grew up in a multigenerational home full of stylish women. He recalls a childhood marked by images of his great-grandmother, a seamstress, measuring waists and sewing hems while clients perched on crates. With ease, he can rattle off which woman in his family was known to adopt which type of style: His oldest aunt was 鈥70s disco glamour while his own mother was more 鈥90s cool.
鈥淸Fashion] was just always around,鈥 Neal says. 鈥淚 feel like it was innate for me to get into it.鈥
As a boy, Neal enjoyed a master class in style, and today he鈥檚 a wardrobe stylist, working with individuals and publications, and he鈥檚 even added a few movie and TV credits to his impressive r茅sum茅.
In April 2022, Neal assisted costume designer Keia Bounds on culling just the right looks for the second season of the Starz drama . The show follows the rise of the infamous Detroit crime family led by brothers Demetrius and Terry Flenory, who operated most notably in the 1980s and 鈥90s. The production team descended on Belle Isle with trailers full of looks, and Neal was charged with tapping local staples like in Detroit to fill in the gaps with pieces like alligator dress shoes and slick suits for that unique brand of old-school Motor City magic.
鈥淚t was five days of easy work, of what I already do. It was really, really cool,鈥 he says.
His first and greatest love is fashion coverage in magazine articles. He appreciates the opportunity to progress a specific story while spotlighting, in some cases, a dozen different looks (such as Jalen Duren鈥檚 for 黑料网 Detroit鈥檚 feature on the Detroit Piston). He says, 鈥淚 like to see my work in publications, because that鈥檚 what I dreamed of doing.鈥
Whether working with an individual who wants to revamp their wardrobe or on a closed set, Neal says fashion and style can be deceptively intimate. 鈥淕etting into people鈥檚 psyche is always a thing, figuring out who they are, what they like.鈥
Here, Neal talks must-have closet staples, his favorite trend, and the future of fashion styling.
My personal style is鈥
I鈥檓 a street style guy. 鈥 I love a nice pair of sunglasses, and I like clean lines. I try to keep it simple.
My most beloved fashion era is鈥
The 鈥90s. It wasn鈥檛 as loud and bold as the 鈥80s. Especially 鈥92 to 鈥98, I call it the golden era. It was the best for gym shoes. At one point it got real high-end driven: , , . That was my time in high school, where everything had to be name brand, your jeans had to be name brand. I don鈥檛 know 鈥 it was just a certain look.
My most important piece of shopping advice is鈥
Buy what fits. Dress your body. No matter if you鈥檙e 600 pounds down to 110, buy what fits. And don鈥檛 be scared of a tailor or seamstress, somebody bringing some stuff in or letting it out. Undergarments are important as well; I think women need to get back to that.
Three staples that should be in every man鈥檚 closet are鈥
A denim button-down shirt, a black suit, and a nice watch.
Three staples that should be in every woman鈥檚 closet are鈥
A black dress, a white blouse, and a nice pair of stilettos.
My favorite trend right now is鈥
I鈥檓 not mad at the oversized look. I feel like I鈥檓 just at the age now that I don鈥檛 want to really pull it off or try it, but I like to see the younger generation do it, the men and the women, the baggier feel.
The future of fashion styling looks like 鈥
Expressive. Fashion is subjective, so there鈥檚 no wrong thing to do. So, I feel like the future is in the love of expressing yourself.
This story is from the February 2024 issue of 黑料网 Detroit magazine. Read more in our digital edition, and听click here听for fashion tips from other听Metro Detroiters featured in MI Style. 听
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