Miles Siggins

If I were to begin a conversation with you by proposing a theory of a clear lineage from the Sex Pistols to Ryan Seacrest, I’d expect you to excuse yourself from the table. I wouldn’t blame you. The thing is, there is a significant common thread that runs from the birth of UK punk to a reality TV empire, and that thread is better dressed than I could ever even conceive of being.

Christoph Waltz, styled by Miles Siggins

That thread is Miles Siggins.

Miles Siggins, noted stylist and Clark Living friend and client, recalls having an innate pull towards clothing as a child. It wasn’t until he saw the Sex Pistols though, he says, that the light really came on: “I realized then that clothes could be art.”

Siggins’ punk upbringing shaped a DIY aesthetic that continues to influence his choices in art and style. His Adams Hill home is clean and modern and carefully curated with a heady amount of contemporary art work, much of it displayed in nontraditional ways. There’s a Sid Vicious figurine on the mantle which he says, “tops the family Christmas tree every year.”

Rufus Wainwright, styled by Miles Siggins. Image courtesy of GQ Magazine.

So what brought the most stylish man you’ve never met to the Adams Hill area of Glendale?

“We just stumbled upon it really,” he says. “We were renting in Franklin Hills and needed something more conducive to family life. We didn’t know anything about the neighborhood, but we saw the house and…it was just it.”

Siggins, the former head of the English branch of Stüssy, first moved to Los Angeles in the mid ‘90s and began working with stylists/costume designers Kim Bowen and Kate Harrington. Bowen and Harrington introduced him to a number of photographers, among them Herb Ritz, with whom Siggins forged his own working relationships. Siggins was already an established LA stylist fourteen years ago when his neighbor approached him for help. She was producing a show called American Idol and asked Siggins if he could dress the host and contestants. Siggins obliged, and Ryan Seacrest has been a loyal client ever since.

Ryan Seacrest, styled by Miles Siggins.

Seacrest often appears in suits, and Siggins is a proponent of everyone, particularly men, dressing up a little more. LA is a casual town where a lot of men dress more for comfort than for style, and they rarely don a suit outside of the office or events with a dress code. Siggins really appreciates a dark, tailored suit with clean lines, and encourages men to wear them more liberally.

Owen Wilson & Chris Rock, styled by Miles Siggins. Image courtesy of GQ Magazine.

“The first impression people have of you is visual; if you’re well dressed, you immediately and effortlessly command respect. The image you present does affect the way you’re perceived.” If you’re hesitant to wear a suit when you’re not obligated to, Siggins offers some more casual men’s style advice: “Whatever size you think you are, try on the next size down. A lot of American men seem to wear clothes that are a little too big, and wearing something that fits better will automatically give you a cleaner, more tailored look.”

Timothy Everest, styled by Miles Siggins. Image courtesy of Bespoke Menswear.

When I ask Siggins about the evolution of his own style, he chuckles a bit and sighs. “Well, it hasn’t really evolved much in a long time. I definitely made some mistakes before, but I’ve been dressing pretty much the same way for a while now.”

Miles Siggins

Whether consciously (as in the case of the Sex Pistols) or unconsciously (as in the case of adult Angelenos wearing wildly unflattering drop-crotch sweat pants), fashion seems to be kind of a joke. Quoting Yves Saint Laurent, Siggins says, “Fashions fade; style is eternal.” There’s an almost yogic calm in his recitation- it seems to sum up his position pretty succinctly. He doesn’t look like a man concerned with trends. There’s nothing loud or apparent about his look. It takes some time in his company to realize that however simple his look appears, there isn’t an element out of place. He has that kind of effortlessly immaculate style that’s difficult to dissect and replicate, because the whole equals more than the sum of its parts.