The following feature is GQ's archive best-dressed list for 2019. Our most recent style ranking is The 50 best-dressed men of 2020

You would be forgiven for believing that being well dressed is a preordained attribute: like being intelligent, having a nose for fragrance or possessing a superlative palate. Should not an awareness and appreciation of style be carved onto the double helix of our character well before we come bawling into the world?

The reality, however, is that style is learned and, in fact, entirely subjective. It’s a point we learned the hard way in the process of choosing the 50 Best-Dressed Men In The World. For some members of our esteemed panel – which this year includes Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace and Kim Jones, to name a few – the ability to wear clothes that fit, in muted shades of navy and grey, was the ultimate definition of style.

For others, a palpable sense of bravery and boldness combined with an ability to team outlandish hues with garish patterns was the epitome of being well dressed. For those in the more conservative quarters of the GQ office, Daniel Craig and Richard Madden – this month’s elegant cover star – were natural frontrunners in this list. For those with more outlandish tastes, the obvious winners were Lil Pump and Post Malone.

But what is clear from this year’s list is that the world’s men are dressing more brightly and brilliantly than ever before. From the effortless tailored looks pulled off perfectly by this year’s No3, Timothée Chalamet, to the Seventies-inspired brilliance of The GQ Best-Dressed Man 2019 (read on, no more spoilers here...), we are living in an age when men are spending more than they ever have on clothes. And it shows.

Dylan Jones Editor-In-Chief, British GQ