Esquire USA – March 2023
English | 140 pages | pdf | 61.33 MB
Welcome to Esquire USA Magazine March 2023 Issue
MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF CHRIS PINE WAS that he smelled really, really good. There were top notes of rosemary, hints of patchouli, maybe a little musk. I met him last October at a Ralph Lauren show in L. A. No, I didn’t ask him why he had such an appealing aroma. That would’ve been weird, right? Instead, we talked about
his role in Don’t Worry Darling, his reading list, his new haircut, and his unique socks—more on those in a moment. I walked away from our conversation thinking (a) He sure does smell nice and (b) We should put this guy on the cover of Esquire.
Before we choose a cover subject, we ask ourselves two crucial questions: Why this person? and Why now? With Pine, the answers were obvious. To begin with, he’s one of Hollywood’s most interesting leading men—a guy who can helm a major franchise (Star Trek); star in Taylor Sheridan’s best film (Hell or High Water); and crack a few jokes at his own expense, which he does in his next project, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. And last year, he was the charming supporting character in the real-life drama that was the Don’t Worry Darling press tour. In other words, there’s a lot to discuss. Pine is also a style icon. He’s worn velvet blazers on the red carpet, striped pants and Gucci loafers during a stroll in L. A., and, once, a caftan in Capri. The writer Alex Pappademas, who spent two days with Pine in his home above Hollywood for our cover story (page 66), describes Pine’s most memorable fashion moments as looking “like the man cocaine makes you think you are.” How could we not put this guy on the cover of our March issue—the person who styled him for the shoot, by the way, is four-time Academy Award–winning costume designer Colleen Atwood—which is packed with style advice and inspiration?
Ultimately, Pine is an iconoclast; he seeks not to conform to the image others have of him but to create new ones. It’s an admirable quality that’s fitting for an issue devoted to style. The idea animating our fashion coverage this month is an escape from the trend cycle. When social-media platforms like TikTok are advancing a new fashion craze every week—see: gnomecore, coastal grandmother, Y2K—it can seem impossible to keep up. At its worst, this never-ending hype cycle around fashion causes people to simply opt out. To be complacent. To find contentment with the gym shorts, hoodies, and slides that became a pandemic uniform.
But there is a middle path. Men should pay attention to trends. The clothes you wear should evolve and adapt, though they shouldn’t exhaust or frustrate you. Clothing, at its best, inspires confidence—even, to borrow a self-help phrase of the moment, sparks joy. But you shouldn’t lose yourself in your clothes. They should make you feel more like yourself. The clothes you see in Esquire are meant to inspire you to find and hone your personal style. Steal our ideas, then make them your own. Be an iconoclast.
During my conversation with Pine, he mentioned that he’d recently begun monogramming his socks. He pulled up his pants slightly to reveal his initials around his ankle. It delighted him—his own small way of adding some quiet flair to a part of his wardrobe that is otherwise understated. Go ahead and steal that one if you like. —Michael Sebastian
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