Up your Gala game, why not try out something new for your male dolls? The Bold Doll takes a look at men’s fashion re-booted.
The red carpet look favored by most male Hollywood stars tends toward the dull. Black tux, white shirt, black bow-tie, shiny shoes, and you’re done. The 2019 Oscars and Golden Globes, however, benefited from the unconventional.
Taking our cues from the Autumn/Winter 2019 menswear shows in Paris, there are a few key ways to update our boys’ wardrobes. Or even our own if we’re so inclined.
Bags will be big – yes huge oversized ones. As women embrace the new micro purses that can’t even carry the bare essentials, men’s bags are becoming immense. Louis Vuitton took the oversize prize with enormous woolen backpacks.
Suits have officially become the new streetwear. They are to be worn at all times. Beautiful tailoring needn’t be at all trad: tartan was on show at Charles Jeffrey; two-tone wool tweeds from Clare Waight Keller; there was even the surprise of tie-dye by Dries Van Noten. There’s still time to place an order with your favorite doll couturier before Fall draws in.
Sweaters will be taking center stage – haul those hardy old knits out from the back of your doll closet. The main decision is whether to wear it long and free-form, pure 90s retro, or tucked in at the waistband – think Haircut One Hundred, the 1980s British new wave band. Another option is to ditch the shirt and tie and wear a sweater with a suit. Suits will be everywhere (as previously mentioned).
Bold is in. Forget tasteful color combinations and ditch the navy. Leopard print for men is getting bigger. Many designers put leopard print on the catwalk, including Marni and Raf Simons. At Versace one of the models even had hair to match. If your doll is likely to baulk at so much pattern, try introducing animal print with a pair of shoes, or even a shirt – buttoned up is another key style to look out for.
Scarves will be soooo long. Better start knitting now. This is something that even the most basic of knitters can pull off fairly easily. The style is to throw one end over one shoulder in a careless, yet artfully contrived, way. A muse could be Richard E. Grant in Withnail and I, or almost any other movie he’s been in. We’re thinking of the finest knitwear known to humanity here.
Something practical, at last! Boots are the go-to footwear. Whether hiking, gum, toe-cap or Ugg. All boots got the fashion week seal of approval. The more heavyweight (those shown below, for example), the better. Thinking further down the line, when they are no longer quite so high fashion, they’ll do double duty as work boots for your guys.
Long out of style, and somewhat unlikely, but the black leather blazer is set for a comeback. Tom Ford featured an enviably butter-soft, tailored version, single breasted and smooth, with peak lapels and harking back to the 90s (again). Think of Brad Pitt or Lenny Kravitz at almost any time in that decade.
The good news is that many of us will already have some of these items in our stash of doll clothes. My favorite kind of fashion is when you can create a new look out of stuff you already own. With luck it’s goodbye to meh from the men.
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