How To Dress Like A Man In 2020

Opt For Workshop-Appropriate Denim

The king of the workwear fabrics, denim has the ability to make any outfit look like it belongs in front of a machine (and not one with a glowing apple on the front). Just look at the long list of blue jeans wearers: cowboys, factory workers and even your dad on DIY weekends. All manly AF.

Pristine selvedge remained the go-to for several years, but in recent seasons designers and high-street brands have moved towards styles that look more than just a little lived in.

Instead of shelling out a month’s rent for trousers someone else destroyed, don’t be afraid to rough up that raw indigo-dyed pair you’ve obsessively protected from rain, spilt drinks and washing machines for the last two years.

Bite the bullet and run them through a delicate cycle on 20 degrees Celsius, or leave them in a cold bath overnight. The fades that emerge are the signal they’ve seen somewhere other than just the house and office.

Keen to go the whole hog with rips? Use a scalpel or Stanley knife to slash a pair of thin lines at the jeans’ knees (preferably not while you’re wearing them) and let the threads fray. If that’s too much, one of this year’s biggest denim trends is for raw hems on slightly cropped jeans – so take the scissors to the ends while keeping everything else fresh.

Not got the patience to wear in raw denim or a steady enough hand to create rugged, ripped jeans yourself? Helpfully, brands ranging from high street to high-end have jumped on the trend and are producing plenty of pre-distressed styles that pass the mark.

Swap The 1950s Sweep For 1970s Roughness

It’s time to bid adieu to that perfectly preened barnet. Both texture and length are going to be key over the next 12 months; think the collar-brushing locks of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in All The Presidents’ Men and Chris Hemsworth in Thor.

Not that it will grow in overnight, mind. However, start now, and you’ll be able to pull off that ‘straight out of the ocean’ surfer swagger in six to eight months.

To go hell for leather hair, ignore anyone who brings up ‘peak beard’ (again). Providing it suits the face it calls home, 10-day stubble gives off the desirable impression of a man that’s been too damn busy bringing his A-game to bother with shaving.

Of course, we all know that ‘just got out of bed’ hair does require a little bit of effort. Though the right products, such as a salt spray or matt pomade scrunched into the hair, will help produce a natural, textured finish.

Invest In Shearling

Back when men spent most of their lives outside, hardy materials like shearling were reserved for workwear. While the majority are more likely to spend the nine-to-five in a stylish office rather than herding cattle, there’s no harm in looking like you could if you wanted to.

Why are we suggesting this with summer just around the corner? Well, it’s not all that surprising that shearling is pricey, considering that this wool inside, suede outside material is removed from the sheep and tanned in a single piece. But considering its continued prevalence at fashion weeks (both on the runways and on the streets outside), picking up a jacket now at a time when many may be in the sale guarantees the best cost-per-wear when autumn rears its head again.

Though decent man-made options like borg do exist; if possible try to buy the real deal. Plump for a high-quality option and it’ll age like George Clooney. It’s the type of piece you’ll either hand down to a son or make all your money back on if you decide to sell it in five years.

Similarly, tread carefully when buying vintage. Pre-owned styles tend to come with a wider, boxier cut that isn’t right for every body shape and, let’s face it, there’s nothing manly about looking like you’re wearing an older sibling’s clothes.

Make A Statement, But Don’t Shout

There are several different types of archetypal ‘men’ that can be channelled using a variety of statement pieces, i.e. lumberjack – flannel shirt, soldier – bomber jacket, and so on.

Whichever rugged statement piece you choose, don’t overdo it. Unless you really do own a hog, that multi-zipped biker jacket, accordion panel trousers and buckled boots is probably (read: definitely) a bit much.

Whether the aim is to channel biker man, workshop man or something else, keep the basic foundations of the outfit the same – weathered denim and a classic white T-shirt – and allow a single piece to speak for itself.

Tweaks offer personality but should be kept subtle – a capped sleeve and cigarette pack like James Dean, or a beaten-up neckline, for example. It should go without saying that boot spurs or a tool belt are surplus to requirements.

High-Low

All this talk of rugged materials and manly icons of eras past needn’t mean it’s time to chuck a job in marketing to start fixing vintage motorcycles.

High-low dressing is the sartorial middle ground and refers to the art of combining formal and casual pieces in a way that rids the former of its stuffiness, and the latter of its sloppiness.

Of course, striking the right balance is tough. One of the easiest methods for nailing the look is to rely on the texture offered by fabrics to create contrast. For example, try a leather biker over a shirt and knitted tie; a shearling coat over a suit; or even introduce a denim shirt to the usual nine-to-five rotation.

The make the pairing seamless, opt for tried-and-tested designs and iconic shapes. Don’t be tempted by on-trend cuts or patterns. Stick to the classics and you’ll be able to wear that bank balance-bruising purchase a decade from now, rather than regretfully trying to recoup the outlay on eBay when trends inevitably change.

The Worst Spring-Summer Menswear Trends 2020 |

We shouldn’t really say this, but fashion trends can be a waste of energy. For every welcome gear change in our wardrobes, there are other trends that are fleeting and unflattering, unsustainable for both the wallet and the planet.

Others, of course, are certifiably crazy. In most cases, the trends to skip are those at the sharp end of menswear: the most extreme looks, fresh off the catwalk. Capital-F fashion rarely looks as good on the street as on the runway, and even more wearable trends don’t suit everyone.

To be clear: we’re a style site, we’re not anti-trend. If you have the skill and confidence to integrate the most directional menswear into your look, good for you. But most men can’t do the western thing without looking like a line dancer. Or warcore without looking like they’re going paintballing.

And this season, most of us are best-advised to pass on the seven trends below. Our editors have highlighted the most challenging, most voguish, most… Actually, let’s just say what we mean: these are the worst trends for spring and summer, along with what you should wear instead.

Bare-Chested Suits

Tailoring worn bare chested may just be the most oxymoronic trend out there. The suit (which prides itself on its reverence for tradition and ability to cover the whole body) is being worn sans shirt, leaving more flesh on show than is either decent or practical.

This isn’t hyperbole either. Dior, Hermes, Etro, Ermenegildo Zegna and Dries Van Noten all showed suits without shirts for SS19 while Childish Gambino turned out to be the brave soul opting to wear the look IRL. In fairness, he just about pulled it off, but the rest of the male population of planet earth don’t have the luxury of being Childish Gambino, so the louche essence of this trend needs serious reappraisal to make it more wearable.

– Luke Sampson, associate editor

Hermes

Tie Dye

Listening to Pink Floyd, speaking to imaginary people, licking things – there are certain activities in life that are best enjoyed on drugs. Wearing tie-dye is another. Not that we endorse illegal substances. The point is that when you look at pieces like the Cuban collar shirt, pleated trousers and corduroy, it’s easy to romanticise the style of past decades, but in this case, psychedelic swirls belong in, and only in, the Summer Of Love.

Sure, scumbro — with the backing of Saint Laurent and Burberry — may have made the case for totally rad patterns to return. But other than on the backs of Jonah Hill, Pete Davidson or Justin Bieber (and even then) is this part of the hippy movement one we really want to dig up from the fields of Woodstock? To paraphrase the late First Lady Nancy Regan, “When it comes to tie-dye, just say no.”

– Luke Todd, deputy editor

Amiri

Distressed Sneakers

Few trends bring out the curmudgeon in me like luxury brands asking £600 for a pair of sneakers deliberately made to look like they’ve seen five years’ hard wear. Gucci, Golden Goose and Balenciaga have all done it in recent years and the trend seems to be peaking this summer. The defence is that they’re ironically paying homage to style tribes – grunge, skatewear – that wear their sneakers into the ground. Critics, on the other hand, accuse them of fetishizing poverty.

Wherever you sit on the argument, the aesthetic looks like this: brand new trainers that come out of the box with ‘dirty’ marks on them, torn stitching and, in one or two cases, what looks like tape holding the upper to the midsole. If you’re into irony-drenched fashion statements, fine. But I can get the same look with a battered pair of Chuck Taylors that cost me £40 eight years ago.

– Ian Taylor, editor-in-chief

Short Shorts

The runway has long been a window into the more exaggerated aspects of menswear, and it doesn’t get more ‘out there’ than some of the criminally short shorts that have run down recent ways. Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton have all been touting styles that sit high on your thighs and, well, if you’ve got the bronzed, toned, hairless limbs of a Victoria’s Secret model, all the power to you.

Unfortunately, most male legs are hairy fiends and are hardly the most alluring features in our arsenal of body parts. Also, short shorts might look debonair on the beach but can make for rather inappropriate and unfortunate office wear. Do you want Judith from HR knocking on your office door again?

– Richard Jones, staff writer

Fendi

Neon

We often bang on about how you should invest in a wardrobe of wearable, versatile colours (navy, greys and neutrals). So it jars with us slightly that one of the biggest trends of SS19 is neon. That’s right, the fluorescent shades that once lit up rave dancefloors in the ‘90s are now in fashion.

Virgil Abloh’s fabled first collection for Louis Vuitton featured it in the form of wearable luggage, gloves, vests and more subtly, shoe laces. Versace went big on neon with cross body bags, trainers and even a bright green suit. This is all well and good, but the trouble with neon is that it just looks novelty and frankly, cheap.

– Charlie Thomas, senior editor

Cycling Sunglasses

The sports sunglasses trend is the peculiar offspring of a number of things happening in menswear at the moment. 1) Nineties sportswear is bigger today than it was 25 years ago. 2) Technical, functional design is everywhere. And 3) Designers are engaged in a strange race to give everything we once considered naff as much street cred as possible.

Which is why the likes of Vetements and Prada have cycling-style glasses in their SS19 collections and brands are queuing up to do a collab with Oakley. It’s the eyewear equivalent of ugly, chunky sneakers. We’re talking wild wraparound styles with neon colours or mirrored lenses.

It’s a big look, and if you’re not in the peloton with bike-mad Mamils (middle-aged men in lycra) or bleeding-edge streetwear kids, this is a trend to miss. Anyone who says it’s going to last is lying.

– Ian Taylor, editor-in-chief

Vetements

Harvey Specter's Best Quotes 2020

1. “When you’re backed against the wall, break the goddamn thing down.”

2. “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

3. “Winners don’t make excuses when the other side plays the game.”

4. “Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.”

5. “Ever loved someone so much, you would do anything for them? Yeah, well make that someone yourself and do whatever the hell you want.”

6. “I don’t pave the way for people… people pave the way for me.”

7. “I’m not about caring, I’m about winning.”

8. “I’m against having emotions, not against using them.”

9. “I don’t play the odds, I play the man.”

10. “That’s the difference between you and me. You wanna lose small, I wanna win big.”

11. “I don’t have dreams, I have goals.”

12. “I could be drinking a juice box and still kick your ass.”

13. “I’m not interested in great, I want to know who its Daddy is.”

14. “Sometimes good guys gotta do bad things to make the bad guys pay.”

15. “It’s not bragging if it’s true.”

16. “Unless you’re looking to make me breakfast tomorrow, I think we’re done.”

17. “You don’t send a puppy to clean up its own mess”

18. “Those would all be shades of I don’t give a shit”

19. “Work until you no longer have to introduce yourself.”

20. “It’s going to happen because I’m going to make it happen.”

21. “I like to smile at people who don’t like me.”

22. “Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.”

23. “You want to change your life? Change the way you think.”

24. “97% of people who gave up are employed by the 3% who never gave up.”

25. “Kill them with success. Bury them with a smile.”

26. “Goals so big you get uncomfortable telling small minded people.”

27. “Win a no-win situation by rewriting the rules.”

28. “Let them hate. Just make sure they spell your name right.”

29. “Next time you ought to make a life-altering decision, just question yourself ‘What would Harvey do?'”

30. “I win. That’s what I do.”

13 Fitness Hacks For Better Results In 2020

Just Do 15 Minutes

Any promise that 15 minutes’ work can build a ripped body needs heavy seasoning. It’s possible, but only when each minute is so agonising it feels five times longer. However, when the flesh is weak, swap your scheduled session for 15 minutes of something you like (that’s a sport, exercise or circuit, not go down the pub) says PT Dylan Jones, founder of P4Body.

Once your trainers are on, the urge to take them off soon abates. “If after 15 minutes you want to stop then stop, but we guarantee that you’ll be very likely to want to do just that little bit more.”

Or, Actually, Just Do 15 Minutes

If you’re fighting a tight schedule, not weak willpower, then trim your training time but work harder. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) works you at where’s-the-sick-bucket levels for 30-second bursts, which spikes your exertion levels and heart rate, says Oliver Sprague from MotivatePT.

Because you can mix up your equipment, it’s also good for battling boredom. “It’s a fun way of burning fat and improving fitness levels, compared to a long-distance run.”

Shape Your Environment

Bringing your wake-up time forward an hour to make time for the gym is shock enough. So remove any hurdles that might inch your hand towards the snooze button. A packed bag and smoothie in the fridge means fewer hurdles between you and the front door.

“Shape the environment around you so you stick to the plan,” says Matt Roberts, founder of the eponymous gym. “Choosing a gym that you have to walk past on your way home and keeping your weekly workout schedule pinned up on your fridge may sound simple, but can go a long way toward nudging you in the right direction.”

Don’t Feel The Funk

Those ‘don’t eat me’ sachets that come in your new shoes are in fact a potent training aid. Not as a pre-workout – the label isn’t joking – but as a way to mop up sweat before it turns into smell.

Stow a few in your gym bag and when you leave your kit under your desk at the weekend, it won’t clear out the office on Monday morning.

Reward The Right Choices

When you swap a lie-in for kettlebell swings, make sure pain isn’t your only reward. “It makes a habit stick,” says Chris Walton, director of personal training at Embody Fitness.

Stow a square of high percentage cacao dark chocolate (not the sugary crap) next to your running shoes as a sweet carrot for putting them on. “In the end the process of running and feeling better becomes the reward.” If one square tends to become a bar, swap for a post-run smoothie or favourite coffee instead.

Get Complex

In January you can put any idea of a multi-station leg day on ice. There’ll be a line six-deep at every piece of kit. When people are even queuing for the adductor machine, grab a pair of dumbbells and run through Walton’s five-stage complex to hit your whole body in one private corner.

Complete six reps each of squat-to-press, bent-over row, lunge-and-curl, and press-ups, with no rest between each set. “The workout will take about 10-15 mins so you can either leave it there – which you may well feel like – or rest 5-10 mins and repeat if you are feeling brave.”

Tune In

As Einstein’s theory of general relativity tells us, objects with immense mass can warp space-time. Which is why your watch barely ticks when you’re deep in a squat session. So don’t look.

Instead, build a playlist of tunes that spike your heart rate and which lasts precisely as long as your session, says Hilary Arredondo, a personal trainer with MotivatePT. Finish on your favourite. Think of the final bars of Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’ as your spotter through the final reps (or Little Mix, we’re not judging).

Buddy Up

Six abs are better than one. And in your quest to find them, having two heads proves twice as effective. Studies show that pairing up doubles your performance – a workout partner pushes you through pain thresholds and it’s tougher to skip scheduled sessions when they’re in two diaries.

You also won’t tap out – or count half reps – when you’re trying to best your best mate.

I Think, Therefore I Am

Deploy some pro-level mind tricks to make pro-level progress. Professional baseball players don’t think whether they’ll hit a home run, but rather which wall it will clear. The body believes what the mind imagines, and their percentages improve.

“This could translate to getting all the right gym gear and looking the part, so that you can act the part of being super fit and strong. If you tell yourself this, your behaviour in the gym will mirror this and you’ll invariably work harder,” says Walton.

Work For Time

Physical change comes from changing your routine. As you exercise, your body develops until it can cope with what you throw at it. Repeat the same routine and eventually, you stop progressing. Add a short, timed session in each week, says Joe O’Cearuill from MotivatePT, and see how many reps of press-ups, crunches, burpees and pull-ups you can fit in.

You’ll keep track of your gains and motivate yourself to make more.

First, Fun

If you’ve never stepped in a gym before, then Arnie’s Mr Universe Squat Workout will ensure you never step in again. Most newbies are scared away by too-intense regimes. It’s better to do something easy but enjoyable than nothing at all.

“Whether it’s a workout class, exercise app or a good old free weight routine, until you catch the fitness bug don’t push yourself too far out of your comfort zone,” says Jones.

Get Some Chemical Assistance

Not the kind enjoyed by that oddly angry guy in the changing room. There’s a reason cyclists mainline coffee – caffeine reduces feelings of fatigue to make you work harder for longer.

It also has benefits under the hood. “It really helps to boost energy and mental clarity as well as boosting fat metabolism,” says Walton. “Try a double espresso or green tea 20-30 mins before you work out.”

Foam Roll

Breaking your bench press PB is admirable, but you’ll suffer for it tomorrow. Invest in a foam roller to iron out any sore spots. Proof that gain doesn’t always mean pain.