Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Fashion & Style
  3. News

Worn Out Wednesday – Lou Bopp

By

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

It’s not every day we meet someone who casually drops, “Oh yeah, I’ve been all over the world with Schwarzkopf and Dan Rather.” So if the life of photographer Lou Bopp.

Bopp first moved to New York from St. Louis back in 1992 and started interning immediately at Sports Illustrated. He was there for six months and then began assisting photographers and by 1995 he was shooting his own projects.  Lou specializes in corporate advertising, shooting people on location for everyone from Intel, Mercedes Benz, Time Warner to advertising agencies such as Ogilvy, McCann Erickson and Momentum.  He has shot an impressive list of people including Madonna, Larry King, President Ford and Dolly Parton as well as a plethora of CEO’s. He toured Vietnam, Normandy and Hiroshima with Rather and Stormin’ Norman for several CBS News documentaries.

Recommended Videos

When he is not working for ‘da man’, Lou dives deep into his personal projects. Recently he has been shooting old Blues musicians deep in the Mississippi Delta. “There are about 30 guys left and I am trying to capture as many of them as I can before they are gone,” he told us. He has a book out, Hidden History of Mississippi Blues and a documentary about his experience titled, We Juke Up in Here! He is currently working on Moonshine and Mojo Hands has a gallery show of his portraits of the musicians opening up in St. Louis soon.

We caught up with Lou between shoots to hear about his personal style.

It’s all about comfort! I really get into these James Perse tee shirts I have been wearing recently. The quality and fit is great. Everything I wear always circles back to comfort. When shooting I am climbing, crawling and on my stomach, but I am also with clients so I can’t look like a total shlep.

When I am in the Delta I wear tees and camo shorts from the Gap. I’m just down and dirty there so no use even trying to wear something relatively nice.

I have a good amount of  Kühl shirts and pants since they are made for rugged wear. I’m also a big fan of Levis 501. I like AG jeans too. In the winter you can usually find me in shirts from Ice Breaker, Prana and Patagonia. I have a NorthFace Harbor Down Jacket I wear when it’s really cold and go to Patagonia for rain jackets.

When I’m in dicey places for work I wear an old Seiko diving watch  with a velcro band I got in high school.  It’s great when I am traveling. Otherwise I’m sporting an Omega Sea Master. For shades I have a pair of Smith’s and Raybans. And you can usually find me in Merrill hiking boots.

Every winter I buy a black knit cap off the streets of NYC since I always loose the one from the last season. And in the summer I wear a baseball cap to tame the mane.

I have have a couple of suits  in case I’m heading out to a nice place to eat or shooting on Wall Street.  I like Hugo Boss and I have a pair of Ferragamo shoes to pair with my suits. The most expensive boot I ever bought was from John Varvatos! They were actually worth the price since they are really well made and always a pleasure to put on.

I have a couple of ties from DKNY and a lot of Gucci ties from the 80s that my mother would give me when she worked in retail.

I wear three bracelets at the moment, all made by my daughter, Rose.

Photo courtesy of © 2013 Joanna Kaslow All Rights Reserved.

Cator Sparks
Cator Sparks
Former Former Digital Trends Contributor, The Manual
Fashion & Style
The 7 best Canada Goose jackets for men this winter
Canada Goose

For three quarters of a century, Canada Goose has been one of the go-to places for luxury snow gear. There are a lot of choices you can make when looking for the best coats or the things you need to survive the cold weather. Of course, there is also the dozens of brands that you can look for, and it can get relatively overwhelming. In an oversaturated industry, a brand born in the snowy plains of Canada is the best option. We took the time to do a deep dive for the best Canada Goose jackets for men to come up with a list of the top seven you need for the 2025.

Read more
Fashion & Style
The best casual watches for men (to upgrade your everyday style)
Work wear blues watch close up

Watches are more than a tool. They are more than an accessory. They are the kind of tool and accessory that make a statement. They are an expression. They are a statement. A man can look incredible: the right top, the right bottom, great shoes, great hat. The wrong watch can ruin a look, or even the whole essence. Here is the rub: the wrong watch can be subjective. For instance, most people will tell you that a Timex broken watch isn’t the right watch for a pinstripe power suit. However, it was my grandfather’s watch, and I wear it anytime I need him and his guidance. The point? That is never the wrong watch. Once you find a casual watch that works for you, it will be your everyday wear and will never be the wrong watch.

That is what I collected here: The best of the casual watches you can pick up today that will become your everyday wear.

Read more
Fashion & Style
Audemars Piguet launches pre-owned program to rival the titan of the second-hand watch market
Audemars Piguet

Rolex has dominated the watch world for nearly a century. The industry is a deep and complicated web of luxury houses and independent hopefuls. While brands like Patek Phillipe and Cartier vie for their place on the podium, Rolex holds a death grip on the chronophile’s aspirational collection checklist. But Audemars Piguet has decided to challenge them somewhere most other brands are deciding to ignore: the pre-owned market. Now, while something like the Royal Oak is an icon among enthusiasts, AP launching their own certified pre-owned marketplace to chase the reported $1 billion Rolex pie will certainly upset the market.

Like I said, it is a deep and complicated web, so I sat down with a horological expert and founder of WatchGuys, (317K on Instagram), Robertino Altieri, to have him walk me through what this means for watches and their passionate collectors.

Read more