2009 definitely had its highlights in style. We saw guys everywhere putting more thought into how they dress and realizing it may, perhaps, in some stretch of the imagination, affect how the opposite sex may think about them. On top of this new style consciousness there was a new focus on quality, historic brands were revitalized and there were more and more guys walking around in what looked like well fit lumberjack wear.
2010 is going to be a year for the style history books. With the country climbing out of a pretty bad economic crisis which means we can stop buying XXL shirts just because they’re on sale. Those recently revitalized historic brands of last year will come into their own and work out a few of those ‘kinks’.
While last year you may have realized a pair of selvedge denim, grey sweatshirt and leather jacket were not only classic but looked good, this year its time to upgrade those few pieces you may have bought in trepidation. This year is all about expanding on the last, taking those classic pieces and giving them an upgrade so you’re a little more 2010, not 1910 (or 2009 for that matter).
A pair of APC’s certainly did the job last year but what about now that they’re getting worn out? (and we don’t mean just broken in, we mean falling apart). Maybe its time to invest in a pair of these Jean Shop Rocker Fit jeans, cut from finer fabric than the APC’s so they’ll conform to your body even better and have a more dynamic fit (higher quality denim typically “falls” better, like a suit).
Last year we saw almost everyone in an oxford or button-up shirt all the time and everywhere, they were the new “catch-all” garment. We think oxfords are great, we even featured a few that we really liked, but maybe we all lost sight of the simple pleasures of a white t-shirt. We forgot how easy it was to throw one on in the morning and not worry, how easy it was to layer and how cool you felt in one. Which is why we’re recommend picking one up, hopefully something minimal, take for example this “love child” one by Prince Peter.
Those Clark’s desert boots from last Fall? Those are still great, but check out these from Common Projects, a brand known for pitch-perfect modern interpretations on classic shoes. They have a sneaker sole unlike the Clark’s so it’s definitely a contemporary shoe dressed up as a classic.
It seemed like everywhere you looked last year you saw some guy on the street in a pair of wayfarers, you couldn’t throw a rock in Bryant Park last summer without hitting one. This year in our theme of upgrading last years classics we give you this pair of shades by Oliver Peoples in the same wayfarer silhouette updated with a little modern cool. If they’re good enough to be a Jay-Z staple, they’re good enough for us.
The Yankees hat. Everyone has one somewhere, maybe in your closet or maybe it never leaves your head, in which case we’ll tell you now that the dirty, sweaty hat look/smell is never attractive to the opposite sex. Which is why we recommend this New Era 59/50 On-Field cap, it’s the new official on-field hat for the MLB since it’s made out of a new mouisture-wicking material which will prevent any “funky-ness” radiating from your scalp.
A grey sweatshirt is an absolute classic, we did a pretty solid roundup this fall of some of our favorites (of the crewneck variety) but even some of those left us…wanting. We thus went on a search to find the best grey sweatshirt we could find, something that would go with everything at any time, heavy, soft and with a good fit. We found our Holy Grail sweatshirt at James Perse, it’s heavy, it’s soft and it’s cut almost perfectly to not be too tight but still layer-able.
Leather jackets are perennial picks, nobody should be without one in their closet simply because they’re always in style. We figured we should point anyone without one in the right direction starting with this black one by Andrew Marc. While more expensive leather jackets (see: Dior Homme, Dolce and Gabbana) will most likely be on the bleeding edge of fashion, we like the relevant but classic, which is exactly how to describe this one from Andrew Marc.
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