7 Wardrobe “Essentials” That Are Becoming OUTDATED!
[0:00:00] Blazers being matched with twill caval -- caval
– caval – cavalwid – cavalry. Ah, I can't pronounce it -- [bleeping sound] cavalry
twill. [Sound effect] [Bleeping sound] First up on my list of classic menswear items
that are outdated, the watch. And, I'm not just talking pocket watches, I'm talking wristwatches
as well. I mean, if you think about it there were only a couple reasons why men even started
to wear watches. First up, yes, being able to tell time especially
when in time when that wasn’t common was a very valuable tool especially for men in
charge. And if you're running trains, knowing the time was very important.
The other reason was jewelry, was status. In fact, I was just watching a documentary
about the Titanic. They found a particular watch and they were able to trace it to the
owner because knowing what this guy was into, he owned a number of jewelry stores. Those
type of things being able to have a piece of jewelry like this and to show status was
important. But, come on, nowadays, it's all about the
phone. This tells you the time. And if you've got the latest greatest phone, that's the
status symbol. And, yeah, maybe there are a few situations a few professions that call
for a rugged watch, but for the vast majority of situations the watch is obsolete.
Or is it? Is everything I said wrong? None of that is the case. In fact, if you look
at the number of men starting to wear watches that are getting into watches, the number
of Rolexes that were sold just last year, guys, you may be saying we're going through
a Renaissance. Agree? Disagree? Guys, today's video is going to be a little
bit different. I want to hear from you down in the comments with each of the items I'm
talking about do you think it's on the way out or do you think it's going to stick around
that it is a classic that's not going anywhere. Next up, on the list, the driving shoe. Now,
you may look at this shoe and say, “Oh! It's a classic moccasin design. This looks
like a weejun.” The big difference between a driving shoe and all the other types of
shoes not so much the upper design, but the sole design.
On a true driving shoe, yeah, you've got traction, but you do not have a sole. You've got a layer
of leather between you and the ground. So, these are not very comfortable if you're going
to go walking around. No, you don't have any of the cork lining, you don't have a shank,
you don't have the normal support. Then, what's the purpose of these? Well, if
you're driving a vehicle, you have better feel of the car of the -- of the, you know,
basically the pedals. This is the shoe for you.
Now, they had their heyday about fifty years ago. We saw a production of these ramped up.
They were very popular. But, production I think has gone down. When you do see companies
making these are oftentimes making them in small batches and that's driving up the price.
So, is the driving shoe, is it in or out? I think it's going to continue to stay a specialty
item. But, we may see a lot of manufacturers drop it because they're just not selling a
whole lot of them. What do you guys think? I want to hear from you down in the comments.
[Sound effect] The next classic menswear item heading out
the door, the oversized heavy wallet. Now, if you got a thick wallet because you got
it full of cash full of hundreds, cool, all the more power to you. But, in general, we're
moving towards a cashless society. I don't want to have a big thick wallet that I sit
on all day, starts to give me back issues. [Sound effect]
Over the last decade, we have seen the rise of the minimalist wallet where, yeah, you
take three to four credit cards a little bit of cash, slip it into a very thin, you know,
leather billfold and you are good to go. It fits right into your front pocket.
I know for me, I take four cards. Two of which are business credit cards, one is a personal
credit card. And I carry maybe a little bit of cash in my front pocket and then, I've
got my ID. And this is all I carry with me nowadays. I think this big heavy wallet is
going out the door and I do think this one's disappearing.
Next up on the list, the trench coat. Now, I love trench coats. I love the history. It
goes all the way back to the Boer War. Over one hundred and what is that? Forty years
that this jacket has been around. However, when we look at sales, they've been stagnant
despite the fact that menswear sales in general have gone up.
So, what does this tell me about the trench coat? Is it in? Is it out? I think overall
it's a great design, it's a classic design, but we're seeing it go out because other jackets
are really just in a sense they're going to better suit what you need.
If you want something's going to protect you from the rain, a trench coat can do the job,
but why not go with a rain jacket, a Mackintosh. If you want something that's going to keep
you warm, a trench coat can do the job, but why not go with a pea coat or you know a wool
overcoat or a driving coat? Another thing with the trench coat, they're
oftentimes made long. So, if you're getting in and out of a vehicle, it's just not convenient.
So, do I think the trench coat is going to continue to stick around? I think the trench
coat, again, is on its way out. It is something long-term I don't see him sticking around.
Next up, on the list, gentlemen, we've got the Ascot. So, Ascot, is this something people
normally pull off? Not since Fred of Scooby-Doo have I think that he -- I mean, come on. The
Ascot just is something that very few men pull off. Raphael Schneider over at the Gentleman's
Gazette, he can do it. He does it with confidence. But, is it on its way out? I think so.
[0:04:58] Now, you may hear the word cravat. What does
that mean? A cravat is any type of neckwear. That’s the general term. Neckties sales
have been stagnant, although they're starting to come up, so I'm not going to say neckties
are going out. Bowties even I think are going to stick around.
They are very useful especially a lot of, you know, NBA players NFL players, I see them
bringing in bow ties. I think that's awesome. But, the Ascot, yeah, that one's on the way
out. So, the next item on this list I'm kind of
sad to put it on this, but I think it's on the way out is the blazer jacket. So, what's
the difference between a blazer, suit jacket, sports jacket? A sports jacket is an odd jacket,
meaning it doesn't have any trousers made to match it exactly and it's oftentimes made
from a wide variety of different materials. Suits have trousers and the jacket made from
the same material. A blazer on the other hand and this is in general we're going to see
these made from a navy material. Oftentimes a worsted wool, but we're also going to see
hopsack and a few other materials. The point being is they are almost always in navy.
You will see regatta blazers, and these are very specialty made blazers. They're going
to have very strong patterns in them. But, for the vast majority of blazers we see out
there, they are going to be navy. Blazers kind of served this hybrid purpose
of between the sports jacket and the suit jacket in levels of formality. We saw Blazers
being matched with cavalry twill and a khaki. We saw red, we even see jeans occasionally.
Andy Warhol did a great job pulling this off. But, I just don't see it. Maybe in the cities
we're still seeing blazers maybe near, you know, nautical areas and some type of themed
things. But, the point being is blazer sales have
gone down and there really are less opportunities in my opinion to wear a blazer as men are
starting to dress down. The sports jacket is really filling all the areas. Do I think
blazers will continue to exist? Yes, but I think that they should become a subset of
sports jackets and probably not their own category.
Now, these next three items I'm going to group them together because they're very similar
and that is the three-button suit, the double-breasted suit, and the three-piece suit. So, why did
I put them all together? Because these all have to do with formal menswear that just
simply looks more buttoned up. Why do I think the three-button suit is on
the way out? Really, two-button suit dominates sales. Three-button suits whenever the best
ones I've ever seen are actually two and a half. So, those three-button suits designed
actually for the top button not to be buttoned up.
Three- button suits, they can look good, but I just feel that in general they're not selling
enough of them, so you're going to see manufacturers continue to phase them out. The same with
the double-breasted jacket. Now, the double-breasted jacket what we have
is the excess material covering that front. People don't understand there are certain
rules you have to follow with the alignment of the buttons and with the lapels. So, you
got to go with peak lapels. You can sometimes go with a shawl lapel, but peak lapels are
where it's at. If you ever see notch lapels on a double-breasted
jacket, that's a big mistake. Don't buy it. If you ever see a button alignment that goes
like a V, that is a mistake. Now, button alignment should be like a Y always, and it's those
little things. I think a double-breasted jacket made correctly
looks amazing. Now, the problem, again, is it when a man realizes these out there and
he sees his options and he tries to fit in the one that's not made for him or that breaks
these -- these mistakes, it just doesn't look good, so he doesn't wear it.
Now, let's talk about that three-piece suit. I think that this one will probably outlast
all the others because you can have a two-button jacket and with trousers basically a two-button
suit and the vest you can change it around. And guess what? You don't have to go with
an exact matching outfit. That is traditionally what we see, but you could choose to go with
the contrast. Point being is this one's a bit more versatile,
but vests are expensive. And a lot of people don't know this, but to get a vest properly
fitted to a man's body, one of the most difficult things a tailor will ever do if you go in
and get one custom-made. Point being is there's a lot of work involved
with all of these. Do I think they're going to stick around? Yes, but I think we're going
to continue to see them make up a smaller and smaller percentage of the overall market.
Next up on the list, hats. Do you think hats are on the way out or they're going to make
a comeback? Guys, I personally think that hats are amazing that's why I created this
video right here. Now, enough people have actually watched this
video. I go to a lot of detail. I think it's one of the better hat videos out there on
the web. Let me know what you think about it. I'm linking to it right here. Go check
it out, guys if you're interested in head wear.
And, what do you guys think? Like this hat? I like it too.
[0:09:17] End of audio