Enough with the shrunken suit jackets, tight, cropped pants, skinny jeans and canvas totes: This fall’s fashion is for big boys. The season’s best menswear trends suit guys of all ages: Twenty-somethings – and their fathers and grandpas, too.
The defining trend of the season? “Mixed media,” says Julie Cameron, marketing director at Saks Fifth Avenue. Sneakers remain red hot and wearable by all generations. A pair that’s part leather and part canvas pretty much defines “mixed media.” The trend – the mix of complementary, but unexpected fabrics in the same garment – crops up in both apparel and footwear, Cameron says.
Another trend she’s spotted: Warm jackets. Appropriate, considering the two recent polar vortices are still fresh in our minds. “Canada Goose, Moncler, Moose Knuckles – we can’t keep those in stock,” Cameron says. Who’s wearing them? Everyone, even suited law firm partners who’d rather not freeze on their commute to the city.
At J.McLaughlin, trend spotters see vintage-looking denim coming on strong. The season’s best, most versatile jeans are neither skinny nor baggy; they’re done in dress up/dress down selvedge denim from Cone Mills, the famed American denim maker. The clothier also predicts men turning to fitted, button-up sweaters for more casual, approachable daytime and date-night looks.
The trendiest “man bags” of the season are backpacks – and no, these aren’t your grandson’s Jansport. The “it” bag for men this fall is a backpack done in luxurious, sturdy leather, and priced accordingly. The backpacks “offer more variety than the standard briefcase,” says Cameron.
Jim Wetzel, co-owner, with Lance Lawson, of Madison Hall and space519 in Chicago, mentions one more trend guaranteed to help men of all ages look good: Grooming. “Looking your best has never been more important,” says Wetzel, who sees it as a logical extension of daily workouts. “Taking care of yourself in the gym has transitioned to the bathroom,” he says.
Men, Wetzel adds, “are caring a bit more, in the way they present themselves, what they carry, how they age.” Words to live by, for the dapper dude about town and the suburban granddad alike.
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