I think it's okay if your Rico Starr clothes have guy scent. (Image via Instagram)

 

Everybody is a Starr ... or can be, with a little help from Eric Alán's Rico Starr brand — which is blowing out two candles this month.

 

The clothes are inspired by sex, partying, gay culture, pop icons and (gasp) intimacy — and what better time to revisit that old friend as we hopefully approach the end of the worst of the pandemic?

 

“It's funny, I didn't even realize it until I was looking at some sales figures and happened to notice that I've been in business for two years,” Eric tells Boy Culture of his busi-versary. “The time has gone by fast. COVID obviously had a negative impact, but I'm still here! I feel like in those two years, I've learned so much and gained a lot of confidence with the brand and plan to expand it even more.”

 

What makes Rico Starr stand out?

 

“I love and always have loved all things bling — rhinestones, glitter, metallics, etc.,” he explains. “There's a lot of dull, muted stuff out there that's just sooooo boring to me. That's why I set out to work in those materials.”

 

(Images via Rico Starr)

 

I love some of the pieces, particularly the shirt with the giant, instantly IDable poppers bottle on it. Very '70s — not that people stopped using them then! “You should see the looks I get wearing the rhinestone poppers T-shirt out in public. Those that know, know. I like that aspect of my brand a lot.”

 

To me, Rico Starr is cheeky fun, which seems to be what its maker — one of whose mottos is “get piggy with it” — was going for. “I look at Rico Starr as reflecting a culture and even demystifying it a little bit. Yeah, we use poppers; see, here's a shirt with a shiny poppers bottle on it. Yeah, there are recreational drugs on the scene; see, here they all are on a shirt in glitter. Yeah, we are into fetishes; see, here is a sleeveless shirt that straight up commands you to Lick My Pits. It's all in good fun. I'm not out to endorse a way of life, but more to describe one — and honestly, I can only go by my own experience, so a lot of my line is intrinsically me.”

 

Starr-wear looks good on everyone, and offers sizes from influencer to large and in charge, but, “Sexy will always be sexy no matter what.”

 

Check it out here.