THE JOURNAL

A walk-through the bigger, baggier new style silhouette .
The slim silhouette has dominated menswear ever since the mid-2000s, when Mr Hedi Slimane first marched models clad in skinny jeans down the runway at Dior Homme. Even now, two years after he left his post as the creative director of Saint Laurent, the designer’s legacy can still be felt in high-street stores, which continue to do a roaring trade in clingy, elastane-blend denim. Few trends, if any, have proven quite so resistant to change.
But if there’s one thing you can count on in the world of fashion, it’s change – and away from the mainstream, the long-overdue return to a more relaxed silhouette is already well underway. Over the last few years, Mr Lucas Ossendrijver at Lanvin, Mr Alessandro Michele at Gucci and Mr Stefano Pilati at Ermenegildo Zegna have all helped to raise the profile of the roomier leg. They have been supported by a coterie of smaller designers, for whom wide has always been the way: Beams Plus, Chimala and Comme des Garçons in Japan, Craig Green, Margaret Howell and Albam in England, and many more.
Will it really catch on? Do wide-legged trousers have a genuine chance of stealing the spot of skinnies in the wardrobe of the everyman? Will saggy gussets, male muffin tops, and pockets so tight that they make your phone and keys look like they’ve been shrink-wrapped in denim all be banished from sight forever? Who knows. And frankly, who cares? It’s no fun dressing like everyone else anyway. Read on for three ways to take a walk on the wide side.
THE RETRO WORKWEAR

These chinos from our in-house label, Mr P. are old-school to the (herring)bone. Roll up the hems to show off a hint of sock, and double down on the retro workwear look by wearing them with a denim chore jacket. Fun fact: a famously hard-wearing fabric, herringbone twill was used by the US Army during WWII to make lightweight fatigues known as HBTs.
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THE SUBTLE STREETWEAR

Noah was founded in the early 2000s by Supreme creative director Mr Brendon Babenzian. He left the hyped-up streetwear brand in 2015 to focus his energies on his own label, which had understandably fallen by the wayside. These chinos are typical of his new direction: simple, quietly subversive and cool in a way that grown-ups can appreciate. Stick with the utilitarian vibe and wear them with a suede field jacket and a pair of Tricker’s Derby shoes. Alternatively, you could go the whole Noah hog and throw them on with a boxy, double-breasted tweed blazer and a baseball cap.
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THE SLOUCHY DENIM

It’s easy to forget what Mr Hedi Slimane was railing against when he first debuted his slimmer take on denim back in the mid-2000s. This was the era of the dreaded boot-cut, a quasi-flare now better known as “dad jeans” and famous for being worn by ageing car-show hosts and having those dirty, frayed bits at the back where they’ve been stepped on too many times. So, when we talk about returning to a wider cut of jean, let us be clear: we’re not suggesting that we go back there. Try a pair with a generous turn-up, such as these from the cult Japanese denim brand Chimala. Play the skater card with white socks, Vans slip-ons and a grungy plaid overshirt from Mr Virgil Abloh’s Off-White.
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