Darryl Lesure (Finding People)
Style for Comfortably Confident Men
Growing up, Sunday morning meant wearing your best vestments. For me and many others, that meant khakis and a blue button down. That had been, and to some degree, still often exists as the uniform of most traditional churches. As high school approached, I was able to make a few more decisions about my daily wear, where in my rebellion to the uniform of Sundays, I took a very different approach. Band tees, skinny jeans, vans, a chained wallet, and even a studded belt (I know, I wouldn’t have liked me in high school either). After having left my “it’s not a phase” phase, I’ve developed more of an eye for the well dressed. Oxford shirts, leather loafers, selvedge jeans, etc. Today, I’ve learned most of my style through studying others after many failed clothing experiments. One man I’ve only known to dress exceptionally well, has been Darryl Lesure, a true image consultant, and a good friend. I sat down with Darryl to talk his personal approach to style and how he found comfort in his confidence.
Who is Darryl?
So I’m a guy that grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Then I ended up coming to Atlanta for college, where I went to Morris Brown College and majored in hotel, restaurant, & tourism administration. I ended up getting my master's degree from Central Michigan in international business, but I've always worked in the restaurant industry or hospitality. I always kind of had this feeling, that I wanted to do something more. Just kind of in style, and the fashion side of life at some point. I was then fortunate to be able to do this when I got to Chick-fil-A. I led the apparel strategy there, so all the uniforms, all the clothes, everything, all the merchandise, all the stuff that people wear. I was able to have some hand in that, and make some decisions as it relates to the supply chain side as well. I left there July of last year (2023) after 25 years of leading that and supplier diversity. So that's kind of my thing. I enjoy running. I call myself a man of faith, and as a man of faith, I’d call myself a red-letter Christian. Whereas if you took the Bible, go to the New Testament, you see all the red letters. The red letters are the words of Christ. It's words about love, faith, hope, forgiveness, and all the stuff that people really need in today's times.
What are your fashion roots?
So believe it or not, a lot of it started just in Sunday church and getting dressed up. Then I kind of morphed into college, or actually took suits to college, because I had an internship and I had to dress up. Those were the days when it was formal dress. But you know, I started reading a lot of magazines, I was reading Esquire and GQ. Those were in the early days, in the early inception of when those magazines started to be published. I just thought it was really cool just to see guys dressed up, formally or informally. Then you grow up, you start working, and then you're able to afford to do some things and buy some things. So I really fell in love in the early days with Ralph Lauren, obviously an American icon, and then believe it or not, there was some streetwear. Some of that stuff was really cool, and so I kind of morphed between streetwear, and what I would call formal wear, suits and ties, but I really ended up hanging out in the suit and tie space. As times have evolved however, business casuals, is where I kind of hang out a little bit more too. Not so much in the streetwear, but still a little more casual fit.
How would you describe your style?
So I call it OTP. If you're in the Atlanta area, you understand what OTP is. We have ITP and OTP here, depending on where you are around the perimeter, but my OTP has nothing to do with either one of those. OTP stands for Occasion, Time, and Place. My style is really based on the occasion. What am I going to? What time of day is it? And, you know, what's the place? So I equate it to something like, I wouldn't wear a swimming trunk to a funeral. Nor would I wear a tuxedo to the pool. So I try to be mindful of the occasion, time, and place, so OTP.
There's this Italian term called sprezzatura. It's like effortless style. So that's kind of what I kind of categorize my style as. It's kind of like effortless. I'm not worried about my shirt fraying on the collar or getting a little hole in it or, a pair of white jeans getting dirty. A little patina, I think is perfectly fine. So my style is just effortless. Effortless casual or effortless formal depending on the occasion. Everything doesn't have to be perfect. I can have my tie crooked, and be just fine. I think what happens with a lot of guys is they put on a suit and they become an artifact in a museum. Like, “don't touch me.” They're just sort of stiff, but, I mean, you've got to wear your clothes. They've been made to wear. So if they get dirty, then go to a cleaner. Got a hole in them? Go get them re-patched. So I kind of consider my OTP as sprezzatura. So the occasion, time, and place with effortless style thrown in.
What are you trying to express when you throw on an outfit?
So what's the old saying? If you look good, you feel good. It's kind of your calling card, how you dress. It's your introduction before anybody even hears you open up your mouth. So what I'm trying to express a lot of days is just the joy of life, with the fulfillment of living. I put a lot of color with stuff, because it doesn't have to be all black. Of course there are some days where I have to do all black, but what I'm trying to express is just, “hey, I'm me” and be an individual. There's all these adages that go “you can buy fashion, but you can't buy style.” So, I am me. I've gotten into eyeglasses, so I got some crazy eyeglasses, but it's become who I am, and I’m happy. Some people will think clothes are very shallow, but nah, it's just clothes, but even the person who says it's shallow, has a style as well and they're conveying something. So I always want to convey for me, when I walk out of the house, I want to convey, regardless of maybe what's going on in the inside, I feel good about living, and hope that that can make someone else feel good.
What does a man need to be stylish?
Confidence. I kind of started my own styling consulting business and a part of my tagline is helping men feel comfortable and confident, but more so confident than comfortable. Because what I mean by that, is a lot of guys feel like in order for them to feel good, they gotta be comfortable, but where comfortability comes, is what I call no edge, or no swag. So it’s like, his pants are too big because they're roomy, and they make him feel too comfortable. There's a place and time for it, whether it's a hoodie or it's just something that's just so basic and simple. That sort blends in with everybody else, versus a guy who's confident and says, “you know what? I'm going to wear these yellow pants, this pink shirt, and tie a bandana, and you know what? I'm going to walk out of here, out of this house or wherever I am, and I'm going to kick ass in how I look.” Confident, not comfortable.
Most overlooked piece in a wardrobe?
The belt. I think the belt has a lot to say. So, for me it's details. You can have a really nice suit or obviously people talk about your shoes, but I think the belt adds a lot, yet it gets unmentioned. Even if it's a belt that you wear every day, I'm all about buying the best belt. You know, like a leather belt. As you build a wardrobe, you're going to have different colors. Different shades of brown, or even different shades of black, but I think the belt is the thing that's most overlooked in that.
What’s something you can’t leave home without?
My watch. I've been fortunate. I’ve got some pretty decent watches. Some of them are basic, and some are a bit more expensive, but it's my watch that I can’t leave without. I want a basic watch, not one of those computers on your arm. One that simply tells time, that's something I'm not going to leave home without. The watch kind of goes with whatever I'm wearing. I've got different watches for different outfits. The first nice, or what I would call, luxury watch, that I ever got was during my fifth year working at Chick-fil-A. I bought an Air King Rolex. It was pre-owned. I saved for that for a good while and I was able to get it, and man, the thing is just beautiful. It's got a small face to it, and it's stainless steel, but I love it.
What are your go-to brands in Atlanta?
Obviously Sid Mashburn. I would also go to visit Luis at Tough Boot & Co. Jason Geter at Heavy Market. I’m sure everybody knows Kwassi at Moda404 in Buckhead, but that's usually it for the menswear. There's a few new guys coming up, like the guys at Guilty Party, but my go-to are the guys I mentioned before.
Fashion accounts that inspire you?
Oh my gosh, there's tons of them. So, I've really gotten into Japanese accounts and Italian accounts, but I just scrolled throughout the day. Obviously I look at the Pitti account. There's a guy in New York, Langleyseye, and he's all about standing on the street and just like filming people while stopping them, and talking to them. You'll see some amazing style. I don't know if I mentioned Yugi, who has Blue in Green in New York. They'll do some great stuff. No Chaser Magazine, WM Brown, and Permanent Style, I'm also watching those guys. I look at a lot of British tailoring as well.
An area in life, that people could dress better in?
The area, I think, that I just get so disappointed, is travel. The airport. The airplane. I mean, the airplane is not your second bed. Sometimes it looks like they came right out of bed to the airport with no thought. I think a lot of times, about how you dress exudes and presents a certain response you'll get from customer service. I don't wear flip-flops on a plane. I barely wear flip-flops unless I'm at the beach. Occasion, time, and place. That's an area, I think, that people just don't pay enough attention to. Your t-shirt doesn't have to be nasty, just for you to be comfortable. To do better, I think guys just need some really, what I would call, the staples. A few pairs of good khakis in different colors. I always say khaki brown is good. A pair of white jeans, a pair of dark denim, and always a big oxford blue shirt, and white shirt. Then, you know, buy yourself a good blue blazer. Buy yourself a good over-shirt. There's a lot of, what we call now, guys wearing kind of car coats or the over shirts with buttons. Get some staples like that. As it relates to shoes, a good pair of, what I would call, just suede loafers. Don't wear athletic sneakers, but man, get a good pair of Converse.
Style hacks?
I think the French tuck doesn't get enough credit. For a dude that can do a French tuck shirt, I think it’s something incredible. For the pants, wear pants that are at a good length. I think some guys wear their pants too long. Then there's also guys who wear them way too short as well. I think you gotta figure out what works based upon your height, or based upon your weight. If you’re gonna wear a suit, make sure it fits. Everything's kind of gone tight, and now we are slowly, because menswear is at this glacial speed of trying to change, getting a little looser. So make sure your clothes fit right, as simple as that is.
Don’t expect to easily find a photo of me from high school. I’ve done my best to destroy most of them. Though, some still exist.