- Blog: Street Etiquette
- Niche: Men’s Fashion/Style
- Founders: Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs
- Twitter: @StreetEtiquette
There’s a distinct difference between fashion and style. While some people merely wear clothes, there are those who allow their garments to express themselves in a way that would not work on just anyone. The latter is the mantra of longtime friends Joshua Kissi, 23, and Travis Gumbs, 22. Hailing from the Bronx, NY, the pair funneled their personal flair and eye for detail into a succinct corner of the web dubbed Street Etiquette. Founded in 2008, the style blog has grown from a simple outlet for Kissi and Gumbs to express their vision for the reimagining of men’s fashion into a digital hub that attracts almost 500,000 visitors a month. It’s not just casual fashion (or is it style?) enthusiasts, industry giants ranging from Vogue Paris and GQ to The London Times and The New York Times, among others, have taken note. Now, the fashion-forward renaissance men are recognized as part of BlackEnterprise.com‘s Black Blogger Month.
We started blogging…
Due to the boredom of school and [being] curious in discovering the non-systematic ways of living. The Internet served as a virtual passport, as we had the opportunity to connect with people all over the world.
Street Etiquette stands out because…
In the world where human interaction and expression are very common in the digital world aka blogging, the next task is distinguishing yourself from everyone else doing the same. We have always stuck to our guns as far quality over quantity and our supporters have respected our art of posting. We have always strived to create an experience with any content we do post on our website. Projects/editorials such as Black Ivy, Sartorial Sounds and more recently CROWNED were all produced with the notion of giving people much more than the usual.
Street Etiquette is defined as something…
Bigger than us. It includes the likes of friends who share the same vein of inspiration and culture as we do ala editorial like Black Ivy, which once again was 25 individuals all varying in occupations from photographers, teachers, singers, stylist, mentors… All taking part in an idea that they all felt deeply passionate about.
The biggest misconception about men’s fashion has to do with…
Its confusion for “style.†Fashion can be viewed as what we see on the runway and shows every six months or so, but style is what you do between those times.
The one fashion style we wish would go away is…
None at all. Everything is totally necessary to an extent to be acted upon, or in response to. For example, as human beings various visual expressions such as fashion act as reference marks as to what you would attempt or what you wouldn’t attempt. To [us], in a cyclical sense, everything is totally necessary.
People trust our brand because…
Brands more than ever are very personal with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and others around. Customers/consumers can now honestly comment on your brand in real time
and everyone holds some sort of influence, whether it is their followers or their friends viewing their Facebook timelines. And the website/blog is the speaker box as to what we’re doing currently or what we are inspired by. Indirectly we have created a culture based around clothing at first, but as time passed each post contributed to a larger much potent message other than “dressing better†but “living better†in all facets of life.Click here to continue reading…
We realized blogging was a business when…
We were featured in GQ magazine for the first time. What started out as a hobby for two high school friends quickly morphed into lucrative opportunities. We learned in order to truly succeed in business there were rules and knowledge to be applied but also coming from a digital space, which was a sovereign plateau, there was a lot of room for new growth, ideas and principles to intertwine with all of it.
Our fan base is loyal to the brand because…
We like to think everything came with time. We started the website in 2008 and even before that bench park were still active on the Internet. As far as loyalty goes–with the Internet acting as an ultra transparent tube–everything can be viewed as interpersonal; our readers and supporters truly feel like they “know†us. Even when stopped on the street people reference on everything from articles to tweets we may have tweeted a few days ago. The idea currently is that connectivity is at an all-time high; the complex things are now paraphrased for the world to read and interpret.
Networking is important in the digital space because…
It is vital to network in the digital space. The great thing is every one of us takes part in this involuntarily whether we have a business to promote or not. On the most basic level your very own Facebook page would be viewed as a networking connector as we build lists of people from friends and connect with new people we meet everyday. Now when you represent a brand you have to take part in all different channels of social media to get in contact with the right pieces of the network to build with.
One of the cons of blogging is…
That it is such a vast world that your content can lose the same intimacy and romanticism that we experience in real life. It’s the reason why magazines can truly never go out of business; it’s those pages, licking your fingers to turn the next page, touching the cover and the connectivity between these meaningful elements.
The biggest lesson we learned about branding in the digital space is…
To be “yourself.†Since our brand works off of our personality/style/lifestyle/culture, the best thing that can work for us is being totally relatable to the everyday person in some way. It just works to our benefit to be the opposite of the cubicle corporate stiff brand, just as our style expresses, we want to display life, colors and culture in all facets of the brand.
The true measure of success is…
Not only by your brand’s profit, but also how many lives did you inspire/touch with your brand/business. Money is a controlled variable susceptible to change with time, but inspiring someone’s life is something people truly cherish for a lifetime and pass on to others. To be noted as a positive force in a historical sense is very important to us. Society, since the beginning of time, has been about credit, references, and who did what first and we would love to be known as a historical benchmark that changed things for the better many years from now stemming from creativity and ideas.
In business you should never be afraid to…
Try new things that make you uncomfortable–that feeling is there for a reason. The ideal situation is to be at discomforted comfort.
Next on the horizon for us is…
We want to continue to build our brand/business in ways that feel organic to us. Everything from products, films and books to mentoring programs here in the Bronx, we’re just looking forward to a fruitful journey.
Be sure to check out the rest of the digital thought leaders as they’re revealed each day by logging on to BlackEnterprise.com/BlackBloggerMonth.