Get ready to go preppy fellas
I shot a very fun menswear video last week for Opera Lane and it made me realise how I sometimes forget about all the great menswear that’s out there.
I definitely style and do more personal shopping with female clients but it’s always great to be able to style up some menswear looks and the really handy thing about men’s clothing is that it very rarely changes that much, so you can really focus on investment pieces that don’t really date.
While the runways at menswear fashion weeks may have featured such hard to pull off trends as skirts, day-glo and bootcut jeans, rest assured there were plenty of more wearable looks that can be easily transitioned into your wardrobe for autumn winter 19.
First thing’s first, let’s discuss the hardest working piece in any Irish person’s wardrobe and that’s the winter coat.
No matter your style preferences, there is a coat out there to suit everyone this season. For the more formal man, there are trenches which seem to be more oversized and have a somewhat sportswear element to them and are perfect to transition you from one season to the other.
There are also a wealth of wool blend overcoats out there many in the traditional tan, navy and black that we’ve come to expect but Topman also have a delightful stone coloured version with dark brown leather trim on the pockets and buttons. It’s a great update if you already own one in a different colour and it also will pretty much work well with any colour in your wardrobe.
On the more casual side of things, the puffer jacket - a firm favourite of Premier League managers and ravers from the mid ‘90s, gets a new season update with the length increasing to down by the ankles.
It remains to be seen whether our temperature will ever plummet to warrant such a lagging jacket. If all else fails, it can double up as extra lagging for your back boiler.
Probably more wearable and versatile is the duffel coat which threads the line between casual and dressy and can be worn over everything from suiting to jeans and knitwear.
It’s also a very durable and dependable coat that will serve you well for many years and ties in well with the preppy revival that’s happening.
As with all fashion, things reach a peak and then go back in the opposite direction so while casual streetwear reigned supreme the last few seasons, we are now having a more put together preppy moment.
Preppy is quite an easy look to pull off and to be fair, a lot of menswear happens to fall into his category or can be easily made to look preppy.
The runway saw a lot of looks that wouldn’t look out of place on the golf course but really to keep it quite smart casual, all you need are some chinos, a polo shirt, sports jacket and some loafers.
Letterman sweatshirts and knits are also in abundance from labels such as Levis, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren.
If this all seems rather tame, then you can really push the boat out and embrace one of menswear’s biggest prints this season which is leopard print. Give a nod to the trend with a leopard print trainer, baseball cap or shirt.