Very few men’s fashion rags consistently raise the bar with regard to what it means to be a modern man in touch with his inner stylephile. Far from oversaturated, the men's magazine market suffers from anorexia when it comes to content that doesn't include 500K cars and scantily clad starlets. Not to mention both fashion and print media are industries currently in crisis thanks to the economic downturn. All of these factors combined constitute why newly launched men’s rag The Rake is a breath of fresh air. Much in the same vein as the always-charming Fantastic Man, The Rake personifies effortlessness yet educated, style -- one that channels classic male style icons like Cary Grant, Michael Caine, and Gianni Agnelli (whose nickname, “the Rake of the Riviera,” lends the title its moniker).

A Continuous Lean recently spoke with Rake editor Christian Barker about the inspiration behind the magazine. Of The Rake's imagined reader base, Barker says the men in question are “well-traveled, tasteful, experienced, virile, successful, cosmopolitan, confident; someone who appreciates and seeks out beauty, is a bon vivant, but is astute in the way he spends his money, always looking for real and lasting value, legitimacy, a return on the investment.” There’s also an emphasis on behind-the-scenes, as Barker points out: “Most men are interested in that additional dimension -- we like to look ‘under the hood’ ... The Rake is all about pulling back the curtain." In other words, instead of "one page on how a suit should fit -- we’ll run 16 pages on how your suit jacket should fit, with sections on what will flatter different body types.” Think of a subscription as a recession-friendly graduate course in urban male style.