Spring Style Manifesto: Casual is Coming
Warm weather and sunny days are the standard signs of spring, which also means that most men will be swapping coats and blazers for shorts and tees. Casual styles are simply the most practical option available when the temperature starts to rise, which explains why so many spring trends deal with casual fashion.
Double-Breasted and Debonair
Men’s styles have a tendency to become too casual in spring, when dress codes and other standards of dress are more relaxed. This trend is practically a counterbalance to that practice: where other guys have gone grungy, you go back to a sartorial heritage of cool.
If you’ve been reading your fashion magazines, you’d know that double breasted styles are hardly novel; the current reinvention of DB’s has been around for at least two years. It looks like the trend is here to stay. While it used to be limited to just the most formal of suits, you can now find even double-breasted cardigans, which means you have enough options even for the warmer days of spring and summer.
DB styles can be worn in a wide variety of ways. Throw it over a crewneck and jeans to dress up your whole ensemble, or wear it on a fitted shirt and skinny necktie for rebel chic. The key DB items for the season are simple cardigans and solid spring-weight jackets, so start looking for your size.
Bold Stripes
In men’s fashion, plain formalwear is formal. With casual clothes, plain pieces are, well, plain. A white tee with blue jeans and Chuck Taylors might be the indispensable go-to casual outfit, but wear it twice in a row and you’ll start boring people to sleep. The best way to spice up your outfit for the season is to begin investing in some nice stripes.
Vertical and diagonal stripes are mainstays in formal men’s fashion (shirts and neckties, respectively). For casual wear, meanwhile, it’s horizontal stripes that give your outfits personality. A beige or white top with navy horizontal stripes evokes a nautical and somewhat European vibe (think the Mediterranean) that complements any guy. With all the possible color combinations, you’re just about set until the fall.
Look for a light sweater or Henley to work with the heat of spring and summer. Worn with khaki shorts or blue jeans, you have yourself the perfect go-to top for the season.
Color Change
Jeans and chinos are unimpeachable essentials in every man’s wardrobe, but you likely own both items in just a handful of shades of blue and khaki. While you expand your casual range this season, you may as well get more of these classics – more colors, that is.
Gray jeans and colored chinos are the new must-have items for spring for similar reasons. First, they’re a playful reinvention of classics that every guy already owns; you recognize them right away, but there’s also an immediate twist to them. Both styles also exude a formal air and casual vibe in the same breath; it’s that same ambiguity that gives them the kind of versatility necessary for spring and summer trends.
Find yourself a pair of gray denims and at least one pair of chinos in a color you don’t yet own (red is usually a great starting point). Pair them with solid neutrals or contrasting colors – blue works great with gray, while grays and navy go well with red – to really make your new acquisition pop.
Other Good Reads You May Enjoy:
Mens Spring Fashion Basics 2011
Bright Green Ties for Spring 2011
Your Mens-Ties.com Team