Just got back from Vegas, attending the MAGIC Show. No, it’s not a David Copperfield convention, but one of the largest conventions for menswear retail and buying. Not only does it include MAGIC (meaning Men’s Apparel Guild of California) but also four other trade shows Project, Pool, MR, ENK, and Capsule. Some thoughts on Vegas?

1. Vegas gets better looking when MAGIC starts, the place is swarming with hip, sexy, well dressed men and women (I think over 200,000 people attend) and fashion people always throw great parties. Other than that it’s sweat pants and Ed Hardy shirts, mind you the women are usually better (if not trashily) dressed.
2. The day pool parties are waaay better then the night time clubs – I stayed close to home at the Mandalay Bay (they have a 21 and over only pool) but Palms, Encore, MGM all have killer pool parties with great music. And re-hab on Sunday at Hard Rock is still legendary. Clubs I found were still into hip, hop and top 40. Best out of the lot is XS at Encore.
3. Do not buy drinks at the casino bar (or any bar at the hotel) – either gamble and get free drinks, go old school and hit the dive casinos for cheap drinks or start off in your hotel room. Other than that you’ll be paying $12 a drink and that’s for a glass of wine or a gin and tonic, a fancy one will set you back $20+!
4. The banks have sold out their American middle class – saw tons of U.S. tourists in Vegas, but no one was shopping except for discount outlets. When I used to go to the shops at the Forum (4 years ago) everyone was shopping, stores were busy and everyone was carrying bags. This time – out of 100 people, only 5 had shopping bags (and they were all Victoria Secret) and the high end shops (Barneys, Dior, Chanel, Gucci, D & G, Prada) were a ghost town. Lots of retail woes, people talking about losing their jobs and homes – so glad we have tougher banking laws in Canada!
5. Because of the above, rooms are cheap – best bets: The Hotel at Mandalay Bay (were I stayed), Aria (newest hotel, quiet but great rooms), Palms / Hard Rock (party hotels) and the classics Bellagio and Wynn. I heard of rates from $79 to $149 for rooms that are normally $250 +. And for the first time ever, lots of better end restaurants were having specials – prix fix, happy hours, 2 for 1.

I saw a ton of bachelor / bachelorette parties going on – but please answer me this. Why do women insist on wearing stupid sashes, crowns and funny clothes when they do these parties versus the guys who just go out to have fun?