Men’s New Fashion Reality: The Tailored In-Between

A new vibe is blowing through the menswear scene this winter. In the corporate world, execs are trading in classic, boxy suits for soft, tailored blazers and relaxed trousers in soft herringbones and funky windowpane prints. Meanwhile, men with a more casual style have (thankfully) moved beyond the slim-yet-droopy-backside jean to the fitted jogger-and-custom-sweatshirt combo. How do they pull it all together? With a sports jacket and velvet high-tops. In other words, fashionable guys spent most of 2016 building wardrobes to reflect the new fashion reality – the tailored in-between. “Men are dressing down, but they are also dressing up,” said Jian DeLeon, senior menswear editor for the global trend forecasting firm WGSN. “It’s the choose-your-own-adventure era in menswear. He’s trying to figure out which rules he wants to break, depending on what he’s feeling like and where he is in life.” Corporate dandies – since J.P. Morgan Chase’s decision in June to allow employees to wear silk-blend chinos and cashmere pullovers – are going more cazh. The new breed of CEOs (Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Tumblr’s David Karp) don’t need stiff, classic looks to communicate power. Read more at Philly News.