Derek Guy / Twitter Menswear Guy

Submission 1,727

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About

Derek Guy, commonly known as the Twitter Menswear Guy, is a menswear writer known for his critique of men's apparel on Twitter. Posting since February 2011, the writer achieved notable recognition online in 2023 thanks to his tweets in which he insulted the clothing choices of right-wing personalities and was mysteriously promoted by Twitter's algorithm.

Online History

Prior to 2010, menswear writer Derek Guy launched Die, Workwear!, a semi-daily blog about menswear.^[1]^[2] In February 2011, Derek Guy created the Twitter account @dieworkwear^[3] on which he tweeted about menswear and occasionally shitposted, accumulating approximately 25,000 followers as of November 2022.

Prior to November 2022 when the account started rapidly gaining followers, @dieworkwear posted several tweets and threads that went viral on Twitter. For example, on September 5th, 2019, @dieworkwear tweeted^[3] about the Japanese Sukeban girl gangs, with the tweet garnering over 4,500 retweets and 12,300 likes in four years (shown below, left).

On November 16th, 2019, @dieworkwear posted^[4] an image of Sans with Sonic's head, writing "me on a cold day with my jacket open so you can see this fucking fit." The post received over 38,700 retweets and 130,000 likes in four years (shown below, center). On March 3rd, 2022, @dieworkwear made a thread^[5] of George Costanza's outfits and matching Aime Leon Dore looks, the first post of which gained over 3,400 retweets and 20,300 likes in one year (shown below, right).

On November 27th, 2022, Derek Guy notably called out^[6] Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy after his launch of a line of men's watches, with Portnoy mentioning him directly in a response video.^[7] On November 28th, 2023, @dieworkwear posted^[8] a thread about choosing a good cashmere sweater that received over 3,900 retweets, 24,000 likes and 11,300 bookmarks in seven months (shown below, right).

Following the posts and a viral moment in which he was mysteriously promoted by Twitter's algorithm in January 2023, the account started gaining followers at a rapid rate, rising to over 128,000 followers as of February 19th, 2023.^[9]

Starting in April 2023, the account became a subject of viral posts by users who took note of its activity, particularly of Derek Guy replying and quote tweeting conservative influencers with critiques of their outfits, with users referring to him simply as "menswear guy." For example, on April 27th, Twitter^[10] user @revhowardson wrote "do NOT come for menswear guy on his own turf. he will ruin you using techniques undreamt of by lesser Posters." The tweet (shown below, left) received over 210 retweets and 3,500 likes in two months. On June 2nd, 2023, Twitter^[11] user @anothercohen wrote "We don't talk enough about the incredible rise of menswear Twitter guy to Tier 1 shitposter." The tweet received over 1,400 retweets and 20,200 likes in one month (shown below, right).

As of June 30th, 2023, @dieworkwear had over 316,000 followers on Twitter.

Personal Life

Derek Guy is based in California. He is a writer for the menswear blog Put This On and _his own blog Die, Workwear!. He first became interested in menswear in high school in the early 2000s.^[2]

The Big Sartorialist

The Big Sartorialist (@thebigsartorialist) is the online handle of Boston-based men's fashion influencer Dan Newman. Known for his portly figure, bowler hats and dapper suits, The Big Sartorialist achieved viral success on TikTok and other social media in the 2020s, and has since appeared in fancams and memes.