What Is ‘American Style’?

Back in the mid-nineties, my friends and I spent a lot of time in nightclubs dancing to A Tribe Called Quest and Nas. The de facto uniform was baggy Maurice Malone jeans, stout Champion sweats, and anorak pullovers from preppy brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica. But the most stylish among us wore Polo Ralph Lauren. Color-blocked sportswear met Polo Bear knits, all-over-print shirts, and choice items from the Stadium and P-Wing collections. Decades later, fashion writers described this aesthetic as a way for nonwhite youths to appropriate the status symbols of blue-blooded Wasps. That's partly true. Ralph Lauren's Polo logo is woven into the American image of financial success, and many of us simply wanted to stunt. But there's another story here about the thread that laces through this country's clothing history and the complicated, sometimes contradictory essence of the American spirit. Despite its aspirational nature, American style is, at its core, a celebration of the everyday person.

View in Browser  SHOP EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBE What Is American Style? Back in the mid-nineties, my friends and I spent a lot of time in nightclubs dancing to A Tribe Called Quest and Nas. The de facto uniform was baggy Maurice Malone jeans, stout Champion sweats, and anorak pullovers from preppy brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica. But the most stylish among us wore Polo Ralph Lauren. Color-blocked sportswear met Polo Bear knits, all-over-print shirts, and choice items from the Stadium and P-Wing collections. Decades later, fashion writers described this aesthetic as a way for nonwhite youths to appropriate the status symbols of blue-blooded Wasps. That's partly true. Ralph Lauren's Polo logo is woven into the American image of financial success, and many of us simply wanted to stunt. But there's another story here about the thread that laces through this country's clothing history and the complicated, sometimes contradictory essence of the American spirit. Despite its aspirational nature, American style is, at its core, a celebration of the everyday person. Read More 10 Winter Parkas That'll Keep You Feeling Warm—and Looking Cool It's time to invest in some truly weather-ready outerwear. Read More You Can Score $250 Off the Newest MacBook Right Now Plus, a shit ton on other massive Apple deals. Read More Two Fathers Lost Their Sons the Same Way, But In Grief Their Paths Diverged At approximately 4:53 P.M., the Broncos' bus driver, fifty-nine-year-old Glen Doerksen, noticed the truck speeding toward the intersection. "Whoa!" he screamed. Some of the guys stood to see what was happening. Doerksen slammed on the brakes, and the bus skidded almost eighty feet into the intersection at between sixty and sixty-six miles per hour, T-boning Sidhu's trailer. The truck flipped, and the bus was ripped in three pieces, its front obliterated and everything above floor level sheared off. Passengers were thrown across the asphalt and into a frozen ditch. Fourteen people died at the scene, including Doerksen, Haugan, and Schatz. In the frenzied aftermath, the survivors, some so disfigured they were unrecognizable, were rushed to nearby hospitals. Brons and another victim died within the week. In an instant, dozens of lives on the bus and beyond were ripped apart in one of the worst sporting disasters in North America in nearly fifty years. For those involved, on the bus and off, the tragedy was only beginning. Read More My Favorite Cashmere Sweater Is Less Than $100 Naadam's classic staple is elegant, soft, and sustainably made. Read More 9 Waterproof Speakers for Poolside Karaoke or a Shower Singalong Don't let anything drown out your tunes. Read More There's a Foodgate Brewing Down in Texas The instinct for reckless grifting among our conservative politician runs deep and wide. They can't help themselves. Roll a nickel down the aisle at CPAC and you get the most boring gang fight in American history. Not all the grifting is the Grand Grift as practiced by the former First Family*. Some of it is pure, street-level money and/or fame grubbing. Let us introduce you to once (and future?) Congressperson Mayra Flores of Texas' 34th Congressional District. Cheapjack is as cheapjack does. Read More How satisfied are you with the content of this newsletter? Follow Us Unsubscribe | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2024 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779