Tuesday 3 March 2015

Top 10 Men’s Style Bloggers & Websites – 2015

1. Dappered

The winner and still champion, Dappered is still the site to beat for all the other fashion bloggers.
Congrats again Joe!
If you want to know where high-quality menswear is on sale this week, they have that information for you. If you just want some general tips, they’re always posting those. And if you’re addicted to giveaways, contests, and promotions, guess what? Dappered has those for you, too.

Dappered
The e-mail list is worth the space in your inbox (e-mails from Dappered aren’t spammy at all, and contain good information and notifications), and the community of commenters and writers is just outstanding.
If you’re interested in men’s fashion and you aren’t reading Dappered, you’re doing it wrong!

2. Gentleman’s Gazette

Editor-in-Chief Sven Raphael Schneider brings a powerful depth of knowledge to his blog. Gentleman’s Gazette is one of the best-researched menswear blogs out there, and should be your first stop any time you’re wondering about the history of a style or some obscure bit of sartorial trivia.
Gentlemans Gazette
Vintage photos and catalog images, detailed articles, and a broad focus on men’s interests in general (not just limited to clothing) all help keep Gentleman’s Gazette near the top of my list every year.

3. Put This On

Do you like updates? Put This On has updates. They crank out new content so fast it’ll make your RSS feed’s head spin.
Put This On
The guys behind this “Web Series About Dressing Like a Grownup” are also champions of multimedia content, with a killer video series and lots of photography and print media scans. And bargain shoppers should make a point to never miss the regular Put This On eBay Roundups!
Congrats Jesse and Team!

4. Vaja (Formerly The Style Blogger)

An amazing website design pushes these guys right up to the top, along with good written content, great photos, and a never-ending stream of social media interaction.
Their styles can be aggressively fashion-forward — I’m a married dad in rural Wisconsin, so there’s no way I could get away with some of this stuff! — but adventurous dressers should be able to fill their closets happily with TSB suggestions.
Dan and his team are amazing – solid work here guys!

5. I Am Alpha M.

Don’t let the name fool you. I Am Alpha M. isn’t all chest-thumping, he-man, red-meat machismo (though they do have some of that). Their content ranges from the macho to the insightful, and the majority of it is focused on really basic, practical, nitty-gritty stuff, from workouts to men’s jewelry choices to tattoo removal.
Alpha M
I Am Alpha M. is a video-driven site, with short YouTube clips for nearly all of the topics they cover. There’s written stuff and visuals too, but the focus is on the video content, making this a great one for any guy that prefers his style info in movie form. As someone that puts out a lot of short, informational videos myself, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on these guys over the coming year.
I have to say Aaron Marino is a good friend and inspiration for me personally – GREAT job Aaron!

6. Black Lapel’s The Compass

The Compass is the style blog of Black Lapel, an online custom clothier. It’s a relatively new venture for them, and they’re doing a great job with it. You might expect it all to be about Black Lapel’s stuff, but they’ve been consistent in offering style advice that works for all men, not just Black Lapel shoppers.
Black Compass

As someone who owned a custom clothier and then branched out into style writing himself, I’m wishing these guys a very successful 2014, and recommending that all of you check them out!

7. Effortless Gent

This is another one that’s returning to my yearly Top Ten list for a repeat appearance. Barron Cuadro, the owner, has a book out called The Lean Wardrobe that’s worth your while, but if you like freebies there’s plenty of content on his site at no charge at all. It’s top-notch style writing and well worth your while.
Effortless Gent
Barron is also one of the co-owners of Fifth & Brannan, a menswear store in San Francisco, and has beeninterviewed here on Real Men Real Style.
Congrats Barron and Katie!

8. Kinowear

The guys over at Kinowear remain one of my favorites for style writing. The company is officially an image consulting service, but they use their blog to put a steady stream of content out for everyone, not just for their customers.
Kinowear
Kinowear’s update schedule used to be a little sparse, but they’ve gotten much more regular in the last few months, and I’m very much hoping they keep it up in 2014. You should be hoping so too.

9. Men’s Style Pro

This is a newer style blog that specializes in current men’s fashion news. Their content is heavy on sales, contests, and new product offerings, with high-quality photo spreads and slideshows to show off their selected brands. It’s closer to the style section of a men’s magazine than a blog, and I don’t say that as a bad thing.
Men Style Pro
You can expect a lot of brand tie-ins from Men’s Style Pro. That makes them a little more commercial than some of the other blogs out there — but it also gives them an inside scoop on new products and offerings from some big names.
Congrats Sabir!

10. Off the Cuff

Another image consulting business that runs a blog online. Their posts are always detailed and lengthy, and you can count on their writers to dive deep into whatever subjects they handle. There are also a decent number of discounts, giveaways, and sales recommendations on the blog.
Off the Cuff

Off the Cuff updates a little less frequently than some of the other blogs on this list, but their attention to detail and their exacting standards for men’s attire keep them in this year’s Top Ten.
Super Job Chris!

Up and Coming Style Bloggers – 2014

You’ve seen the Top Ten — now here are five bloggers who produced some great content in 2013 that caught my attention.  I look forward to seeing where these guys (and gals) go in the coming months. 
He Spoke Style – This blog kicked off early last year, and they’ve been going strong ever since. Posts are short, no-nonsense, and topic-specific. A great way to get a manageable dose of fashion every day.
He Spoke Style

Masculine Style - Tanner Guzy has been running this blog for a couple years now, but 2014 looks like it’s going to be his big year, with a site redesign, an expanded scope, more outreach to other bloggers, and a lot of other improvements in the work. That’s good, because his philosophy of menswear and his taste in style are both exacting, and we could all learn a lot from him.

Masculine Style
Simpler Man – The name of Mark’s blog says it all. He’s all about keeping it simple, and his focus on contemporary men’s style (and on regular closet-cleaning) helps him do it. Even the blog and its production are neat and simple, with an uncluttered layout and some impressively high-quality photo shoots using Mark himself as the model for whatever he’s discussing.
Simpler Man

Ashley Weston – I don’t recommend a whole lot of celebrity fashion bloggers, but Ashley Weston does a good job balancing style advice that’s grounded in reality (and useful to real men) with examples from the big and small screens. She’s got an eye on pop culture, and uses that to put out an impressive product for stylish men. Worth watching.
Ashley Weston

Restart Your Style – Robert’s a great guy, and he represents the style journey in a nutshell: someone who changed his personal style, and found that it changed the rest of his life for the better too! Now he’s helping other guys make the same transition with great advice focused on helping novices and men with no interest in the high-fashion industry upgrade their wardrobes.
Restart Your Style


More Recommended Blogs – Rounding out the Top 25 for 2014

My goal with this list, as always, is to set aside the absolute best men’s style blogs (in my opinion) for the guys that don’t have time to read a lot. But if you’ve got some time to spare, or you’re a dedicated student of men’s style, and you want some more good reading options, here are 15 more blogs that I’d add to the list, making it a Top 25 instead of a Top Ten:
11. http://www.englishcut.com/ – The inside scoop on custom menswear, straight from a Savile Row tailor.
12. http://georgehahn.com/ – Frequently in my Top 10, and always worth a look.
13. http://www.fashionbeans.com/ – Lookbooks, fashion photography, and some good article content as well.
14. http://www.permanentstyle.co.uk/ – An upscale-menswear focused blog that takes a close look at specific brands and tailors, with reviews, recommendations, and sale alerts.
15. http://anaffordablewardrobe.blogspot.com/ – Exactly what it sounds like! Your guide to dressing well without spending a million bucks.
16. http://tuttofattoamano.blogspot.com/ – The world of custom clothing and tailoring, in exquisite detail. Heavy on the technical side — great for guys who want to know more about the construction of quality menswear.
17. http://stylegirlfriend.com/ – “Guy’s Style from a Girl’s Perspective” — a rare look at menswear through the eyes of a female observer that knows the ins and outs of the business. Want to know what girls will think of your look? Check Style Girlfriend!
18. http://asuitablewardrobe.blogspot.com/ – Long, detailed posts on luxury style items, frequently with a classic Hollywood tie-in.
19. http://www.mensflair.com/ – An online style magazine with a large and impressively-credentialed staff. Focused on higher-end items and dressy looks, especially suits.
20. http://www.themitchelli.com/ – General men’s interest with a focus on clothing. Also includes drinks, etiquette, accessories, shopping, and more.
21. http://streetetiquette.com/ – An amazing look at international and urban fashions, and a badly-needed representation of people of color in the fashion world. Read it for the broadened perspective alone — and the fantastic photos don’t hurt!
22. http://easyandelegantlife.com/ – A low-key blog about one man’s pursuit of an elegant life. Includes clothes, but also accessories, personal technologies, cooking, and other lifestyle topics.
23. http://www.levraiwinston.com/ – A one-man, self-modeled fashion blog. Mostly photo-based, with short captions explaining the underlying theories of style for each outfit (and listing the brands used).
24. http://gentlemenstandard.com/ – A style and culture blog specifically targeted at men of color. Gentlemanly and refined — a class act!
25. http://www.electrogent.com/ – Men’s interest blog with a focus on the refined and luxurious. Lots of non-fashion content, but it’s all good reading, and there’s plenty of fashion stuff scattered throughout as well.

Honorable Mentions

Most of these aren’t “blogs” in the typical sense, but rather other kinds of online resources that I recommend using. They don’t have the full set of features that puts things on my Top Ten list, but each of them has something worthwhile to offer.
http://www.themodestman.com/ – Style advice for the man under 68 inches tall! We need more websites like this – that zero in and focus on a specific demograhic to offer very detailed advice and information for that target market.  Thanks Brock for being awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/user/jairwoo/ – Jair Woo is a men’s style video blogger.  I just recently discovered him and I have to say that he quickly won me over with his great personality and youthful enthusiasm.  The perfect video content creator for young men or those looking for a Southern Cal flair!
http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/ – If you don’t know what Reddit is, check out this useful little corner of the site. If you do know what Reddit is, than you know what the r/malefashionadvice subreddit will be about!
http://www.artofmanliness.com/category/dress-grooming/ – A collection of style and grooming articles from the excellent Art of Manliness website. Full disclosure: I am a frequently-appearing author over there, and several of these articles are mine!
http://askandyaboutclothes.com/ – One of the most venerable men’s fashion sites on the net. Andy’s been at this for a long time, and if you’ve never used his famous website, this is the year to start.
http://www.blacktieguide.com/ – It doesn’t update much because it doesn’t need to. Everything you ever wanted to know about black tie and semiformal attire is right here.
http://www.primermagazine.com/ – This is the most blog-like of the “honorable mentions,” but it’s really more of an online magazine. The target audience is young men, either college-age or recently graduated (or even younger), so I don’t recommend it for men over 20-25 or so. Younger men, however, can get a lot of value out of the site.
http://www.styleforum.net/ – Your go-to message board for all things men’s style related. A fantastic community for well-dressed men.


Disagree with your website’s ranking or want it added – well gosh darn it let me know:)

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