Unlike our female counterparts, most fellas are as swayed by fleeting fashion trends as much as a Taliban is by women’s rights. So, while our lady friends are stocking up on draped skirts, shaggy coats and power-shoulder tailoring, we’re happier buying into modern interpretations of wardrobe classics.
Sure there’s a bit of the Mr Ben in all of us. To those unfamiliar with 1970’s children’s telly, Mr Ben was a regular Joe resplendent in bowler hat and two-button suit whose daily visit to the local fancy dress shop led him into an unusual time vortex, landing Mr Ben in the age most commonly associated with his fancy dress choice of the day. But, unlike Mr Ben who on a Monday might be a Spaceman (only on Monday I hear you cry) and on Tuesday a knight of the realm, we are confined to slightly less challenging sartorial options.
Still, we love nodding our heads to our seafaring forefathers with a Breton striped knit and a peacoat, or by showing our respect for the armed forces with a vintage field coat and a flannel officer’s shirt. How many chaps wearing plaid this season have picked up an axe let alone felled a tree, it’s unlikely those in country brogues and tweed jackets will have been beating out wood pigeons this weekend, and of the countless scores of men braving today’s rain in their waxed Belstaff tourmaster jacket very few will be commuting home on the back of a Triumph Bonneville.
The fact is we men prefer to dress like timeless action heroes than throwaway catwalk ponces and the most successful designers are those who reflect this desire in their collections. The current rash of high street presentations for spring 10 has seen men’s fashion chains from River Island and Debenhams, to Matalan and Topman, chasing this design mantra. The standout design theme for next season has found menswear designers inspired by the early Twentieth Century pioneers of America, particularly those set against a backdrop of the great outdoors. Think vintage-styled jeans, hickory striped tab-collar work shirts, and heavy denim overshirts. But, rather than simply copying from the archive books, next season’s take on Americana finds the high street following the Japanese interpretation of vintage Americana. Brands such as Post Overalls, Haversack and New York's Engineered Garments (pictured) provide the blueprint for a look that is all about reinterpreting Americana for a modern consumer by introducing new silhouettes and clever detailing.
Other key looks to dominate next season’s rails include 1980s casuals, public school preppy, 1950s collegiate, and nautical. It’s enough to satisfy the Mr Ben in each of us.
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