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A Pocket Guide to Menswear Bloggers

by Andrew Cedotal | 6:07 am, March 15th, 2010

Though classic menswear has experienced something of a revival in recent years, and The Sartorialist (and his army of imitators)  have made the street style world terra cognita, no one, to our knowledge, has yet undertaken a proper taxonomy of menswear bloggers. Consider this our attempt.

The Americanskis

Canonical Examples: Secret Forts, A Continuous Lean, The Selvedge Yard

Remember when NYMag, in their profile of Andy and Kate Spade, joked that “so many men in this city have been wandering around in flannel shirts and Red Wing boots, taking their meals in restaurants with walls covered in a mishmash of antlers and art?” Yeah. Those are these guys.

While this corner of the menswear community has been much maligned as a gang of Life photo archive-combing eccentrics, they do serve an important place in the menswear ecosystem. They host amazing flea markets. They single-handedly keep the Red Wing company in business. And, to be fair, they dig up come of the most amazing pieces of Americana available on the Internet — A Continuous Lean’s vintage catalog finds are alone worth regular visits.

Likes: Vintage postcards, racecars, Arctic explorers, flannel (obviously)

Dislikes: Silk, shaving

The Trads

Canonical Examples: The Trad, Ivy Style

The Trad (actually a Manhattan insurance broker; formerly an Army paratrooper and park ranger) has a motto that aptly expresses the philosophy of these menswear grognards: “Not as good as it was. Better than it will be.”

Trads have a direct connection to the classic, anglophilic world of American WASP style, and their preference in dress shows it: heathery Scottish colors, natural shoulders, and a healthy regard for surcingle belts (like The Trad’s, pictured right). But the Trad viewpoint on clothing is really a prism through which all aspects of life can be viewed. Like that Barbour jacket, do you? Well, you’d better marry a girl like that — quotidian, homely, and dependable. Brooks Brothers doesn’t make lapelled tattersall vests any more? I guess they just went away. Like your youth will someday. Sigh.

Likes: Oxford shirts (preferably from Brooks or J. Press before their acquisition by vaguely unpalatable foreigners), 12-year whiskys, the United States Armed Forces

Dislikes: People who think “Oxford” is a cut or a material (It’s a weave, you louts.)

The Flussites

Canonical Examples: A Suitable Wardrobe, Men’s Flair, Ask Andy About Clothes

The followers of “classic menswear” are easy to identify. They’re obsessed with breaking down clothing by type, they abhor the use of man-made materials, and they all — all – have read every one of Alan Flusser‘s books.

(For the uninitiated, Flusser created the wardrobes for the original Wall Street.)

Perhaps the best way to understand the Flussites is through the cloth subscription clubs organized on the Ask Andy forums. A group of devotees will decide on the exact specifications of a fabric, pool their resources, commissions a mill in Italy or Scotland to make it for them, and will then split it up and show off how, exactly, they have made use of it. Obsession, crystallized!

They are also the only people in the world who still know who Richard Merkin and Noel Coward are, so there’s that.

Likes: Matched patterns, foulards, back issues of Apparel Arts

Dislikes: Denim (a declasse fabric suitable only for poor agricultural laborers), athletic shoes, back vents

Up Next: The Tailors, Hipster Thrifters, and New Boulevardiers…


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  • vicki2

    Good list, but you’ve left out one of the best: Glenn O’Brien, the Style Guy himself!

  • Madison77

    You forgot valetmag.com! One of the best men’s site for service journalism and style advice. But good list overall, ACL and Ivy-Style bring something the other style bloggers all try and bite.

  • Greg

    Pfft, not a great list when it’s missing as vicki2 mentioned Glenn O’Brien not to mention it’s missing one of Simon Crompton’s two blogs, Gentlemen’s Corner or Permanent Style.

  • Andrew Cedotal

    vicki2 and Greg: You’ve both obviously already heard of Glenn O’Brien…as has anyone who skimmed the surface of menswear writing. In terms of introducing readers to writers they might not be aware of, including him would be along the lines of placing Brioni in a list of “Brands You Should Be Aware Of.”

    Additionally, while definitely an icon in the men’s style world, O’Brien in emphatically not a blogger in letter or spirit. He’s a columnist/essayist…which is emphatically not a perjorative! We need more of those as well. (To be fair, Ask Andy and the London Lounge aren’t blogs either, but they’re still integral parts of the Menswear blogosphere.)

    Greg: Simon Crompton’s pieces are often reposted to Men’s Flair, which is indeed on the list. Anyone who discovers and loves Men’s Flair will inevitably wind up on Crompton’s personal blog, which is a wonder.

  • Nylagrl

    Alan Flusser to be clear did create, conceptualize or design the look for Michael Douglas’s character of Gordon Gecko in Oliver Stone’s WallStreet. Alan Flusser, simply manufactured and executed the designs of Hollywood Costume Designer Ellen Mirojnick. To say he “designed” the look is misleading and wrong.

  • Chuck

    Don’t forget sites that help guys and their gals actually execute these looks, like TheChoosyBeggar.com !!

  • blogreader

    YOU FORGOT THE BEST ONE!!!

    http://www.thestyleblogger.com

  • Nylagrl

    Alan Flusser to be clear did NOT create, conceptualize or design the look for Michael Douglas’s character of Gordon Gecko in Oliver Stone’s WallStreet. Alan Flusser, simply manufactured and executed the designs of Hollywood Costume Designer Ellen Mirojnick. To say he “designed” the look is misleading and wrong.

  • Preposity

    Anyone interested in similar style to Ivy Style blog, I write about Ivy and Prep style at Preposity, a London, UK perspective.

    http://www.preposity.com
    @preposity:disqus 

  • John

    Give the below a look….
    http://www.themessengerofstyle.com

  • Anonymous

    O’Brien definitely not a blogger in the letter or spirit. He is a columnist and essayist. This is certainly not a derogatory! We need more of these.

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