Man, I Love Your Pocket Square

The setting is 1983: The fashion-conscious teenage boy version of myself doesn’t understand the apparel world revolving New York and Paris. My style destination is my small-town version of Elder-Beerman, the venerable Ohio-based department store. A big Friday night would find me wandering the aisles with my fashion-icon grandmother, dreaming of a day when I could afford to wear the unattainable men’s brands on display. Perry Ellis, Colours by Alexander Julian, Union Bay. I imagined the glory of ever possessing those paisley-print Generra trousers.

Fast forward to 1991. Fashion times have changed, especially for guys. Grunge dominates the college landscape. Take your pick of flannel; everyone looks the same. Ugh.

Fast forward again to 2012: Mumford & Sons. Enough said.

Thankfully, now in 2015, we’re enjoying a new world of fashion, and specifically, retail stores — both brick-and-mortar and online — built exclusively for men and their varied and diverse tastes. It’s a “menassiance,” to borrow the phrase – and it’s about damn time.

No longer are guys relegated to the back corner of a generic mall store, with little more to choose from than six shades of khaki and a few button-down shirts. Jeans are now capital-D “Denim,” and the various degrees of selvedge, fits and styles can make your head spin. In 2015, men have choices.

Much has been written about the emerging financial force that men represent in the retail marketplace. Study after study reports the staggering sales increases in all menswear categories. The sartorial powers-that-be have even recognized this movement from the top of the food chain, establishing a separate but equal New York Fashion Week … for men!

Any guy with a style heartbeat can tell you about their favorite online destinations, all with a different angle. Mainstream stores have gotten on the sartorial bandwagon as well, giving the gentleman shopper a wide variety of fashion-forward choices. The spectrum is fully covered, from super-luxe brands down to the fast-fashion houses, where men’s collections take center stage and designers are recognizing the power of the male shopper.

It’s all cyclical, right? Why should we care about this moment?

It’s noteworthy because of this simple truth: Men can now create their own looks based on a variety of quality choices, and have the freedom that our “style sisters” have enjoyed for so long. Dudes can have an opinion on their own look, curate themselves and their closet.

Curation. Again, that pesky buzzword rears its head and reminds us that all men are not created equal (style-wise), and “lifestyle” isn’t a one-stop shop. It’s a series of selected pieces, chosen carefully across many retail engagements that build a fashion point-of-view. And there’s no “right” answer, no single “look” that defines this fashion moment. It’s totally acceptable, even expected, for guys to mix and match and experiment. High and low fashion, expensive and cheap, boardroom and garage … it’s all about the combinations. Pair a D&G tailored suit jacket with a luxurious Kit and Ace pullover, slim jeans (not “skinny,” and that means Levi’s 511s for me), and the newest Nike Roshe Run kicks. And don’t forget the accessories – the appropriate pocket square can make or break any ensemble.

The ongoing curation of menswear paired with the amazing breadth of choice now at his fingertips, is a testament to our retail climate. Guys shop, we investigate, we pay attention. Give men a reason to visit your store. Give them choices that aren’t available somewhere else, and recognize that they aren’t cookie-cutter robots all looking for the same thing.

1 Holt Renfrew Men, Toronto: https://vmsd.com/content/northern-exposure-3

2 Martin Patrick 3, Minneapolis: http://martinpatrick3.com/about-us?clickpath=homeCTA7

3 Stronghold, Venice, Calif.: http://thestronghold.com

4 BucketFeet, online and Chicago: http://www.bucketfeet.com/connect/studios

5 Bonobos Flagship, Flatiron District, New York: http://thesocialny.com/bonobos-opens-fifth-avenue-flagship-in-nyc/

Jay Highland is chief creative officer at Chute Gerdeman, a retail design agency located in Columbus, Ohio. With a combination of retail expertise, strategy and design process from initial concept creation to store implementation, Jay instinctively understands how to build relationships between brands and consumers. His work has been honored with industry design awards, has been featured in several leading publications and he is a regular speaker at industry events.