The 'Kiss and Tell' to Men's Fashion - Joshua Kissi

When seeking expertise on how to be fashion forward, it only makes sense to head to one of the world's top fashion capitals, New York City. And we did just that when going to Take the Stares with men's fashion blogger and one of America's top 40 Best Dressed Males, Joshua Kissi. The twenty-three year old Ghanian from The Bronx has been blogging since he entered college in 2008 and is now a global fashion icon. Today we look at Joshua's fashion and take a look back at his interview with LookBook.com in 2008 to see how he likes to Take the Stares...

"New York City is definitely one of the fashion capitals of the world. The diversity is what really makes NYC NYC. You could find hipsters in soho walking around in skinny jeans, a wealthy woman walking with her Louis Vuitton purse pushing her children around in an expensive carriage in the Tribeca area, and a young fellow draped in Coach, True Religion and Prada all in the same borough."

 Joshua likes to accent his blazers with colorful pocket squares and nice khaki pants or corduroys. How will you dress up your blazers?

"I'd say my personal style is very versatile. The styles I really love are different and all across the board. What I do is try to take bits and pieces of what I like and incorporate them into my outfit somehow. I feel having your own identity is key in fashion; having a look that other people could recognize as your own. Of course very few people truly originate their entire look, but it's nice to throw something in your outfit that gives people a sense of originality."

It's rare that you ever see men confident enough to pull off a pair of bermuda shorts or above the knee pants, so seeing Joshua wear these so effortlessly was very refreshing.

"Be 'you'. Try a lot of different looks because style is a process of evolution. We didn't walk out of the house today dressing like we did from day one; you have to grow and learn."

"I admire the styles of Miles Davis, Sidney Portier, Jimi Hendrix, RN DMC, Will Smith, Kanye West, Basquiat, Malcolm X, Sean Connery, Warren Beatty, Heidi, Silmane, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Yves Saint-Laurent. Should I continue?"

I love how Joshua incorporates his ethnic pride into his personal style through his accessory pieces. He allows some of the most important parts of him to show through his wardrobe.

"The first thing I look at in another person's outfit is what's on their feet (I'm still a born sneakerhead). I will also look to see if they're comfortable in their clothing because a lot of people I see lack that. Various people wear their clothing for other reasons and look uncomfortable, but to me your clothing should be like your skin."

"Street Etiquette... is fashion with an urban swag. It's our own little twist on what others would perceive as the 'high life' or 'high fashion', and it's about going out of the box to bring together cultures that are entirely different. Street Etiquette is our lives, our code of conduct, so when we decided to start a blog it was quite easy coming up with the name. The blog is basically an exhibition of our unique lives in NYC, mixed with fashion, art and music."

Visit Joshua Kissi's blog http://www.streetetiquette.com
Information and pictures provided by:
Streetetiquette.com
Lookbook.com
Google.com