The treacherous waters of menswear is easy to navigate with one simple rule; wear whatever the heck you want.
Whatever happened to the days a man could throw on a suit from his favourite brand, safe in the knowledge that he would look incredible in it. The confidence that clothes bring is something we hold dear here at Esquire, but times are a-changin’.
As trends get flashier and bolder each season, the menswear divide is strong, and you are forced to pick a side: cool, casual, laid-back masculine, or stylish, trendy, expressive clothes, that the average man may not always feel comfortable wearing, despite wanting to.
While fashion should never be too try-hard, it should be you and should be unique. In this edition of the Esquire Big Black Book, we called on industry leaders and friends of the brand to wear the key looks, from the key brands that they might want to wear, but are not confident enough to fully embrace.
From CEOs who normally wear a black suit, and tech moguls who rock a casual white t-shirt like it’s a uniform, put on – rather incredible – animal masks, and had a free pick of any suit to prance around in. With no rules, and no identities, they tapped into a confidence they never knew they had.
We hope after reading this issue, you go out and buy that coloured suit, or statement jacket, those oversized sneakers, and, most importantly, wear them with confidence.
