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Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers.
MoreThe results of the unofficial year-long readers’ choice are in!
For some, poring over year-end statistics may seem like a tedious and pedantic activity. But for us, it’s fun and extremely insightful. Though we certainly have our own editorial agenda, HSS is a site that is written for you. And knowing what our audience responds to is of paramount importance.
After doing my research for this post, I can’t say that I’m terribly surprised about the content that registered and resonated most. The majority of our most popular posts are what you might expect. Simple, no nonsense advice and solutions to problems. In fact, most of HSS’s greatest hits from 2016 are filed under Required Reading.
No surprise there as we have always positioned ourselves as a website dedicated to creating honest, approachable and relatable content about men’s style.
The popularity of these articles also tells us that you continue to look to us as a trusted source for some of the most basic style-related questions. And that makes us feel great.
There were a couple of interesting surprises from our point of view, which goes to show us that the feedback we “think” we are getting on certain types of posts doesn’t necessarily reflect the reality of how an article actually performs.
So without further ado, here are He Spoke Style’s top 10 most popular posts of 2016.
10. 5 Pairs of Loafers To Wear This Summer
When we redesigned the website a little over a year ago, we also reevaluated and took very seriously the relevance and urgency of the type of content we were publishing and when it was being published. It was also brought to our attention during that time, that we possessed a sizable portfolio of original artwork that could be repackaged to illustrate something completely different. Foolishly, I didn’t think this would work at first. However, the popularity of this post (and many others like it) has welcomely proved me very wrong.
9. Trend Watch: Pitti Uomo
Though we regret never having been able to cover Pitti on the ground in Florence, we always enjoy perusing the photos from the biannual menswear trade show and meet up. In many respects, after seeing what street style has become, we’ll gladly continue to sit it out. And like watching sports on television, you often see more than if you were actually there, making trend-spotting a touch easier.
8. What To Wear With White Jeans
Like the summer loafers post above, this was a republished article that made use of content spanning the entirety of the site’s existence. This delights us in many ways. However, most importantly is that we are able to mine the style archives all the way back to the beginning and present something – an outfit – that doesn’t look dated and is still something you’d put on today. Classic is always in style.
7. Money Well Spent: An Alterations Price Guide
Seeing this post in the top 10 makes us feel really good. It tells us that not only are you interested in getting your clothes tailored, but that you’re actually searching out how much it costs to do so, which is the final step before the follow through. Maybe we’re getting close to being able to say, “Our work here is done!”
6. The HSS Guide To Dress Shirt Collars
2016 was the year that marked the creation of a series of important reference pieces for us. We felt strongly that the time had come to have these articles in our catalog for your benefit. In a way, it came about as a result of our New Year’s resolutions to keep it classic and basic. From a reader standpoint, we love how this article presents a solid and digestible overview while still allowing you to drill down deeper into each different collar type by clicking through to read each’s dedicated, in-depth piece.
5. The HSS Guide To Pant Breaks
The popularity of this article didn’t surprise us in the least. It’s timeless information that anyone deciding to take the time to develop their personal style will want to read. This shows us that while we certainly know we have the style adroit as readers, we’ve also got quite a few aspiring as well. And again, if approachable and relatable is one of our editorial goals, we’re doing it right.
4. Trends That Need To Die in 2016
No surprise here either. Our yearly “Trends We Hope Die” articles always seem to charm. I think there are two reasons for that. First, they’re practical guides. Who doesn’t want to know what to steer clear of in the New Year? Second, our presentation. People tend to think of fashion as serious. And, yes, it sometimes is. But there’s also something to be said for being able to laugh at something so serious and we’re glad that our mildly tongue-in-cheek voice in these posts continues to resonate.
3. At the Shows: 5 Trends To Wear Now
This was the shocker. Our fashion-specific and Fashion Week coverage always underperforms our expectations. Why? Well, people simply don’t care enough and there is often a huge disconnect between the “fashion world” and real life. Any time we choose to publish something fashion-related, our goal is to pull back the curtain and make it more approachable, yet that’s not been successful. But what do you guys want to know about when it comes to the shows? Trends!
2. How To Pack It: The Dress Shirt
These simple tutorials on folding clothes for travel were as fun to make as they were apparently useful. And a note to ourselves: while you should continue to strive to make perfect images for every post, images needn’t be perfect for a post to perform like a boss.
1. How To Pack It: The Blazer
I have to say that while knowing how to fold a shirt or a pair of pants to pack in a suitcase or duffle is good to know, knowing how to fold a blazer is perhaps most important which is why we’re not surprised this is our best performing post of 2016. Coming up in 2017, look for all of these in video form on the YouTube channel!
Thanks for reading (all year long).
Stylishly Yours,
Brian Sacawa
He Spoke Style
Photography by Rob McIver Photo
Brian Sacawa
Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers. Since 2013, his goal has remained the same: to provide men the advice and inspiration they need to dress well, develop their personal style, and gain more confidence. Brian’s interest and passion for men’s style and luxury watches has led to his writing for The Robb Report, The Rake, and Sotheby’s and he has been quoted on menswear in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Today.com, Brides Magazine, and the Huffington Post. He lives in the woods north of Baltimore with his wife, Robin, kitties Nick and Nora, and German Shepherd/Collie mix Charlie.
