Madonna Crosses Pond, Supports Brooks

Although storied clothier Brooks Brothers took some economic lumps with the shuttering of its Fifth Avenue store this past January (keeping the Madison Avenue location intact, of course), it's ready once again to live in a material world, thanks to the Material Girl. For her Sticky and Sweet tour, which opened its second swing through Europe this week at the O2 arena in London, Madge kicks things off with a dance routine set to her song "Candy Shop," during which she's surrounded by dapper backup gents wearing top hats and classic Brooks Brothers tuxedo shirts. Two of the company's shirts, the slim-fit, ten-pleat wing-collar (inset) and the tennis-collar, were modified by the tour's costume designer, Arianne Phillips, to give the dancers a look that was both classy and distinctly American. If you, too, want to look like a backup dancer for the world's buffest performer, get yourself to the gym fast, so you can shed enough pounds to actually slip into a slim-fit tux shirt. Then head to Madison Avenue, where Brooks Brothers is currently (and conveniently) in the midst of a 60-percent off summer clearance.
Madonna, who plays in Paris tonight, concludes her year-long tour in September, with two concerts in Tel Aviv. Photo courtesy of Kevin Mazur/Wireimage.