2 posts tagged “men's fashion”

As we fight this bitterly cold winter, we are comforted by the thought that spring is officially less than two months away, and our thoughts begin to drift to warm days in the park, barbeques with friends, and margaritas on outdoor patios.  That being said, we eagerly begin to look forward to shedding those winter layers in exchange for lighter and brighter fabrics.

 

The prevailing trend of the last few seasons in men’s ready-to-wear is tailored, slim cut trousers and jeans (slightly cropped at the ankle), combined with preppy layers and loafers or oxfords without socks, and this trend continues to predominate the runways.  The popular early ‘60s Mod styling shows no signs of slowing down when reviewing the upcoming F/W 2009 collections as well.

 

However, a few new trends for this season have been noted…

 

In t-shirts and sweaters, the sizes continue to increase as the decade draws to a close…  Fitted tees and sweaters in the earlier part of the decade are rapidly expanding and becoming fuller in the men’s silhouette.  A good example of this can be seen below in slouchier styles.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As men’s skinny pants continue to permeate the fashion world unfettered, a slowly emerging trend towards fuller trousers has begun to surface…  By Spring 2010, I predict a lot of pleating will finally return to menswear as well.  Below are some good examples of fuller cuts in pants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another men’s trend that continues to dominate the past few spring seasons is shorts.  Beginning with longer lengths ending just above the knee a few years back, the length continues to rise, mirroring styles from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.  Whether casual or dressy, shorts are no longer for the playground and the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally…  The color combo that saturated runways last fall for the upcoming season is yellow and gray.  I remember noting Sienna Miller’s dress (as Edie Sedgwick) in Factory Girl in early 2007 during her first tour of The Factory (a flirty mid sixties number), and knew it wouldn’t be long before designers started capitalizing on the visually pleasing combo. Below are some great examples

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Happy shopping.

 

~Chuck

First of all, I hope everyone had a great new year.  Hopefully, I'll expand the blog in some way during 2008.   I'm still in the beta phase, and getting used to having a blog in general.   Once I become dedicated, and utilize all the blog's capabilities (as well as my own), I may even create a "real" blog with a better host (wider readership and fewer restrictions).

 

Now, for the fashion…

 

As we move into the closing years of the first decade of this new and strange technologically driven millennium, fads and fashions are moving at a pace quicker than ever before, with retro looks being recycled with fewer years between the preceding craze.

 

Therefore, a good rule of thumb is to never fall victim to an over-the-top, at-the-moment fad (unless you're one of the few who can pull it off and not look foolish when looking back at pictures from this era)…   Otherwise, you'll wear it for a few months before it goes back to the vault for another ten years, only to reemerge with slight variations and modifications.  

 

Looking at men's fashion over the past eight years, it is important to note that there has been a shift in the men's silhouette, which mirrors a similar phenomenon in women's trends.   The fitted top and full (if not wide-legged) bottom half, which dominated most of the nineties, as well as the earlier part of this decade, has completely reversed itself (as it happened with the seventies/eighties transition period).   It is becoming more and more common to find a fitted bottom half with a fuller top half.   Color still dominates ready-to-wear men's looks (mostly inspired by the eighties revival earlier in the decade, as well as the neon colors of underground dance culture), though muted colors and earth tones have begun to reemerge over the past few months, and have been shown in both S/S and F/W collections over the past year.

 

As the winter marches on, the trends of the season for men continue to have a definitive mod look.  Inspiration from early sixties mod/late seventies mod revival (as well as early new wave) are more than evident.   Slim-fit trousers and denim are most common; with designer denim going into decline as inexpensive mass-market brands offer up-to-the moment skinny looks in flattering styles.   Turtlenecks have reemerged this season, as well as plaid patterns (flannel, madras, etc.).   The reintroduction of military trends last season remains popular (particularly in shoes).   A movement towards oxfords, desert boots, tasseled loafers, wingtips, etc., begins to overtake casual sneakers for the first time in six years or so.   Hair moves away from over-styled, straight, flat-ironed looks to more natural waves, curls and free flowing mop-top styles.  Below are some great looks as examples.   Have fun, and happy winter!

 

*The below images are credited to one of my online fashion Bibles, The Sartorialist.