andre 3000, esquire, and me

I have a large number of magazines that I read on a regular basis. One of my least favorite is the men's magazine Esquire. It's what I call a 'bathroom magazine.' Sometimes I keep magazines that only hold my interest momentarily in the bathroom to read while I ... you know. It works very well in this purpose as does BestLife, Men's Journal and Rolling Stone.

To me, Esquire represents everything that's wrong with men's magazines these days. The writing is so-so, the clothes tend to be rather overpriced and many of the features seem like a rip-off from other magazines. In short, save for regular contributors like Chuck Klosterman and John Mayer, I can't defend Esquire on the basis of reading pleasure.

I will, however, defend the magazine on one of its editorial decisions: the selection of André Benjamin, aka André 3000 of the rap group OutKast, as its best dressed man of 2004. I enjoy OutKast's music, but that's not why I agree with Esquire.

I think that André 3000 is a man worthy of the honor because he is the most creative dresser in celebrity culture today. Many people wrote to Esquire is subsequent issues complaining that André dressed like a clown and basically called the editors idiots for making the decision. But I think the dismay people felt had more to do with what their feelings about blacks, rap music and popular culture.

When you get past some of the obvious eccentricities of André's wardrobe, provoked by his creativity as an artist and a dandy, he's actually quite traditional. While most of the rap world has just recently discovered the natural waist and tailored clothes, André was on the forefront, bringing back clothes that, strangely enough, he said 'fit like dresses.' The quote, from this month's Vogue, sounds weird at first, as womenswear is usually off-limits to men, but what I thought he meant was clothes that celebrate the human body, which fit the form of man beautifully, rather than obscure it or sexually display it. That in itself is a very traditional idea, to say the least.

But still, modern men don't dress in this way, and modern black men aren't even considered dressed in anything beyond baggy sweats, six-button neon suits, or prison uniforms. He's boldly going where no rapper is expected to go, with his own idiosyncrasies, and it looks a little weird right now.

So did Elvis, in the mid '50s, with his pompadour, tight pants, and mascara-darkened eyes. Soon everyone wanted to dress like Elvis. So did David Bowie in the early '70s. In no time, however, both men and women were sporting androgynous clothes and haircuts and experimenting with dramatic make-up. So did the 'hair-metal' bands of the '80s, with girl's perms, even tighter jeans and, goofy untied high-tops and motorcycle boots. That look has never really left us, especially in rural areas.

The point is this: music has changed, fashion has changed and celebrities dress weird, and eventually we all take elements of it and dress in tribute to them. Go get your spats and high-waist pants, because it may be coming to a mall near you.