Содержание выпуска: October/November 2022 — Esquire

THE ONLY TIME I HELD A HANDGUN WAS AROUND MIDNIGHT ON September 5, 2004. A day earlier, one of my best friends, Brett Harman, had been murdered—shot dead by two brothers in a parking lot alongside another dear friend, Kevin McCann, at a tailgate in North Carolina. There was a disagreement, and the brothers returned armed and killed them. I spent the ensuing twenty-four hours with family and friends. But by Sunday night, I was alone at the bar across the street from my apartment in Chicago, closing it down with the bartender, Leo, a friend and an unofficial counselor to my roommates and me. He let me stay after closing, lights off and music low, for a nightcap. I’d confessed much to Leo over the years, but I didn’t tell…

GRENSON DIDN’T COIN THE phrase “boots on the ground,” but it may as well have. Through two world wars, the company made all manner of offcers’ shoes and marching boots—upwards of 2,000 pairs a week at some points—for servicemen from Britain and its allies. One of the brand’s cannier offerings during World War II was a fleece-lined flying boot whose leg parts could be zipped off and discarded to help a downed pilot keep one step ahead of the pursuing enemy. So if there’s a rather military demeanor to the Desmond lace-up boot, that’s no accident. The beefy derby—made in Rushden, near the English shoemaking center of Northampton—is a close descendant of the genuine army boots Grenson has produced at key moments in its 156-year history. The noticeably rounded toe…

I LIVE IN THE SAME COUNTY WHERE I GREW UP. SO when my family and I drive to the Oldham Theatre to see a movie, almost always a superhero movie, because it seems like there’s a new one every single week, it’s hard not to remember eating Jolly Ranchers in this same theater while watching Batman in 1989. My sons, 14 and nine, are sitting in the same chairs that I sat in when I was their age, and they have to hear me say, every single time we go to the theater, “You know, I saw my first Batman movie in this very same theater.” And they say, “Yes, god, we know. And you ate Jolly Ranchers from the concession stand.” And I say, “But not the Jolly Ranchers that…

Writing this story was hard. It’s personal—for me, but more so for the victims and their families, who have paid the ultimate cost. Which is why I’ve hesitated to write it. Observing from the front lines, then sharing what I saw—it makes me feel a bit like a fraud. Am I trespassing? Sharing sacred secrets that are not my stories to tell? I hope not. IT WAS 9:00 ON A HUMID NIGHT IN MAY, A TUESDAY, AND I HAD JUST FINISHED A FULL DAY’S work at a studio in Austin. I checked my phone for the first time since early that morning and found it flooded with emails, texts, and voicemails. “So sorry.” “Oh my God, Matthew, it’s so sickening what happened.” “Baby, I read the news, call me.” The…

Cartier Many of us yearn for the same few iconic watches because they say we are in the club. Often these are bigger watches, and identifiable from across the room. But some watches are recognizable precisely because they are tiny. Take the Cartier Tank, seen at left in a new black, steel version from the Tank Must collection. It takes a maverick spirit to rock a watch that small, that refined, that minimal. It worked for Ali, Warhol, and Delon. And who wouldn’t want to join that club? Cartier Tank Must, Large Model, $3,050; cartier.com Bulgari The legendary Roman house has been pushing the boundaries in watchmaking for a decade, breaking records and winning major prizes for ever more refined, super-thin watches—and even thinner movements. The centerpiece of that ongoing…

Don’t stop now—it keeps going on Esquire.com. HANGOVERS GET A BAD RAP. WE KNOW. IF YOU’VE GOTTEN THIS FAR IN the magazine, you’ve surely divined that we’re mildly hungover most of thetime. Peopletsk-tsk this. There is talk of us poisoning ourselves. They makemention of toxins. ¶ For crying out loud, spare us! A hangover is not a symptom. A hangover is a cure. It’s the absolute most effective antidote to the pressures ofa RISE & GRIND and HUSTLE HARDER world, an open invitation to do exactly what you want when you want to do it—which for us is to eat tacos for breakfast roughly thirty minutes from right now, because, my dude, we’re going back to sleep. ¶ We endorse the mild hangover because only then are you your truest self.…

I WAS STARTLED WHEN THE GUY WHIZZED past me in his matte-black BMW i8. He was gunning it down my street, all but leaving smoldering tire tracks like in Back to the Future and, perhaps most damningly, making the pavement vibrate to the new Drake album. My dander got all the way up, and I shouted it before I had time to think. Not “Hey!” Not “Slow down, asshole!” Not “Hey, this is a residential neighborhood full of kids and dogs and at least one family with a giant tortoise as a pet, but that’s a story for another time—slow down, asshole!” No. What came up from the depths of my soul was one perfect syllable, a single word that I yelled at a volume that startled me yet again and…

ESQ: Our political climate is so polarized these days. How do you think about political fiction now? GS: A story is a place where politics takes off its stiff clothing and puts on some pajamas. You suddenly see that politics always shows up in people’s lives. Fiction gives those people room to move around. But this is where the skill comes in, because if it’s just overt propaganda, fiction is very snobby about that. Even if the writer has strong political beliefs, it forces you to personify and particularize them. In that process, I’ve always found my political beliefs not exactly softening, but becoming more intelligent. They’re more empathetic and a little more patient. Reading a story that has an ostensibly political basis does the same thing. ESQ: Does setting…

AFTER THE CONSTANT churn of newness that’s dominated menswear the past few years—the sneakers, the streetwear, the endless influx of stuff—it’s no surprise we all want clothes that feel timetested. Suddenly the old-school is, well, fresh. Ralph Lauren was ready for this moment. The designer and his team have released a new assortment of styles this fall that takes the beating heart of the brand—Polo—and makes it even more Polo, delivering an upgraded and updated lineup of menswear classics. And to do that, the long-reigning arbiter of American style is looking to… Britain? Well, sure. Ralph’s always been about filtering influences—northeastern preppy, western workwear, and, yeah, British tailoring—through his idealized lens. And Polo, with all its tweedy suits and oxford shirts and cozy cardigans, leans heavily on the Brits for inspiration.…

I KNEW IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO RAISE MY STYLE game late last year, when my friend John asked me to officiate at his wedding. Attending a wedding is a good excuse to pick up a new suit, but for the officiant, there’s almost no excuse not to. I knew it would be a roomful of stylish people, so I wanted something that would give me confidence. I knew the pressure would be high, so I wanted something I’d be comfortable in. And I will level with you: I wanted to upstage the groom just enough. So I went searching. With each subsequent suit I tried on, I realized that love at first sight is absolutely real. Because it was the first suit I saw—the Soho, by Paul Smith, in…

WRITER, 67, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA __ I DON’T WEAR SOCKS except in January. __ MY FIRST REAL JOB was in a nursery, watering rosebushes for a dollar an hour. It was the most boring job in the world. But I was taught to be there promptly on time. Take the lunch break properly on time for thirty minutes. Work eight hours. Those are great lessons for a twelve-year-old kid. __ WHENEVER WE MOVED TO A NEW TOWN, our first stop was the local First Baptist Church to join. But the second stop was the local library to see how many books we could check out. __ MY FATHER WAS ALL FOR the Vietnam War. Gotta go fight the commies wherever you find them, you know? Well, as I got older and…

WHEN THE DREADLOCKED, FACE-TATTED ARTIST WITH THE RASPY voice and penchant for good-natured trolling broke big in 2017, many wrote Trippie Redd off as another big-talking quick hit in the mercurial world of young rap. Five years later—after a string of top-five albums, armfuls of platinum singles, and collaborations with giants including Drake, Lil Wayne, and his late friends the generational avatars XXXTentacion and Juice WRLD—Redd’s doubters have been silenced. At 23, he is a Gen Z music essential. Now he’s going back to the series that started it all: A Love Letter to You 5 is expected to drop in October. The anticipated final installment in his signature collection is not about one person but is instead “to everyone who opens it and listens,” Redd says, finishing up his…

THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA IS THE LAND OF ALLBIRDS sneakers, venture capital, work that feels like play—and a 16thcentury-style inn with leaded windows and a menu featuring liver and onions. Nonlocals would be forgiven for expecting sun and bikinis on a visit to Muir Beach, California, population 304, but meteorologically speaking it’s more like England than Santa Monica. Hence the genius of the Pelican Inn. The tavern is nestled in a foggy valley in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just down the road from craggy Muir Beach and a short drive from Muir Woods, with its centuries-old redwood trees. Try this: Explore the forest, hit the beach (fleece required), then retire to the Pelican Inn for a game of darts, a British ale, and a plate of fish-and-chips under…

SOMEDAY, SOCIETY WILL ADMIT how dirty it did George Costanza on the style front. That Gore-Tex puffer coat? Way ahead of its time. But let’s focus on another thing he was spot-on about: velvet. It should be socially acceptable to drape yourself in the stuff, as our style soothsayer longed for back in the day. You have to do it right, though. This fall and winter, that means taking something with no-fuss roots—like Boglioli’s riff on the field jacket—and doing it up in the luxe, lustrous fabric. The military influence will make it obvious you’re not going full Fop Mode, and the plush material will ensure no one mistakes you for Travis Bickle. Just avoid pairing it with velvet trousers. At least for now. We’re still catching up with Costanza.…

SILVER AND GOLD ARE GREAT AND all, but sometimes you want to tone it down—to accessorize with jewelry that catches only the keen eye. At times like these, reach for black rhodium. Unlike the rare precious metal in its original form—silvery white, with a high-octane sparkle—black rhodium is made artificially, via a process that transforms it into a color closer to gunmetal. You still get a sheen, but suddenly it feels subdued and smart. It also has a distinctly masculine edge that pairs perfectly with pieces like denim shirts and well-worn canvas jackets. So go ahead and pile it on. Wear a Cuban link necklace with a couple rings and, hell, a chain bracelet or two to boot. Because there’s nothing wrong with wanting to shine, but sometimes it’s even better…

IT’S A WATCH, SURE. BUT MY SEIKO IS MORE like a photograph than an object. It’s full of the best memories of the last chapter in my life before I had kids and responsibility and all that. But I don’t get bummed out when I look at it. Because I take it out and suddenly I can smell the beach and the surf wax. It’s like the watch makes it sunny. Its story starts with me getting laid off in New York. I was tired of the city, ready for something new. A colleague was working at a small agency in southern California and needed some help. I figured, Hell, I’m young. I should do this. It’ll be fun. So I did it. I had a few friends out there who…

there is still pleasure in these days occasionally. Now, for instance, Robert’s fingertips trace the bulge of my skull behind my crown, draw very slowly down my neck, over the raw skin, following tendon and taut muscle to the bumps of vertebrae between my shoulder blades. “That’s nice,” I say. He exhales. He starts again with the clippers. Over the whir, Robert says, “I always envied your hair.” I say, “I know,” because I do. Robert’s hair was thinning when I met him, cropped off (on my advice) by the time I moved in with him. My own hair has stuck around until today, though, not graying but losing color like an old photograph. “Hebridean hair,” we called it when we first bought the island and noted the way that…

IN THESE FRAGILE AND FRACTURED TIMES, TERRIBLE PEOPLE SEEK to do terrible things. We reel from one assault to the next, facing down a relentless barrage of devilry and depravity. But—give thanks—sometimes, just in time, the forces of good catch a break. Sometimes those we rely upon to protect us do manage to intervene. Sometimes the terrible people’s most terrible deeds are prevented from ever happening. ing or most exculpatory—more and more of this material was, incrementally, made public. And so, even though the judge would often rule to exclude from the forthcoming trial what had been quoted, by reading through hundreds of these documents I could submerge myself in the morass. TWO OF THE FIVE MEN IN A CAR HEADED TO WHITMER’S RESIDENCE THAT NIGHT WERE FBI INFORMANTS.…