The Look: Brooklyn Circus motorcycle varsity jacket, $800, Billy Reid shirt, $225, and General Knot necktie, $135, all @ Martin Patrick 3, 212 Third Ave. N. #106, Minneapolis, 612-746-5329, martinpatrick3.com; Red Wing Heritage boots, $260 @ BlackBlue, 614 Selby Ave., St. Paul, 651-260-5340, blkblu.com; Raleigh jeans from BlackBlue, Horgen’s own. Photos by Erica Loeks. Styled by Jahna Peloquin
Tom Horgen has found himself in the public eye during his years as the Star Tribune’s entertainment reporter and one of the Twin Cities’ most prolific (and stylish) Instagrammers, frequenting the hippest new cocktail bars, shops, and restaurants—and looking good while doing it.
These days, though, he’s more likely to be spotted at a coffee shop than a club. Recently, he and his wife, Lora, welcomed their second child. Now he’s up all night for a different reason. “Last night was a barn-burner,” he says. “Three diaper explosions.”
Things were dramatically different when Horgen first landed the nightlife beat at the Star Tribune a decade ago. The local restaurant scene was just starting to take off, and he was an early chronicler of the rise of the craft beer and cocktail movements. In 2013, Horgen accepted a position as a features editor for the newspaper and has since become its assistant A&E editor. Though he’s no longer penning a weekly column, he documents his favorite new finds, from craft coffee to artisan butcher shops, via his Instagram account, which boasts more than 5,500 followers.
Patio Chairs from World Market in Horgen’s Porch
Horgen’s first child was born two years ago, shortly after he and Lora bought their charming 1928 home in St. Paul’s Como Park neighborhood. From the eggshell-blue wall in toddler Aurora’s room—where he also stores his extensive graphic novel collection—to the deep red of the dining room, the home is awash in color. Some of their furniture, including a Danish-teak mid-century buffet, is culled from estate sales and vintage shops, while screen-printed posters by Minneapolis design studio Burlesque of North America and bright patio chairs from World Market add contemporary touches. And then there’s one of Horgen’s most prized possessions: a 1945 Smith Corona typewriter passed down from his step-grandmother.
The word “craft” comes up again and again when Horgen talks about his latest hobbies: coffee and cigars. His wife recently bought him a pour-over coffee set (the style favored by serious baristas), and he’s become a regular at Golden Leaf Tobacco.
“I love the ritual behind those things,” he says.
His love for craft blends into his personal look, which is a mix between classic heritage-wear and the upscale hip-hop style of Kanye West. Lacking the too-cool-for-school airs you’d expect from an A&E editor, Horgen is down to earth, relatable, and shares the same fashion fears as the rest of us. (“My closet is definitely not the coolest closet of all time,” he admits.) He buys most of his key pieces, such as his selvedge jeans and Red Wing boots, at his favorite local stores, Martin Patrick 3, BlackBlue, and Askov Finlayson.
Horgen in a Look from Martin Patrick 3
Horgen dipped his toe, literally, into heritage style when he bought his first pair of Red Wings at J. Crew about five years ago. “From there, it just snowballed,” he says. “One of the things about American-made goods that I love is the story behind the people that are making the goods. That type of thinking gives the stuff that I wear significance to me. You want to have a connection to the things you buy, you eat, and you wear.”
At the same time, he admits to indulging in his share of fast-fashion buys. “On one hand, I’ve got on a pair of raw denim made by American artisans, but then I’m also wearing this $89 vest from Zara that was probably made in China.”
Despite his thoughtful approach to fashion, Horgen doesn’t take what he wears too seriously. Case in point: “Aurora chewed this to death the other day,” he says, pointing to the tooth-marked Leather Works MN wrap bracelet he’s wearing. “And she peed on it when she was born.”
Tom Horgen’s Style Crib Sheet
On his style influences
“When Pharrell [Williams] and Kanye [West] made it cool for masculine men to wear fitted jeans and nice shirts, that had an effect on me. I love what Kanye wears—pairing inexpensive streetwear with luxe pieces.”
His latest fashion obsession
Joggers—a trendy hybrid of regular pants and sweatpants with a tapered leg. He wears his more casual Zara pair on the weekends, and his heavier, more expensive wool and waxed-canvas ones from Martin Patrick 3 to work. “They’re so comfortable, it’s crazy!” he says.
On one his favorite wardrobe staples
Railcar selvedge jeans he’s wearing—one of a limited run of 20 that were created especially for Martin Patrick 3. “They’re amazingly constructed,” he says. “I think I washed them twice in like 500 wears.”
