Dressed in custom Richard Chai, Essential Homme cover man Darren Criss gives Gatsbian punk in a windowpane tux, inky black shirt and ever so bouffanted, silk, medium-width tie. Quite a far cry from last year’s textured charcoal tuxedo, Elvis pomp, you’ll note his hair stays shifted a beat on over to motown with the tight, slightly tapered curl. Check last year’s look and the original sketch from this year’s on the other side.

Here’s a neatly curated limited edition capsule collection of nautical perfection by way of Coach and famed French brand Saint James. We could live the summer in the navy windbreaker—the sporty collar looks sharp and can be buttoned for protection against cool nights and the striped lining, well, imagine how that’ll add the right touch of nautical as the jacket ruffles in the wind. The other stand out is the gorgeous leather tote with braided handles, which could go from beach house to the office without giving much thought. For more adventurous types, the striped, leather lined tote stays sophisticated. The collection is out now at coach.com. Check the images after the jump.

There’s no empirical evidence, but we’re willing to say that about 94.5% of Thank You cards end up in the trash with in 25 seconds of being opened. Maybe that’ll change, starting here with some cards that have the potential to, maybe/possibly end up on someone’s mantle.

Gifting home items is risky business. It presupposes you know the inner workings of the person you’re shopping for…enough to contribute to the look and feel of their house. But, as with any challenge, when you hit the nail on the head, there’s all the more satisfaction for everyone  involved. Arranged from low to high prices, here’s some unique ideas to help the cause. (And no, there aren’t any candles or picture frames). After the jump.

Here are some slick shades for you to look forward to come brighter, springier days. The whole  Lancier by Dita Eyewear Capsule thing to know is that they are made to be high in style, low in weight and strong in performance. The frames are mighty fine—made in Japan, actually, from titanium, zyl acetate  and co-injected rubber—and you’ll probably, maybe, definately fall in love with their modern take on performance design. But, also worth being smitten over, frame-wise, is the Temple Release feature that allows you to change the ear grip according to what sort of activity you’re doing. The lenses, made from mineral glass, are actually 20% thinner than most (don’t worry, they’re just as strong) and help keep the glasses at a light, performance-friendly, weight. You can get them polarized in brown or grey or with no polarization at all. Up to you but, Lancier does try help you make your selection by labeling lenses for where you’ll be wearing them (land, sea or air). Enough of us, check some pics from the coming collection after the jump – and if you can’t wait, click here to see which boutiques you can walk into and snag a pair of the Fall/Winter 2012 collection right now.