Why Rugged Looks Are All the Rage This Winter
With summer firmly behind us, tailored shorts and espadrilles become a distant memory as our thoughts turn to heavy fabrics, three quarter length coats and our go to winter jeans. Luckily for us the change in season all heralds a change in the image of modern man. Thanks in part to films like Warrior, Thor and Conan a return to masculinity is finally upon us and with it comes a new wave of rugged looks to help recapture the essence of man.
Masculine trends can be seen from catwalk to high street with mainstream brands all taking influence from the re-birth of ruggedness. Bench clothing adopts all the key pieces from winter’s huge Nordic trend in their new range offering heavy knits with Fair Isle patterns and intarsia detailing, engineered denims with cargo pockets and the season’s essential hybrid hiking boots. While Robbie Williams’ new Farrell range takes a more traditional approach to masculinity with a range that mixes classic tailoring with simple designs that capture the image of working class man from a bygone generation.
Alpha maleness is again brought to the fore in the military inspired trend, which although having been around for previous seasons continues to evolve and adapt. This season military is all about outerwear, for jackets look for the classic Pea Coat from brands like Firetrap or Gio Goi or the smarter Reefer jackets that take the Pea Coat silhouette and add further military detailing with vintage buttons and shoulder epaulettes. For boots look for heavily distressed leather army boots cut to the ankle or mid calf.
The beauty of the rugged trends this season is they all intertwine perfectly to create overtly manly masterpieces, throw together the knitwear elements of Nordic with a heavy Melton wool jacket and finish off with tapered jeans and distressed military boots for a rough and ready look. And don’t feel you have to stop there, stubble, beards and cropped hair are all making a comeback this winter, but fellas, do be careful not to make your look too contrived as this season it’s all about being a man again.