Khakis. Button-downs. Boat shoes. All the usual suspects are here, only something’s … different. A strategically placed epaulet here, an acid-bright citrus hue there.
These new menswear pieces are preppy, indeed, but over the past several seasons, the look has become less about blending in at boarding school and more about standing out in a sea of collared shirts and cargo shorts.
Kelly Muccio, owner of a menswear outpost, Lost Boys, in Washington, D.C., says the key is putting a twist on the traditional. “To me, it’s in the juxtaposition, so if you’re going super-preppy and kind of playing it safe, you’ve got to throw in something completely the opposite, like a bright color or a bold plaid.”
Details make these basics anything but standard issue: Take Cassette’s slim-collared shirt with a string of buttons down each side, or Gourmet’s simple sneakers in eye-catching turquoise. Or wide-leg chinos from designer Rogan Gregory — worn cuffed to the ankle with boat shoes, they convey an effortless cool with just a trace of Buster Keaton dandyism.
“It’s the classics redone — an update to something that’s old and tried-and-true,” Muccio says.
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