I never talk about street style. That is because everyone is abusing the term. People who have cameras are going around taking photos of people who, to be brutally honest, aren't even dressed well at times.

Street style was great when Scott Schuman of the The Sartorialist was the only person taking photos. His street style is still great because not only does he capture people with a strong sense of style he actually knows how to take a photograph.

thesartorialist

My visual design lecturer once told me that there is only so much photoshop can fix, you need to start off with a good photograph. Unfortunately many bloggers are editing bad photos. I'm not a photoshop expert or a photography expert but I can see when a photo has been taken well and edited well and when a bad photograph has been edited to try look better. HINT: It doesn't look right!

But to the street style photographers; I would just like to say well done for getting started. I don't think it is easy to go up to someone and ask for their photo. But a tip: don't take photos of the same person in the same pose, the same angle three times. Same applies to fashion bloggers who photograph their outfits.

So let's get to the reason why I am writing this blog post: Men's Street Style. Why did I specifically choose men's street style? Well as a man it is sometimes a lot more difficult to dress because there are so few options. When I say options I mean garments. Women have dresses, suits, skirts, tshirts, trousers, jeans etc. With men it's trousers, shorts, suits, shirts and tshirts, well a lot more, but not as much as women.
Because there are so few garments and styles to choose from for men compared to women I am always delightfully surprised when I see a man dressed differently, or should I say has a unique sense of style.

My Male Fashion Pinterest Board

Another reason why I decided to talk about Men's Street style is because the most popular board on my Pinterest Page is the one dedicated to Male Fashion.

In the blogging world there are very few men who are recognised as fashion bloggers. Fashion blogger in this context means a person has someone take photos of their outfits every single day. Let's call them outfit bloggers because that is what they really are.

Yes, The Sartorialist is great but there are other great street style blogs that are only dedicated to men. The list of my favourite:

meninthistown

"Men In This Town is a street style journal capturing men with a distinct look in their natural habitat. From the various towns in Sydney or wherever my travels bring me, I am looking to photograph the everyday man whose dress sense speaks volumes about who they are.

My name is Giuseppe Santamaria and I’m a graphic designer/photographer originally from Toronto, currently residing in Sydney with my partner Josh and our dog Baxter."
The reason why I love Men In This Town is because any type of guy gets photographed. The men who are aware of fashion trends and men who just woke up and wore whatever was clean. That clearly illustrates that runway trends are applicable to everyone and anyone, whether you are aware of them or not.

It always seems as if the men on the blog who are photographed are on their way to or from work. If that is the case, South African men aren't dressing up for work. Let me rather say they aren't putting in any effort.

I also love how this blog mostly takes photos of men in Sydney, Australia. I can't think of another blog where I have seen Australian street style so it is nice to have it showcased. I'm also sure many of us thought all Australians were always dressed for the beach, well that is what I thought at least.

Photographs from www.meninthistown.tumblr.com

streetetiquette

"Founded in 2008, Street Etiquette is a style blog that approaches personal style from an urban perspective. With sartorial influences stretching over many areas and eras of fashion, owners Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs, each just twenty years old, combine to publish a truly unique vision of fashionable menswear. Among other accolades, Street Etiquette has been featured in magazines such as GQ and Complex, ranked Best Men’s Style Blog by the Guardian UK, and named among “40 Bloggers Who Really Count” by the London Times."
One of the more popular street style blogs is Street Etiquette. What makes Street Etiquette different from other street style blogs is that it is not just a street style blog. Yes, the blog mostly features photographs of what men are wearing but it always seems as if there is a story behind the photographs. The photographs aren't passive which makes them some of the best street style photographs you'll find on the internet.

This blog has a sense of culture. They aren't just taking photographs of what people are wearing because it's cool. They doing it because they really love fashion and style and can see past the commercial idea of it.
If all street style blogs could be like this one, I'd appreciate street style once again.

Follow their tumblr to see what inspires them: inspiration.streetetiquette.com


Photographs from streetetiquette.com

theartofthetrench

"Art of the Trench is a living document of the trench coat and the people who wear it.
The project is a collaboration between you, Burberry and some of the world's leading image makers."
It is a known fact that I love Burberry. When I came across their tumblr dedicated to collecting photographs of people in their Burberry coats my internet life was complete.

What makes this blog different is that when you hover over the images you get to know the people in the photographs. The man on the left in the image above is an artist and likes to listen to Miguel. The man on the right is a digital entrepreneur and likes to listen to Solange. We all think we can tell what someone's likes and dislikes are by looking at what they wear but after I found out what music the two men listen to I realised that we can't tell. The mini-biography aspect is a very nice touch that Burberry added to their site.

In order to see yourself on the site you need to take a photograph of yourself in Burberry coat and upload it onto the site. The site does not only feature men but women and children as well.

I guess one could also use the site to see how others dress their coats and find a new way to dress your own.

Photographs from www.burberry.tumblr.com

jak&jil

Jak And Jil is a photo blog which documents street style of anyone and everyone. Sometimes the people they take photographs of aren't even dressed different or in a unique way but because we can tell they dressed according to their personalities the photographs look absolutely amazing.
The photographs are mostly candid which is great because when we walk the streets we don't see people posing. Everyone is doing their own thing. That is how street style should be documented. Don't show me a photograph of someone posing, I want to see someone reacting to the environment around them not knowing that they are being watched.

The blog mostly takes photos of women but the photos they take of men are as amazing if not better.

The best time to look at Jak & Jil is during fashion week, well that goes the same for any other fashion blog. Not only do they take photographs of people outside the shows but a few backstage photographs as well

Photographs from jakandjil.com
There are so many other Street Style blogs on the world wide web. The number of blogs mentioned in this post is less significant than a drop in the ocean. I don't think street style is dead, I think maybe for women it could be on pause because everyone is starting to look the same.

Either way street style is a phenomenon we can't deny. It may not influence what we see on the runway but it influences how we dress, how we live, how we conduct ourselves. Street style is not only fashion anymore. It's a lifestyle and if you can capture the lifestyle of someone in a single photograph then you can call yourself a street style photographer.

For more men's street style photographs visit my pinterest page (pinterest.com/zovuyomputablog/male-fashion or tumblr (www.whatzedsaw.tumblr.com).