The Very Begining

Dapper Villains has a long history, most of it undocumented.

The idea first came together in 2011 while Dana Blouin and Josh Petruna were working for a telecommunications company in Cleveland, Ohio. Both were drawn to rugged, casual menswear, but they also enjoyed mixing in the occasional flash of old-school elegance. Part of it was genuine personal style, and part of it was a tongue-in-cheek response to a few friends who took business casual far more seriously than either of them thought was necessary.

Those inside jokes eventually evolved into a social media meme account that Josh grew into a surprisingly popular community.

After Dana moved to Bangkok in 2013, the meme side of Dapper Villains gradually faded away, but he and Josh still owned the name and social media accounts. Rather than let it disappear, Dana gave the brand a second life as a rugged casual menswear label.

Dapper Villains enjoyed several good years and became an invaluable learning experience in building a brand from the ground up. In 2023, Dana decided it was time for a new chapter and closed the business to focus on new ventures, carrying many of those lessons forward into the projects that followed.