Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame

The Men's Hall of Fame The Hon. Dean Acheson, former U.S. secretary of state; Washington, D.C. (1969). Giovanni Agnelli, Fiat chairman; Turin (1970). The Earl of Airlie, former Lord Chamberlain to the Queen; Angus, Scotland (1972). (middle) Sir Hardy Amies, fashion designer; London (1974). Thomas Ammann, private art dealer; Zurich (1988). Prince Pierre d'Arenberg, host; Paris (2001). Giorgio Armani, fashion designer; Milan (1981). Arthur Ashe, professional tennis player; Richmond, Va. (1984). Fred Astaire, dancer, actor; Los Angeles (1968). Dr. Daniel Baker, cosmetic surgeon; New York (2000). 3rd from left Billy Baldwin, decorator; New York (1974). Wilkes Bashford, fashion retailer; San Francisco (1983). Cecil Beaton, artist, photographer; London (1970). The Duke of Beaufort, landowner, partner in the Marlborough art gallery; London (1988). The Duke of Bedford, landowner; London and Santa Fe (1985). Harry Belafonte, musician; New York (1972). Bijan (Pakzad), fashion designer; Beverly Hills (1989). Mark Birley, restaurateur, health-club proprietor, men's-fragrance designer; London (1988). Earl Blackwell, Celebrity Service founder; New York (1980). Manolo Blahnik, shoe designer; London (1987). Bill Blass, fashion designer; New York (1970). Dixon Boardman, financier; New York and Locust Valley (1994). David Bowie, musician; New York (1998). Hamish Bowles,Vogue European editor-at-large; New York (1997). Ed Bradley, 60 Minutes correspondent; New York (1997). Conte Brando Brandolini d'Adda, vintner; Venice and Paris (1980). David Brown, film producer, husband of former Cosmopolitan editor in chief Helen Gurley Brown; New York (1993). 2nd from left Gianni Bulgari, jewelry designer; Rome (1975). H.R.H. Prince Kyril of Bulgaria, investment banker; London (1997). Jeffrey Butler, publishing executive; Los Angeles (1978). John Cahill, financier; New York (2001)

Very well done list imho. Most of these people put the actors in the Esquire list to shame.

Originally Posted by acidicboy

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Cecil Beaton, artist, photographer; London (1970).

And, let us not forget, raging anti-Semite.

these lists are so stupid.

And, let us not forget, raging anti-Semite.

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Maybe he should lunch with Cynthia McKinney.

I don't doubt that any of these guys are well-dressed. They are certainly well attired compared to the average slob that's walking the street. From the original post and the pictures, it is clear that NONE of the man were wearing any suit combination that I would describe as daring, imaginative, or complex interplay of patterns/colors; they are all pretty basics, albeit with excellent fit, showing the proper amount of cuff, pocketsquares....etc. I'm fairly certain that any experienced members on this forum or AAAC dress like that. For my standpoint, the guys pictured on the Sartorialist blog site are much, much "better dressed" than any of celebrities listed.

The photos they chose were not terribly representative.

I don't know why, but all of those pictures of people posing with cigarettes made me want to post this pick of Lee Marvin being incredibly badass.

"For my standpoint, the guys pictured on the Sartorialist blog site are much, much "better dressed" than any of celebrities listed."

I submit that the Sartorialist shoots fashion. Most of the people he photographs are attractive, fairly well composed, and their clothes don't fit.

The all-time best dressed list is oriented towards style. One of my favorites, John Russell, the 13th Duke of Bedford, dressed like an English Cary Grant (or equally appropriate, Grant dressed like the Duke of Bedford). Very restrained, and always impeccable.

Hard to take pictures of men dressed like that on the streets of lower Manhattan. You could go the entire week without seeing a suitable subject, let alone getting permission to photograph him, and it would be tough to fill the blog.

acidicboy, that's VF's list as opposed to yours?
I suppose including Armani was a nod to his "celebrity" - he looks, appropriately enough, like a clown in that photo.
For me, David Bowie is sort of in the Beckham camp. It's more about how he makes clothes look than vice-versa.

It's the personal style of these people that is of note--not any particular outfit usually.

have to clear this up. the list i got didnt include pictures. some of the names involved i didnt recognize like dean acheson, and some i havent really seen, like wilkes bashford so i figure i might as well retrieve images of all the gents in the list that i could find and share it.

Originally Posted by acidicboy

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pictures. some of the names involved i didnt recognize like dean acheson
He was best known for being Truman's Secretary of State from 1949 to 1953, after George Marshall.

He signed the NATO pact for the USA, among many other things.

Originally Posted by Will

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I submit that the Sartorialist shoots fashion. Most of the people he photographs are attractive, fairly well composed, and their clothes don't fit.
I thought I was the only one that didn't worship at the alter of the Sartorialist. Frankly, most of what he praises I find completely unexciting.

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

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acidicboy, that's VF's list as opposed to yours?
I suppose including Armani was a nod to his "celebrity" - he looks, appropriately enough, like a clown in that photo.
For me, David Bowie is sort of in the Beckham camp. It's more about how he makes clothes look than vice-versa.

I've only seen pictures of Armani wearing the same black t-shirt and pants. Not too stylish in my book... Bowie on the other hand is incredibly stylish having met him. The guy oozes charisma like I've never seen before. You're right though, he could wear a potato sack and look great.

Originally Posted by Will

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"For my standpoint, the guys pictured on the Sartorialist blog site are much, much "better dressed" than any of celebrities listed."

I submit that the Sartorialist shoots fashion. Most of the people he photographs are attractive, fairly well composed, and their clothes don't fit.

Keep in mind that the people on the Sartorialist site aren't celebrities or models that have a team of stylists and tailors perfecting their look for public consumption. Most are just ordinary folks who have a more sophisticated, keen sense of personal style. The beauty of his photos lies in the spontaneous and seemingly nonchalant nature of his subjects. Fit takes a backseat to overall appearance and panache of those people. Scott has even admitted on many occasions that the fit of a particular outfit on his blog is terrible, but the entire presentation is so great that it's marginalized. This is polar opposite the calculating photo spreads that we're so used to seeing in fashion magazines such as GQ and Esquire.

That's precisely the reason why people who argue about sleeve length, the appropriateness of a color, or whether or not to fasten a particular button will never really "get it."