There’s no denying that Jon Caramanica knows his shit … specifically when it comes to music and shopping. As the man behind theNew York Times’ Critical Shopper column, Caramanica has documented his store visits in a smart and refreshing way. His first-hand accounts are anonymous, a little eccentric, and extremely honest, which explains why he has become one of the most trusted critics within the industry.
During the first-ever New York Fashion Week: Men’s, Nordstrom caught up with the celebrated writer to discuss everything from his column to the current menswear scene to which style writers you should be reading (one of which just so happens to be Complex deputy style editor, Jian DeLeon). But one of the most interesting parts of the interview had to be when he dished on the NYTime’s decision to implement an entire section dedicated to men’s style.
“At a certain point we’re covering enough fashion and have enough dedicated people–this was many years ago, obviously–to justify a standalone Thursday Styles section. So what does that reflect? The Times doubling down on style coverage means there’s journalistic value in that area,” he told Nordstrom. “We have industry reporting in that section, we have criticism in that section […] What happened in the last five years is more men care about fashion. Average spending is going up. Men care about watches. Men care about belts. Thousand-dollar sneakers. In a weird way, there’s too much content for Thursday. Friday Men’s Styles is only once a month, but it’s a way to put all that stuff in a package. These decisions aren’t taken lightly, if they thought there wasn’t an audience, they wouldn’t do it.”
You can read the article in its entirety at Nordstrom’s blog.
