Marcel Floruss is one of the top men's fashion bloggers around - and he's about to give you a serious schooling in summer style.
To fill you in on the low-down - in 2011, the German native moved to New York to study fashion and soon after launched the blog One Dapper Street. His then-side project turned into a full time career, gaining him hundreds of thousands of followers and projects with everyone from Burberry to Topman.
"I was one of the first straight guys to do it [start a men’s fashion blog] so I think that was my niche at the time," he says jokingly - and modestly - of his success.
To celebrate Floruss' nomination for the Fashion Award at the Stylight Awards in Berlin, The Huffington Post UK caught up with him to chat all things style, blogging and the official announcement of his upcoming shoe line (yes, you heard it here first).
What are your top tips for aspiring men's fashion bloggers?
Primarily, one of the things that really helped me was finding someone who knows about photography - it's a huge part of it. I'm still trying to improve and change my photography and the quality of my content.
It’s also super important that you’re passionate about what you do. I love fashion from the bottom of my heart, as cheesy as that may sound. You need a reason other than money and free clothes, not that I don't appreciate that, but my real drive is to inspire people.
How can the average guy, who hasn't studied fashion, up his style game?
It can be hard to look at the final product [on a fashion Instagram or blog] if you don’t know where to start.
Try to develop an analytical eye for fashion. Not just looking at the whole outfit and thinking 'oh that looks cool' - really looking at it, wondering what makes it cool. How is he wearing his trousers - did he cuff them, are they baggy, are they tapered? You can get an eye for those things just by following people and looking at fashion you like every day.
It's also important that you don't inhibit yourself and try to be open minded. If you like a trend, just try it - it's only fashion, have some fun with it. When I was 15 I was wearing silver baggy jeans, so there's hope for everyone.
How do you decide what to wear in the morning?
I get inspired by my clothing. I mostly think about what I’m going to do for the day then I’ll start with one piece - a pair of shoes, a blazer or a pair of trousers - and build the outfit from there.
I'm also inspired by street style. In London I've noticed two very different movements - you've got the very Brit punk rock, Dr Martens and super skinny jeans with oversized tops, and then the Savile Row kind of guy who walks around in a magnificent suit. New York is less loud - across the pond people are a little more minimal with their style. It’s the city where black is the uniform.
What are your favourite trends for summer 2016?
Somewhat of a DIY approach, which is unusual as most guys tend not to touch the stuff they buy. I like cutting off the bottom of my jeans right now. I’ve been cuffing my trousers for years and that was my go-to, signature move - but now I just cut them so they still hit as high on the ankle.
Also white trousers - a lot of guys are afraid of pulling them off, but I really like them.
Any style 'rules' you think are made to be broken?
Someone in the street commented on my trousers today, ‘oh, look at those flood pants' from 'The Simpsons' [ed note: 'Everything's coming up Millhouse!'] because my trousers are so cropped.
I get called out for not wearing a belt with a suit. Technically, traditionally speaking your outfit isn’t complete until you have a belt on - but I disagree with that.
Also for not wearing socks with evening shoes and a suit. Sometimes there's something more modern and minimal to going without.
Where do you like to shop?
I like shopping in store, as opposed to online. I like trying things on and touching them - it’s part of the fun.
I shop anywhere from H&M, to Burberry. It's all about mixing high street with high end. In the UK I love Reiss, COS and The Kooples - it has that same rock 'n' roll aesthetic as Saint Laurent, but at a more affordable price point.
Any exciting new plans you'd like to tell us about?
I'm coming out with a shoe collection together with a blogger friend of mine Moti Ankari, it's called 'Ankari Floruss' - his last name and my last name.
The planned launch for the pre-sale website is 1 August. We're going direct to consumer - offering really great shoes made in Spain that would usually go for five or six hundred dollars, at about $250 (around £190).
It's a very minimal collection, seven pairs of shoes for seven days of the week -all you need!
