The Trouble with Hyperbole (and GQ’s March Style “Bible”)

In an era of twitter and ever-declining attention spans, an increasingly-frequent tendency  is to adopt generic, over-the-top shorthand to describe a relatively ordinary event.  If everything is a “game-changer,” nothing is. When CNN suggests “breaking news” is happening 12  hours a day, it’s easy to tune out.  So it is with GQ’s March “Style Bible,” which might more accurately be described as a style pamphlet.

Their anchor is the “GQ 100,” sixteen pages of mostly-pithy style tips, including “a piece of ageless advice” from Tom Ford to “keep your jacket buttoned.  Always.” Thanks guys. Numbers 53-68 are simply pictures of shoes.

GQ also has made a habit of drawing readers (this reader in particular) in with stellar covers — in this case three, featuring Drake, John Slattery (pictured) and Dave Franko in killer professional get-ups featuring suits from Gucci, Emporio Armani and Boss Black respectively — and then littering the inside content with white jeans, suits worn with sneakers and camouflage lace-ups.  There is nothing in the August cover set-up that suggests their fascination with “dusty pastel” suits (No. 3 on the GQ 100) or sneaker boots finishing a cotton suit (No. 4).

In short, I agree with Glen at the Gentlemen’s Standard.