Annual best-dressed lists often make little sense. That's because a whole lot of backroom politicking and planning go into them. So Esquire is once again asking you, dear reader, to decide upon our Best-Dressed Man of the Year. Last week, Hiddleston bested Goldblum. So it's onto round seven: Idris Elba vs. Mahershala Ali.
Note: voting is now closed
Celebrity was once a race track with defined lanes. Hollywood had the answers to E! reporters apparently "dying" over an outfit. Brits were a bit more awkward. But now, the lines are blurred. Like everything else, we blame iPhones for making us so global, connected and homogenous. Today's BAFTA nominees are well-versed in LA media training, and their American counterparts are all over West End stages. Some differences do remain, though, as encapsulated by the wardrobes of this week's Style Trial contenders: Idris Elba and Mahershala Ali.
Granted, both are charming. Awards shows love Ali. Reporters (and grime artists) love Elba. Their strain of menswear however, is decidedly different: where the former keeps it Hollywood A-list, the latter sticks to gear that wouldn't be out of place back home in Hackney.
Despite a year of endless red carpets (and a Met Gala invitation), little has changed in Elba's repertoire. We've still got the staple T-shirts. There's a red beanie now and again. Lest we forget, those fail-safe Wayfarers. Even at Anna Wintour's annual fancy dress party, the 47-year-old went bright on the dinner jacket, and kept the rest fairly classic.
All of which is at odds with style's new left-field lean. But it does confirm the truth in the old adage: find your uniform, and stick to it.
Although it doesn't really apply to Ali, who puts menswear in a big mixing bowl, then stirs in trends. For the Emmys, the Esquire cover star went for the shade du jour (forest green, by the way). At the Ermengildo Zegna show, he experimented with pink. He's even staked his claim as the kingpin of Cosa Nostra tailoring.
There is one shared detail, though: the high fashion beanie. Elba wears his like the local London geezer he is. Ali's is more 'Margaret Howell's personal barista' (which we assume he isn't).
So, who wins? Whoever you like. Just please don't vote with your passport. We're all global now.
