

That old maxim about shoes being the first thing a fellow human notices about you may belong to a bygone age, but there’s some truth in it. It’s not just a question of style, but of status. Here, perhaps more than anywhere, you can see the difference that proper craftsmanship makes. The time is now ripe for us to modernise the adage and replace the word “shoes” with “sneakers”.




Trainers are far more ubiquitous than their hard-soled counterparts. And just as in the past a man’s scuffed or soiled Oxfords may have elicited a few disapproving tuts, likewise your choice of sneakers influences how others perceive you.




It doesn’t mean you have to be Mr Classic Kicks every day of the week. A man’s sneaker wardrobe should be as varied as the rest of his closet. What you wear to work or in a professional setting will undoubtedly be different from what you wear on a long weekend walk or while meeting friends at the pub (any day now).




Which brings us to our subject for today: how to build an outfit around whatever pair of sneakers you happen to be wearing that day. We haven’t set out to lay down any hard-and-fast rules here, but if you take one thing away from this sartorial seminar, think “feet first”. Follow our lead and you won’t put a foot wrong.

That old maxim about shoes being the first thing a fellow human notices about you may belong to a bygone age, but there’s some truth in it. It’s not just a question of style, but of status. Here, perhaps more than anywhere, you can see the difference that proper craftsmanship makes. The time is now ripe for us to modernise the adage and replace the word “shoes” with “sneakers”.


Trainers are far more ubiquitous than their hard-soled counterparts. And just as in the past a man’s scuffed or soiled Oxfords may have elicited a few disapproving tuts, likewise your choice of sneakers influences how others perceive you.


It doesn’t mean you have to be Mr Classic Kicks every day of the week. A man’s sneaker wardrobe should be as varied as the rest of his closet. What you wear to work or in a professional setting will undoubtedly be different from what you wear on a long weekend walk or while meeting friends at the pub (any day now).


Which brings us to our subject for today: how to build an outfit around whatever pair of sneakers you happen to be wearing that day. We haven’t set out to lay down any hard-and-fast rules here, but if you take one thing away from this sartorial seminar, think “feet first”. Follow our lead and you won’t put a foot wrong.


Why you should be thinking “feet first” when it comes to getting ready in the morning

Dress Code: How To Style Every Pair Of Sneakers You Own

How To Dress From The Sneakers Up



No discussion of the history of 20th-century menswear would be complete without mention of that classic piece of workwear turned casualwear, the denim jacket. A rarity in that it seems to have been around for ever – the Levi Strauss Type I, from which most modern incarnations are generally considered to have evolved, can be dated back to around 1905 – but still manages to remain wholly contemporary, the denim jacket has weathered the passage of time and the ebb and flow of seasonal trends to earn itself a rightful place in the annals of men’s style.

In this style guide, MR PORTER shows how to pull off that men’s classic, the denim jacket



The Stylish Gent’s Guide To Denim Jackets



Givenchy has a brand-new look. Recently installed creative director Mr Matthew Williams is taking the French fashion house in a decidedly edgier direction, incorporating the brand’s history of tasteful tailoring, yet updating it for 2021 with a debut collection of industrial-inspired clothing that lands on MR PORTER today.

Mr Williams has already done much to build a new-wave hype for the reborn brand, recruiting people such as Playboi Carti, Ms Kendall Jenner and Ms Bella Hadid to front his first campaign. The 35-year-old is not what you’d call a “traditional” fashion designer and certainly didn’t get here by any conventional route.

Givenchy has a brand-new look. Recently installed creative director Mr Matthew Williams is taking the French fashion house in a decidedly edgier direction, incorporating the brand’s history of tasteful tailoring, yet updating it for 2021 with a debut collection of industrial-inspired clothing that lands on MR PORTER today.
Mr Williams has already done much to build a new-wave hype for the reborn brand, recruiting people such as Playboi Carti, Ms Kendall Jenner and Ms Bella Hadid to front his first campaign. The 35-year-old is not what you’d call a “traditional” fashion designer and certainly didn’t get here by any conventional route.


Creative director Mr Matthew Williams is wasting no time making his mark on the French brand. His debut collection lands on MR PORTER today

Introducing Givenchy’s New High-Octane Vision



With opportunities to flex your style muscles still few and far between, there’s never been a better moment to focus on your head suit, ie all the hairs that grow on your head. As a grown man, we hope you’ve moved beyond using just shampoo or (gasp) bar soap on your head and have realised that you will get out of your head what you put on it. We would also like to think that you’ve found a good routine for your beard as well, one that includes some kind of moisture application, whether you’re shaving or not. If you need a little help sifting through the plethora of products out there, we’re here for you. Below, the MR PORTER team outline their favourite hair and beard products for happier hair days.

Hair and beard products have come a long way from Mane ‘n Tail shampoo and stingy aftershave. Here are our favourites

Staff Picks: Essential Hair And Beard Products For Men



Get set for the new season with a spot of spring cleaning. Here’s how to clean up your closet, the MR PORTER way. Featuring advice on how to store your T-shirts, keep your knitwear in tip-top condition and organise your workout gear in a civilised fashion, this guide is the ultimate cheat sheet, designed to provide the framework for an orderly wardrobe for years to come. Just call us Mr Kondo…

The ultimate cheat sheet to keeping your closet in tip-top condition and – bonus – ensuring your clothes last for years to come

How To Organise Your Wardrobe Like A Pro



Mr Sigurd Larsen may be one of the newest inductees to the MR PORTER Style Council, but this is not the first time he has graced our pages. In 2015, the Danish-born architect was one of five men we interviewed for a story in _The Journal_ on his adopted hometown, Berlin, in which he spoke about the effects that gentrification and overtourism were having on the city. Today, like many cities around the world, Berlin faces a very different existential threat.

Mr Sigurd Larsen may be one of the newest inductees to the MR PORTER Style Council, but this is not the first time he has graced our pages. In 2015, the Danish-born architect was one of five men we interviewed for a story in The Journal on his adopted hometown, Berlin, in which he spoke about the effects that gentrification and overtourism were having on the city. Today, like many cities around the world, Berlin faces a very different existential threat.


The Berlin-based architect and Style Council member shares his favourite spots in the German capital

Style Council Spotlight: Mr Sigurd Larsen



I realised my hair was starting to thin when the follicular facts were aggressively spelled out to me by my barber. I was in my mid-thirties and had what I assumed was a completely normal head of dark hair, which had been cut by the same jovial Syrian barber in central London for the previous decade. “It’s definitely going, mate,” he said. He pulled at my hair and shook his head like a builder sizing up a roof in need of major work. “No way you’ll be able to get married once your hair goes.” I was in the foothills of a condition that, according to the British Association of Dermatologists, affects about 50 per cent of men by the time they’re 50. It’s most commonly known as male pattern hair loss, but can also include a range of alopecia-based conditions from a temporary bald patch to a full and sudden loss of everything, including your eyelashes.

We investigate how men suffer when they lose their hair and ask some experts what they can do about it

How To Handle The Mental Health Impacts Of Hair Loss

Highlights



How Biggie Smalls, a 1990s rap star from Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, crossed paths with the Melbourne-based knitwear brand Coogi is still something of a mystery. Some credit it to an interaction with one Walt G, a fellow kid on the New York club scene, who was a fan of its colourful sweaters some time before Biggie. Others to a (disgraced) TV sitcom star whose character was known as much for his goofy dad jokes as his goofy dad sweaters. Whichever way the story goes, it wasn’t until The Notorious B.I.G. adopted the label that Coogi truly earned its place in the annals of pop culture.

How do you take an objectively dorky sweater and make it cool? Put it on Biggie Smalls

One Memorable Look: Biggie Smalls’ Coogi Sweaters 



Conversations in fashion are shifting. Until recently, if you dropped words like “timeless” or “longevity” in a room full of industry insiders, you’d be faced with (barely) stifled yawns, not-so-subtle eye-rolls and pointed watch checks. The driving force in fashion – what people were really interested in, or so industry trendsetters would have had us believe – was the relentless pursuit of the new.

In something of a 180, however, much of that momentum has fallen away. While design, innovation, excitement and creativity remain firmly on the agenda, in the wake of 2020 we find ourselves drawn towards something more enduring: something that never goes out of style. Which brings us neatly on to SAINT LAURENT.

Conversations in fashion are shifting. Until recently, if you dropped words like “timeless” or “longevity” in a room full of industry insiders, you’d be faced with (barely) stifled yawns, not-so-subtle eye-rolls and pointed watch checks. The driving force in fashion – what people were really interested in, or so industry trendsetters would have had us believe – was the relentless pursuit of the new.
In something of a 180, however, much of that momentum has fallen away. While design, innovation, excitement and creativity remain firmly on the agenda, in the wake of 2020 we find ourselves drawn towards something more enduring: something that never goes out of style. Which brings us neatly on to SAINT LAURENT.


Apply the finishing touch to your look with shoes, bags and jewellery from the Parisian luxury brand’s spring/summer accessories collection

SAINT LAURENT Serves Us A Reminder Of The Power Of Great Accessories



It’s easy to overlook craftsmanship when you’re shopping online. If you’re scrolling on MR PORTER and a certain piece catches your eye, rarely is your first thought how or where it was made. You are much more likely to be drawn to the colour, the pattern and how well it fits. In the thrill of finding something you know will look great on you, the hours of painstaking work that went into crafting that item of clothing, or the intense research and design decisions that happened along the way, can easily be forgotten.

Everything you need to know about our new collection, designed by MR PORTER and made by some of the world’s best artisans and craftspeople

Made To Last: The Careful Craftsmanship Behind Our Latest Mr P. Collection



In December 2019, the video-conferencing platform Zoom served a worldwide total of 10 million daily meeting participants, mainly long-distance pow-wows between business people or academics. Four months later, that figure had rocketed to 300 million. Now, friends, neighbours, families, school and university students, co-workers, yoga practitioners, political leaders and even authoritarian parish councillors have all turned to Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom and others to keep in touch, to continue learning or to carry on grafting from home. But at what cost?

In December 2019, the video-conferencing platform Zoom served a worldwide total of 10 million daily meeting participants, mainly long-distance pow-wows between business people or academics. Four months later, that figure had rocketed to 300 million. Now, friends, neighbours, families, school and university students, co-workers, yoga practitioners, political leaders and even authoritarian parish councillors have all turned to Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom and others to keep in touch, to continue learning or to carry on grafting from home. But at what cost?


Since the start of the pandemic, the length of time we’re sat at our computers has increased by more than two hours a day. Now, “Zoom fatigue” has set in. Here’s how to fight back

Why Zoom Culture Is Turning Us Into Zombies (And How To Fight Back)

Why “Zoom Culture” Is Turning Us Into Zombies (And How To Fight Back)



The Grammys are always a bit off the wall when it comes to style. It would be weird if every guy showed up in a regular old tux, Oscars style. Bonkers fashion is the norm at the music awards and last night’s festivities fit the bill perfectly.

If we’re talking trends, we saw lots of leather and lots of colourful suits. It was further proof that men are sick and tired of sitting around in sweatpants and socks. Given half the chance, men will splash on the flashiest outfit they have and go, literally, to town.

The Grammys are always a bit off the wall when it comes to style. It would be weird if every guy showed up in a regular old tux, Oscars style. Bonkers fashion is the norm at the music awards and last night’s festivities fit the bill perfectly.
If we’re talking trends, we saw lots of leather and lots of colourful suits. It was further proof that men are sick and tired of sitting around in sweatpants and socks. Given half the chance, men will splash on the flashiest outfit they have and go, literally, to town.


Mr Jack Antonoff, Mr Harry Styles and Finneas let their freak flags fly at the Grammys and it’s exactly what we wanted to see

The Best-Dressed Men At The 2021 Grammys Went Rogue



“It’s not a sin to get knocked down, it’s a sin to stay down.” These are the words of Mr Carl Brashear – a man who got knocked down more than most. For anyone who might not recognise the name, or who never saw _Men Of Honor_, the 2000 biopic starring Mr Cuba Gooding Jr, he was one of the first African-Americans to qualify as a US Navy Diver – facing intense discrimination and prejudice as he did so.

“It’s not a sin to get knocked down, it’s a sin to stay down.” These are the words of Mr Carl Brashear – a man who got knocked down more than most. For anyone who might not recognise the name, or who never saw Men Of Honor, the 2000 biopic starring Mr Cuba Gooding Jr, he was one of the first African-Americans to qualify as a US Navy Diver – facing intense discrimination and prejudice as he did so.


The Oris Carl Brashear Calibre 401 Limited Edition is a bronze dive watch dedicated to the life of Mr Carl Brashear, the first African-American to become a US Navy master diver

MR PORTER

THE JOURNAL