We all want to look good when we wear our clothes, right? I mean, that’s kind of why we buy them, and why we buy what we buy. If we just bought clothing for the sake of it, we’d probably all be running around in the same, cheap and boring stuff.
I spend a lot of time writing about good things, classic timeless pieces, staple menswear, must have items and trends as well as what you should wear and when. But what about things you should avoid?
It’s a bit negative to talk about the terrible fashion mistakes and the trends you should avoid, but I think it’s kind of necessary.
When it comes to your own personal style, you can rock what you want, and everyone will be different, which is cool.
But there’s some things which are just universally terrible, and 2020 trends you really should avoid in my opinion.
Here’s what not to wear, and the trends you should avoid.
Hair – The Man Perm (Curly Hair)
What? The man perm? Yes, I am talking about men getting a perm. No, this is not the era of Kevin Keegan and those perms from the 70s or 80s, with the long hair. I am talking in particular about guys who are rocking short hair, but with really tight locks.
I know that some guys will have naturally curly hair, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But those really tight locks which are un-natural, they’ve got to go. It looks so bad for lads with short hair, and it’s clearly a style decision, but a bad one.
The worst style of curly hair I have seen is those who are shaving the sides and back of their hair really short, leaving the top super curly. It looks like a dead animal is sitting on their head. More and more lads have done this over the past couple of years, it looked bad then, and still does.
Naturally curly or wavy hair is fine, and if that’s your style that’s cool, if it’s long enough. When you start to mix in different style, such as shaving the sides or back really short, it looks bad.
[image source: Pinterest]
Wearing Sweat Suits Outside
Not tracksuits, sweatsuits. What’s the difference? A sweatsuit is sweatshirt material, cotton, and is supposed to be baggy. They are great for the gym and wearing at home, but wearing outside, not cool. Joggers on their own? OK. Sweatshirt on it’s own? OK. Wearing as a 2-piece? Not cool!
They look super unstylish on guys who are wearing them out and about, strolling around town or living life in general. They’re really sloppy in almost any setting, unless you’re in the gym or at home. Remember, you should dress for the occasion.
Gym Clothes Outside The Gym
And from there we move on to wearing your gym clothing, outside of the gym. Typically, gym clothing is designed to make you sweat, it can either be tight to show off your physique, or baggy to hid it. Either way, it should be worn in the gym only, not out on the street.
Celebrity Inspired Gym Branded Clothing
Did you know guys go to the gym? Yes, of course you did, and you may also like to work out.
You’ll need clothing, and there’s business-savvy people out there who’ve noticed this too. So they’ve came up with brands which specifically target young people, specifically selling gym clothing.
I’m sure you’ll have seen the ads online or on social media, of a company you haven’t heard of selling gym vests, T shirts and sweats. Some is really expensive for what it is, from a brand you’ll never hear of again in the not too distant future.
Instead, opt for a proper sportswear company which have heritage and have been going for years. Nike and Adidas are the obvious big two, with a good reputation of quality, as well as having nice pieces and good design.
Reality TV Z-List Celebrity Clothing Labels
Yes, I have gone there. Z-List Celebrity Clothing Labels. There’s now a huge amount of clothing lines, or stand-alone labels which are being worn and promoted by current and former reality TV ‘stars’.
In many cases, the ‘stars’ have very little input into the clothing, and are just there to promote and use their name. A lot of the time the clothing is poor, the customer service can be poor which is important since most of the stuff can only be bought online.
Do you really want to walk around wearing clothing from a reality TV personality? It’s not the most stylish decision you’ll make, and there’s always far better options.
Influencer & Reality TV Promoted Clothing
Have you ever seen an influencer or reality TV star promoting a brand which you’ve never heard of? Yes, of course you have. You may notice a bit of a trend forming here, in the trends you should avoid, most things promoted by reality personalities and influencers.
If they are promoting a well known brand which you know of, then that’s fine, because you know the quality, the brand values and the message that brand is sending out, so that’s usually fine.
However, you’ll find many promoting brands you’ve never heard of, which is a problem for two reasons.
Firstly, they are being paid to promote and endorse, so it’s almost always not an objective view on the brand.
Have you seen them wearing that brand BEFORE they promoted them?
Secondly, these brands spend a lot of money on the promotion side, but for the products and service they offer, it’s poor more often than not. If you search for “abc brand name review”, you’re likely to see a lot of complaints.
Some not happy with the quality, some not happy with the service. They are to be avoided.
From the clothing point of view, a lot of the time the clothing is simply not good enough for the price. You can buy better from well known brands, and in some cases, designer brands too.
For the gym brands, influencer promoted clothing and the reality TV clothing labels, it’s all about the money. I see some people spending £40+ for a tee, or doing a shopping spree in the £100’s which is crazy. If you want them and they’re on sale, they could be worth the money. When they’re as expensive as the established brands, they’re to be avoided. Instead of buying 3x T Shirts for £120, grab 1 or 2 from a bigger brand, and you’ll feel better with that label if that’s what you’re looking to do.
Ill Fitting Clothing (In Particular Extreme Fit Clothing)
A trend which we really need to ditch is the ill-fitting clothing, the clothing which is ill-fitting to the extreme. I am talking about not just the baggy scale, but in fact more from the tighter end of things. Extreme muscle fit, super skinny, and “spray on” types of fit.
For some reasons some guys have got it into their head that if they go to the gym and work out, the best way to show it off is to wear the tightest, smallest clothing they can fit into – WRONG. This looks ridiculous!
From those spray on jeans to the T-shirts, they’re all pretty bad, and the worst, button up shirts. Shirts are generally what you wear when you want to dress a little smarter than just a tee…But if it looks like your buttons are about to pop open, it’s not a good look.
Get the right fit for your clothes, check out my measure guide which can help you do this.
The spray on jeans look particularly bad on the guys who go to the gym, work hard on their bodies (especially their upper halves) and then wear jeans which are super tight.
It makes them look completely out of proportion and makes their legs look skinnier, rather than their top half looking more defined.
You should wear the right jeans for your body shape which will make your overall appearance much better.
As I have mentioned a million times and many have before me, rule no.1 about dressing well is the fit. Get clothes which fit your particular size and shape, from a slim fit to athletic and all the regular fits in the middle.
Wearing Shoes Without Socks
If you want to wear shoes without socks aka going sockless, there’s a few things to note. First of all, this is very much a summer trend, and not something which you should be doing all year round. Second, you don’t actually not wear socks, instead you opt for invisible socks, or no show socks.
That means you are actually wearing socks, but they’re not on show. Finally, and perhaps most important, showing off some ankle while wearing something long on your lower half is a casual statement.
That means you should only do this with casual clothing, such as jeans, chinos or most stylishly, with shorts.
Going without socks when you’re wearing more formal attire such as trousers or smarter shoes will instantly make your outfit look more sloppy, so it’s really important that if you do go for this, it’s only in a casual setting.
Conclusion
So there you have it, men’s trends and menswear you should avoid in 2020 and beyond. You may be thinking, well, what do I wear?
The best answer is to stick to the classics, and timeless staple pieces. If you want to know what trends are hot and fashionable, you can always check out the trends that I’m talking about which are always good if you want to switch it up and try something different with your wardrobe for a season.
Let me know what you think of these trends to avoid, and if you agree.
Images are copyright to their respective owners and are used as part of fair use for commentary purposes only.
