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Rank em’. Three Magazines That Cover Style

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Here’s how this works.  Look at the options, pick your order, then leave your rankings in the comments section.  Feel free to explain why you placed what where.  This time around it’s three of the top magazines with a male target demo and spend some time covering style every month.  Rank them by order of preference.  Your favorite goes #1.
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Esquire
It's not Ryan it's... well actually it is Ryan.

Seems to be the least concerned with clothes out of the three.  If Esquire someday ran an “anti-style” issue, where not one inch of print was dedicated to clothes, they’d still be able to pull it off.  And then some.  Recently got a cleaned up website.  Allows you to request copies free of cologne ads (although the smell free option can sometimes be real slow to the door.)

 

GQ
More about clothes, but is that good?

It feels like GQ spends more time on style, but still has plenty of articles that are extremely well worth the read.  Lots of slideshows on their website.  Lots.

 

Details
GQ's kid brother.

Does anyone actually subscribe to details?  Or do they survive purely on airport news stands and grocery store checkout lines?  More aggressive than GQ.  Sometimes eye rollingly so.

Remember, no one is forcing you to read any of these.  And if you’ve got a write in vote, leave it in the comments too.  Do you read these often?  Never?  Rankings go below.  Top photo credit

Comments

  1. #1+ GQ (Under Art Cooper. It’s been living off his ability ever since.)
    #1 GQ
    #2 Esquire (Also living off the principle of its great years. Started high so it hasn’t fallen as low as it might have.)
    #3 Details (Always trailing the back from very far back. Had a kind of flair in its ragpaper beginnings but too insular to ever really make an impact.)

  2. I’m not particularly amused by any of them.  Insipid articles, too many ads, and who the heck buys $450 dress shirts??  I’m going to hurl a rock at the next GQ writer who suggests a $400 windbreaker from J Crew as a “budget friendly alternative” to $2000 fashion-ey crap from Gucci/YSL/whoever else.

    The fact that you like Esquire makes me think I ought to give it another try, though.

  4. I agree about the writing. Most of it is just manufactured, contrived crap. I actually like the ads though. In fact that may be the main reason I purchase one at the airport or something. 

  6. 1. Esquire- can’t afford a damn thing, but if I’m gonna dream, then it has great stuff that covers more than just clothes
    2. GQ- there really are some spectacular articles in there. As for fashion, I feel like it got really young recently, or I got really old
    3. Details- I suscribed back in its early days (like 1992). They botched it, I got one issue, they gave me the runaround and I have NEVER gotten another issue since out of principal.

  8. I’m primarily basing this on online content, but:
    1) GQ
    2) Esquire
    3) Details

    GQ’s content is head and shoulders above the other two.

  9. #1 GQ – Subscriber… their iPad app is pretty slick
    #2 Esquire – Looked at it once in a while and it seemed okay
    #3 Details – Kind of embarrassing for males as a gender

  10. Neither. There is a special place in hell for the jerkoffs that write for these rags. But of the three, Details is particularly horrendous in terms of “style” and writing.

  11. I suppose my rank is the same as most people’s: GQ, Esquire, Details.

    But, despite the decent articles, I think GQ is a bloated advertising mess, and I agree with @bc3a7d5734592b6a64696ae9e2465239:disqus above, very few of the budget recommendations are actually in my budget. It’s good for ‘copy the look’ type stuff, but frankly that’s why I read Dappered et al and skip what’s in mags.

  12. I think we could have a new #1 with a Dappered Magazine.A fashion magazine that doesn’t require you to spend 1,200 for a sweater 4k for a watch and a 75,000 dollar car to top it off.

    Just think of all the people out there with todays economy that want to look great and give a fat wallet.

    I have been thinking of magazine ideas for a while now…

    But simple

    1. GQ
    2. Esquire3. Details (Wanna-be GQ)

    NEW 1 – Dappered

  13. GQ ftw in my book. Great articles, and their slideshows on the site are great. Before my journey into the promised land that is Dappered, GQ was where I spent the majority of my time.

  15. I don’t subscribe to any (though tbh I do get Vogue in the mail), but I gotta agree with everyone else here…GQ, Esquire,

    Details.

  16. esquire and gq suck because if you’re unlucky you might actually stumble across some words in one of their stories, and their stories are the worst kind of fatuous drivel imaginable.  haven’t read details since the great, early james truman years, but it can’t be any worse than those other two, ipso facto details is numero uno!

  17. just cancelled my subscriptions to all the three magazine.
    Utter rubbish these mags have become.

    Stick to blogs, much better.

  18. The best magazine was “Classic Style” Magazine.  Unfortunately, it didn’t make it after publishing a handful of issues.  At 47, I am too old for any of those you mention, even though I don’t consider myself old at all.  (Plus, I live in the Midwest, not Manhattan.) 

  19. GQ is better on fashion.   Esquire occasionally has some really good long-form articles.   All of them assume you’re in the top 5% or so of the country income-wise (or at least spend money on clothes like you are)I’ve often maintained that there is a huge opportunity for a fashion/lifestyle magazine targeting the currently under-served market of men who make less than 200k a year, don’t live in manhattan or fantasize about doing so, and didn’t volunteer for the Obama campaign.

  20. I love GQ. Great style features and also often has really good journalism (I love their profile on Werner Herzog a few months ago). And their editor in chief, Jim Nelson, is from my hometown.
    Esquire’s alright, and it does cover men’s lifestyle more broadly, but I don’t need when it gets more raunchy. I could just get Maxim for that.
    I get Details because I got a free subscription for airline miles, but I barely even leaf through it, and it’s not worth much.

  21.  I subscribe to all three, so I feel fairly qualified to weigh in.

    1. GQ – Nitpicks aside, I genuinely look forward flipping to through GQ every month. More than anybody else, they are totally immersed in men’s fashion. While they can certainly be hit or miss, there’s something about the pictorials – a visual “feel” to them (I think it’s the saturation of the colors) that I’ve yet to see duplicated in any print magazine or website. So hats off to GQ, for getting it right most of the time. Rating: 9 out of 10.

    2. Esquire – I probably enjoy Esquire’s articles (and “how-to” features) more than GQ, but their style coverage just doesn’t measure up. There’s something very pretentious, perhaps too formal about most of the menswear they feature. Whereas most GQ “looks” are cool and young, Esquire often borders on old and crotchety. It doesn’t help that they tend to solely focus on ridiculously expensive and exclusive pieces (ie. $5000 Kiton blazer) – GQ does too, but at least they balance it out with affordable stuff (i.e the best suits under $500). Their twice-yearly Big Black Book is almost entirely centered around fashion and makes for a great coffee table item. Rating: 7.75 out of 10.

    3. Details – Quite frankly, too over the top and “metro” for my tastes. Occasionally they hit it out of the park, but usually I think the clothes fit too tight, look too loud  or aren’t dressy enough. Article-wise though, they usually provide a very interesting read and seem to thrive on expose pieces. Rating: 6 out of 10.

    So, there you have it: a ranking of all 3 in my humblest of opinions. I also enjoy reading Complex (might be a little too hipster/ hypebeast-influenced for most on here) and Men’s Health (great magazine in general, and especially so when they cover fashion).

    I collect men’s magazines actually, so there’s even a few defunct and lesser known ones like Classic Style and Men’s Vogue that I pick up occasionally. Back issues can be found on eBay most of the time. They are a few notches below GQ for comparison’s sake. Supposedly, Japanese menswear magazines blow everybody else out of the water, but I haven’t dabbled in those just yet.

  23. I had some gay friends in college who got these magazines (mostly GQ and Details) as an excuse to look at male models and expensive clothes. Personally I thought the magazines themselves were a little offensive. They were basically misogynistic, homophobic, and snobbish – the homophobia was particularly stunning to me since it seemed as though, beneath their hetero trappings, these mags are really targeted primarily toward gay guys. 

    The articles, as some have mentioned above, were completely insipid and contrived. Ground-breaking journalism about some random author’s daring adventures in the world of anal sex! The secret lives of blow-up sex dolls! Those are the two that specifically come to mind, and no, I’m not making them up. Early Playboy-level writing, these aren’t. They’re not even close to Vanity Fair standards.

    Yeah, these magazines featured some interesting eye candy in the form of cool clothes. But mostly it’s just ads surrounded by bad writers who have confused being provocative with being crude and unfunny.

    I subscribe to the New Yorker for my weekly dose of news and non-fic literature. I browse the internet for cool clothes.

  24. 1. Esquire
    2. GQ
    X. Details
    I don’t view Esquire and GQ as a shopping guide, but a style guide. They’re great for trend spotting and giving you ideas about how to move your wardrobe and style forward in creative ways. They effectively serve that purpose without having to actually purchase any of the featured clothes. I think both do that well, but I prefer Esquire because I think the long-form profiles and short-fiction are far better than any of the articles in GQ.

  25. Heads up y’all. 40% off Banana Republic with code “BRTUES40” through 4pm EST today. I just picked up three sweaters for $60 total.

  26. I know Details isn’t getting a lot of love here… but I usually find a 1 year subscription for $5 on Amazon. For that price, I’m perfectly content. 

  27. I subscribe to all 3. So I’m familiar with each mag enough to know their pluses and minuses.

    1. Esquire (Along with their Black Book, they tend to hold on a timeless principle in the style choices, which I like)
    2. GQ (a little more trendy)
    3. Details (full blown trendiness)

    All 3 are heavily commercialized however.

  28. GQ, Esquire, Details. I’ve unsubscribed from Details TWICE and they just keep coming to my house. I haven’t paid for it in over a year. Something is fishy about that.

  29. 1. Esquire – the stuff they feature’s way out of my price range, but it gives me ideas for what to look for in a more reasonable budget
    2. GQ – I pick this up from time to time, but don’t feel I pull as much from it as I do with Esquire
    X. Details – never.

  30. Esquire >>>> GQ >>>>>>>>>> Details 

    (and shame on you if you’re over 25 & Details is your go-to style mag)

  31. I think I tend to rank it as Esquire, GQ, then Details but Esquire and GQ are both quite closely ranked for me, with details a distant third.

    I tend to like Esquire’s articles and find the clothing ads as more “well something similar to this might look good” than anything. But I don’t subscribe to any of them, and rarely purchase them either so YMMV.

  32. GQ
    Esquire
    Details
    I subscribe to GQ and Esquire abd enjoy both. However since I do mainly subscribe for the clothes and style I picked GQ #1. Tempted to subscribe to details jus to see what its all about I get those cheap subscriptions offers all the time since I subscribe to GQ.

  33. GQ
    Esquire
    Details
    I subscribe to GQ and Esquire abd enjoy both. However since I do mainly subscribe for the clothes and style I picked GQ #1. Tempted to subscribe to details jus to see what its all about I get those cheap subscriptions offers all the time since I subscribe to GQ.

  34. GQ
    Esquire
    Details
    I subscribe to GQ and Esquire abd enjoy both. However since I do mainly subscribe for the clothes and style I picked GQ #1. Tempted to subscribe to details jus to see what its all about I get those cheap subscriptions offers all the time since I subscribe to GQ.

  35. Esquire is far better than GQ … and I’ve never heard of Details.  As far as style goes, Esquire leans toward timeless clothing and worn, more unique products.  I subscribe to GQ as well and I rarely see anything in its pages that doesn’t look like it came right out of my local mall.  I also think GQ is geared more toward the metrosexual, more effeminate crowd.

    As far as writing goes, I think Esquire wins again.  Their “How To Be A Man” series, for example, is always thoughtful and instructive.

  36. Esquire is far better than GQ … and I’ve never heard of Details.  As far as style goes, Esquire leans toward timeless clothing and worn, more unique products.  I subscribe to GQ as well and I rarely see anything in its pages that doesn’t look like it came right out of my local mall.  I also think GQ is geared more toward the metrosexual, more effeminate crowd.

    As far as writing goes, I think Esquire wins again.  Their “How To Be A Man” series, for example, is always thoughtful and instructive.

  37. Esquire is far better than GQ … and I’ve never heard of Details.  As far as style goes, Esquire leans toward timeless clothing and worn, more unique products.  I subscribe to GQ as well and I rarely see anything in its pages that doesn’t look like it came right out of my local mall.  I also think GQ is geared more toward the metrosexual, more effeminate crowd.

    As far as writing goes, I think Esquire wins again.  Their “How To Be A Man” series, for example, is always thoughtful and instructive.

  38. Esquire is obviously the best. GQ’s style coverage is too much fashion, not enough style, if you know what I mean. And Esquire has published some of the best magazine articles of all time. They’re all over this list: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/the-best-magazi.php

    Both magazines assume I make three or four times as much money as I do, which is obnoxious. But that’s what Dappered’s Steal this Style is for!

    Details…lol.

  41. Anyone have an opinion on the different BR v-neck sweaters? There’s the Extra-fine merino tipped sweater, the Silk/cotton/cashmere v-neck sweater and the Merino v-neck sweater.

  42. Any magazine that can boast a back catalog with pieces from the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald will always have a place on the coffee table.

  43. Any magazine that can boast a back catalog with pieces from the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald will always have a place on the coffee table.

  44. Any magazine that can boast a back catalog with pieces from the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald will always have a place on the coffee table.

  47. “these mags are really targeted primarily toward gay guys”  What?  C’mon.  One of my best friends who’s gay and subscribes to Esquire, used to catch some good natured hell from his ex for getting his “straight” magazine every month.  Pretty sure you’re off there Ben.

    And your examples of articles seem to be way off base as well.  Or limited only to Details.  I don’t remember any of those from Esquire and GQ (I don’t read Details) but maybe I just skipped over em’.

  49. GQ>>Esquire>>>Details
    I subscribe to GQ(3 years) and Esquire(recently) and don’t read either as a shopping guide but as a style guide. I like looking at both for inspiration and occasionally for places to shop and things to buy. There have been some good finds like my eyeglasses from Warby Parker($95 shipped w prescription lenses!) that were featured in GQ. I always thought that GQ was a bit more classic style with modern cuts and Esquire was a bit more “out there” so I rank them with GQ over Esquire. Details is fine for casual clothing inspiration I guess, but I only buy it if I can’t find anything else to read at an airport.

  50. I just ordered Esquire (3 years) last week.  I haven’t read the others, so I don’t think I can really vote on this.

  51. I agree with in thinking that $5000 outfits they regularly throw out there are ridiculous. Who can afford such things?? Certainly not the people who read this site, and if there are those who can afford it here why would they pay that much when affordable options exist?? I don’t care for high fashion labels but do look at their ads and features in mags as inspiration for style. For example, I’ve seen plenty of casual blazers for $350+ in GQ that I liked a lot but obviously can’t afford. I always keep my eyes open for good deals on similar styles and ended up with a nice patch pocket khaki blazer from LEC for $40. Is it as good as a $400 version by whoever? I don’t really care because I’m 90% happier that I paid 10% of the price!

  52. GQ has always been above and beyond the other two for me, but Esquire comes in second. I’m afraid I don’t have enough experience with Details to form an opinion.

  53. Maybe I am off base, as it’s been several years since I looked at any men’s magazines. But what little I remember is that the articles were bad and only my gay friends were subscribers. That’s all I got.

  55. and let’s not forget tom wolfe.  wolfe and his esquire editor clay felker started so-called new journalism and ran with it for a long time.  but that was then and this is now and the gulf betwixt the two is vast, i tell you, vast!

  57. Esquire, GQ, then Details.

    Esquire may not focus as much on style, but that’s actually what I value most about it. I’ve read a lot of interesting articles in Esquire as a subscriber.

  58. GQ #1,2, and 3.  Style-wise, they make things look better (i.e. fit, combinations, etc.)  and everyone has already talked about their articles.  Excellent journalism, month in and month out. 

    Esquire has too much fluff and can be pretty pretentious.

  59. I subscribe to Esquire and always put off a subscription to GQ, but its a close second. Details doesn’t enter in the picture for me, might as well be Nylon for Guys (Oh wait, that crap does exist).

    I’m a whore for brands with great iconography and history so Esquire fits that niche as far as men’s magazines. My collection of 1950s and 1960s Esquire (and Playboy) are my favorite magazines for cover art alone. The articles are (mostly) still as timely and/or interesting as they were the day they were printed. While today’s Esquire is more of a flip book with a chance of decent articles, I can’t ignore the history in the pages. Will some 20 year old 50-60 years down the line cherish my current Esquires as much as I do my vintage ones? Highly doubtful, unfortunately, but I still buy it based on heritage.

    My biggest gripe, however, with Esquire is that so much content is doubled up on their website that often times by the time it hits my mail box I’ve already read everything interesting in it via Flipboard on my iPad.

  60. Off topic again (sorry, I’m super lame) but for those still searching for a quilted nylon Ryan Gosling-alike jacket, I stumbled across this just now: http://shop.thehundreds.com/p-1168-stitches-jacket.aspx

    No contrasting details, no scorpion, but otherwise looks pretty close.

  62. #1 – Esquire.  Not only do I get it for $8 a year but I also get it as a gift for a friend.  I enjoy AJ Jacob’s writing as well as cooking and drinking info.

    #2 – GQ.  I read it twice a year.

    #3 – That other one.  TIME?  US News and World Report?  Oh, Details.  Don’t read it.

  63. 1. Esquire.
    2. GQ (waaaaay) down the list.
    3. Hello? Anybody home.

    And my sentiments are similar to my brethren here. That said – if “Dappered” were to unveil a men’s magazine, what would the similarities and differences be compared with the three you mentioned?

  64.  There’s so much style inspiration to be found online, I haven’t really found a reason to subscribe to any of them. I have glanced at some of their websites, and wasn’t overly impressed.

  65. With all due respect Ben, yeah, you’re off base.  If it’s been a few years, then maybe you’re remembering different magazines, etc…

  67. I like Esuire more than GQ, but GQ is still pretty nice. I don’t even remember ever reading an issue of Details.

    Side note: Anyone know how to get a subscription to Empire in the US for less than $60?

    I also like TIME and Rolling Stone

  68. I subscribe to GQ and Details, Esquire is my airport/drugstore pickup.

    Are we discounting that Men’s Health isn’t just about working out, but also includes style issues?The one with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt on the cover had better tips than that month’s GQ in my opinion…

  69. Your blanket categorization is still way off.  If they really were all that terrible, more people would be saying as such.

  70. I’m really surprised by the number of people picking GQ. I’ve received GQ and Esquire for a while now, and by far Esquire is a better magazine. Better journalism, more classic styling, actual reporting on current events and topics. I’m never ashamed to start a conversation with, “I actually read an article about that in Esquire. . . ” GQ is just more of a middle ground for a guy growing out of Maxim, but not ready to read the articles in Esquire. At any rate:

    1- Esquire
    2- GQ
    3- Details (Due to a lack of personal experience with it.)

  72. Never heard of Details before. I bought a subscription to Esquire a month ago, still haven’t received my first issue but hey, for something like $15 a year, can’t complain and I enjoy their website. I like the GQ website, too. They kinda are THE reference, I heard a few time about “the GQ look”. 

  74. Esquire, above all. Not only is a subscription very cheap, it’s well written, functional and boasts the best roster of writers. Anyone who dismissed the content as insipid or poorly written needs to realize there’s more to life than drooling over wingtip/trouser combinations. Esquire is a celebration of what it is to be a man, not men’s style. Details is Cosmo for metrosexuals. I wouldn’t use it to line a hamster cage. I fact, it was Esquire that gave me a gentle prod to up my game in terms of personal style. I will agree with the criticism that it sets the bar too high with the price of the featured clothes, but I’ve arrived that this is to cater to its higher end advertisers, as its style director, Nick Sullivan, advocates quality but seems to recognize the clothes they feature are slightly out of tune with the readership. Dappered is the ultimate middle ground, also brilliantly written and relevant. I would have to say anyone who doesn’t enjoy Esquire is probably cuffed with fashion horseblinders and does not care much about the world and our own place in it. I figured most of us with a Y chromosome recognize there’s a hell of a lot more to life than clothes and Esquire delivers on all accounts.

  75. I’m glad someone else mentioned Men’s Health – they actually do a pretty decent job of mixing in some style bits each month, as well as a dedicated style issue during the year. Concentrated and to the point suggestions, not much fluff or excessive biasing, if I remember correctly.

  77. 1. Esquire
    2. GQ
    3. Details

    You guys have to remember that the items shown in all three of these magazines are high fashion, but they’re meant to be viewed as templates. That’s the point: look how good these models look wearing ridiculously expensive items A, B and C. It’s up to us to figure out what the most practical options are for our own A, B and C. I know that this site covers quite a bit of affordable options of almost everything that the magazines offer. Thanks to Dappered and other sites, we can now do that.

  78. The Atlantic Monthly is another magazine, alongside Harper’s, that has decent to “good” non-fiction writing.

  79. Cornell West on style. There are other interviews on similar topic with him.

    I rarely get my world news from style magazines. They aren’t the proper source material made for it in my eyes. As others have said, I use GQ and Esquire as guides alongside dappered.com (my brother subscribes to GQ so I get that for free). I have no interest in Details. If I want world news it’ll go like this:

    Foreign Affairs (subscribe)
    Wilson Quarterly (subscribe)
    The Economist (peruse at book/magazine stand)
    American Scholar (individual purchase greatly depends on articles in each volume)

    Harper’s (non-fiction mostly)
    Atlantic Monthly (peruse at book/magazine stand)