The New York Times announced on Tuesday afternoon that it is launching a men’s style section, which will make its debut on Friday, April 3. According to a release from the Times, it will take the form of a 12 to 14-page print section running the first Friday of each month. The plan is to have Styles editor Stuart Emmrich oversee the whole thing, hire a dedicated men’s fashion editor and make use of the paper’s current stable of fashion writers (including Guy Trebay, Matthew Schneier and John Koblin) to build it out.

So why exactly did the paper feel the need to add a men’s style section, its first addition to the paper since Thursday Styles began running in 2005? In part, it has to do with catering to its readership; according to Emmrich, over half of his readers are men. A rep for the Times says that the department was also seeing inbound interest from advertisers “who seemed eager for a section targeted specifically at their customers.”

Both the men’s fashion industry and the conversation surrounding it has changed a lot in recent years. Blogs like The Sartorialist and Fuck Yeah Menswear proliferated an appreciation for men’s street style; writers at sites like Four Pins, a 2012 offshoot of Complex (edited by Fuck Yeah Menswear author Lawrence Schlossman), now cover products and news with a mix of genuine enthusiasm and cheery profanity. As for the designers, up-and-comers like Public School and Hood by Air have unequivocally taken the typically womenswear-dominated fashion industry by storm.

According to the Times’s rep, there will be additional online content to supplement what appears in print, especially during the men’s fashion shows that happen twice a year.

What is your take on this venture? Does this highlight the growth of mens fashion?