Fashion Trends 2018
What’s in Your Closet?
By Franco Carmona
Trends are misunderstood. Stop most men in the street and they’ll tell you they don’t follow fashion trends, but look inside their wardrobes and hanging alongside the timeless classics you’ll see ripped jeans, seventies knitwear, Cuban collar shirts… and those are just the trends he still likes. The preference on clothes and dressing up has been changing season after season.
Most guys care about looking great, and feeling confident, and sometimes it can get hard to make sense of the trends on fashion shows and the catwalk. We make it simple, and provide some of the latest men’s fashion trends. Pick and choose what works for you.
Vertical Stripes
The vertical stripe is officially menswear’s new go-to pattern. Seen on everything from bombers to field jackets at the global fashion weeks, there’s no denying that it was one seriously stripy season. In real life, you’re aiming for Armie Hammer’s effortless Call My By Your Name wardrobe. The best examples are straight, narrow and deployed across T-shirts, short-sleeved shirts and cuffed joggers. When creating your own looks, one vertically striped piece at a time is often enough – the double vertical stripe is an advanced style move that only the most confident of men can pull off.
Tonal Dressing
Think of tonal dressing as spring/summer’s answer to all-black everything, but with way more choice. The real beauty of tonal dressing is that it works for almost any scenario that you can think of. Tonal suiting? Try it for a summer wedding. Tonal pastels? Give it a go on your next summer holiday. Tonal navy? You’ve probably worn that all winter long. Colors you’re already well stocked with are a good place to start – think blue or grey – but don’t be afraid of lighter neutrals and even pastel shades as the weather improves. And three is the magic number for the number of tonal items you should be wearing in one outfit.
Unstructured Blazer
There are guys who just ‘get’ tailoring, and there are those who don’t. The unstructured blazer is pretty much the one piece of tailoring that can unite all men thanks to its softer shape and less rigid styling rules. You’ll get your money’s worth out of one, too: dress it up for work with separates or wear with a camp shirt and jeans for evening smart-casual styling.
Side-Stripe Pants
The proof that side-stripe pants are no longer unacceptable for grown-ups was the fact that luxury designers went absolutely mad for them this season. There were skinny versions at Balmain; Prada showed them coordinating tops, while Valentino went straight-up retro sportswear. Basically, if you haven’t got lines down your legs, you’re not doing menswear right. The key to making side stripes work is balance. Yes, you can wear trainers with them, but you’ll need to add a smart knit or a slim-fit shirt.
Dad Denim
Menswear likes extremes. So, just when it looked like circulation-restricting spray-on jeans were never going to die, we’re gifted with leg-friendly dad denim. Think loose fit, light wash, unfussy and straight up and down. Dad denim unites baby boomers and millennials through a love of unfussy comfort. It’s comfortable, doesn’t make you look like you’re trying too hard and gives legs everywhere the breathing space they’ve been so desperately craving for the past decade or so.
As for the rules of dressing like your dad (only much, much better): go for cropped designs or pin-roll your jeans (pools of fabric at your feet are still not cool) and team with T-shirts, statement trainers, Chelsea boots and loose-fitting shirts in pastel shades. Skinny jeans, your vice-like grip is no more.
Technical Jackets
The winds of change have blown and what’s deemed hot property in men’s outerwear has done a complete 180. Yes, that silky-soft suede bomber you bought last year is still unbelievably attractive, but if you really want to flex your menswear muscle then a technical jacket is your safest bet.
Before you groan, we’re not talking dishwater dull mountain trekking gear. The technical jackets you’re about to see land in the shops have kept their weather-fighting superpowers but are now designed in a way which won’t put you to sleep. They come color-blocked, in pastels or dark and moody shades.
The very best part of this reinvention is that your styling options are broad. Throw one on over jeans, tailored trousers, knits, or shirts… you’d be hard pressed to go wrong.
Checks
We know what you’re thinking, checks can’t come back because they never really went away. Technically you’re right, but while checks refuse to ever leave the menswear party, the wrong type can make you look, well, square.
We really don’t want you letting yourself down in one of those short-sleeved weekend wonders, but fortunately you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to size, style and color this season. The safest way to make checks work for you is to try larger or more complex motifs on outerwear, knitwear and trousers. To avoid giving innocent bystanders a headache, check yourself and make sure that the rest of your outfit is toned down.
Tropical Print Shirts
Sometimes we think that menswear designers are out to do a number on us. Such is the case with the resurgence of tropical print shirts. Liking a tropical shirt flies in the face of all good reason: they’re usually gaudy, never fit particularly well and are invariably worn by overbearing men as a nonverbal way of communicating that you’re in close proximity to ‘a fun guy’.
Nobody therefore is more surprised when Paris (definitely not tropical) embraced the trend most warmly with Louis Vuitton in particular making us sit bolt upright and admit we were wrong.
Getting on board requires subtlety, something lost on practically every printed shirt wearer to date. Seek out designs in pared-back color palettes and combine with dark tailored chinos or jeans to nail the look.
Chukka Boots
In a world of strait-laced shoes and chilled-out trainers, chukka boots happily occupy the middle ground. Being neither too dressy nor informal, a trustier footwear companion you couldn’t find. You’ll need to wear them with jeans or chinos, but they’ll look equally handsome with a pair of shorts.
There you have it, info to assist you in putting together a look that works for your individual style, while looking your best and building a wardrobe that suits you.
