Dressing out of the box

Individual stylist at A.K. Rikk’s and host of the neighborhood luxury retailer’s “Where to Wear” movie sequence Ben Tobar presents a self-confident, clean up design with a twist, pulling delicate daring details into his outfits to instill some pep into the monotony of day to day dressing.

Tobar said he’s witnessed a burst of strength in the manner scene in Grand Rapids and is “amazed at how willing and hungry people listed here are for new designers and for getting challenges in their day-to-working day wardrobes.”

We talked with him about fashion and regional trend:

Grand Rapids Magazine: Tell us about by yourself.

Ben Tobar: I commenced styling for A.K. Rikk’s as a way to pay back for college and cherished it so significantly that I have been executing it ever due to the fact. I constantly cherished garments and how they could be applied as a instrument to talk any strategy the wearer has about on their own to the environment all over them. It has been an honor to (assure) the clientele and mates that I have styled have seemed their ideal for the most vital areas of their lives.

GRM: What do you obtain most inspiring and fascinating about vogue and clothes?

BT: That it under no circumstances stops evolving. It is an limitless supply for a person to be imaginative. It is a way to transportation oneself somewhere or be tremendous existing in their day-to-working day daily life. I take pleasure in people today who have the identical enthusiasm and dress in it on their sleeves (pun supposed). Dress up! Wear the heels! Vivid orange for wintertime? Why not! Let us locate a way to make it operate.

GRM: How would you describe your style?

BT: Timeless with a sprint of quirky. I like mixing things of a common wardrobe but substituting 1 or two pieces for a little something a minimal “off.” For occasion, if I have to have to put on a go well with for an situation, I like placing a tee and sneakers with it in its place of a traditional costume shirt and brogues.

GRM: Where by are your beloved spots to shop in Grand Rapids?

BT: I’m a little (biased), but A.K. Rikk’s has my coronary heart! I do get pleasure from checking out Premier for enjoyable sneakers and Cascade Optical for new frames.

GRM: In honor of your online video collection “Where to Have on,” what is your aspiration event to fashion a person for and what are you dressing them in?

BT: I would enjoy an possibility to type Zendaya and Jeff Goldblum if they were starring in a Wes Anderson motion picture dependent in Positano in the ’80s!

GRM: Greatest fashion tips?

BT: Belief your instincts, but never place your self in a box. Be keen to test new items. Also, if garments make you content, never be frightened of investing in them.

This story can be discovered in the Might/June 2022 challenge of Grand Rapids Magazine. To get a lot more stories like this shipped to your mailbox, subscribe below.