I’ll admit that in the past I have scoffed at men’s fashion, claiming that it is easy, only a matter of color and devoid from the many choices that us, as women, have to work with when it comes to shape and cut. But recently the attention that street stylish men have been getting across the blogosphere and my own attraction to manly campus trends (see Flannel and Jean), has made me rethink how I feel about men’s fashion. And I wonder, perhaps it is actually more difficult to get dressed as a fashionable man than a woman, as many try to find the perfect balance between self-expression and masculinity (success?)?
This Fashionisto employs two prime elements that men seem to use to transcend their classic menswear pieces; color and texture. For color, he chooses a purple polo for his bottommost layer. The purple adds a punch and compliments the gray that he layers with. Former designer for J.Crew Brice Pattison, shows how to use color to a further extreme.
Since a three-piece suit is a sure sign of a gentleman, this Fashionisto doesn’t ditch the traditional ensemble but puts it on its head with a gray knit sweater and a blazer of a lighter shade. ASOS makes a similar sweater vest but for those who want to further complicate –er excite things Polo Ralph Lauren sells a variety of prints. For me, this Fashionisto’s outfit hangs on his washed out jeans. They make sure that his upper half, especially the blazer, looks fresh and casual.
Ladies, remember to think about how these manly trends can be incorporated into your wardrobe for we all know that menswear is here to stay. And maybe, just maybe, next season you could look like Lauren Remington Platt.
In the spirit of boys, here are a lot of them.