Top 10 most stylish male icons

[Mr. Sartorial]

I think that in this forum there is going to be a lot of generational bias. I picked my 10 because they each have contributed something to the style milieu.

Originally Posted by JapanAlex01

Andre 3000
Nick Wooster
Poirot

I think I would be stretching if I said Michael Macko.

I don't know why people say James Dean, etc. A T and jeans? *clapping

I should have definitely included Andre 3000 as well. I also want to include Robert Redford.

Style isn't only about dressing up in a suit. I picked James Dean because he made just wearing a T-shirt and jeans stylish. He kept his looks simple but everything always fit perfect. For a lot of guys, that defined their approach to casual style.

 

[lasbar]

We're talking about style icons not trend setters...

I do think the golden years of sartorial elegance are behind us because of our modern lifestyles...

 

[jakejake]

I have to say I've learned a lot from you guys. There are definitely many that I didn't know about. No mentions of Steve McQueen or George Clooney?

 

[ChicagoRon]

Clooney was on page 1.

I'd give Neil Patrick Harris a nod for the contemporary set.

 

[Ianiceman]

Originally Posted by jakejake

I have to say I've learned a lot from you guys. There are definitely many that I didn't know about. No mentions of Steve McQueen or George Clooney?

Look back they are both in there.

Did it really take 25 posts to get to the Duke of Windsor?

Ian Fleming
Paul Weller (sometimes, and dodgy barnet aside)
Rod Stewart (obviously not his spandex and cheetah skin phase)
Michael Caine and his old room mate Terrence Stamp
Bowie

 

[fritzl]

Originally Posted by lasbar

No order...

Yves Saint-Laurent
Hubert de Givenchy
Philippe Noiret
Marcello Mastroianni
Gianni Agnelli
Cary Grant
Clark Gable
Anthony Eden
Tom Wolfe
Bryan Ferry

this is a good list.

 

[Gus]

Originally Posted by blahman

Ryan Reynolds?


Handsome , yes. Stylish icon, no.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by fritzl

this is a good list.

+1 I don't know about wolfe. I have also seen Ferry look really bad.

 

[Mr. Sartorial]

+1 for Neil Patrick Harris. His character Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother has gone a long way in making the idea of wearing a suit cool again.

 

[A Canuker]

I so dislike clicking threads like this that have a list of names and no pictures.

I have no list and, clearly, no pics to add.

 

[Mr. Sartorial]

Originally Posted by lasbar

We're talking about style icons not trend setters...

I do think the golden years of sartorial elegance are behind us because of our modern lifestyles...

I'd like to note that in 99% of cases style icons ARE trend setters. To become an icon, one must be widely recognized and idolized. This naturally lends itself to setting trends. The enduring icons have simply set trends that have lasted for many many years.

I do think that it's a little too early to tell if the golden years of sartorial elegance are behind us. These things come and go and they could just as easily sweep back in the other direction in the coming century.

Luckily for us style encompasses more than just sartorial elegance. I, for one, find the ongoing fusion of sportswear and tailoring, casual and formal to be fascinating although I realize that some on here consider the existing sartorial canon to be sacrosanct, any modification of which should be considered besmirchment.

Considering contemporary style icons is a difficult thing because it takes time to examine their influence. Its the sort of thing that it takes historians to sort out most of the time. Others are more obvious, such as Tom Ford's impact. Whether it ends up being a footnote or a chapter, however, is yet to be determined.

 

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by dcpony

Gay Talese, Tom Wolfe...
Talese's "lamb ears" lapels say "trying too hard" Wolfe? Like white?

 

[coolpapa]

Gianni Agnelli

 

[lasbar]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sartorial

I'd like to note that in 99% of cases style icons ARE trend setters. To become an icon, one must be widely recognized and idolized. This naturally lends itself to setting trends. The enduring icons have simply set trends that have lasted for many many years.

I do think that it's a little too early to tell if the golden years of sartorial elegance are behind us. These things come and go and they could just as easily sweep back in the other direction in the coming century.

Luckily for us style encompasses more than just sartorial elegance. I, for one, find the ongoing fusion of sportswear and tailoring, casual and formal to be fascinating although I realize that some on here consider the existing sartorial canon to be sacrosanct, any modification of which should be considered besmirchment.

Considering contemporary style icons is a difficult thing because it takes time to examine their influence. Its the sort of thing that it takes historians to sort out most of the time. Others are more obvious, such as Tom Ford's impact. Whether it ends up being a footnote or a chapter, however, is yet to be determined.



Yes and no...

Setting a trend doesn't make you a sartorial icon...

There is also a mythical and human dimension to it...

Elegance is eternal or timeless if you prefer when being fashion is the graceful expression of a special moment.

That is why Lapo is a trend setter but not a style icon like the great Gianni.

 

[comrade]

Originally Posted by lasbar

No order...

Yves Saint-Laurent
Hubert de Givenchy
Philippe Noiret
Marcello Mastroianni
Gianni Agnelli
Cary Grant
Clark Gable
Anthony Eden
Tom Wolfe
Bryan Ferry

+ Noiret and Givenchy