What’s Making News in Men’s Fashion this Winter?
*** FREE FOR EDITORIAL USE *** Skiers queue up at London's Gatwick Airport, en route to the Alps, as easyJet welcomes the removal of the UK tourist ban by the French government. Issue date: Friday January 14, 2022
Technically, winter in the UK won’t begin until December21st, 2022, but the current wet and cold weather conditions don’t seem to care much for astronomy though. Not that an early winter is anything new, of course, but it might be a long one this time around.
What does that mean for men’s fashion? It means that we are going to see the latest winter fashion trends take over the fashion industry soon. Let’s take a look through trends already making news in men’s style, before the rain turns to snow.
Leather Jackets: A Timeless Trend in Men’s Fashion
Leather jackets never really went out of style, and they will continue to be one of the all-time classics in men’s fashionthis winter as well. The only time they received any criticism was when leather was associated with possible animal cruelty. Nowadays, the wide availability of faux leather jackets provides men with enough options to choose what they believe is right.
Typically, black leather jackets come with an invisible age barrier, but leather jackets in dark brown and ox blood stretch that barrier quite a bit. Although black is still going to remain the first colour of choice in men’s leather jackets, brown jackets are expected to find a better foothold during winter 2022 – 23. There is more versatility to brown leather jackets, allowing men to step out of the “biker” stereotype.
Parkas: Going Beyond the Polar Explorer Look
Parkas are closely associated with polar chills and adventuresin both pop culture and real history, but their bulky, stuffy designs kept them off the men’s fashion list for a long time. Sure, the old parkas could help you survive ungodly, sub-zero temperatures, but they did nothing for your style statement!However, that started to change a few years back.
Designers started to rethink the parka’s possible urban designsand over time, managed to change certain critical aspects of the old furry winter coats. Through a combination of changes introduced in design, materials, and manufacturingtechnology, modern parkas were made slimmer without affecting their ability to keep a man warm. Consequently, we now have men’s parkas that are not just the warmest winter coats you can buy, but also one of the most stylish trends inmen’s winter wear. In fact, the insulated parka was featured on Men’s Flair as one of their top recommendations in men’s fashion trends for this winter.
Topcoats: The Quintessential British Overcoat Makes a Comeback
Overcoats like the Chesterfield are just about as classic as men’s fashion gets, thanks to a rich history that dates back tothe 1800s. However, when dressing in line with fashion trends, we need to be careful with the overcoat’s styling and design. Classic as the overcoat is, it has been through severaldesign overhauls over the course of 200+ years. In fact, thoseoverhauls are also why topcoats, peacoats, body coats, greatcoats, polo coats, trench coats, and several other variations of the overcoat came to be in the first place.
Some of the redesigns were focussed on making them more functional for a specific use. For example, the trench coat was designed by Burberry to help British soldiers survive the dreaded trenches during World War I. Other versions of the overcoat arose out of people’s need to merge function and practicality with style seamlessly. The topcoat is a prime example of the latter and it’s all set to make a comeback this winter.
What makes the topcoat so useful right now is its ability to provide protection against the rain and the cold simultaneously. Even after the mercury starts to dip well below the freezing point, a topcoat continues to serve as the outermost layer, protecting the heavier winterwear underneath from snow.
More importantly in the context of this post, a tailormade topcoat is one of the most sophisticated, yet versatile pieces of men’s winter clothing any man can own. Given the amount of rain seen all over the UK so far, it’s difficult to find a better combination of style and usefulness in any other overcoat this year.
One may argue about the pea coat’s shorter, naval design being more in line with today’s fashion standards, and that is a valid argument. However, peacoats have remained popular and trendy for several years at this point. Topcoats are makinga more recognisable comeback in mainstream men’s style recently. Besides, that extra length could prove to be more useful than any peacoat, once it starts to rain again!
Broad Round Toes: The Balance Between Pointy and Blocky
Men with standard–sized feet should not have much issue withwearing pointy, sharp–toed boots for a short time. However, taller, larger men with broad feet will inevitably find narrow–toed shoes to be painful, even if the size is right. Blocky shoes, aka square–toed shoes are generally the most comfortable choice for men with big feet, but unfortunately, square toes went out of fashion a long time ago.
Round toes, on the other hand, are better in terms of both comfort and style. They are not exactly new to men’s style in footwear, of course, but this year’s winter trends will see a rise in the popularity of roomy, broader round–toed boots for all men. Tight shoes tend to cut off blood circulation, making it easier to get frostbite under extremely cold conditions. They also make for very poor winter boots during long hikes, even for men with average–sized feet.
It has been a while since the last time many Brits went on a winter adventure holiday, without having to worry about catching something or being held in lockdown. As there aren’t many restrictions this year, people are expecting to take advantage of that. Broad round–toed shoes effortlessly synchronise comfort and practical use with impeccable style, therefore, expect to see a shift from cramped, sharp designs on winter boots to more roomy, rounded design trends in winter boots.
Cap–Toed Boots: An Aesthetic Preference on the Rise
Cap–toed winter boots have just one, mostly aesthetic difference that sets them apart from their uniformcounterparts. There is an extra layer of material on the boot’s toe, usually marked by one or more rows of stitching detail.Cap toes do make men’s boots look a lot more stylish than regular toes possibly can.
For the most part, this is an aesthetic difference and it’s not new to men’s formal shoes. This year, the trend will take the difference between cap toe boots and regular boots a little further. Expect to see more intricate detailing in the stitchingof cap–toed boots this winter.
Cap toes are only ornamental on winter boots designed for fashion and regular use but there is also a functional aspect to the caps in some specific use cases. Depending on the boot’s expected usage, the toe cap might be reinforced with hardened leather or steel to provide better protection to the toes.
More trends will reveal themselves in a few weeks, of course, but the ones seen so far are not likely to go out of vogueanytime soon. If anything, the need for parkas and comfortable winter boots is only going to increase after it starts to snow.
