Street Etiquette bloggers at the Soho Apple Store

This past Friday night, NYC’s best dressed men and women all came together to support two of the leading men’s style bloggers – Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs from Street Etiquette.

Moderated by Andy Comer of Gilt MANual, we were able to grab a glimpse into how Street Etiquette began their journey into men’s style. It’s interesting to see their beginnings and how, in the last year or so, the blog has transformed and blown up beyond what they initially had imagined.

These guys are from the Bronx, where their style of dress, for lack of a better phrase, doesn’t exist. They’ve persisted with their style and personality, regardless of what others thought. They look at it as a duty, the fact that no one else is doing it places more important on the fact that they are. As Travis so eloquently put, “If the rules weren’t broken (we) have to break them.” They touched on the issue of being a stylish male and how that could be (and was) perceived (the age old gay vs. straight paradigm of being a male who outwardly cares how he looks). In the end, it was more about the ignorance of the common person to not be able to step outside their box and accept something that wasn’t “normal.”

It was this type of defiance that, in my opinion, has spurred some of the best editorials and posts that I’ve seen since I’ve immersed myself in the Men’s Style world. They aren’t about the most expensive or luxury products out there. It’s about an aesthetic, an ideal. You won’t find super expensive offerings because most of what they find is from eBay and Vintage stores. They have become experts at trolling these types of places for quality and affordable merchandise. The guys never put down any brands, etc. They merely said that you can buy whatever you want as long as the fit works for you. If it’s comfortable, fits well, and fits your aesthetic go for it. Their big picture take on style and clothes was really quite refreshing.

One of the best parts of the evening was being able to take a look at Street Etiquette’s video editorials over its existence. My favorite one is probably “Black Ivy,” though they were all very, very good. In the (paraphrased) words of Joshua, the end goal of “Black Ivy” is to have no limitations of creativity or otherwise. It wasn’t about color or race, just the freedom of expression. Check out the video below.

It was awesome getting insight into how these guys tick. It’s absolutely jaw-dropping to think they’re both 21 year olds making waves in this massive men’s style blogosphere pool. Definitely a blog to keep your eye on, don’t sleep on them. Check out the rest of the site and take notes. Josh and Travis are well on their way to becoming style stalwarts.

--- Did you like this article? And you probably like contests, exclusive content, and smug commentary right? Then why aren't you liking Guyism on Facebook? Show some pride and click the "Like" button below right now: