Step aside, Cary Grant and Steve McQueen: Our hunt for a new men’s style icon

Why do all our menswear idols come from the pre- mobile phone era? Our writer went searching for new names. It didn’t exactly go to plan.

Devin Booker of the NBA Phoenix Suns team is seen in Hudson Yards in New York in April. Picture: Getty Images

If I had a nickel for every time a Wall Street Journal reader cited Cary Grant as a men’s style inspiration, I would have long ago fled my “cosy” apartment and the communal washing machine that only works when you kick it three times and whisper the Lord’s Prayer.

“Pretty sure Cary Grant wouldn’t carry one,” a reader commented on a recent article about large bags. In response to a piece on grungy fashion, another quipped, “Cary Grant rolls in his grave”. My eyes rolled in their sockets behind a pair of flimsy, modern glasses Grant would have loathed.

Menswear brands and stylists, too, fill moodboards with cool cats from the pre-mobile phone age. Chief among them: Grant, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, a trio a former colleague of mine dubbed “the Mount Rushmore” of style icons.

Personally, I’m hungry for fresh idols! A-listers who can usher me through current trends and dare me to try a new jacket. Folks familiar with the distinctly modern thrill of trying to make athleisure chinos look not-heinous.

I went searching for a definitive list of contenders, and quickly hit a wall. My little jaunt turned into a Lord of the Rings-style epic.

Austin Butler speaks onstage during CinemaCon 2022. Picture: Getty Images

The issue: Today, few stars craft their own looks. Most celebrities now work with stylists constantly, says Brendon Babenzien, men’s creative director at J.Crew and co-founder of menswear brand Noah. On and off the red carpet, many are plonked, like Ken dolls, arms up, into ready-made outfits. And many stylists’ choices tend to be “shaped less by individuality and more by brand partnerships and trend cycles” says Chris Olberding, president of shirtmaker Gitman.

Still, some stars’ personal style shines through, either by their own design or as nurtured by better stylists. And let’s not forget movie and TV characters can also make fine style idols, especially when thoughtfully outfitted to resemble cooler, suaver versions of everyday people.

I asked more than 30 fashionable folks for their pick of idol-worthy current celebs and screen protagonists. Only about half could think of deserving nominees.

What makes a style icon? For one, an ease about their clothes that suggests they could sleep in them. For another, a hint of whimsy or something else “interesting or personal”, according to Emilie Hawtin, brand consultant, editor and founder of tailoring brand Clementina. True icons’ outfits have “sauce”, as menswear content creator Xander Torres describes the X factor.

The celebrities

Not every icon must compel you to dress in their image. Haran Ravindran, a dapper Atlanta physician, admires the daring style of Bollywood star Ranveer Singh, whose silk shirts and heeled boots make headlines. “I’m not like, ‘I should wear his look tomorrow when I go to the plant store’,” says Ravindran, 44. “But as I’m getting older, I appreciate people who put on clothes that help them feel more like themselves and bring them joy.”

Many, including stylist Edward Bowleg III, hailed Tom Ford as the king of classic formal wear. Equally popular but more flamboyant: Colman Domingo. The 55-year-old actor combines precise, dramatic tailoring with lustrous fabrics.

Hawtin and others appreciate Austin Butler’s knack for making preppy and Americana staples feel modern. In a much-cited outfit, the actor wears a double-breasted, gold-buttoned navy blazer open with a denim shirt, lean jeans and boots. Three undone shirt buttons read flirty, but he’s not serving his pecs on a platter. Nicolas Gabard, founder of Paris tailoring brand Husbands, called the sleek look – a nod to Ralph Lauren – “just right”. And any guy could nail it (probably with just two buttons undone, depending on how many martinis he’s drained). Personal stylist Patrick Kenger says many guys mistakenly think they can only take cues from celebs with bodies like theirs. I could have kissed him: I had no desire to limit my search to actors whose torsos, like mine, resemble stretched Laffy Taffy.

Ranveer Singh attends the Ruffles Celebrity Game during the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend. Picture: Getty Images

Colman Domingo attends the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on February 07, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

Still, a cautionary tale: After Bowleg sent me a snap of his favourite A$AP Rocky outfit, I tried to replicate the athletic-looking rapper’s elegant combo of a short, boxy navy cardigan and black pants. I found a dead-ringer cardi in a New York store. But the blue knit drowned my frame, its bulk awkwardly emphasising my skinny neck and small head. My partner said I resembled “a golf tee poking out the top of a blueberry”. In the end, I chose a safer, more streamlined sweater for an outfit that’s the cousin, not the twin, of Rocky’s. I was reminded how great navy and black, an often-derided pairing, can look.

In short, physiques do matter because clothes hang differently on different builds. But you can take styling notes – on colours, combos, shoes, overall vibe – from anyone.

The most-nominated celeb? Jeremy Allen White. A dressed-down deity, the actor is an inspiration to anyone who hates ironing. After a deep dive into Google images of “Jeremy Allen White buying flowers” (the man loves a farmers market), I felt a primal urge to layer my tees like a skater and run over all my ball caps with a tractor. The 34-year-old swaggers in jackets and hats that appear to have barely survived a nuclear blast. “That, to me, is the most closely related to a Paul Newman on a dirt bike or a Steve McQueen in a desert race, dressed down on their day off but looking good,” says Babenzien. White’s ensembles may read easy, but Hawtin underscored his skill at dressing for his body. His tees and polos often appear slightly cropped, or he’ll tuck them in, which suits his shorter frame. And their trim (not tight) fit shows off his enviable biceps.

The TV characters

White smoulders on-screen, too. Carmy Berzatto, the fiery chef he played on The Bear, made guys gaga for handsome workwear, such as patchwork jackets and heavyweight tees. Like James Dean and his red-jacketed “Rebel”, White has become inextricably linked with his character’s look. “So much of fashion feels unattainable, and characters like Carmy and people like Jeremy Allen White make it feel like anybody can engage with it,” says Torres.

Kenger finds screen characters often beat real-life celebs as references because their style “stays relatively static – it’s easier to get a sense of what you could wear day to day”. If I were an executive in need of a makeover, or had a wedding looming, I’d study Matt Remick, Seth Rogen’s character in comedy series The Studio. A Hollywood bigwig, Remick is as suave as he is useless. His wide-lapelled tobacco suits and rust-red shirts come off sharp, retro-cool, yet still fresh.

Jeremy Allen White is seen on April 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Picture: Getty Images

Chris Echevarria, founder of menswear brand Blackstock & Weber, turned me on to the “incredible” style of secret agent John Smith (Donald Glover) on Mr & Mrs Smith. He called it “clean, but with character”. GQ called it “aspirational millennial dressing”. After bingeing the spy series, I call it “clothes I need immediately because I now hate my boring wardrobe”. (Ironically, costume designer Madeline Weeks has said she looked to ’70s idols such as Robert Redford, practically a Mount Rushmore icon.)

I nicked bits of Smith’s slyly sexy style. I layered a shorter and a longer chain necklace. Inspired by a get-up he sports to track down kidnappers in the Dolomites, I wore a cream turtleneck under a striped sweater to track down self-raising flour at Wegmans. His hunter-green leather jacket had me seeing cartoon hearts. That Celine model can go for almost $US3000 ($4600) on resale site Grailed. In search of a cheaper version, I tried on a $US1000-ish dark-olive take at jacket specialist Schott NYC.

“I wouldn’t expect to see you in this, but it looks good,” says my partner, who was on his best behaviour post-Blueberrygate but did seem genuinely impressed. It’s true: I would never have picked this out before. And I liked how it looked. I guess I’m now a green leather jacket guy? That’s what a new style icon can do to you.

The Wall Street Journal