- Blog: Street Etiquette
- Niche: Men’s Fashion/Style
- Founders: Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs
- Twitter: @StreetEtiquette
There’s a distinct difference between fashion and style. While some people merely wear clothes, there are those who allow their garments to express themselves in a way that would not work on just anyone. The latter is the mantra of longtime friends Joshua Kissi, 23, and Travis Gumbs, 22. Hailing from the Bronx, NY, the pair funneled their personal flair and eye for detail into a succinct corner of the web dubbed Street Etiquette. Founded in 2008, the style blog has grown from a simple outlet for Kissi and Gumbs to express their vision for the reimagining of men’s fashion into a digital hub that attracts almost 500,000 visitors a month. It’s not just casual fashion (or is it style?) enthusiasts, industry giants ranging from Vogue Paris and GQ to The London Times and The New York Times, among others, have taken note. Now, the fashion-forward renaissance men are recognized as part of BlackEnterprise.com‘s Black Blogger Month.
We started blogging…
Due to the boredom of school and [being] curious in discovering the non-systematic ways of living. The Internet served as a virtual passport, as we had the opportunity to connect with people all over the world.
Street Etiquette stands out because…
In the world where human interaction and expression are very common in the digital world aka blogging, the next task is distinguishing yourself from everyone else doing the same. We have always stuck to our guns as far quality over quantity and our supporters have respected our art of posting. We have always strived to create an experience with any content we do post on our website. Projects/editorials such as Black Ivy, Sartorial Sounds and more recently CROWNED were all produced with the notion of giving people much more than the usual.
Street Etiquette is defined as something…
Bigger than us. It includes the likes of friends who share the same vein of inspiration and culture as we do ala editorial like Black Ivy, which once again was 25 individuals all varying in occupations from photographers, teachers, singers, stylist, mentors… All taking part in an idea that they all felt deeply passionate about.
The biggest misconception about men’s fashion has to do with…
Its confusion for “style.†Fashion can be viewed as what we see on the runway and shows every six months or so, but style is what you do between those times.
The one fashion style we wish would go away is…
None at all. Everything is totally necessary to an extent to be acted upon, or in response to. For example, as human beings various visual expressions such as fashion act as reference marks as to what you would attempt or what you wouldn’t attempt. To [us], in a cyclical sense, everything is totally necessary.
People trust our brand because…
Brands more than ever are very personal with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and others around. Customers/consumers can now honestly comment on your brand in real time and everyone holds some sort of influence, whether it is their followers or their friends viewing their Facebook timelines. And the website/blog is the speaker box as to what we’re doing currently or what we are inspired by. Indirectly we have created a culture based around clothing at first, but as time passed each post contributed to a larger much potent message other than “dressing better†but “living better†in all facets of life.
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