Welcome to the New HSS

from He Spoke Style - Men's Style, Fashion, Grooming, Tips and Advice

Damn right I’m going to light up that Montecristo No. 2! After six months of starts, stops and setbacks we’re excited to unveil our new look!

What’s there to love about the New HSS? I can think of at least 10 things.

1. Improved UX. The redesign was as much about improving user experience as it was about growing up and providing a professional look, feel and performance to match the quality of the content we offer.

2. More Photos. We’ve always been very deliberate about the number of photos we publish in each post. I feel very strongly about only including a limited quantity of quality shots as opposed to cramming 10-20 similar-looking photos into every post. There’s a line between having an article provide a focused and practical look at each outfit and being a “look at me!” kind of thing. We are most definitely not the latter, which I hope many find refreshing.

Having said that, Rob is an amazing artist behind the lens and there are many fantastic shots that never get published due to my editorial stance. The new slideshow feature for style editorial will allow us to showcase many of those shots – as well as a healthy dose of personality – without disrupting the focus and flow you’ve become accustomed to over the past two and half years. See it in action on one of our most popular articles.

3. Enhanced and Mobile Style Guide! Hands down the most popular HSS feature – we’ve got data to back up this claim – the Style Guide has received a serious upgrade. More importantly, it’s now viewable and searchable on mobile. This is a huge leap forward for us and we truly hope you enjoy.

4. Glossary. From the start, I have wanted HSS to serve as a resource for both style novices and enthusiasts – I’ve always viewed it as a combination of information and inspiration. Well, we’re getting back to basics with the Style Glossary, a searchable dictionary of important style terms and definitions.

Working in tandem with the Style Glossary, is a new weekly series we’re calling Style Defined, which will provide a more in-depth history and illustration of each term. We’re very excited about this and its role in making HSS a more comprehensive online style destination.

5. Your Questions Answered. And cataloged! Reader questions are one of my favorite parts of this gig. And now, all questions will be archived in an easily searchable Men’s Style Advice section. Check it out – it’s really cool.

6. HSS Shop. Get a bigger taste of what we’re liking (and seriously coveting) in the new boutique.

7. Easy Access to Important & Timeless Articles. As we’ve continued to pump out the original content over the past two and a half years, many of our most popular and helpful articles have gotten lost in the mix. The Required Reading category provides the fix. New visitors to the site will even have access to these articles in the main content feed.

8. Expanded Brand Voice & Content. I firmly believe that “style” encompasses much more than the clothes you wear. Having style is about how you live your life, your interests, your pursuits and your passions. You’re going to begin seeing content that focuses on these sorts of lifestyle elements more regularly.

You’ve already gotten a small glimpse of this with our series of cocktail recipes and whiskey reviews. Expect to see cigars, music, travel and food making regular appearances. Our brand is growing – it’s all part of the evolution of HSS and our desire to tell a bigger, broader and more complete style story.

9. Embedded Art Gallery. I made it a New Year’s resolution to reimagine how we used our Instagram channel, transforming it into more of an HSS art gallery than a mirror of our site content. We were rewarded for that leap of faith recently, as many of you know, by being featured for two weeks as an Instagram Suggested User. While we certainly encourage you to follow on us on the app, you can now see all the photos right here on the InStyleGram page.

10. That Sticky Sidebar. Isn’t it the best? I could play with it all day.

With any relaunch, there are bound to be small kinks to work out, but we’re fairly certain that the experience upon roll-out will be pretty freaking solid.

As always, your feedback is most welcome. Take a look around, try out all the new stuff and let us know what you like – as well as what you don’t. Is there something that’s not working quite right? Another feature you’d like to see in the future? Chime in with your thoughts (and bug fix requests) in the comments.

Enjoy! And thanks, as always, for reading.

Stylishly Yours,

Brian Sacawa & The HSS Team

The post Welcome to the New HSS first appeared on the men's style blog He Spoke Style - Men's Style, Fashion, Grooming, Tips and Advice

Original Content: Welcome to the New HSS