Lauren Boyle

occupation: editor of upcoming DIS magazine

“I think that what makes our generation kind of special or new is how we appreciate the lowest, you know, trashiest stuff and the most refined things and one is not better than the other, they are all sort of on the same level. Its just up to your interpretation and your usage.” Lauren Boyle

When I asked Lauren what happens if she goes out and doesn’t feel herself on a given day, her response was, “Maybe I should try it. That could be really fun. Just go out absolutely not me at all.” So uncontrived and confident in who she is, there is no armor when exploring Lauren and her style. She is who she is, low or high end, it’s all interesting, and it makes her energy and ideas so fresh in the most explosive yet natural way. For example, she makes “conservatism” the epitome of cool in her mother’s matching suede ’80s Ruff Hewn ensemble and her signature Bally loafers. Everything she wears is about an idea or a feeling and her instincts are acute, like her McQueen suede apron/dress and black leather vintage trench, which are both archetypal and elemental in shape and design. Lauren is a connoisseur and collector of fashion magazines, particularly the older originals and pioneers. She is soon to launch her own “pseudo-fashion magazine” called DIS. Lauren’s too much of an observer not to be a leader and express her own vision and it’s in keeping with her comfort in being a “real outsider” as opposed to the “accepted outsider.” I have a feeling it will be groundbreaking in terms of what is happening in print right now, but in the most unpretentious way.

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Cator Sparks

“[London] is such an amazing place. Period. I’ll never forget riding the subway one day when I saw a man in a bowler, a bow tie, a cane, and a wax mustache. He just looked at me and winked. And I just [thought], ‘This is it kids. This is what I want to do.’” Cator Sparks

occupation: writer, blogger, and dandy

Cator loves the Auntie Mame quote, “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death,” because for him, you have to live it and breath it all in. And he does – this man is all passion. We recently emailed him to let him know that his post was coming up, and we received an automatic response saying, “Greetings! I am away for a wedding in the depths of Africa, therefore I have no internet access, only tribal drums and smoke signals.” Cator was inspired to become a writer on a trip to India in his late 20’s, but not a “yogacentric nirvana trip. It was a boozed out wild party with a bunch of English people,” where he met a renowned British journalist that recognized his vivid imagination, well-bred sophistication, and ability to put “pen to paper” or “fingers to keyboard.” Today, Cator is a leading authority on men’s fashion, an interest that stems from his aesthetically Anglo-infused childhood in Atlanta, surrounded by people like his grandfather (who was “a bit of a dandy”), his great-grandfather (who wore only “white suits in the summer and wool tweeds in the winter”), and his mother (who let him set the table with lavish place settings every year for Christmas dinner). It’s all about visuals for Cator, and you can see it from his red room (an ode to taste icon Diana Vreeland) to his impeccable three-piece Brooks Brothers suit with every detail intact down to the Etro shirt, Vivienne Westwood tie, and antique watch fob. (It’s absolutely wild to think of Cator in his rave days, with stickers on his face and glitter everywere.) Appearance is so imperative that Cator writes in an Egyptian dress and Turkish slippers in order for his genius to flow.

Be sure to check out Cator’s website and blog.

If you like Cator, you might also enjoy John Wellington, Andrew D’Angelo, or Michael Arenella.

Ritchie Chan

occupation: student, founder of Triple Major, and curator of Project White T-Shirt

“I think the most inspirational place is the shower. It’s the most inspiring location I can go to if I lack ideas. I just take a shower, and when I come out, [my mind is exploding] with ideas. The entire idea of the Project White T-Shirt and my company was thought out in the shower.” Ritchie Chan

Ritchie came to the US from his native Hong Kong for college, to expose himself to a less restrictive way of thinking. While in LA attending USC, he majored in business, pop culture, and international relations, and he has evolved into an explosively industrious and out-of-the-box thinker. Ritchie is taking a shot at redefining popular culture and fashion by organizing thought-provoking events through his studio Triple Major (named after his three college majors). One of his current projects is to explore what would happen if designers were not restricted by the commercial pressures of the seasons and the cycles of buying and selling. His idea: to give designers all over the world the opportunity to transform the identity and utility of the white t-shirt into whatever they wanted it to be. The results speak for themselves, like the white t-shirt as a “cultural connector,” where the bottom attaches two T’s together into one. In his travels to Scandanavia as a finance intern and fashion columnist (since sixteen-years-old for M.Style magazine), Ritchie felt encouraged to get away from the the “intense focus on labels [that he grew up with] and has been more into experimenting with texture, structure and how you wear things as a way of shaping your personality.” His quirky, humorous twist on the classics are the result, with lots of details making the difference like the touch of a unique sock and notable for me, the mix of pale pink desert boots with a vintage orange messenger bag and APC’s capelet over a Mundi Breton-striped shirt. A subtle but “noteworthy” testament to his burgeoning status as Renaissance man is the Ann D. mini notebook worn around his neck with handwritten notes in multiple languages from his travels around the world.

To learn more about Ritchie, go to the detailed captions page.

If you like Ritchie, you might also enjoy Shane Tison, Shaun Stewart, or Milton Puzy.

Mark Hester

occupation: lover of life, sex club worker, artist, writer, and mysterious man of your dreams

“Clothes shouldn’t stop you. They should help you, and they should exemplify what you’re going for. They should enhance, they should be what you’re doing constantly, they should be your voice, in a sense. They are. It’s your non-verbal ‘putting everything out there without saying anything.’” Mark Hester

I feel as if I am on an archeological dig uncovering gems who’s voices are not being heard and should be. Mark is a graduate of Georgetown University in sociology (he is “fascinated by others”), is a voracious reader of the classics from an early age (Nietzsche, Proust, Freud, Chekhov, and Bronte), a product of a family who moved a lot and as a result, has lived all over the world, and was free enough to rid himself of all technology for a year and live in a tree house. He looks like a character in a Shakespearean play in his romantic blouses, fur capes, velvet two-piece ensembles, and tights. And he is a Renaissance man in his wide-open curiosity for life. Mark was born on “the day of wonder,” and says that he refuses to live in a defined box. He is as thoughtful at putting himself “out there” in a “non-verbal” way in his style as he is with his words, while remaining completely unpretentious and a genuine class act.

To learn more about Mark, go to the detailed captions page.

If you like Mark, you might also enjoy Houman Farahmand, Terry T., or Marika Wilson.

Paul Johnson-Calderon

occupation: writer and stylist

“I’ve learned the beauty of simplicity.” Paul Johnson-Calderon

Shooting Paul in front of the mantle around the fire place in his Upper West Side apartment reminded me of one of the Edith Wharton novels piled on his table. And the simple elegance of his clothes is reminiscent of one of his (and my) favorite post-impressionist artists Mary Cassatt. I was so excited to see someone loving Belgian Loafers (his grandfather did too), and I have recently pulled mine out of the closet after twenty years and have been obsessing on all of the different plaids and colors that they offer. They, like many of Paul’s clothes, are hardcore and proven classics that would be difficult to wear and not look 100% dashing in. Another example of how you can’t go wrong with all things traditional and worn hybrid-style is Paul’s use of the tuxedo. The tux shirt with American Apparel powder blue jeans and espadrilles, and the tux pant with a classic Margiela tee, are what should be on the red carpet in Hollywood. A true “bohemian aristocrat,” as he refers to himself, Paul has found the perfect striped Breton shirt at the equally gothic and classic Trash and Vaudeville .