Table of contents for March 2026 in Esquire

IT WAS THE SATURDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS, AND A$AP ROCKY was running late to his Esquire photo shoot in Brooklyn. For much of the crew, this was their last workday of the year, and they were eager to begin their holiday. Rocky has a reputation for tardiness, so we weren’t worried about whether he’d show. But we wondered about his level of enthusiasm—would he be game for a long photo shoot and video interview, then an evening with a writer? Afternoon turned to twilight, and still we waited. Two hours after his call time, Rocky arrived. Clutching a sports drink, he croaked out an apology. A$AP Rocky had a cold. At thirty-seven, Rocky is one of this nation’s most significant cultural figures. He’s a Grammy-nominated rapper with a new album, his first…

PATRICK BALL’S DAD WILL TELL YOU HE doesn’t remember this story, but here it is anyway. When Ball was growing up in North Carolina, he was busted for drugs in high school, so Dad pulled him aside. He didn’t confiscate a phone or car keys or even ground the kid as retribution, but he did send a message that damn near branded itself on Ball’s brain. “Here’s the thing, man,” Dad starts. “One of the most important freedoms that someone has is the freedom to fail. This is your life. If you want to fuck it up, go ahead, but you only get one of them.” Ball never forgot it, even when he exercised that freedom so much that he almost did fuck it all up. “That was a really…

IN MEN’S FASHION, GOOD DESIGN TENDS TO BE REWARDED WITH a long life—especially if it’s comfortable. For proof, look at the Harrington jacket, the history of which runs from the mean streets of England to Hollywood and back again. Just shy of its 90th anniversary, the jacket remains a fixture in the pantheon of lasting style icons. And with fans ranging from mods and rockers to jazz musicians and Ivy Leaguers, it’s no wonder. The Harrington wasn’t designed for universal appeal. Instead, it was intended for the golf course. And Harrington wasn’t its original moniker. (The nickname came from a character who wore one on the soap opera Peyton Place.) The first—and quintessential—version was called the G9, with the G standing for golf and the 9 standing for the first nine…

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK DIED ON MAY 1, 1904, IN PRAGUE. Johannes Brahms died on April 3, 1897, in Vienna. These facts can be found near the beginning and end, respectively, of the program for two March concerts by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra last year. I can’t imagine anyone outside of the most die-hard classical-music academics caring much about those facts. In the middle of the program, it was printed that Sarah Gibson died on July 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. This is not a fact. This is a memory. WHEN I WOKE UP, I TURNED IN BED TO FIND SARAH breathing but unresponsive. The people at the hospice service had warned us this day was coming, and now it was here, earlier than anyone anticipated. I squeezed her hand and then walked…

A$AP ROCKY SITS ONE LEG INSIDE HIS CHERRY-RED GTC4LUSSO, one leg outside it as he tinkers with the sound system. The plan is to play his at-present-unreleased album Don’t Be Dumb for me on the drive from a Brooklyn studio. But Rocky can’t get his phone to sync with his sports car. He’s determined, though, and while the engine growls at low idle, he tinkers for minutes that feel much longer. But still—no dice. He calls over one of his two bodyguards, both of whom are affable as far as dudes who protect celebrities for a living go. One of the bodyguards pushes a button here and twists a knob there and, bada bing, Rocky’s album at last begins playing on the Ferrari’s speakers. Rocky and I jump inside. The car’s…

FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS, I’VE BEEN doing research for a big fitness-tracker comparison review, and because of that, I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch and a Whoop on my wrists, as well as an Oura Ring on my finger. All at the same time. I’ve been getting a lot of information about my heart-rate variability, my VO2 max, and any number of other metrics I don’t understand. I’ve had numerous mornings when I have woken up feeling refreshed, only to have at least one device tell me, “No, actually that was a rotten night’s sleep and your day is already ruined.” Each of these devices has its own strengths and weaknesses, and I’ll get into all of them in more depth in a separate piece. But for now, you should…

IT’S NOT THAT HARD TO HAVE OYSTERS AT HOME, BUT YOU NEED to commit. You have to want it. Maybe it’s your second date or your 20th anniversary. Maybe your dad’s coming over for the first time in a while. Shit, maybe it’s just you, home alone and in the mood. Whatever’s happening, oysters make it special. Not because they’re one of those “superfoods” (they are) or because their natural biology helps clean the oceans (it does). No, you want them because to taste an oyster’s briny goodness, to slurp its liquor as if imbibing the sea itself, in your own kitchen, free of tuxedoed waiters and seafood towers—there’s a time and a place for all that—feels like not just luxury but the kind of luxury we think of as existing…

I GOT THIS SUIT ABOUT THREE AND A HALF years ago, before I joined Thom Browne last September. I decided, not long after the pandemic, to start wearing a suit every day, because I found myself in situations—in both casual and professional settings—where the way people perceive you in a suit helped. I don’t like to be underdressed or overdressed; there’s kind of a Goldilocks place of dressing. But I would definitely lean toward being slightly more dressed up than not. There’s something about the feeling of a jacket on you—the shoulder, the chest piece—that’s quite empowering. It’s almost like a modern-day suit of armor. I wound up gravitating—hook, line, and sinker—toward Thom Browne. The thing that really drew me to it is that I’ve always been into music subcultures. As…

’MY EARLIEST MEMORY OF STYLE IS from when I was nine or ten. My mother came home from the market bringing gifts, as if it were Christmas. She presented me with these green corduroy trousers. Back then, we would only be given one pair of trousers a year. I was a simple farmer, but still I didn’t like them. Wearing green didn’t suit me. So when no one was looking, I went to the back of the house, I dug a hole, and I buried them. Sixty years later, I knew the exact spot where I had buried them. I went and dug up the buttons, which was all that remained of those corduroy trousers. UP TO FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, I lived in the countryside, without running water, without electricity.…

The Curious Man’s Guide to Style, Lightning Round Should I wear a bow tie? Only if you’re wearing a tuxedo. (Or if you’re nude.) How about fun socks? Only if you want to advertise to the world that you are, in fact, not particularly fun. How should my suit jacket fit? It should skim your shoulders, have enough room through the body to allow for a big ol’ inhale without pulling at the button, and be long enough to cover your ass. Too-short jackets are a scourge and should be approached with appropriate contempt. Boxers or briefs? Boxer briefs. Derbies or oxfords? Oxfords for dressier business suits or, in a pinch, a tuxedo. Derbies for everything else. If you can get only one style, go for derbies. Can I pull…

CHEF AND HOTELIER RŌZE TRAORE SERVES UP A MASTER CLASS IN SARTORIAL ELEGANCE, INSPIRED BY THE PAINTINGS IN HIS HOME IN HARLEM ART STAR Presentation is everything. Rōze Traore knows this better than most. As a chef—he’s worked for big-name restaurants like Eleven Madison Park—he knows that you eat with your eyes before your mouth. And as a hotelier who opened the boutique La Fourchette de Rōze in Ivory Coast in 2023, he’s prioritizing aesthetics with an artist residency program for painters, musicians, and other creatives. Once the residency is done, the artists leave behind two works. One stays at the hotel. The other often makes its way to Traore’s home in Harlem, New York, where Esquire photographed him in tailored looks meant to complement the mastery of the images…

STORE INFORMATION For the items featured in Esquire, please consult the website or call the phone number provided. Blueprint, p. 34: Prada backpack, prada.com. Topologie chalk bag, topologie.com. Snow Peak mug, snowpeak.com. Don’t Let Disco bag charm, dontletdisco.com. P. 36: Baracuta jacket, baracuta.com. Linder Sport shirt, lindersport.com. Mithridate shorts, mithridate.com. P. 37: Brooks Brothers jacket, brooksbrothers.com. Bugatchi shirt and trousers, bugatchi.com. Moncler jacket, moncler.com. Buck Mason T-shirt, buckmason.com. Rag & Bone jeans, rag-bone.com. P. 38: Corridor shoes, corridor.nyc. Bresciani socks, bresciani.it. P. 40: Piaget watch, piaget.com. P. 42: Isabel Marant bag, isabelma-rant.com. Hunting Season trays, hunting-season.com. Pendleton blanket, pendleton-usa.com. Yuketen shoes, yuketen.com. Boyd’s of Texas fragrance, boydsoftexas.com. P. 43: Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses and bracelet, jacquesmariemage.com. Yuketen bag, yuketen.com. Lucchese boots, lucchese.com. J. Alexander matchbox, jalexanderrusticsilver.com. Overland chair, overland.com.…

TOM JUNOD IS CONSIDERing the epitaphs of seditionists. We’re wandering the rows of Marietta Confederate Cemetery, not far from his home outside Atlanta. The sun is inching down, and the grounds are deserted. Tom has no ancestors buried here—he grew up on Long Island—but he’s lived in the South for a while and spent years driving past these graves. “I’ve never been here and it’s . . .” He looks around, absorbing the scene. “You can definitely write about this in some way.” We’re wrapping up two and a half days of conversation, and I’m finally about to bring up the stuff I’ve been politely avoiding. How do you write honestly about one of your heroes, about a man who has inspired and intimidated you in equal measure? Tom Junod’s…

YES, YOU ARE MORE LIKELY to spot someone wearing Prada in a downtown hot spot than on some snow-dusted mountain. But the function of clothes and accessories has influenced the Milanese brand just as much as their form. It’s why rugged nylon has been at the core of its collections since the ’80s. The backpack here is made from a more recent innovation: Prada’s proprietary Re-Nylon, which uses recycled and purified ocean plastic to minimize environmental impact. It also looks like a vintage gem from the heyday of mountain chic. With a two-tone color scheme and pockets aplenty, it’d be right at home in the wild. But if you choose to take it to the office instead of the summit, we won’t blame you. A good bag is essential equipment, no…

THE WATCH WORLD IS IN ITS brand-ambassador era. Association with famous folks can pay huge dividends for serious watchmakers—once a lucrative deal has been inked, that is. While it may seem like a 21st-century concept, relying on “friends of the brand” has long been a thing in watchmaking. It just used to be more organic. Credit goes to pioneers like Yves Piaget, the chairman of Piaget and the fourth generation to lead the eponymous Swiss watchmaker. Now in his 80s, he had yet to celebrate his 40th birthday when he took the helm in 1980. Yves is widely credited with putting Piaget watches on the global stage through what he called the “Piaget Society,” a coterie of jet-setters and artists who owned and wore Piaget on red carpets, nightclub dance floors,…

We know your momma raised you right, and we don’t mean to suggest otherwise. It’s just that the upheavals of the past five years or so—mass quarantine, acute polarization, working from home and push alerts and TikTok sucking all of us facefirst into our phones—have unleashed forces that are alienating us from one another and unmooring us from the standards and practices of civil society. Feels like we all need a reminder and an update on how to be in the world: How to take rejection graciously. How to text without being a dick. The politics of splitting the bill in the age of Venmo. When it’s okay to lie, or, for that matter, when it’s okay to wear a tie. What to bring to a dinner party (we mean…

Other People’s Kids It is inevitable. At the playground, in the supermarket, in line at Disney—somewhere, sometime, another child will get into it with yours, and you’ll be called upon to do something about it. What’s allowed depends, of course, on your relationship to the other parent. How to Talk About TV and Movies Without Sounding Like a Dick Rule No. 1: Do not under any circumstances use the words homage, Tarantino-esque, or—we cannot stress this enough—mise-en-scène in conversation. Rule No. 2: Talking about a performance is fine; talking about lighting and composition is not. Rule No. 3: What you write on Letterboxd stays on Letterboxd. A Spy’s Guide to Small Talk Learn the “Solid Snake Method.” There’s a video game called Metal Gear Solid, about a badass special agent…

BEFORE LEWIS PULLMAN TAKES ON A NEW ROLE, HE DECIDES whether the difference between who he is and who he’s playing is a worthy challenge—or a warning to heed. “Oftentimes my gut instinct is a rush of hot fear through my blood. I can’t do this,” Pullman says, leaning on the counter at the Dinosaur Coffee shop in Los Angeles, not far from where he calls home. His eyes are slate gray. They’re kind, but a little like twin hurricane swirls. He’s wearing dusty boots, cargo pants, and a frayed button-down flannel over a white T-shirt. Occasionally, his eyes disappear beneath the brim of a bent cap, marked with a red Pegasus. “I have never done anything I’ve been proud of when there hasn’t been any fear behind it,” he concludes.…

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DRANK A MAGIC POTION? A brain-busting, euphoria-inducing mix of amazement on your lips? Tell the truth. When did you last let yourself feel free—uninhibited, unsophisticated, unfiltered . . . and not care the least bit? If it’s been a while, head over to your local bar. Tell the bartender you don’t need to see their list of $36 artisanal craft cocktails, thank you. You don’t want their watered-down fruit juice in a tiny glass, and if there’s a teaspoon of tequila in there, you count yourself lucky. What you want is a Long Island Iced Tea. It’s the strong magic potion you’re looking for, and here at Esquire, we fully endorse it. What? Déclassé, you say? That kind of bias is un-American. If it…