Are you America's 'Best Dressed Real Man in America'? Prove it!

It's no April Fool's joke -- there are just 27 more days left to enter Esquire's annual "Best Dressed RealMan in America" contest, which hopes to find an average joe with an above-average style profile. The winner gets a $30,000 prize package, which includes a year's supply of Nivea for Men products, a $10,000 Kenneth Cole wardrobe, an IWC Schaffhausen watch and a trip to the New York Fashion Week shows.

The contest, now in its fifth year, is easier to enter than ever (as West Coast editor of DNR magazine, I was a judge of the L.A. leg of the search, at which contestants had to strut their stuff on the runway). Just register at www.esquirebdrm.com by April 27, upload a minimum of three photos (including a close-up, a face-and-torso shot and a full-body shot) and complete a personal style quiz.

This year Esquire added a fun interactive element -- contestants can link their completed profiles to their Facebook pages, so friends can follow the fun.

On May 1, 25 semi-finalists will be revealed on the website, where readers can vote for their favorite. Esquire's editors will choose four more fellows and the final five will travel to New York City for a photo shoot with the magazine's fashion director Nick Sullivan that will appear in the September style issue.

The ultimate winner will be announced on NBC's "Today" show in September. Last year's winner was Kenyatte Nelson from Cincinatti, and in 2007 local boutique owner Jonathan Kanarek (who also appeared in my story about the young turks of Freemasonry) as one of the top five finalists. Come on, stylish men of Los Angeles -- register now and let's bring the glory home to the Southland!
-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Kenyatte Nelson, far right, winner of the 2008 "Best Dressed Real Man in America" contest. Credit: Esquire

Thumbs up for Esquire's new 'Handbook of Style'

Before I left for Milan to cover the Fall/Winter 2009-10 men's collections, a compact, cloth-bound book crossed my desk. The stitched-on purple label identified it as "The Handbook of Style: A Man's Guide to Looking Good," from the editors of Esquire magazine. I almost shelved it with my ever-growing collection of men"s "how not to dress like you need a book to tell you how to dress" manuals without even giving it a thought.

But when I saw that the first two sentences in the entire book were: "We hate to be told what to do. It's part of being a man." I was hooked. And besides, I'd be spending the better part of the next week sitting on folding chairs all over Europe next to one of the authors -- Esquire's fashion director Nick Sullivan -- so a little conversation starter couldn't hurt.

It does cover a lot of the same ground as every other man's manual on the market, things like how to tie a bow tie (page 150), the four essential suits every man needs (page 22) and the only five terms to use with your barber  (page 174). But two things set this cheeky tome apart from other guys' guides: First, it includes history, context and terminology, not just explaining the difference between fused and canvased suit jackets but why it matters, defining things like "boiled-wool mittens" and deciphering hieroglyphic laundry care labels.
Second, it commits to print many of the incredibly helpful "why didn't I think of that" flashes of genius that make our lives easier. One that