Dressed To Ill

As long as I have known Rob he has sported a fantastic growth of facial hair.

Now, I have really only known Rob for about a year, since we met in the Blogger PROJECT at PROJECT Show. Let me describe him to you in two words 'Lexicon-ically Clever.' Though 'funny' may sit in place of 'clever' most of the time.

What you really should know about Dressed To Ill, or as he is affectionately known to many- Rob Mangano, is that he is all about style and fashion. Yes those words are often emotionally charged, 'fashion' and 'style.'

I honestly don't know how he would react to how I use them, but I do know that for a large number of people Rob is an inspiration for dressing well and grooming well.

Q1. What first interested you in men's fashion?

Rob. It's hard to really pinpoint why I love menswear. I've always been passionate about art and color more specifically. In high school, I was a painter, then I started to love photography. To me, fashion is just another form of expression. Whether it was walking through SoHo as a teenager, or sharing what I wear with likeminded people on social media, clothing connects people in my world.

Q2. How did that grow into you starting Dressed To Ill?

Rob. Aside from clothing and photography, my other passions include technology and journalism. That combination makes the path to starting a fashion blog almost inevitable. However, my goal was never to make a blog. It wasn't as if I thought I dressed better than anyone else and should create a blog, or anything like that. Instagram was the proving ground. As my following grew, the blog was the next natural step. The point of the blog has never been to tell anyone how to dress but rather just capturing what I was liking at that point in time. More of a fashion diary than a guide to dressing.

Q3. What is one great failure that you've had and what did you learn from it? Has it influenced the work you do today?

Rob. One time I wore a pink seersucker blazer. You could say that was a great failure. Seriously though, it took me awhile to understand the importance of connections in blogging. My resolution for 2015 is to make genuine friendships related to this field. From that, your growth potential is so much greater. That was kind of sparked by being able to meet the team from #bloggerproject. The failure of course is not seeing this sooner.

Q4. How much do you love coffee? You can demonstrate by holding your hands apart and saying 'this much.'

Rob. This much. I was thinking about coffee as it relates to my other passions. I was driving down the road on the way to a really great coffee shop and saw a sign at a gas station for 99 cent coffee. Undoubtedly, this is the same cheap coffee you can get on most corners. Nevertheless I drove for about an hour to get to the aforementioned coffee shop, skipping the gas station variety. For me, it was worth the 6 dollars and drive. There's nothing wrong with cheap coffee. But for me in life, and in what I wear, it's about taking the road less traveled. The smallest, unknown brand oft creates the best cup or the best designs.

Q5. Do you like snapchat? You have been using it quite a bit and it looks like you're having fun but is it a business move or social move?

Rob. Snapchat is an interesting medium that I've started to become involved with. I think in the blogging world you always look at new forms of media and how you can apply what you do in it. Instagram has become professional enough to the point that it's not as fun as it once was. Snapchat's immediacy make it unique but also uniquely challenging. I think we're all scratching the surface on what we can create on it, though I feel the same with Instagram too.