Edgy Albert Is the New Voice of Style on Social Media
Here is a simple fact about Albert Muzquiz: He owns an impressive array of vintage pieces and curated basics. The guy looks like he robbed Marlon Brando’s closet—young 1950s Brando, to be clear. Over the last couple of years, Muzquiz’s popularity exploded on TikTok and Instagram, particularly among fans of menswear. The It factor that fueled his rise? His sense of humor—the dry, charming wit he combines with snappy yet informative TikToks about how men should be dressing these days. (He came up with his online moniker, “EdgyAlbert,” while working at venerable denim shop Self Edge in L.A.) In an era of viral microtrends, a man like Muzquiz—with his Old Hollywood looks, jeans-and-a-tee mentality, and dedication to vintage so intense that he blanks when asked about contemporary designers—offers an important reminder. Menswear is best when it’s simple, classic, and, like the best denim, raw. Here Muzquiz shares his philosophies on personal style and pre-loved clothing.
Esquire: Do you wear shorts?
Muzquiz: Absolutely. As long as they’re above the knee.
What about hybrid dress shoes?
No way.
Fun socks?
Depends how fun.
Stretch denim?
No way in hell.
What was your aha moment in uncovering your own personal style?
When I learned that having history chops is one of the best ways to get into fashion. You don’t necessarily need to know who’s in right now, or what’s cool and what’s not, but by understanding where things have come from and how they’ve evolved historically, you have a pretty good way in to buying clothes and finding stuff that’s cool.
What’s the best thing to buy vintage?
Pants. I know that it can seem difficult at first, especially buying online, but once you learn your measurements, you’ll never make a mistake again. And your pants are so much of your outfit. Having something that has patina and character anchors it all and makes it feel like you’ve put effort in, even if you haven’t. You can wear whatever else you want.
What do American men always get wrong when it comes to style, and what do they always get right?
What they get wrong is thinking of each part of an outfit as a broad category. They think, I need pants or I need shirts, not I need an Oxford shirt or I need a Western shirt. They’re thinking so broadly that any brand selling a lesser-quality product can sneak up and sell it to them.
In terms of what American men do right, there is a certain American je ne sais quoi when it comes to the amount of effort put in. During World War II—not to get too into the weeds—other countries’ soldiers would remark on how American soldiers always styled things in a devil-may-care way. That’s an American quality; we take things and riff on them in this maybe lazy way, but it ends up feeling kind of cool and cowboy.
Do you have one grail item that you’d love to get your hands on?
Nineteen-fifties French army chinos. They’re hard to find in my inseam. They’re very short, always.
Who’s your style icon?
People like Paul Newman, Steve McQueen. I’m also interested in how movie stars were dressing in the ’80s and ’90s—the Sylvester Stallones and Arnold Schwarzeneggers— before celebrities went fully into inaccessible designer culture. They were still wearing classic pieces that everybody could afford. There’s an interesting moment where glitz and glamor and workwear all coexist in this beautiful way.
What’s your one go-to style rule?
The rise of my pants should reach around my belly button, maybe a little lower.
What’s your favorite vintage store?
I love the Goodwill bins. The highs are high and the lows are getting into a fight with someone, but it’s worth it.
Photography: James Macari
Sittings Editor: Alfonso Fernandez Navas
Hair: Kevin Ryan using Unite
Grooming: Ryo Kuramoto for Nars
Design Director: Rockwell Harwood
Contributing Visual Director: James Morris
Executive Producer/Director: Dorenna Newton
Director of Photography: Elyssa Aquino
Camera: Derrick Saint-Pierre
Video Editor: Josh Archer
Associate Producer, Video: Janie Booth
Associate Producer, Video: Carly Bivona
You Might Also Like
