Men
Minimalist Streetwear For Men
Streetwear has evolved in the last few years. Long gone are the days of 5XL shirts, timbs and air force ones. Streetwear for men has now moved away from the maximalist days of the 90s and is now fully entrenched in a new trend: minimalism. The style follows a few basic tenets and principles, but focuses mainly on two things.
First, muted colors.
This style involves very few colors, utilizing mostly grayscale and earth tones. Minimalism is filled with various shades of black, white, gray, navy, tan and olive. Colors are seen as a detraction from the overall concept of the style. The most important thing in minimalism is the composition of the whole outfit, and bright colors distract from the whole.
Secondly, silhouette.
The way in which the clothes in an outfit play with each other and the way they hang on the body. Since color isn't a big part of a minimalist's wardrobe it makes sense to focus on something else, and that something else is silhoutte.
Here are some of the staples of a minimalist's wardrobe.
Outerwear:
There are a few jackets and coats that this style really emphasizes, and the most prominent items include overcoats, denim and leather jackets and bomber jackets. For the heaviest layers an overcoat is the best thing for the job. Overcoats should be in either black, grey or camel and can be thrown over a button down, a t-shirt, a sweater or any combination of the three. Overcoats are easier to pull off when wearing it slim and tailored, but an oversized coat has a much cooler silhouette. Denim jackets look best in black, pale blue and tan. These work as a great top layer like an overcoat, and even as a mid layer. Leather jackets should pretty much exclusively be black, and bombers can be either black or navy. These are worn almost exclusively as a top layer due to their shape and overall thickness, and they look great over any of the tops mentioned above.
Tops:
Shirts for a minimalist wardrobe are incredibly simple. The tops most involved are going to be button downs, t-shirts, sweaters and sweatshirts. These are going to be in the colors that were mentioned before, but one big thing to focus on here is texture. Things like cable knit, waffle knit, flannel and wool are a great way to add a pop to an outfit that otherwise is very simple.
Bottoms:
For pants, there is lots of subtle variation between pairs in a minimalist wardrobe. The three most important are going to be black jeans, light wash jeans and grey wool trousers. However, the devil is in the details. To achieve this look, one should aim to look for pants with speckled textures that are made of wool. Look for pants that have a slight crease in the front or that are cropped. Pants may not steal the show here, but they can definitely add something to an outfit.
Shoes:
The most important part of any person's outfit that can have a huge impact on a minimalist style is shoes The two main branches of this style include sneakers and boots. Here, the thing to keep in mind is that minimalism means a very sleek and clean shape to the shoe. Instead of bulky moc toe boots, one should go with sleek chelseas. Instead of massive basketball shoes, one should opt for low top white sneakers. Other options for boots include Jodhpurs and side zip boots, in either tan suede or black leather. For sneakers, the ultimate minimalist shoe is the common projects achilles low in white, but other options include the Adidas Stan Smith or the Adidas Ultra Boost. Another thing to mention is when it comes to sneaker, the more athletic varieties don't really fit the aesthetic, and should be avoided.
Minimalism focuses on the lack of items and the quality of the items as well. Less is more. It's better to have 5 t-shirts that'll last you a decade then 50 t-shirts that would be burnt through in a year. So it's best to stick to higher quality clothing in smaller amounts than a massive wardrobe that consists solely of filler pieces.
Photo source: https://imgur.com/a/DLAmo
Alison Elberger, Shafeen Qazi, Justin Smith