Male Fashion within the Modern Era

28 Jan

By Sofia Gialourakis

If I see another man in sambas, jorts and a carabiner I will burn down TikTok HQ.

Why do so many men either dress like a 14 year old boy or like every other bitch on pinterest? Men's fashion has been in the dark ages since the 2000s. Although men's fashion did have its high points in the 80s glam and 90s streetwear, on the whole it has been in a steady decline since the 70s, reaching a low point in the 2010s. But things are looking up. Slightly. Even though I am bored of button downs & jorts, at least it's better than this monstrosity. One of the few pros of Covid was that we all had the freedom to experiment with our style, and with more people using TikTok men's fits that are fashionable were more easily shared. However this caused another issue… micro trends. The jersey x jorts combo, the button down x light wash jeans combo etc etc. I am not saying that sambas and jorts are bad, I think they look good that's the reason that they are so popular. Simple additions to the wardrobe such as these are a great way for men to start to get into fashion. The problem lies in no one taking the steps to go further than what everyone else is wearing on Instagram or Pinterest. It is why fashion is so boring, not many men are willing to experiment. A big reason why men don’t get into fashion is fear of looking ‘gay’ and that fashion is inherently ‘gay’. It's not, let's get that out of the way. It is definitely not a coincidence that men's fashion went into decline at the height of the AIDS epidemic, and the struggle for gay liberation. This preconception that to be fashionable or dress fashionable is gay and thus ‘bad’ is holding a lot of men from experimenting and growing their style. It's preventing designers of big fashion houses from developing men's fashion themselves because the market for creative menswear is so small now. If everyone is dressing the same, and too scared to be called cringe or have a bad outfit or two, then how is anyone supposed to innovate, this applies to fashion across the gender spectrum. This article is not meant to shame or judge anyone, but to encourage men to get into fashion, to try and be different. As well as talk about the issues of conformity. By us all dressing and looking the same we create an expectation that denies creativity and experimentation. We don’t think beyond what everyone else is doing because that is the standard. It can lead to one's identity being eroded as it is intertwined with looking the same as others. How boring it would be to live in a world where everyone dressed the same and no one was creative.

Out of curiosity to hear some men's opinion on the state of menswear in the present, I asked a couple of my more fashionable friends, Rajan and Yusuf, to learn their perspective.

Rajan

I would say that men's dress being boring starts in middle school- high school where they feel the need to conform/want to be seen as normal. I think it’s compounded by homophobia, individuality, or being ‘other’, or weird. Which can be easily described as high school boys fearing being called ‘gay’ so dressing boring is a way to avoid being seen as gay. It’s the same for any care for appearance and hygiene. It’s a common thing now on the internet where people say ‘being called gay is the price to pay for style’. Another reason is brotherhood; all dressing the same to connect each other, have a uniform or dress like they are in a gang/community.

I think when you reach adulthood, the business suit reigns supreme. I think for men it’s seen as an important part of a successful business man, you show your status by having the MOST boring suit possible. I think for women status in style allows for more uniqueness even though it’s still dominated by big label brands. About the internet, there are influencers telling people what to wear, and audiences are constantly seeing what other people are wearing. The Internet doesn’t expose new styles but exposes everyone to one style/trend. This globalisation leads to boringness & safety in one style over creativity. Obviously some corners of the internet are interesting with alternative people talking about their unique style, many talking about individualism (like Wisdom Kaye). But small localised trends tend to become world wide, through social media, leading to everyone dressing the same. If you really want to get into it, colonialism is a big part of the spread of the business man attire and western British dominance in the 19th and 20th century.

Yusuf

Ok so in my eyes, men’s fashion is quite limited in variety of types of clothes compared to women’s. If you think of summer tops, for men I can only think of a tee shirt, tank top, polo and button down shirt. That’s pretty much it. About why men are often dressed either poorly or straight outta pinterest, and rarely you see well dressed guys, is because of fast fashion, trends and all the bad that comes with it. Also, most men just don’t care that much about how they’re dressed daily, so there’s a lack of effort as well.

When it comes to tips, I’d say just like everything else in life, dressing well takes time and effort, it has to be earned to be true. I started somewhat caring about how I’m dressed 3-ish years ago and now I’m at a point where I have settled and am content with my outfits.

Everyone has a different budget and a style and fit that suits them best depending on their environment, body etc. So it’s all about trial and error. And in order to not hurt one’s pocket or more importantly the environment, second hand shopping is by far the best option I found as a student. At face value, fast fashion might be similarly priced (though these days even Zara be taxing like crazy), when it comes to quality there’s often a large margin between the two. For clothes to be able to survive a whole first owner, then be good enough to be found second hand is a testament to its longevity. Additionally, with enough effort and luck, I have found items I simply cannot afford otherwise. Burberry and real leather jackets, cashmere scarves, Scottish wool knitwear, etc. Posture and confidence in how you look is also a big part of it.

So where do we go from here?

Quick tips:

- Throw out the skinny jeans unless you are gonna look at Wisdom Kaye’s inspo

- You are gonna have to dress bad sometimes to learn to dress better

- Look back in history

- How to use Pinterest: style inspo, specific clothing items, new kinds of aesthetics & brands, but don’t copy outfits; take bits and pieces to inform your own- you can also shop on Pinterest

- Thrifting: sift through your local charity shop but don’t overconsume, don’t buy new clothes unless you need it or really like it, find things to experiment with

- Silhouette: show off your physique by wearing specific clothing to emphasis certain areas

- Shape: Wide and narrow shapes, larger pant/skirt and smaller top,

- Proportions: How you wear the clothes effects height, and what you are showing off

- Colour: Harmony & theory, monotone is hard to pull off

- Brands don’t matter, Labels don’t matter

Black men as leading the menswear revolution

The Met Gala theme of 2025 was Dandyism, which has been a style used by Black men since the late 1800s. Once slavery was abolished African American men used fashion as a way to exert influence and regain some social power. There is power in dressing well, and it is a way to earn respect and bring attention to social and political issues affecting the Black community. To this day not much has changed, black men are setting the standard; whether it be on social media, in music, or even on the racetrack.

Some men to take inspo from:

- Wisdom Kaye,

- Lewis Hamilton,

- A$AP Rocky,

- Colman Domingo,

- Lil Uzi