Best Dressed Lists Tend to Suck, Don’t They? Well, Try This One On For Size
December 2, 2009 by Svetlana
I mean, what gives anyone a right to decide who is a good dresser and who isn’t?
Style is as painfully personally and subjective thing to judge as things get.
Having said that, when Proper topper and Farrinelli’s asked us to jump in and be the media sponsor of their celebration of DC style, BDL:DC we said a resounding “yes!” since their panel (consisting of Andrew Buckler, British menswear designer, Erin Hartigan, editor of Daily Candy, Maxine Sheppard, Editor VTravelled.com, Virgin Atlantic’s brand new social travel site, Frank Quesada, Vice President of Sales for designer Tracy Reese, and Angie Goff) did a pretty close approximation of what we would have picked if given the reigns of this.
Their top 16 is below. Peruse, enjoy, comment.
And keep your eyes peeled:
for exclusive style portraits of all of them on BYT
some “power to the people” popular voting
and a great party in early 2010 to celebrate all that is good and stylish in DC
Eric Brewer- film/video auteur, Dissident Display
Betsy Lowther- fashion writer, Post Express, Fashion Washington; blogger, Fashion is Spinach
Walker Lamond- writer & film maker; blogger, 1001 Rules for my Unborn Son; author, Rules for my Unborn Son
Ali Wentworth – actress founder of BabyLoveDC
Phillipe Cousteau – environmentalist
Marlene Hu – owner Hu’s Shoes & Hu Wear
Tyler Larish – Hair Stylist
Rey Banks – Senior Policy & Communications Associate, National Juvenile Defender Center
Holly Thomas- fashion writer, Washington Post
The Beatings: Carole Greenwood & Stewart Lupton- musicians, artists
Philippa Hughes- arts supporter/writer/blogger, Pink Line Project
U.S. Royalty: John Thornley, Paul Thornley, Jacob Michael & Luke Adams – band
Valli Ravindran -creative director, pbs; blogger- DC Design Babes
Jesse Elliott -musician, These United States
Jade Floyd – pr maven, artist, blogger – DC This Week
Patricia Harr- blogger/entrepreneur
this list kills. They all look awfully pretty.
December 2, 2009 at 12:15 pmthis list is embarrasing for a number of reasons. 1. the photos of the so called best dressed show them wearing bland, uninspired outfits that are associated with bad dc style. maybe these people do dress well? then pick the right photo. 2. incestuous list. jesse elliot, nice guy, great musician. best dressed? nope. and im not even sure he was in DC for more than 3 days the past year. phillipa hughes? hahaha. good one. why is sheldon pictured and not listed? that dude got style. tyler is cool too, but again put him the jesse elliot category. wait, oh ,maybe tattoos count? okay nevermind. 3. clearly this is more of a free press grab for proper topper and farrinelli’s for the party or whatever they are doing right? 4. to the panel: get out more meet more people 5. that is all, lets try harder next time.
December 4, 2009 at 11:45 pmid like to see what you consider good dc style hilltop?
December 7, 2009 at 12:13 pmHow can you include a picture of Sheldon and not include him on the freakin’ list? He is the best dressed dude in DC. Easily. He outshines every other motherfucker. This is pretty ridiculous.
December 16, 2009 at 12:12 pmmost of these people don’t exhibit “style” in their photos…
I can’t stand that loser Stewart… he has been wearing that vest for 20 years. Disguisting…brush your teeth dude
which is why we’re doing in depth style profiles with all of them-to let them have a little more room than just one tiny photo to show off.
December 16, 2009 at 5:29 pmhow “in depth” is that band (top right) going to get about their style? jeans, t shirts, belts…
give me a break
you could say that about anyone
December 16, 2009 at 5:39 pmbut I’m not saying it about ANYONE I’m specifically saying it about the guys in t-shirts and jeans.
December 16, 2009 at 5:47 pm” While highly honored to be included in the “D.C.’s Best Dressed” list contest, I have decided to withdraw my name from the contest. My reasoning behind this decision is colored mainly by the fact that, while i appreciate the fashion world immensely and, to some extent, do believe that what we wear informs our inner stance and state of mind, just as architecture and design informs our collective esthetics and moods, I am, at the end of the day, simply a writer and a musician. These are the mediums I operate within, and I would much rather my spot go to someone who is as fueled by fashion and the many nuances and and permutations of daily grooming as I am by quatrains and couplets and harmonicas. They deserve a shot at the “title” much more than myself, and I would feel much conflicted about robbing them of such a chance.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank propper topper and especially b.y.t., who has been so good to me over the years. If anyone is interested in a “profile” of my own inner world of esthetics, you can catch a glimpse at the homepages of my group The Child Ballads on the obligatory myspace and facebook. For those interested in more than a glimpse, the Rock and Roll Hotel is hosting “Stewart Lupton; A Retrospective,” a celebratory look back and reintegrating of my career as a “rock and roller”. The event also coincides with the release of a new Child Ballads record as well as the release of my first book of poems, along with many surprise guests that have informed my life as a musician since the early days of Jonathan Fire Eater to the present. I hope to see you all there, looking fabulous , of course.
Thank you very much once again to all those involved for the honor, it is not something I take lightly.
Affectionately, etc.
Stewart S. Lupton”
you know what stewart?
i like you
youre not like the other people
here in this trailer park
he’s just like the other people in the trailer park who have bad teeth and need an A.A. sponser..
December 17, 2009 at 5:42 pmNice post and riposte, Stewart. You bring some dignity where its much needed. Frustrated bitter heads should probably just appreciate or stay respectful and silent, but thats the Internet for you. DC respects the style within.
December 22, 2009 at 8:52 pmbest dressed and dc dont really belong in the same sentence if you ask me…when durkl is considered a local streetwear icon you know there are problems. your best bet would be some of the trustfunders, foreign diplomatic crew, and the politicians that know how to dress…but byt probably fancies itself too “underground” for that
December 23, 2009 at 12:49 pmSheldon, all the way hands down. Defines his own things always, and looks like noone else. The rest of these folks got style, no doubt, but the best in DC…meh. The list is pretty much the same list that everybody runs though, got to agree with hilltop. Lots of funky style out there, but this is just the same folks that always get the props. How about……Morgan Hungerford!!!!
December 23, 2009 at 1:41 pmBest dressed in DC is currently kind of a dubious honor, hopefully this will inspire people to crank it up a notch and make next year’s list.
January 5, 2010 at 2:08 pmtop lefts are lookin good!
January 6, 2010 at 8:52 pmThese are the BEST? C’mon DC…..
January 20, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Tyler Larish is a style inspiration, and a pretty awesomely nice guy.
December 2, 2009 at 11:27 am