According to the reigning fashion gurus at the Fashion Association in New York City, there are several intriguing style trends for menswear in the fall. The first is longer and leaner, meaning that suits are getting slimmer and leaner and look good when they are streamlined but not exaggerated.
In spite of many recent tendencies of designers to reminisce about fashions from the old days, retro is no longer considered a man's best friend. In fact, this is the good rule of thumb: if you are old enough to have worn it, you are probably too old to wear it again.Suit jackets have less pronounced shoulders and slightly indented waists, and trousers are slimmer and simply cut. The plain fronts that have been causing most men fits of depression have indeed returned - but pleated alternatives are still acceptable. Now if the clothing manufacturers will just keep making them. Two-to-four button jackets are preferable, but double-breasted jackets still look good. There is even a major emphasis on the sharply tailored double-breasted black blazer.
In terms of color, neutrals are still strong, but they are better when made dramatic with such bright colors as lime, orange, yellow, blue, red and pink. These are colors that emanate from a chemist's lab, not nature. As a result, chemically bright shirts and ties in a Vegas mode are on their way to becoming mainstream.
The No. 1 neutral is camel - from rich caramel and palomino to pale honey and nougat. Camel is especially great with gray or dark brown. Gray flannel has not been so prevalent since the days of Gregory Peck - in blended textures of pale dove to rich charcoal.
There is a major return to elegance, partly as a reaction to prolonged emphasis on casual dressing. Casual Fridays softened a rigid dress code in many business establishments, but many fashion designers think it became an excuse for America to qualify as the worst-dressed nation in the world. So the designers are making a major pitch for men to return to elegant dressing.
They also think it is sad that many young men have known nothing except a casual existence. For them the new elegance of this fall means dressing up for the first time. Teens are gravitating toward vivid shirts and bold ties with khakis and jeans and sports jackets. Fashionable men like Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks and Pierce Brosnan have set an elegant example of formal dress carrying over from Oscar night.
Casual is still here, of course, but it is supposedly a new casual. Now executives are saying professional standards have to be maintained, meaning that dressing down on casual Friday should be a merited treat - not an adventure into the clothes hamper.
Casual means carefully planned but brightly colored and patterned shirts, a great tie, flat-front khaki pants - with or without a jacket. The jacket that is added can be khaki or denim windbreaker, a leather or suede aviator, or a dark sport coat for a more finished look.
A pair of well-fitted fresh jeans worn with a soft pastel shirt or sweater and a velvet blazer still fits the casual Friday mode. Finally, accessories can be added, such as colorful statement socks, bold and shiny belts, graphic bravado ties and neon bright tees. For footwear, the casual guy wears a trim loafer or a snappy ankle boot.
Another fall bent is likely to be adventure clothes, designed for everything from trout fishing to yachting, snowboarding to roller blading and rock climbing. The thing is - this fall adventure clothing is making its way onto big city streets. Safari and military details worn in the past are big again. This means sports-minded pockets, closures and flaps, reinforced seams and the comfort of stretch.
There will also be some men wearing utility vests, hooded parkas, ski pants, skinny pullovers and jumpsuits. Trail gear, vests, jackets and sturdy trousers will be mainly in natural colors, patterns and plaids, thus blending in with their surroundings in mellow forest shades spruce, cedar, ginger, cinnamon and sage.
Computerized technology is also changing men's fashions this year. High-tech textiles offer the comfort of stretch while they shine and radiate. There are metallic glazes, holograms and carbonized finishes. With the use of micro-fibers, fit is more accurate and seams are less bulky. Shape, fit and wearbility will be greatly enhanced with new fasteners that utilize clasps, zippers and plastic closures.
Welcome to the 21st century.