The 10 best dressed Black men from hip-hop to Wall Street - Man style

FROM Jack Johnson, who knocked them out with uppercuts and dashing British tweeds, to Bojangles Robinson to Malcolm X, who was always clean, and Martin, who loved dashingly tilted hats, Black men have defiantly, definitively and unapologetically led the fashion parade. And although standards have changed and casual has become chic, Brothers from coast to coast are continuing the tradition that flourished in the 19th century when Black tailors were among the Armanis of their day. Among the national style-setters in hip-hop as well as on Wall Street are the 10 men on the following pages who were repeatedly named by their peers as the 10 best-dressed [Black] men in America.

Some like P. Diddy bridge unbridgeable worlds, making heads turn in the 'hood and on Paris runways. Others are the best sartorically--and professionally--in the sports world and the music world and on Wall Street.

Today, as of old, the price of admission is high. The Attolini suits of L.A. Reid, who is among the most powerful men in the music business, are custom-made in Napoli, Italy. The shirts of Wall Street mover and shaker Vernon E. Jordan Jr. are handmade in England (Turnbull and Asser) and France (Charvet) and his suits are custom-made by Oxxford in Chicago. But whether the maker is Armani or Black designer Barbara Bates, and whether they are bought off the rack--some of the top dressers patronize "in" men's stores in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles--or on Saville Row, the 10 are not distinguished by the clothes' labels, but by the way they wear the clothes and by that indefinable combination of excellences--presence, flair, cool--called style.

L.A. Reid

As president and CEO of Arista Records, L.A. Reid swings in the boardroom as well as the listening room with Italian-tailored suits and shirts that make their own kind of music. He calls his style "Old World elegance with a contemporary twist."

Boris Kodjoe

The burnished good looks of the TV star (Soul Food) and sometimes model add exclamation points to whatever he is wearing. Though he seems to prefer the California casual look, he has enlivened a number of first-nights with the combination casual-formal look favored by an increasing number of males.

Michael Jordan

A slam dunk in any language, the basketball icon was a major influence, as a model and as the head of his own clothes line, in the development of the big flowing lines favored by multimillionaire athletes. He also maintains a full-court press in his variations on after-six attire.

Sean (P. Diddy) Combs

Appealing to both the streets and the suites, to both the Bronx and East Hampton, P. Diddy is an international trendsetter who looks good in pinstriped suits and home-boy jeans. A shrewd businessman, he markets his own Sean-Jean line of clothes.

Kenneth Chenault

One of the highest-ranking Blacks in American industry, the chairman and CEO of American Express never leaves home without elegant clothes that speak with authority. Some experts give him credit for raising the level of CEO style.

Maurice Cheeks

Coaches who dress well may or may not win more games, but they certainly attract more attention. The Portland Blazers won their share this year, and Coach Maurice Cheeks won rave reviews for the Armani suits he wore on the sidelines. He buys "mostly" from Barney's in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr.

At the highest level of the government, and at the highest levels of Wall Street, the senior managing director of Lazard Freres & Co., makes power statements with custom-made shirts and suits and color-coordinated pocket handkerchiefs. He is opposed to "dress-down days."

Willie Brown

The San Francisco mayor has been making fashion news and political news for more than a generation. He wears designer suits and maintains that no man is properly dressed unless he is wearing a dashing hat--in the streets, not in the house.

James Blake

The ranking tennis pro and sometimes model says his style is "laid back" and "simple." As for the casual stuff he wears off court, he says, "I don't stick to labels, usually comfort is more important."

Kwame Kilpatrick

New generation mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit, wears new style suit--and a diamond earring. Because of his style and his fondness for rap music, some commentators have called him the 33-year-old mayor the "hip-hop mayor."

COPYRIGHT 2003 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group