A few months ago, walking home with my husband, I became intrigued by a man’s bottom. The guy was a little way ahead, so I had a good view. He was wearing a nice pair of expensively cut tailored trousers, but they sat wrong on his perfectly nice bottom. I hate to objectify alone, so I pointed this out to my better half. “It’s almost as if he didn’t look at his bum in the mirror when he was trying them on,” I said. My husband looked at me as if I was insane: “Of course he didn’t.”
And it’s true. I’ve checked with as many men as I can without sounding creepy. None of them takes the two seconds necessary to glance at their back view in a changing room. It’s been on my mind as I’ve been researching menswear trends for spring and jeans are a big part of the new season. Tom Ford launched jeans for the first time – a big step for a man whose name is synonymous with suits – and in his presentation he highlighted the importance of the size of your butt and the size of your thighs when choosing denim. Listen to Tom and listen to me. If you buy a new pair of jeans, look at how they fit round your bottom. It makes a big difference. If Tom Ford is a little pricey for you, check out Raey. It’s Matches’s own-brand fashion label, which offers its debut menswear collection this season. Their double turn-up jeans look great.
This season your jeans are important because cropped jackets and bombers are back. These high-waisted coats look rubbish with badly cut trousers. Though Saint Laurent and Kenzo did suede on the catwalk, New Look and River Island have very reasonably priced versions.
You’ll be pleased to hear that the trainer for spring is white and old school. The Reebok Classics range will see you through to the summer.
The only fiddly bits are – as usual – the colours and the patterns. Pink has been a thing in menswear for a while now, and this season is gets super-specific. The hue of the season is flamingo. This pretty shade was at Bottega Veneta and the birds themselves were on shirts at Marc Jacobs. If I were you, I’d get this sweatshirt from H&M when it hits the stores in early February before you spend on a designer label. Just to see how you feel about it.
There are heaps of prints for men this season. Real multicoloured, eye-popping beauties in every design from geometrics to florals and butterflies – there’s even Japanese landscapes. I can’t say whether your wardrobe would welcome a vest decorated with a print of a Hokusai painting, but I can say that if you’re ambivalent about print but you’d like to dabble, you should probably stick to a patterned top or even a rucksack. Asos is a good place to look for these.
Buy even a few of these items and you’ll pass muster through spring. It’s not a 360 degree of all the new trends but, guys, if you can’t be bothered to turn all the way round in the changing room, then this is probably as broad a view as you need.
Follow Alice on Instagram @aliceefisher
