Five Fits With: Alex Delany, Who Dresses Well (and Eats Even Better)
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
This week’s subject is Philadelphia-born, South Jersey-raised Alex Delany. You might know him from his time at Bon Appetite, or maybe from his social media presence. Me, I know him from a little further back, when we made friends over Tumblr during the golden age of menswear blogging. We’ve had countless conversations about the present, the future, personal relationships, clothing and menswear—you name it. So, having one on the record about his career trajectory and our shared passion for style was a welcome task. Naturally, we met over some wine and snacks at a new NYC favorite, St. Jardim.
“I grew up obsessed with skateboarding, spray-painting, art, design,” Alex begins when I tell him to explain what makes him who he is. “I basically loved everything around clothing, but didn't really understand fashion or style because I grew up in a fucking suburban town that didn't have anyone cool in it. I wore my Allen Iverson jersey, and that was that.” Below, we dive into his time at Bon Appetit, the numerous hats he currently wears for a living, personal style lessons, Thanksgiving tips, and plenty more.
Fit One
Coat by Document, suede shirt by Buck Mason, vintage shirt and polo, glasses by Eyevan, and shoes by Belgian shoes.
Tell me about your path to Bon Appetit and how that shaped your current career.
I went to school for graphic design and ended up getting an internship at Condé Nast at Details, may they rest in peace. That led to a job at Bon Appetit after I graduated. At the time, I was obsessed with craft beer. So I started having a reputation at the magazine as someone who had opinions about beer, and was asked to write a small thing for the website. Eventually, I was the drinks editor for the whole brand.
I left, and for the past three and a half years I’ve been doing everything else. Trying a bunch of literally anything: DJing, recording music, consulting for food brands, consulting for publications, pouring wine, teaching about wine, taking over bars, cooking. I wanted to explore food in other ways besides media.
I know you have specific neighborhood guides people can access, but off the top of the dome, give me your three current favorite spots in New York.
First, Txikito in Chelsea. I'm actually eating there tomorrow night. I'm very hyped on that. Really amazing Basque restaurant, really great wine list, really great cocktail list. Food's crazy. It's been around for a while, but it's still fucking awesome. I would say it's better than it's ever been right now. Next, Commerce Inn in the West Village. It’s the most underrated of the Via Carota empire’s group. Really good American food and the cocktails are awesome. The bar team there is one of the best in Manhattan. Last spot is S&P. If I could eat lunch in S&P every day, I would.
Fit Two
Vintage jacket by Polo Ralph Lauren, vest by Filson, shirt by Salvatore Piccolo, trousers by OrSlow, belt by Silver Ostrich, glasses by Eyevan, and shoes by Visvim.
What advice do you have for somebody who wants to get into wine but is intimidated by the idea of wine?
Drink wine with people that know more than you know. That is the easiest way to learn anything about anything. It could be wine, it could be clothes, it could be art, design—whatever. Drink wine and ask questions. That's really it. There's no secret. There's no ultimate hack that you learn. There's no way to obtain all the knowledge about wine. It's just about drinking wine with other people and talking about it.
When did you first become interested in clothing and style?
One: my dad wearing a suit to work every day. I realized, “Okay, clothes do different things for different occasions.” Obviously, I wasn't trying to wear a suit when I was in third grade, but you get it. Two: Watching skate videos and seeing different people who had very different styles wearing different things and being different, behaving in a different way, and realizing, “Wait a minute, the sneakers this person is wearing, or the T-shirt or the jeans or the weird-ass scarf indicates that there's something different about this person, or they behave in a different way, or they like a different thing.” It's like seeing someone put on a uniform to go do something in two different ways.
Do you have any style rules, or dos and don'ts in general?
One, disregard trends as much as you can. Your personal style is something that you're constantly working towards, and trends are just a way that brands try and sell you shit. The other thing is not comparing yourself to other people in the progress of getting to a personal style. Sure, take inspiration, but don't compare yourself to else. Style is about living and how you live in your clothes, how you live in what you wear. Take your time with it.
Fit Three
Jacket by Stein, suit by Drake's, vintage shirt, scarf by Kapital, glasses by Cubbits, and shoes by Morjas.
How about for eating dinner out at a restaurant or heading to an event?
Don't make a spectacle of yourself. Just enjoy your meal. If you want to take a photo, take a photo, but enjoy the meal and make sure other people are enjoying their meal too.
I meant in regard to clothing.
I don't think there are any particular style rules, but I will say that I think you should dress for the occasion. If you feel like you're going to eat at a place that's special to you or to other people, you should dress a little special. If you feel like you're drinking a Miller Lite at the bar, jeans and a T-shirt is fine. Paying attention to the occasion is really the only rule.
Any brands you're loving at the moment?
Document is a Korean brand that I really, really love. I think their outerwear is exceptional. The fabrics they work with are really cool. I love Stein, which is a Japanese brand. For shirting, I'm wearing Colbo. Those are homies. But that is a legitimate and truly respectful shout-out. They make amazing, beautiful clothing.
Fit Four
Coat by Document, jacket by Martelo Bespoke, shirt by Kiton, jeans by 3sixteen, belt by Silver Ostrich, vintage hat, and boots by Wythe.
What's the most recent thing you've purchased?
That Stein leather jacket. Excluding all of the wine that I buy every day.
Favorite thing to drink right now?
Pilsner.
Favorite song to listen to right now?
“Love Wars” by Womack & Womack.
Favorite thing to make at home right now?
A really easy turmeric, ginger, garlic, coconut curry with ramen noodles. Basically, make a little curry, add some peas, spinach, and sauté ramen noodles in it. Super easy. It takes like 20 minutes. Best weeknight dinner.
Let’s say you’re going to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving and you have to bring a dish. What would you bring?
The corniest phrase in food… I would bring a riff on a classic. I'm a squash maniac, so I would probably bring some kind of roasted squash, either delicata or honey nut, roasted with a little chili spice rub on it, and really good olive oil, and then make a salsa verde green sauce. Toast some pistachios, and top it with the green sauce and pistachios.
Fit Five
Sweater by Filson, shirt by Colbo, vintage pants by Polo Ralph Lauren, hat by Intramural, and shoes by Belgian Shoes.
You're into wine, you want to bring something interesting, but you don't want to bring something that is going to offend normal people. What wine would you bring?
I'll give you three. Ploussard, which is a grape that's grown in the Jura region of France. It’s lighter-bodied red grape, nice acid, nice fruit notes, a little brambly, but not too crazy, not tannic, pairs well with everything. A lights-out, laser-focused Chablis—classic white burgundy, but not woody Chardonnay. Chablis is all stainless steel, so it's nice, bright, acidic. It's not going to offend anyone. Everyone loves Chablis. If you don't, you're not drinking the right Chablis.
More broadly, bring something cool from a small American producer. It’s Thanksgiving. We're here. Try and drink some wine that's made by someone in our country that is growing grapes the right way and respecting the land that we are respecting, too.
If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
It would be some kind of vintage tee, heavily worn, probably with some kind of band on it. Not totally sure. Pleated, loose fit, wool trousers, brown leather Belgians, some kind of a wool-linen blend blazer, and a wool raglan coat.
You Might Also Like
