Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

Arts & Entertainment

Manhattan Makes GQ's Worst-Dressed City List, With Pic Of Ray Liotta From <em>Goodfellas</em>?

Christopher Robbins

Published Jul 15, 2011

Modified Jul 15, 2011

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Christopher Robbins

Published Jul 15, 2011

Modified Jul 15, 2011

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

An ideal listicle touches on matters of objective taste in an entertaining but also informative way, using credible evidence to back up an opinion. GQ's newest list of the "40 Worst-Dressed Cities in America" ignores this tenet and eschews photos of normal people dressing poorly for stills from movies, popular culture, and football stadiums.

Boston is #1, but the fun begins at #5, which happens to be Manhattan. To illustrate the "men that are sapping one of fashion's capitals, stride by douchey stride," GQ uses a photo of Ray Liotta from Goodfellas, a movie that was essentially based everywhere in New York but Manhattan. Note to the 18 people on the GQ staff who wrote the list: as in any movie, "All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental." Also, go get your fucking shine box.

Brooklyn makes the list as well at #11, but they pigeonhole the entire borough under the Bedford Ave archetype with "a D.A.R.E. T-shirt, a handlebar 'stache, and disintegrated Chucks." Ouch! Brooklyn is gonna be PISSED when they pick up this issue of GQ in that one dentist's office that their insurance makes them use when they're getting a cavity filled. Here are some other atrocities committed in the listicle:

#4 Chicago is a screenshot of the "Super Fans" SNL skit, a comedic parody which was filmed in New York City.
#13 Las Vegas is a still from The Hangover (wasn't that movie the greatest?!).
#24 Saint Paul is a shot of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Say what you will about the man who left Saint Paul when he was a teenager, wrote the Great American Novel, got drunk with Hemingway, and was a pillar of American Modernism, that jacket (that he wore 80 years ago) is FUGLY.
San Diego (#27) is Will Ferrel from Anchorman.
Asbury Park, New Jersey (#33) is a 20 years+ old photo of Bruce Springsteen, because the only people who live in Asbury Park are named Bruce Springsteen.
#37 Kansas City is…well, it's a picture of a dude's face, who happens to be eating ribs. This confirms what we've known for so long: eating is a fashion "don't."

The magazine also uses 4 photos of football fans as their evidence for poor sartorial judgment (Pittsburg, Philly, New Orleans, and Buffalo) but couldn't you go to any ballpark in America and find some stupid-looking people?

Come to think of it: why didn't they go to any of the cities on this list, instead of cribbing everything from Flickr and a 2002 issue of People? Is it really that difficult to find a photo of a poorly dressed person in Manhattan? We're looking forward to GQ's next listicle: "The 50 Best Bars In The US As Represented By The Movie Coyote Ugly."

Tagged

cities

fashion

listicles

lists

research

Christopher Robbins

Twitter

Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE arts-entertainment

The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?

Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.

Lindsay Lee Wallace

Published Oct 8, 2026

Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?

If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.

James Ramsay

Arts & Entertainment

Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?

If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.

James Ramsay

What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.

Jayson Greene

Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City

Sonia Rao

Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries

Alec Hamilton

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .