Today, I'm going to be giving you a list of modern style icons.
This is a question that came in.
“Antonio, first off, thank you for your website. Your articles and videos have given me the insight and advice. I had always been seeking a classic men's style that I could never figure out. I think lots of men take their stuff in the most immediate male role model in their life, their dad.
This is why I totally agree with your videos as my father was a high level manager and an executive in the baking industry for most of his life and always a sharp dresser. Ever since I was young, I wanted to dress like him and now I do. Thanks in no small part to you as well.
Even though some men's style can be classic, my father dressed for the times as well. Are there any good modern examples of men's style you could point me to?”
This is a very good question because oftentimes, I see a lot of these blogs, websites, books and other places, they point to people of the past who, well, they're dead.
And it's hard for young men to find that these guys apply to them or even men who are middle aged or a bit older. It's like they want somebody modern to look to. It's also hard to look to actors.
We look at people like Brad Pitt, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling. In any case, all these men are actors, so when I think that, it's like they're acting. They're not real and you don't know if they're dressing themselves or it's a stylist.
So I like to look who I consider to be modern men's style icons are a lot of the bloggers out there that are putting themselves out there and saying, “Hey, this is me. This is how I dress. You either like it or you don't.”
I know how it is for these guys because they get a lot of people that do send them negative comments. Most of the comments are positive, but I know that anybody that puts themselves out there on the internet is going to get some anonymous hate and get a lot of love, but that hate is really hard to take. No one likes to be rejected, so for that, I give these guys respect.
I'm just going to give you a list. I'm going to break it up into three categories. First are the people that are out there, putting themselves out there, are pretty easy to get a hold of if you know how to reach out to people, and they've got websites dedicated to their own style.
So without further ado, here's the list:
Barron – Effortless Gent
Now, why do I love Barron? Barron is out in San Francisco and his background is really unique. He doesn't advertise this, but I really respect the fact that he was a bit bigger as a young man and he lost a lot of weight, and now he really is tearing it up out there in San Francisco. He blogs over at the Effortless Gent and his idea is, “Let's make it easy for young men to dress sharp,” so he focuses on the young men. So if you're from 16 to maybe 32 or 33, he's a great person to look for, even if you're a little bit older. You could definitely check him out.
Chris – Off the Cuff
Chris is for the man, I would say, that's in his mid-20s up to his 50s, and he's over in Washington, DC. Chris focuses on Capital Hill. I know there's not a whole lot of style in DC, but Chris is the cutting edge guy. He doesn't put himself out there so much, but he does talk quite a bit about style and there are pictures. He's starting to be a little bit more outgoing with his own photos.
Dan – The Style Blogger
This has got to be one of the most stylish guys out there. He's in New York City. He was voted by Esquire's best dressed man. He's a little bit more fashion-forward than you're going to see and he is probably one of the leaders. Again, that's The Style Blogger. You definitely need to check Dan out. He's Canadian. He went to Columbia. There's a lot about him, I think, that's really cool. He's a bit taller. Derrick, I know you're taller, so this would probably be a great person to look to, and his advice is top notch.
Jesse – Put This On
He's out in San Francisco. You notice how a lot of these guys are kind of in these big city areas? There's not too many of us small town guys out there. Jesse over at Put This On is awesome. He puts out videos. He runs the blog or his Tumblr, putthison. He's also over on Twitter. I think he podcasts over at Young America. The guy is all over the place. His is more, I think, of a classic style. He goes into thrift stores quite a bit. He just did a great video with the guys over at Street Etiquette, and that's Travis and Josh over at Street Etiquette.
Travis and Josh – Street Etiquette
They're in New York. They're pushing it pretty hard. Now, these gentlemen are of African-American descent, so if you've got darker colors, these are going to be two gentlemen you really want to follow because they can work with a lot of the colors and they really do a great job of bringing in certain types of ethnic styles.
Grant – Image Granted
Washington, DC, if you've followed me, you know Grant is a good friend. We worked together on a number of things. He's more on classic style, so while the guys over at Street Etiquette are more street style, Grant is going to be more classic. A lot of these guys all know each other. He stays in touch with Chris Hogan over at Off the Cuff. He's a little bit, I would say, edgier than Chris. Grant's easy to get a hold of. You can always reach out to him on Twitter and I highly recommend reaching out to Grant if you've got questions.
Sabir – Men's Style Pro
He's in Philadelphia. He's young. He's about 24 or 25. He's a former track guy and he's not a big person. So if you are looking for stuff that's going to fit a more, I would say, trim body type, Sabir is a man you need to be following, very classic lines. He does push things quite a bit, so if you also like a little bit of the fashion stuff, Sabir is a great person to follow.
Unyime – Venture & Virtue (formerly Expressions Realia)
He's out in Southern California and I think Unyime, again, he's got darker colors as well. He's actually brought on a few other people, so you want to check it out. It's not just a one-man person anymore over Expressions Realia. I've actually done a review of this website. I really like how Unyime brings in history. He does a lot of thrifting. At the same time, he gets into a lot of classic American brands.
That was a quick run-through. Let me talk about three gentlemen who run websites which they don't put themselves out there, but they talk about style a lot.
Andrew – Primer
This is style for the man who's, I would say, from 16 to maybe 36. Andrew was really putting out a lot of great information. What I love, his latest stuff, is that they put out an entire wardrobe. If you've ever seen the website, Polyvore where they take pieces and they put them together, if you're looking for that type of advice, go check out Primer.
Joe – Dappered
If you are looking for deals on men's style, you need to be on Dappered's RSS feed because Joe, he puts out — it's got to be like 20 posts a week and he's always looking for the best deals. So if you're going to do any type of shopping, you need to be on Dappered's RSS list or just follow that website.
Now, if you're looking for classic, mid-Western style, there are a couple of guys.
Brett McKay – The Art of Manliness
If you like the way I dress — as you guys know, I write over at The Art of Manliness. Brett, he talks more about the shaving and he talks about his other posts, but you'll see him in videos and some of his presentations he's put out there, but Brett really brings in — he's often cited for his awesome mustache. I really like how he brings in vintage pieces. His father was a game warden and he really tries to bring in more of the rugged Southern Midwest feel.
Will – The Houndstooth Kid
Now, if you're looking for Midwest and you're really looking for someone that goes into thrift stores and really brings back dressing from like the 1950s and '60s but is still a young man, you need to go check out Will over at The Houndstooth Kid. Will, an awesome guy, he's over in Iowa and he focuses in on, like I said, thrift stores and bringing back older looks, but as a younger man, he's able to infuse a little bit of modern looks as well.
Two people who don't post as much anymore, but their archives are still great:
Dennis – Made To Measure, New York
He's been going off with a lot of music projects lately, but if you go through his archives, he has such great content. It's well worth visiting his website, again, Made to Measure, New York.
That sums up a lot modern men's style icons. I think that these guys in the next 20 years, when people look back at this time period, they're going to say, “These guys were at the forefront” and I'm really proud that I could bring them to your attention.
I highly suggest if one of those guys sounded like someone that fits and appeals to you, then that's who you need to latch on to and learn from. And then once you've developed your own style, who knows, maybe you'll start publishing yourself.
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