Style Points meets Houston radio station

I finished a segment in the studios of KCOH Radio 1430 AM in Houston, talking with host Ralph Cooper about the wide world of shoes, from sneakers to bespoke. We also managed to talk sports with the Rockets' acquisition of Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings, which reunited him with coach Rick Adelman.

Also, look out for my piece on custom tailoring in The Men's Book, a spinoff of Houston Modern Luxury magazine, which is expected to debut at Houston area newsstands in October.

KCOH Radio 1430 AM, established in 1953, is Texas' oldest urban radio station, serving the Houston area.

The Men's Book is regarded as the style guide for influential men in urban, metropolitan cities throughout the U.S. Modern Luxury Media is the award-winning publisher of regional lifestyle magazines, which includes Houston, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Round up the fashionable suspects

For me, the only thing more gratifying than writing about men's fashion is to wear the goods and establishing a signature style. To do that, I look at a number of clothing books and classic films.

And, of course, the Internet.

There are a number of men's style sites that I enjoy visiting, starting with the Wall Street Journal's Fashion & Style page, which appears in its weekend newspaper editions. For pictures that say a thousand (or more) words, The Sartorialist has no shortage of them.

The rest of my top 10:

• Be Better Guys
• Ask Andy About Clothes
• GQ
• Houston Chronicle
• Men's Flair
• New York Magazine
• About.com
• AskMen.com

Feel free to comment about any other notable men's fashion and style sites.

The Polo principle

Gotta hand it to Ralph Lauren. He surely knows how to project old-school class in clothing for polo, a sport that might -- just might -- be seen in the wee hours of late night on ESPN. And for those sports that are on TV like tennis and golf, Lauren's right there with heavyweights like Nike.

The denominator for these sports, TV or no, is that they have a history of being associated with the upper classes of society. Having the equipment to play polo, for example (a horse and mallet, for starters), is expensive to begin with. For golf, the tools include a set of clubs, balls and tees.

And Lauren recognizes that whether you play these sports or not, the status associated with the clothing worn by those who play the sports is part of the allure: the fitted polo shirt, the mercerized cotton golf shirt, the gear for players and umpires at Wimbledon.

But it doesn't stop there. Polo's line includes apparel for rugby, a sport of the masses in United Kingdom, but a club sport in the United States. The Ralph Lauren Rugby line is dedicated to the rugby shirt.

Seems that if you're going to look the part, the idea of playing appears cool, too. Who wouldn't want to ride on a polo team with Prince Charles or volley with Roger Federer or play 18 holes with Tiger Woods?

Or, for those who are feeling rugged, how about getting dirty on the pitch of the Rubgy World Cup?

Perhaps it isn't the clothes that make the Polo man, but the attitude that fuels the clothes.

What's your game?