What began has a men’s fashion blog has now become an international movement founded by Joseph Tuenge, a real estate agent by day for City Home Collective. The Kind Sirs official launch began in 2013 and since its inception, the social club for men has grown to well over 50 members in Salt Lake City and has formed chapters around the country as well as in France and England.
“Although my blog was successful and I had a great following, it was all pictures of me, and it just felt wrong; it was too ‘ME’”, said Tuenge. “But I did love the relationships that I was finding in the fashion world, and I thought, ‘man, if I could just go hang out with that guy and that guy, and all go [out] together at the same time and be in our garbs’, I thought that would be pretty neat. So, I started searching for a club and came up empty handed. I decided to shut down the Blog to rethink it and retool it and after two years of putting my thoughts down on paper, in November of 2017, we [The Kind Sirs] had our first event.”
The premise of The Kind Sirs is a club for men who are well-dressed, well-mannered and well-doers. Members must be at least 21. Currently they have members in their mid 20s to 70s. The dress code is tight and non-negotiable; full suit and tie that must be tailored and slim fitting, absolutely no street wear is allowed.
The club meets quarterly and attends various events, both sponsored and unsponsored, accompanied by a professional photographer and videographer. Many brands reach out to the club. It seems folks from all walks of life are clamoring to be a part of this action.
Vice President of The Kind Sirs, Tom Vidal, met Tuenge in June 2017 after seeing his Instagram account and becoming intrigued by the message.
“After initially meeting with Joseph, I immediately felt a connection and wanted to be part of what he was doing [with The Kind Sirs],” Vidal said. “I bought my first custom-made suit in September right after we met and continue to slowly grow my wardrobe. I see what this idea
can become. We have discussed expanding into schools and teaching young men how to be gentlemen.”
Tuenge is adamant about what the club is and is not. Cursing is not tolerated and no hooligan behavior is allowed, including intoxication and rude behaviors. Members are not pretentious, nor are they distracted by devices. Instead, they are gentlemen who are kind, hold doors, are humble, polite and charitable. Each applicant has to be interviewed and vetted before becoming a member. This insures that the match is well ‘suited’.
“I want to know first off, are they a gentleman, do they have gentlemanly values?” Tuenge asks. “I look for their moral sets and to make sure they are not wanting to join for ‘showboating’ or to just be part of a bunch of guys out on the town. That is not the intention of the club.”
Their next event will be helping three of their own members that have had some recent hardships. They will put them into suits that will be donated by local suit shops, and members will donate time and funds to help the men in several areas.
For more information and to apply for membership, visit their website.
