Five men are on a mission to make Gainesville dapper.
After attending a basketball game at Santa Fe College and noticing about 50 people in nearly the same outfit, Johnathan Alexander founded the Dapperville Gentlemen’s Organization.
In January, Dapperville hosted a workshop at the Grove Park Community Christian Church in Hawthorne for boys ages 10 to 13 on how to tie a necktie, Alexander said.
On April 12, he said, the men will teach students at Newberry High School the importance of self-presentation.
“You don’t need a million bucks to feel like a million bucks,” he said.
Alexander said sweatpants and sneakers are his grocery store attire.
On a normal day, Alexander might wear a blazer over his button-down shirt, accompanied by European-cut jeans, brown boots and a fedora.
“We live in a society where perception is made to be a reality,” Alexander said.
Tyler Wyszkowski, Dapperville’s co-founder and chief marketing officer, said it was not long before they came up with the name.
“John always loved the word ‘dapper,’ and we are from Gainesville, hence Dapperville,” said Wyszkowski.
Dapperville, Alexander said, is built upon the pillars of reputation, organization and confidence.
He said the group hopes to add new members and travel to new regions in the future.
“If you want to get somewhere in life, you have to care about how you dress,” Alexander said. “I want to show people how important that is.”
