Men and Fashion: Is there No Middle Ground?

Men and fashion. What a conundrum. My fashionable male friends from the Big Apple. My L.L. Bean-clad male friends from New England. (as for you guys in Miami, I’m not going there). Is there no middle ground? And, when it comes to jewelry, the wildly different tastes is even greater. In our New York office, Todd rocks his Exhibitionist ring. In the sleepy RI beach town where I’ve been staying of late, men lean toward heavy chains and, uh, are those class rings?

The disparity between the two worlds has been on my brain lately (I suppose as part of the whole culture shock of living somewhere beyond the Big Apple for the first time in a decade). So, when I received a press release today from BBG (Be Better Guys), I was intrigued. I don’t know if everyone else but me knows about this site, but it’s written by two local television personalities in Washington, D.C. They’re expanding their reach–and their target is that elusive 18-34 male demographic–so I was curious to see what they’re telling guys out there (I mean, out here) beyond the city limits of New York.

While I can’t say that I necessarily agree with their advice on jewelry, it is an interesting site. The good news is that they do recommend "always go for the finest quality you can afford". The bad news is they advise against any rings but wedding bands and necklaces in general. While more fashion-forward than the heavy-chain-and-class-ring look, I suppose, the minimalist mindset of these "better guys" makes me think that men’s jewelry designers need some better publicists.