AFROKLECTIC:Street Etiquette

I have written about African female bloggers time and time again, and never really jumped onto the male side for some reason. For today, I am telling you about two guys who are at the top of my bloggers list.

Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs of Street Etiquette.

These boys are in a creative class of their own and are topping that class. Their job titles include blogger, photographer, stylist and writer. If being wise was a profession, I would add ‘wise men’ to their job titles as well. The two guys have channeled their thoughts and creativity into a blog which has become a hub overflowing with inspiration and creativity.

Street Etiquette was founded by Kissi and Gumbs in 2008. Their mission was to create a men’s style blog with an urban perspective. They have since been featured in magazines such as GQ and Complex, been labelled as the Best Men’s style blog by UK’s The Guardian and named amongst the ’40 Bloggers Who Really Count’ by the London Times. Their projects list is endless with a shoe collaboration with Del-Toro, a photographic journal through Brazil, portrait series about personal hair style titled ‘Crowned‘, a film with musician Jesse Boykins, and the list goes on.

I think their work goes beyond creativity. A New York Times article about the boys sums up the essence of what the boys are doing in it’s title − ‘Pushing the boundaries of Black Style‘. They have brought in a fresh and positive element to ‘Black Style’ with suave, sophistication and creativity.

There are African guys I know in Sydney who I have watched emulate the Street Etiquette kind of flow with doses of their personality. I think it’s absolutely amazing because they are tapping into something new in our circle. Before it was the girls who fussed over fashion and sometimes creativity, but now it’s the guys who are stepping up with photography projects on instagram, videos and style posts on tumblr. Street Etiquette has paved the way for the guys in our community to express their creativity openly rather than in the closet!