Hommes Afrique Avec Style

Let’s Hear it For the Boys

A couple of months ago, I went to the Natural History Museum with my sister, bro-in-law, niece and nephew (who was excited to go to the “newseum”). Outside the office & any occasion requiring special effort, my dress sense leans towards what I like to call refined hobo/preppy hippy. On this particular occasion I wore my freshly co-washed fro in a high bun, skinny olive Gap cargo pants, which due to my triathlon-era unporkiness & height looked like baggy capris, an old-old  IRO scoop neck t-shirt like sweater in a navy and heather gray pattern (see Net-A-Porter for more IRO) and pair of well-worn navy blue Comfort & Samuel Ayo slippers. Very hobo chic

This was days after I’d excitedly shown my sister the Street Etiquette site/New York Times article and all the hommes avec style (boys with style, many of African descent) therein: Joshua Kissi, Travis Gumbs and co. She equated my Natural History Museum “look” with a feminized version of the Street Etiquette boys (as is our way, a new nickname was created and persists until today). I was flattered my slap-dash dressing drew a comparison with the super stylish boys, providing new levels of meaning to Comme des Garçons.

Along with Joshua Kissi (Ghanaian-American) of Street Etiquette, there are more and more fashion-forward African men in the public eye, e.g. Seal and his speedos (although the jury is still out on that one), Tunde Adebimpe (T.V. on the Radio) and Gbenga Adelekan (Metronomy whose album The English Riviera was nominated for a Mercury Prize).

Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs of Street Etiquette - Source | StreetEtiquette.com

Tunde Adebimpe - Source | Last.fm

Gbenga Adelekan - Source | Phil Sharp

Very, very cool! TV on the Radio performed Caffeinated Concsiousness from their latest album Nine Types of Light live at the KCRW studio. Check out an homme avec style live in action and listen to a performance of more tracks from the album on World Cafe here.