The week that was in menswear, style, and the occasional distraction. Here’s what caught our eye.
1. Football Shirts as Off-Pitch Uniform
There’s been a quiet revolution brewing in menswear, and it involves something most of us grew up wearing without thinking twice about: football shirts. The vintage football jersey has made the leap from terrace casual to genuine style statement. Brands like Pantofola d’Oro have been collaborating with Smiley to reimagine what football-inspired clothing can look like, and the results are surprisingly sophisticated. We’ve gone from mocking lads in replica kits to considering a well-chosen retro Botafogo shirt as legitimate weekend wear. Garrincha never had to worry about whether his kit worked with selvedge denim, but here we are.
2. The Return of the Loden Coat
Winter is closing in, and we’re seeing a welcome resurgence of the loden coat. There’s something deeply satisfying about a garment that’s been doing the same job, in essentially the same way, for decades. The Austrian alpine original hasn’t needed reinventing because it was never broken. If you’ve been considering one, this is your sign. Pair it with flannel trousers and a rollneck and you’re done. No further questions.
3. Belt and Braces, Literally
We wrote about the belt and braces approach to dressing a while back, and it remains one of those rare pieces of advice that actually holds up. The idea is simple: build redundancy into your outfits so that if one element fails (a colour clash, a fabric mismatch), you’ve got a backup that ties everything together. It’s not about being boring. It’s about being deliberate.
4. The Backpack Question
A reader wrote in asking about the best backpack to wear with a suit, and honestly, it’s one of those questions that reveals more about modern menswear than most trend reports. The fact that men are carrying backpacks to work in tailored clothing tells you everything about where the culture has shifted. The answer, for what it’s worth: keep it minimal, leather or high-quality canvas, and avoid anything with more zips than a travel store.
5. P. Johnson Continues to Impress
Australian tailoring house P. Johnson remains the gold standard for what relaxed suiting should look like. Their latest pieces continue to push the idea that bespoke tailoring doesn’t have to mean stiff, formal, or precious. If you haven’t looked into them yet, you’re overdue.
6. Colour Without the Chaos
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: perfect colour combinations come from restraint, not from throwing everything at the wall. Repeat your tones. Let one colour do the talking while the others provide support. It’s the menswear equivalent of a good rhythm section.
7. Avant-Garde or Just Different?
The line between genuinely avant-garde fashion and simply wearing something unusual gets blurrier every season. We’re not complaining. The more men experiment with silhouette, proportion, and unexpected fabric choices, the less boring the whole landscape becomes. You don’t have to go full Comme des Garçons to push your own boundaries.
That’s the roundup for this week. Get outside, wear something you haven’t worn in a while, and pay attention to the details.