The Top 10 Men’s Style Websites – 2013

1. Dappered

Equal parts fashion blog and Consumer Reports-style info site, Dappered has both style articles and the inside scoop on major clothiers’ latest sales. They highlight good deals whenever they crop up on the net, and fill the time in between with useful Top 10 lists, product reviews, and more. If there’s a piece of clothing you were thinking of buying, it’s probably worth hanging around Dappered for a while and seeing if it’ll crop up for sale anywhere good.

Dappered’s community and the consistency with which Joe (the site’s irrepressible editor) stays on top of the latest information put them in our top slot. Their e-mail list is worth adding to your inbox — it’s very content-driven and not at all spammy, and it’s a good way to make sure you don’t miss an update about that piece of clothing that you’ve been wanting to buy but couldn’t find a good deal on.

What made Dappered #1?  The community and forum, the way the men on that website look out for each other  and bring in sales and other bits of info to the attention of all to benefit from.

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2. Gentleman’s Gazette

Another with almost daily  updates, Gentleman’s Gazette focuses on high-end menswear and all the other pleasures of a gentleman’s life. They’re very strong on fashion history and the evolution of men’s styles, with an amazing collection of photographs and vintage images to back their articles up. The Editor-in-Chief, Sven Raphael Schneider, brings an incredible depth of knowledge to the table. It’d be hard to find a more thoroughly-researched men’s style blog out there.

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3. Kinowear

Run by Kino Image Consulting Company owner Jay Song, Kinowear updates sparingly but when they do it’s solid. Many of the posts are guest posts from manufacturers in the featured industry — a discussion on casual suits by a suit maker, a look at polo shirts from a casual menswear company, and so on.

I really like the simplicity and clarity of the message – a great menswear blog that deserves more attention.

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4. Put This On

A wild mix of everything style-related, with an update schedule that’ll make your pulse quicken. There’s something new just about every day, sometimes multiple posts a day. A lot of them spotlight currently-available deals on good menswear, including regular “eBay roundups” pointing readers toward good online auctions. The Put This On video series is what really puts them in the top 4 – these are high-quality, instructive videos that cover a lot of information in short, accessible video clips.

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5. The Style Blogger

Shop, style guide, and look-book all rolled into one started by Dan Trepanier. There’s a ton of content here, including articles and original photos, but also giveaways, contests, links to sales, and more. It’s one of the most professional style sites out there — and yes, one of the more commercial ones too, but in an entirely good way. You want these guys to be selling you clothes. They’re good at it, and they’re good at clothes.

I came very close to ranking TSB#2 – but they lost some points due to my conservative personal tastes.  Dan and his team are a bit fashion forward and push some styles I would never wear.  However – I’m 36, married with kids, and living in rural WI.   If you’re in a large city such as New York, Chicago, LA, etc – this is a website you must check out!

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6. Effortless Gent

A blog aimed specifically at men who want to improve their appearance and attire. The author, Barron Cuadro, has a wardrobe improvement e-book out, and is also one of the co-owners of the Fifth & Brannan menswear store in San Francisco. There’s a lot of focus on action steps here — simple stuff you can do to improve your style right away. Real Men Real Style has an interview with Barron Cuadro of Effortless Gent here.

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7. Men’s Flair

Self-described as an “online magazine” rather than a humble blog, Men’s Flair is pretty fancy stuff. The writers look closely at modern tailoring and design, with plenty of original photographs from stores and studios. A lot of the source material comes from London, but they draw on several contributors from around the world. The variety of perspectives and the frequency with which they all update makes this a powerful resource.

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8. A Suitable Wardrobe

One of the greats. Will Boehlke’s A Suitable Wardrobe updates almost every day, usually with a solid chunk of text and at least one accompanying photograph (specific to the post, not from stock art). The focus is on classic menswear, leaning heavily toward the dressier side of things (suits and ties, etc.), but topics can vary widely day-to-day. There’s also now an A Suitable Wardrobe online store featuring some of the products Will has talked about on his blog, and many more besides.

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9. Permanent Style

Blogger Simon Crompton gets his information on tailored menswear in the simplest way possible: he goes and talks to tailors about it. There’s quite a bit of reading involved too, of course, but the result is a blog that’s very deeply informed on the intricacies of fabric, stitching, construction, and all the other minutiae of tailoring. It’s also one of the better blogs out there for updates — there’s a new post nearly every day, and they’re quite detailed, with many paragraphs of writing and multiple original photographs.

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10. (TIE) Image Granted

The blog and website of my friend Grant Harris, Image Granted takes a practical look at things like dress codes, event attire, and the latest looks from contemporary designers. Updates regularly with decent-sized entries and great images.  I love following Grant on Twitter as his “Grantisms” – short witty sayings – are easily re-tweetable and fun.  In the Washington DC area, he is available to speak or meet with in person.  Just reach out to him!



10. (TIE) George Hahn

Modern men’s fashion and lifestyle, ranging across topics from bespoke suits to cruiser bikes to how we use the internet. Smart, savvy writing with a lot of weight to it — you get a good read out of each post. He’s also one of the best bloggers out there for including audio and video as well as text and images, making this one of the strongest multimedia fashion and menswear resources out there.

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10. (TIE) An Affordable Wardrobe

A vital resource for the man on the budget — filled with tips and tricks on getting the top-tier menswear look without paying top-tier prices. Lots on thrifting, DIY-repairs and alterations, and more. It’s always nice to see a style blog that doesn’t assume you can buy new suits as often as you need to. They’re definitely aiming for the everyday Joe audience, and they’re providing lots of useful advice for it.