So, what's Derby Street? A blog dedicated to style (and health and grooming and manners) for men. Not fashion, but style. Fashion is for posers. Style is classic and eternal. My generation (what are we called these days? Gen-X? Nobody seems to talk about us anymore, as a generation, maybe we are the Forgotten Generation) took the Baby-Boomers credo a little too far, I think, and we have all suffered from a lack of sophistication and grace since the Summer of Love and its ultimate conclusion at Altamont.

We all know that the only proven cure for hippie-itis is a good dose of Slayer, but perhaps the tempering of effects of style and class are a better remedy for most any counter culture infestation.

 What am I saying here? That counter culture is bad? That you should give up and join 'the man'? Hardly. But I think its time to bring back the gentleman, at least a little bit. Henry Rollins is still my hero, but that doesn't mean I necessarily want to dress like him or talk like him all the time (ok, maybe I do want to speak like him.. but that's kind of different, isn't it?).

 We could all be better men, couldn't we? That's the heart of this here. Being better men: dressing better (and knowing how and why), living better, treating ourselves and others better.

So why: Derby Street? Because the first pair of shoes I ever absolutely had to have was a pair of black leather derbys (pretty sure they were not the Allen Edmonds' Leeds Derby that illustrates this article, but they were close). Of course, I didn't know what they were at the time (I was 4), but when I saw them... I was hooked forever. It took me another 15 years to get my first pair, and it took me even longer to learn how and when to wear them. You're going to see a lot of footwear advice here, but I promise to temper my passion with other, informative stuff.