Jacob Interviews….Midwest Dressed’s Nick Longsfeld

Fashion.  When most men think of that word, they think of Paris fashion shows or their girlfriend or spouse’s collection of dresses, make-up and shoes.    Most men also would rather watch a College Basketball game than go find a new suit.  But Midwest Dressed’s Content Producer Nick Longsfeld wants to change all that.

He sat down for an exclusive interview with jacobelyacharjournalist.com to talk about his blog, the biggest fashion mistakes men make and why men’s fashion has a hard time getting noticed in the mainstream media.

Jacob Elyachar: Why did you get interested in men’s fashion?

Nick Longsfeld:  Through high school and undergrad in college, I was not that interested in clothing or fashion in general.   I wore whatever was in my dorm.  But when I started dating, the person I dated started to influence what I wore.  After listening to several pieces of fashion advice from her,  I decided that I wanted to dress nicer for her.   So I began to look up men’s fashion blogs to look for influence so I could dress and look better.  Overtime, I began getting interested in the fashion blogs and would read them everyday and ultimately I decided that I felt that I had a pretty good grasp of their fashion advice and a lot of people continued to compliment me on how I dress and I felt that maybe there was something I can do and offer my perspective on things and joined that world.

JE: What inspired you to create your blog?

NL:  I actually have a friend who started her own blog through Blogger and she started her blog that eventually turned it into real opportunities such as guest writing spots on other blogs and possible job opportunities.  I thought about writing my own fashion blog.   After thinking about what I wanted to write about, I decide to pin down some of the stuff I have thought about and if it goes somewhere great, if not it is no loss for me and it is free and it is something that I enjoy doing anyways.

JE: In your opinion, what are some of the biggest fashion mistakes that men make?

NL:  I think that the biggest one and this is a very broad generalization is not caring.  In my opinion, I think a lot of guys are turned off by the word “fashion” because they feel that it is not macho or masculine and they see girls worried about fashion and they don’t want to be like that, they want to be the antithesis of that.   To dress well and to look good is not only beneficial but you will look better and feel better about yourself but it is also not hard.

You can have a simple wardrobe with a few very basic things that you can piece together into multiple different outfits that will look well and complement your body.  For a lot of guys to just say: “I’ll just wear whatever is comfortable is not really an excuse anymore.”  So many companies and designers are making things that are about functionality and masculine in how they look.  To me, there is no excuse to get out of the house in a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt.   You have to look in the mirror and present yourself to the world in a better way.

JE: In your opinion, what are some of the fashion successes that you started to notice?

NL:  I think it really depends on the person but you can definitely tell when a person starts cleaning up their act.  Maybe having a sharper haircut, dressing better and looking sharper.  I think that the turning point for a lot of guys is when someone else notices and complements them and they make a mental note and if they are not doing that…they should.

JE: Why do you think men’s fashion has had a hard time being successful in mainstream media?

NL: The biggest reason that I mentioned was the word “fashion.”  It draws into interest femininity and I feel that a lot of guys are so worried about that women are looking into fashion constantly and that is a big industry for women that guys almost say: “We are not women, we have to be different and cannot care about fashion.”   That’s why industry insiders refer it to men’s wear rather than actual fashion and both designers and companies are trying to make a push because in the most part, you are seeing people dressing better, looking better and caring about themselves.

JE: Do you have advice for fashion bloggers?

NL:  I guess in general is just find your niche market.  There is so much stuff available on the Internet, you’re best goal is to tap into a subset of people who kind of have their own independent culture and use that to your advantage.  There are tons of fashion blogs out there and a lot of them are sites are much better and a lot of them are legitimate companies so you could buy immediately what they are talking about.

I am trying to be a stepping-stone from someone who wants to make that shift and that jump but they aren’t comfortable going the 100-percent right now and they just don’t know where to start, so I am trying to be that accessible version.   My biggest advice is to find what no one else is doing and try to make your stamp on that.

To read Nick’s blog, click here: http://midwest-dressed.blogspot.com/ and to follow him on Facebook, click here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Midwest-Dressed/206750919422634