Jim Windolf is the editor of Men’s Style.  Today The Times unveils Men’s Style, the newspaper’s first new section since 2005. It’s a response to the recent boom in the men’s fashion industry and connected change in the way men present themselves.  In recent years, men have taken a seemingly greater interest in how they look. Things that did not seem so interesting back when most men were content to look like slobs may seem worth thinking about now. We’re here to help.  The section is frivolous and serious at the same time, aimed at guys who are new in town and need some help cracking the code, while also keeping in mind more seasoned men who already know where the treasure is buried.  Aside from coverage of fashion trends, grooming and the like, Men’s Style has, in its first edition, profiles of Lee Daniels, the co-creator of the Fox breakout hit “Empire,” and the veteran surfing champion Kelly Slater. Throw in articles on a new car that will get 84 miles per gallon, gold watches, and a piece that answers that burning question of the digital age, “Should grown men use emoji?”, and I think it makes for an entertaining read.  There is also a personal essay by the novelist Walter Kirn in a column called Rites of Passage that is built along the lines of Modern Love and Lives, in that it will have a different writer each time, and a cooking advice column by Sam Sifton.  I joined The Times earlier this year after a year as the editor of M, a men’s fashion magazine. But my personal style, I think it’s safe to say, is not the most fashion-forward: I tend to break into a sweat whenever I buy a new clothing item. Like many of our readers, I assume, I’m a reluctant shopper, and I’ll keep that type of consumer in mind as I edit the section (under Stuart Emmrich, the editor of Styles).  I have an almost anthropological interest in men — what they think about, where they go, what they think is cool, why they do the boneheaded things they do, how their public personae differ from their private selves. Some of this thinking may inform the stories in Men’s Style; on the other hand, sometimes you just want to let the world know when there is a cool new watch out there.
Jim Windolf, the editor of The Times’s new Men’s Style section, describes the first edition and the thinking behind the section over all.