Scarves, Speedos to Adorn Men in 2010
LOS ANGELES (TheStreet) -- The arrival of spring brings a lineup of fashion essentials that will make their way into national retailers and into the closets of America's most stylish men.
From head to toe, men's style for spring/summer 2010 is about feeling good, translated through more colorful fabrics in more comfortable cuts, all in styles that have evolved over the previous few fashion seasons.
Men's
suits become less snug
for summer, a blessing for anyone who's ever had the issue of a tight pair of wool pants on an unfashionably humid summer day. Definitely not baggy, trousers are more liberal in cut for Gucci's collection by Frida Giannini of bold blues and tropical white suits often hemmed to show off a bare ankle in a lace-up dress shoe or colorfully trimmed loafer. In Paris, Lanvin's Alber Elbaz played with a higher waist and more generous inseam for its suits with defined shoulders and darker, monotone silhouettes and muted neutrals.
Those looking for a more casual look or trying to find the perfect Friday business ensemble should keep their colors limited to
khaki and white
for new summer fashion acquisitions. Calvin Klein Menswear by Francisco Costa showed off its ability to play up various shades of creamy beige and browns for ultra-thin fabrics for trousers and two-button blazers accented by the occasional pop of Army green or white. Dolce & Gabbana took the look even darker with a dressy version of Indiana Jones marked by a six-button desert-brown vest under a tapered blazer with wide-pointed label and chunky boots.
Dress shirts should express your attitude
-- like Michael Bastian's striped-white button-down with solid gray collar worn with a navy blue tie with stop-sign red detailing. Dolce & Gabbana kept it Italian with white, wide-collared dress shirts under skinny black ties or a simple button-down long sleeve cotton pullover under a classic blazer. Others simply ditched the shirt altogether with oatmeal gray, black or solid white T-shirts under suits by Calvin Klein and Michael Kors, reminiscent of "Miami Vice" meets Sao Paulo nights.
The
weekend shirt
that in previous years included such hot trends as the gingham and plaid gets a more western vibe with Chambray, which GQ even touted as the official "shirt of 2010 summer." Rag & Bone further interpreted the trend through a simple military jacket with band-collar and elongated sleeves for crisp spring nights. Our favorite shirt, however, is the incredibly affordable H&M summer classic with a pair of contrasting denim pants that retails for under $20 and is possibly the cheapest find of the season.
As far as denim,
jeans keep their skinny roots
despite the recent attempt to bring faded, baggy and ripped styles back into the mainstream. Experiments in colored and patterned jeans have also landed at manufacturers like G-Star that attempt to make denim more adaptable to colorful interpretations and style configurations, like a whimsical printed-blue blazer and short ensembles. D&G, in the meantime, went in a baggier direction for its dressier looks with downright roomy deep blue denim matched with a tailored blazer and light Chambray scarf.
Swimwear takes a plunge into ever-shallow waters with more flesh-revealing
Speedo-style cuts
than many American don't care to see or be seen in. Dolce & Gabbana stayed loyal to its euro-style bathing brief in cardinal red, while Michael Bastian took a stitched-stripe to the look and topped it off with a collegiate gray and white cardigan just in case there was a chill with so much exposed thigh. More modest types should translate the style to more modest cuts for trunk and board-short styles where solid colors take precedence.
Two accessories are part of essential summer lexicon this year, including the
straw hat and the scarf
. The fedora is enjoying its fourth summer in resurgence with every urban hipster and pop star sporting a version. Defy the easy option of a mall-bought hat and instead try to scout out a less marketed version or even a Panama hat from with a taller brim or stouter cut that will stand out among this season's mass-marketed styles at
J.Crew
(JCG)
and Urban Outfitters. Scarves require a bit less thought, best expressed through color and fabric like Rag & Bone's pale blue and gray scarves.
Formalwear requires a new investment, as the
simple black tuxedo seems down-right boring
with the new cuts and trends emerging in several collections. For the biggest fashion statement, look to designer Thom Browne, who defies fashion gravity with his two-button tuxedo with black-on-black trimmed lapels and higher-waisted trousers cut at mid-calf length and grounded by a pair of sleek and dressy boots.
Two shoes define summer:
boots and boat shoes
. Anyone who thinks boots are just a winter accessory is remiss to find them stomping all over the summer season. Paris-based fashion rebel Rick Owens gives boots a more combative edge in shiny black leather that looks like a cross between Hell's Angel and modern French Legion. Boat shoes are showing up in most collections, but given their simple design it may be best to go with your cheapest option like the Sperry Top-Sider ($88) versus
Gucci's
(GUC)
($450) logo-emblazoned version.
Michael Martin is the managing editor of JetSetReport.com -- a luxury travel and lifestyle guide based in Los Angeles and London. His work has appeared in In Style, Blackbook, Elle, U.K.'s Red magazine, ITV and BBC.









