Men, Style, and Minnesota

Eric Dayton and Taavo Somer

Last night at The Bachelor Farmer, Men and Style author David Coggins sat down with Freeman’s owner Taavo Somer - who released his own book last month, with the help of Coggins - and Bachelor Farmer impresario Eric Dayton for an intimate conversation about how their lives in Minnesota (Coggins grew up in Minneapolis; Somer attended the University of Minnesota and worked at a local architecture firm before heading east) influenced their experiences and sensibilities.  

Both Coggins and Somer now live in New York and have shaped the scenes they inhabit.  Were it not for Somer, we wouldn’t have the template for modern restaurant decor and would remain in an age of exclusive white tablecloth dining.  Were it not for Coggins, we’d see even more men in slim sweatpants listening to Migos.  He advocates observing a classic sense of decorum - if not formality - and I sense a return to these modes and codes is in the air, perhaps as a revolutionary statement against the incoming American political regime.

The Daytons know hospitality and entertaining better than most.  The convivial atmosphere was bolstered by a series of cocktails crafted with spirits from Waconia’s J. Carver Distillery, which fit the luxe yet cozy appointments of the Bachelor Farmer’s second floor event space. Among the well-heeled crowd decked out in Nordic-inspired ensembles, my S.N.S. Herning sweater felt quite at home.

Coggins and Somer live what they advocate, and it's refreshing to see them make their mark on culture when - increasingly - clout is determined by the lives people project on social media rather than the work that they do.  Whenever Somer opens a new restaurant, he adapts his dress, hairstyle and playlist to the space he's creating.  Coggins doesn't write about tailoring and fly fishing because he's affected but because the suit is his uniform and he takes frequent fishing holidays. They don't talk the talk, but walk the walk with some witty banter thrown in.