Black Male Style Icons Part 2

Click here for last year's list.

RUN-DMC

Often credited for bringing rap to the mainstream, Run-DMC are truly pioneers in music. (This April, they will be inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame.) But with their unprecedented Adidas contract, slick black fedora and Lee jeans getups, they definitely made their mark on fashion as well. I remember as a little girl looking up to them with their gold rope chains and leather bombers and thinking their influence was just local. But now as an adult who has traveled the world, I know that they have inspired folks globally as well. And oh yeah, they're from Queens too. R.I.P. JMJ



BARACK OBAMA

He almost made my list last year but I had no choice but to add him this time around. Yeah I know we really only see him in (kinda boring) suits, but it's the way he wears those suits. Based on a convo I just had with women who are all several years my senior, I am reminded that a lot of folks still don't realize that true style has very little to do with clothes. Poor things. Obama is swagger personified. His confidence is so palpable that regardless of what he wears, he looks like he's the man in it. He and his family are going to play a major part in changing our country's obsession with materialistc things too - mark my words. (The recession might help do that a little bit too, lol.) The desire to wear $500 Evisu jeans and drive a car with rims that cost God knows how much is quickly dwindling. A lot of that is because of our new Prez whether people immediately recognize it or not. I think a lot of folks will start to say Hey, if he can be that cool without flaunting, then so can I.


KANYE WEST

Now I have to admit that Ye has been getting on my nerves a little bit as of late but I'm gonna cough it up to him still mourning the lost of his mother. Speaking of his mother (R.I.P. D.W.), she was a college English professor. Perhaps that had something to do with Kanye's style. He made being (or dressing like) a nerd cool. His obsession with LV is a bit much at times but I dig Kanye for coming on the scene and not being afraid to go slightly left with his backpack and snug fitting jeans. Today's popularity of the preppy kid meets b-boy look is very much because of Kanye. (Maybe Pharrel will make next year's list.)



PRINCE

C’mon. Who else can pull off roller sets (tight ones I might add), purple britches, ruffles and high heels yet still manage to be one of the biggest sex symbols to women for the past three decades? No one. Prince paved the way for guys like Andre 3000 (who I bigged up last year). Even the hardest cats I know give Prince his props for being that dude. Oh yeah, and he's only like 5 feet tall but he never, ever seems like he's not in control. Like ever. And both Prince and I adore the color purple.



ANDRE LEON TALLEY

He's been holding down a coveted position as editor-at-large of American Vogue for years. Talley is reportedly 6'7" tall and far from a string bean but he slides into a room as graceful as someone half his size. He's a very big Black man, which in the fashion and publishing industries is beyond rare, but that doesn't stop him from wearing whatever he wants. From velour track suits to velvet slippers... Who can't respect that? I secretly think we have a special connection too because we both have roots in North Carolina. And though he never responded to the corny letter I sent him after reading his book a few years ago, I have learned a thing or two from Talley, even if it has all been from a distance.




Did I forget someone? Leave me a comment and let me know. The female list is coming next week!

PPT’s Top Black Male Style Icons

I promised I would do this so here it is. As I mentioned for the female post of Black style icons, there is no way I can include everyone. However, I would love for you to leave me a comment if you think I have forgotten someone major. There were a few strong runner-ups such as Nat King Cole and Run-DMC. And I contemplated on Barack and Kanye…

(in no particular order)


Sammy Davis Jr. - Singer, dancer, comedian, actor, musician -- as a member of The Rat Pack, Mr. Davis did some movin’ and shakin’ with the best of them. When he started performing in Vegas during the ‘50s, he reportedly couldn’t stay in the same hotels that booked him for shows. The conked hair (I know, I know but it was part of his signature look). The sharp, tailored suit. The ever-present cigar. The latter might have contributed to his throat cancer. He was a little man with a lot of style.


Andre 3000 - Dang. I dunno even know where to start. This man has swagger for days. Any male who can pull off wearing feathers and a kilt without anyone questioning his manhood needs to teach a class or something. His effortless and out-the-box looks just might be available to the masses soon when he launches his Benjamin Bixby line later this year. (It is expected to hit Barneys stores this fall.) It doesn’t hurt that he’s also half of one of our most prolific hip-hop duos of all time.


Sean Combs/Puffy/Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Diddy - I know some of y’all are gonna hate me for this one. But I had to be objective. I have my issues with him too. Still his impact on popular culture over the past decade or so is undeniable. An entire ghetto fabulous obsession exists largely because of this man. He introduced Versace to Bed-Stuy and the two-step to The Hamptons. Combs certainly didn’t invent it but he did have a big part in bringing it to the masses and Madison Avenue aka the advertising world continues to profit from it. Like it or not, that indicates major influence. He is also a workaholic times ten. (I actually remember, albeit vaguely, when he was a party promoter.) I don’t think my big bro will ever let me forget about City College though…


Pictured here are Langston Hughes [far left] with [left to right:] Charles S. Johnson, E. Franklin Frazier, Rudolph Fisher and Hubert T. Delaney, on a Harlem rooftop during a party in Hughes' honor, 1924. [courtesy of pbs.org]
(Who knew rooftop parties were poppin' for so long???)

The Men of The Harlem Renaissance - Geez. I honestly couldn’t decide on just one. James Baldwin, Langston Huges, Duke Ellington and all the unsung tastemakers made it hard for me. This era of tailored three-piece suits and slick fedoras forced men all over to step it all up a notch. From the pics that I’ve seen, these cats (of all economic backgrounds) stayed clean. I think they set the tone for how dudes Uptown dress to this day. (Always a little bit "extra".) Part of the reason Harlem Nights remains to be one of my favorite films is because of the costumes and how dapper the men appeared throughout the movie.




Michael Jackson - I almost forgot about the King of Pop! Perhaps I was nervous about most of the men on this list being entertainers but I just couldn’t forget about Mike. Nutty as a fruitcake he might be but Mr. Thriller certainly had everyone in the 80s dressing like him ALL OVER THE WORLD. From zippered jackets to sequined gloves, epaulets to rhinestones, Michael was without a doubt the trendsetter of the Reagan years. Personal Realization: My red Capezio shoes from first grade were probably inspired by this man.


Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. - They are on this list simply because the revelutionaries always appeared perfectly intact (wearing suits no less) while in the face of some of the most unbearable situations imaginable. Part of their influence resulted from them being very powerful men and their images helped exude that power. I imagine most of us would look a bit frazzled to say the least if faced with the types of pressures these men were under. Something tells me that they would have looked just as polished and authoritative wearing an off the rack suit from Woolworth as they would donning a bespoke number from Saville Row. And the entire time they were fighting for what they believed in. That is quintessential style.