The American holiday tradition for men

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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The American holiday tradition for men

— by Angie

on December 3, 2007

Veteran American fashion designer Ralph Lauren brought out a few interesting Holiday looks for gents this season. Not quite my preconceived idea of the male American tradition, but a novel and unique look all the same. In fact, I can appreciate the retro 50’s trend with a Scandinavian twist. To my surprise, the models seem to get away with the look. On some fashion level these Holiday ensembles are ultra funky, preppy and tastefully humorous. Does anyone else share my view?

Men's Style · Party Wear

21 comments · Add a comment

Nicole

About a month ago, my friend and I were walking thru Macy’s and we saw a manequin dressed in the same exact outfit model #2 is wearing. After making fun of the outfit, I suggested we buy our husbands the sweater as a joke. We looked at the price tag ($250) and decided we couldn’t afford something so funny. (We commented that the sweater would be marked down to $20 because it was so hideous).

Two weeks later, the same friend was in Macy’s with her husband. He put on the entire outfit and she took his picture, which she then emailed to me. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen.

I don’t know any man who would actually wear any of that. What’s next? A resurgence of Bill Cosby’s sweaters? (BTW, the red pants are actully more of a watermellon pink color and were $100 in Macys).

December 3, 2007 at 6:06 am

Michelle

Well, I love anything preppy and retro, so I adore this look. A little too snug on the models, but overall I like this look. Except the red reindeer sweater – doesn’t look nordic enough.

December 3, 2007 at 6:39 am

Fran

Absolutely awful. Looks like they’re wearing the same clothes they had when they were 10, only they’ve grown out of them. Yes, it’s funny, but who’d be caught dead wearing this look?

Angie, I don’t know who actually wears this stuff. I can’t believe they sell a lot of it . These are clothes only a grandma could love.

December 3, 2007 at 7:03 am

angie

(website)

Interesting stories and comments ladies.

Fran, I know some ultra trendy, immaculately groomed, arty farty gents in the fashion industry that would feel comfortable pulling this unique look off for a laugh. But I can’t imagine anyone with mainstream fashion style wanting to look this way for a holiday bash. It’s extremely interesting that Ralph Lauren decided to put this in his collection. If this look formed part of a theatrical catwalk show, I’d be able to understand the reasoning behind it more……..but it’s selling in stores and on-line for anyone to buy. Wow. I’d love to know the “point of sale” on these items. There must be a market for it.

December 3, 2007 at 7:21 am

Joey

How funny! Just yesterday was looking through a Macy’s catalog and saw an equally hideous outfit. The guy was wearing red pants, yellow socks, an argyle vest w/ a white shirt and black bow tie. Looked like he had on his 6 year old brother’s outfit. What guy would wear red pants?? Ewww!

December 3, 2007 at 8:33 am

Well, he’s reaching way, way back with these sweaters isn’t he. It’s a vintage look done too literally for today for sure. My mother used to make sweaters like this by the dozens for our family. She once copied a sweater she adored on Tyrone Power from a photo in a magazine for my father. It’s upstairs in my closet right now. Looked sharper on my Dad!!

December 3, 2007 at 8:45 am

Stephanie

(website)

I agree with Fran’s synopsis – “absolutely awful.” Not only are the colors hideous, the sweaters look much too small and much too short.

December 3, 2007 at 8:45 am

Jennifer

Oh, I think these are just hideous. Hubby just laughed that getting a mainstream guy to wear those outfits would be like trying to put a sweater on a cat. And once you got it on, the poor man would just stand there with the same expression as the models above.

December 3, 2007 at 8:58 am

Brooke

Angie, your posts are always so tactful. I’ll just come out and say it–they’re hideous! Although I think a toddler-sized version of the sweaters might be cute on a little boy.

December 3, 2007 at 9:46 am

Ashley

(website)

If gaudy holiday sweaters don’t work for women, they certainly don’t work for men either! About the only “holiday” I can handle on the gentleman are solids and stripes in festive colors. Sweaters I’d hesitate to put a toddler in are definitely not on my radar this season.

December 3, 2007 at 10:52 am

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate

(website)

I’m with Brooke-these would be adorable on my 6 year old son. These guys look like they should be auditioning for a part in a movie like “the 40 year old virgin”.

December 3, 2007 at 2:31 pm

Steph

Those are so awful that I can’t stop looking at them! I can’t believe those are even being made. Would men’s friends let them wear that? I think not.

December 3, 2007 at 4:50 pm

Maya

Take those sweaters and put them on the average gent and I assure you they will lose their appeal. I suppose on a younger guy they could be “ironic” and therefore obviously worn in jest, but if I saw a man over 30 (keep in mind that my idea of “younger” is skewed), I’d just assume he was clueless. Reminds me of my former history of film professor who used to come in with old man cardigans and an electric blue tie with a popcorn print on it. Somehow it just worked for him, but it wouldn’t work on anyone else.

December 3, 2007 at 6:49 pm

Lisa

I can see how very trendy men could pull off this look. It could either be pulled off by a very preppy guy or a sort of geek chic guy who dresses comically on purpose, to express his sort of “above it all” irreverence. This is the same sort of guy you find wearing dark-rimmed glasses or high waters. He probably listens to Indie rock music. Yet, this is also the type of guy who would probably find this sort of cheeky item in a thrift store not a department store. So there must be some preppy gentleman who are out there in these sweaters. I actually quite like the one on the left. It’s the reindeer that are just a bit too cartoon-like, a bit too animated and well….disturbing. But a man who’s really confident in himself could pull off the snowflake sweater and still look hot. Love how it’s pared with the plaid shirt underneath. Very cool look.

December 4, 2007 at 7:56 pm

angie

(website)

You have hit the nail on the head Lisa. Your view is precisely my sentiment. Thank you for sharing your opinion so eloquently with us.

December 4, 2007 at 11:01 pm

Meg from The Bargain Queen & All About Appearances

(website)

Ummm… the models remind me of Ken dolls — and not in a good way. The look kind of weirds me out for some reason.

December 5, 2007 at 9:31 pm

Erin

All I could think of when I saw the last picture and imagined the model sitting down: cameltoe.

December 5, 2007 at 11:54 pm

Sarah

For me, this look falls somewhere between 1950s homoerotica and the Hitler Youth (look at the “I’m so stern and nordic” expression on the first model). Hilarious.

December 10, 2007 at 8:47 pm

Gertjan

This is art…

Love the retro look. The red sweater would look better on a girl though…

December 20, 2008 at 5:41 pm

edrazeba

As with Thom Browne, these looks go beyond simple retro into something almost kinky, but a kink that I have no idea what that might be. There’s just kind of a masochistic quality there that seems like “Extreme Retro” in sort of the manner of “Jack-Ass”.

At the same time, I think the model is wearing it very well and has just the right look to do so – the face, the hair, etc. The problems are that, firstly, any other normal looking person wouldn’t be able to pull it off, and secondly, if we leave aside any other person wearing it, where, and in what kind of context, is this guy going to wear it.

I do like the 1950s retro look. Unfortunately where I am is somewhat too suburban to either find or wear it. I can appreciate this look in terms of an over-the-top extreme version of retro cat-walk/performance piece, but in the real world, I don’t think you’ll find anyone willing to wear it. If anyone does, I would be interested to talk to them and hear about their thought process behind doing so.

July 12, 2009 at 12:26 pm

Jason Robbins

I have the red jumper with the white reindeer(although my one actually fits unlike the one in the picture) and I think it’s completely amazing and have had many positive complements from strangers when out wearing it.

Awesome.

December 4, 2009 at 10:20 am

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