Men’s Style Predictions for 2014

Hell of a year 2013. From flash in the pan trends to some tweaks in timeless style, prognosticating the ebb and flow of Men’s style is not easy. But that doesn’t mean we can’t throw a few mental darts at the board. Below you’ll find 13 predictions for the upcoming year in men’s style. An emphasis has been placed on the affordable realm. Leave your own predictions in the comments section.

#1. jcp reverts wholly back to JC Penney

Good night Ronnie J. and Wooster’s jcp. Been nice knowing you.

#2. Macy’s, Kohl’s, and other dept. stores fail to fill the hole jcp leaves behind.

Macy’s One Day Sales used to get plenty of coverage on this website, but… there’s just not a lot to get excited about at Macy’s lately. INC, Alfani Red, and Hilfiger have been stuck in a slump. Same with Kohl’s. Sears? It’s… Sears. Is the age of affordable style shopping at department stores coming to a close even more quickly than originally thought?

#3. Tie bars, lapel flowers, and pocket squares w/ suits become more rare

Sometimes all you need is a really well cut suit, a sharp shirt, and probably (but not always) a tie. Pocket square? Sure. But the suited man as a fully-ornamented-Christmas-Tree-thing might be on borrowed time.

#4. Jacket tails get longer. Lapels get wider. Even on the Ludlow.

They might have to call it something else (remember their Aldridge?) but the constant complaint about J. Crew’s Ludlow jacket silhouette is that the 2.5″ lapels are too skinny and the tails are too short. Suitsupply’s Napoli fit seems to get it just about perfect. Look for more brands to make a still contoured, athletic fit suit, with medium lapels and a more traditional tail length.

#5. Pant leg taper rebounds from super skinny to a more straight cut.

If your pants are so tapered that they get hung up on your calves when you sit, and then don’t fully extend back down to your ankles when you stand up because they’re stuck, then there’s a problem there.

#6. SmartWatches become the new BlueTooth earpiece.

Velcro might be a more advanced system to secure shoes to your feet, but you still see laces on dress shoes. Stick with a plain ol’ watch if you want something on your wrist.

#7. Monk straps keep on truckin’

Many have suffered from Monk Strap fatigue, and an expected pushback has happened, but they’re not going anywhere. Like well kept scruff, the monk strap is here to stay.

#8. The Stylish Selfie starts to die out.

Do some find it fun? Some do. But when it goes from “just for fun” to “accomplishment” in the eyes of the subject/snapper, then that person might have allowed themselves to skew their reality.

#9. For shoes… light brown, walnut, & tan are no longer the new black.

Black becomes the new black.

#10. Blazers & sportcoats are produced with less and less lining.

Especially for the affordable brands. A full polyester lining just isn’t that desirable. Picking a good fabric and then lining the sleeves and the upper back is plenty for most.

#11. Kickstarter Continues to Produce Stylish Items, but…

…those projects get over-funded, the production timeline misses the original shipping goals by a mile, and people get pissed off.

#12. Amazon gets their men’s clothing act together.

It’s one of the few things they don’t do all that well. In the age of Prime, just about anything can be on your doorstep within two days. If they could only offer a more curated selection, instead of the all-things-to-all-people approach, then there might be something there.

#13. Store Wars 2014: J. Crew Factory unseats J. Crew

And yes, they have to be separate entries. Factory and J. Crew, while under the same corporate umbrella, are like GAP and Banana Republic. Similar, yet very very different.

Your turn guys. Agree? Disagree? Get out whatever favorite tool of prognostication you may or may not have, and leave your men’s style predictions for the upcoming year in the comments below.