he needed stitches, and given some really good painkillers.

Meanwhile, according to the boy with the split skull, Tom’s “people” phoned him the next morning to ask how he was doing, saying Tom wanted to know.

If it were us, we would have responded, “Well, we’d be feeling a lot better if we could star in your next ad campaign,” but you know, that could just be our massive headache talking.

We send a big Get Well Soon to the wounded party, and also to the PR team in charge of the fête.

—KYLE HAYES

Josh, is that you?

Let’s call it The Sartorialist Effect:

After years of tiny flowers dotting the fabric of Paul Smith shirts, the motif seems to be stretching into more men’s fashion - most specifically, and surprisingly, into men’s streetwear.

You can find floral guys’ shirts at H&M now, and floral ties at Steven Alan and Urban Outfitters.

But our most surprising find were these red sneakers from Nike, which feature tiny dotted blossoms all over their leather fields, at Opening Ceremony (Ok - so they’re sized for women, but the store purposely carries up to a women’s 12 - which is a men’s 10 - especially for boy shoppers.)

The kicks retail for $125, and if a boy wore them out on a date with us, we’d be kinda psyched.

Would you?

I’ve probably spent close to an entire lifetime looking for the perfect summer sandal, in just the last couple months. I looked on every site from Bergdorfs and Saks to Topman and Zappos. No luck, until now.

I stumbled upon my ideal summer footwear choice last night, and it’s available in men’s and women’s sizes. True, you would probably see it on more women’s feet. But it’s a simplistic shoe with just the right amount of masculinity (thick straps) and femininity (straps). Thankfully, it lacks one of those strange toe holes you see on most men’s sandals that I’ve never understood, and is much more interesting than a rubber flip flop or overplayed Urban Outfitters gladiator.

The great thing is that they’re handmade in Athens by a third generation shoe maker and still cost less than $50. I’ve already ordered two pairs.

—KYLE HAYES

We all know men’s accessories can be kind of dull, especially when it comes to watches. So when there’s something new rather than just a stainless steel or brown leather band, I take note.

The neon for men trend that began on the Spring 08 Burberry/Y-3/Moschino runways is now showing up in timepiece form.

Case in point: the bright blue Fred Flare, at left, and Burberry’s new Antarctic collection with three retina-searing color options. Even Hermès (sort of) jumped on the bandwagon by using their bright orange on their Clipper Chrono Diver, which will set you back $3,975.

The thing about a good watch is that it works with every outfit, from a tuxedo to a linen blazer to bermudas. Trouble is, they can get pretty pricey, so girls should be very happy that they can get in on the neon look with just $10 nail polish.

—KYLE HAYES