Men’s Fashion Goes Back To School This Spring

In a collective sigh heard around our sunburnt country, Aussie men can finally find relief in the fashion fed to us from our Italian and American style-overlords. No longer condemned to suffer the warmer months shvitzing it out under layer upon layer and formal suiting, the recent northern hemisphere runways have provided us some much needed relief – shorts are in. Yes, even for formal occassions.

For those following New York Fashion Week, the Met Gala, the MTV VMAs and most recently, Milan Fashion Week, you’ll have noticed a real trend towards schoolyard style. From short shorts to mismatched socks to clunky black boots, in what is essentially the male equivalent of Sk8ter Boy Avril or the Baby One More Time Britney movement, high school uniform chic and collegiate lettering have dominated the runways, and thus, are set to dominate our post-pandemic streets.

So if you see us with a ‘prep’ in our step, it’s all because our knees are free and we’re finally back to ‘cool’ [you didn’t think you’d escape pun free did you?]. Check out the looks leading the charge below.

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SHOES

Let’s start from the ground up. No longer reserved for kids and tweens, it’s time once again to invest in a pair of Clarks. That’s right, the go-to footwear retailer of your childhood does adult shoes, and they do them dayum well (and affordably) to help you achieve this schoolboy look. As with shorts (below), pair them with high socks, mismatched if you prefer, a shirt and a blazer and *Italian kiss, you’re good to go.

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SHORTS

The lads of the fashion industry have also led the charge in the acceptance of shorts-as-formal wear this season. Their legs walked so ours could run. Whilst the below examples extend well beyond the budget of the average bloke, we still have them to thank for bringing shorts into the mainstream this season. Opt for Moncler if you chose, but your Zara dacks will do the job. Plus, with all this picnicking going on, I know I’d rather have grass stains on my $50 duds…

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COLLEGIATE

Excuse me while I dust off my old Abercrombie & Fitch varsity jackets. With big brands like BOSS leading the charge, in collaboration with Russell Athletic, the old marching band is back, baby. The cheerleaders have their pom-poms at the ready as we reenter the world at our teenage best. Debuted at Milan Fashion Week this month, the BOSS range (below) is a perfect example of ‘athleisure’, a top trend in women’s fashion for close on a decade. Let’s embrace it.

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