is baggy back in and tailored / fitted out?
Hey guys, I'm sort of afraid to ask this question and sorry if it's a real dumb one. I've been on this discord for a week and consuming as much as I can to learn. Appreciate all the knowledge you share. It seems like a lot of you guys are buying and recommending what I would consider very baggy pants and I guess shirts to some extent as well.
I guess I'm out of the loop here and this has probably been trending for awhile. I was just in Italy on my honeymoon for almost 3 weeks and didn't see it there much at all. I'm based in NJ and WFH but when I go out I haven't noticed it but maybe I just haven't been looking for it.
I guess I'm asking, is this a really fashion forward thing or has it been in for awhile? I finally figured out how to buy clothes and get them tailored to fit me, and I'm not ready to let that go, I'm guessing that's still OK or will that start to feel dated now?
Keep in mind I have never worn skinny jeans in my life. I just mean good fitting tailored clothes. I attached an example of the fit I wear if that helps with context.
37 Replies
It's trending, but the best advice is to wear what you enjoy
Tailored doesn't mean skinny or wide, it just means someone took the effort to have it fit you well. Some portions of 'fit properly' are very subjective, some are ... I mean look it's all subjective, but some 'rules' are as close to objectivity as you're gonna get with clothes. I like to have all my nice clothes tailored to fit me best, though generally if it's good enough (and I paid little) then I leave it alone. I prefer a more fitted, slimmer look on some things, a more classic cut on some things, and go a bit more full-cut on some things, but I avoid the extremes. That's only my personal taste, though.
Also, your jacket looks kinda short from that photo. ;)
Yeah you can get wide pleated pants at gap and uniqlo. Straight/baggy fits are pretty mainstream and on trend at this point. That doesn't mean you are wrong or not fashionable/stylish for dressing in slimmer fits it's just not "in". I think in regards to tailoring that move to getting wider/baggier is slower, but still present when you look at what's being put out by the top brands that everyone then copies like Drakes.
That being said maybe it's the angle of the photo but those pants fit closer to skinny than anything imo and with a jacket that fits looser like you have and a shirt with a bigger collar a straight fit pant would look better here
The jacket looks fine if a touch short. I’m not into the pants for a number of reasons personally but if you enjoy it that’s the most important thing!
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah the shirt is too big on me, it's from Proper Cloth and I'm waiting on a remake. The jacket just barely buttons, I can't imagine how this is considered looser lol but I'm still learning. Maybe it's because I carry all my fat in my belly though
The shirt looks fine in the pic. Is the jacket from Spier? They run quite slim tbh
Specifically in the waist
Yeah it's Spier. I'll have to take a pic without the jacket on. To me the shirt feels way too baggy (for MTM). Although it would be funny if I lost the weight and now baggy is in anyway lol
To me baggy shirt looks boxy and makes me look cubbier when I'm not
Reddit had a big thread on this a few months ago in the MFA subreddit. Basically relaxed fit and loose clothing are more on trend compared to the previous very slim and body forming clothing
Remember trendy doesn't mean the same as look good. Well fitting clothing will always be flattering and if you like the look then wear it. But it won't necessarily be trendy and that's fine.
I hear ya. I also wonder if it's an age thing. I'll be 40 in 6 months. I see most kids 25 and younger all have the same haircut with the floppy big bangs. No offense to anyone who has that haircut, but I thinknabyone who has that now will look back and cringe when they're older lol. I grew up in the 90s where literally everyone wore baggy clothes and we cringed at it for the last 20 years till recently
Anyone remember the 90s bulls team photos where they all had on crazy baggy suits?
That suit whips
It's an era thing, when you grew up, relaxed fits were what was popular, you saw people older than you wearing them and they quickly became what your parents likely wore. As younger millenials grew up, they saw these more relaxed fits that they associated with their parents and they wanted to subvert that with slim fitting clothing.
The same exact thing is happening with GenX looking at "dad" clothing aka. slim fitting 2010s fashion, and they are subverting this in their own way.
What is cringe to you, may be the exact opposite to others.
This. I'm currently trying to apply this in my life, however, the stubborn menswear in me has to consider the "formalities" on building my capsule wardrobe
If it helps, one tip that greatly helped me is "dress to enhance your body, not replicate it", so some actually wear baggy fits to enhance some parts of themselves or to make things proportionate to them. As for baggy being trendy or not, I think the drape cut of a suit was once considered baggy yet it still looks timeless? I could be wrong there
Your outfit's nice by the way! Jacket's really great. In my opinion, you could use a higher rise on the pants but overall, great outfit!
But what defines well fitting is subjective to a certain extent, as long as it doesn't become really impractical. I would agree though that not going into the extremese makes somthing somewhat more likely to age well
That's a really interesting perspective I hadn't thought of before. But isn't there something timeless in menswear? What's that fit look like? Strait legs like Donald Draper?
I was thinking about this more. I've been both fit and fat. When I'm fat, baggy clothes are great because they hide my body. When I'm fit, baggy clothes hide my body and actually make me look fat because of the boxy silhouette. IMO baggy clothes are a waste on a fit man but that's just my opinion. Thanks for the feedback btw, the pants are brand new cotton linen blend from Proper Cloth and I really love them. Is the higher rise stuff also more in these days? I have one pair of higher rise pants that I love, I'm short and have short legs and they help bring balance to my body (is that why you and others like them?), but they just slowly fall down to my ass and then look too long. How do you get them to stay up? And any brands you like with higher rises?
Haha yeah but like 10 years ago this was literally a meme. Crazy how things swing back and forth
I actually haven't found "legit" high rise pants aside from the fatigue pants I got from Etsy, so I'm actually planning to try some on soon, however, I'm kinda confused as to which rise do I actually fit in since some say I look shorter in my fatigue pants due to it cutting my torso in half apparently.
I can definitely related to your fit and fat swings, I'm currently on my fat (but somehow fit due to kettlebells?) phase and when I was slimmer, I definitely saw the downside of the boxy silhouette, however, I draw inspiration from Ametora and try to attempt such fits into my wardrobe since Japanese people are mostly slim and they seem to wear baggy/relaxed clothing very well.
Timeless as in in can't be identified as being from a specific time period? No. Even though fits are cyclical, so are other micro trends (lapel width, shirt length, pant hem, rise, etc). The suits of the 90s are quickly identifiable from those of the 2020s, even if both are relaxed. Even the most unconforming, basic straight fit will be "dated" as these microtrends also move on.
A lot of this is based on what you want clothing to do for you. If you want it to accentuate your frame and make you look conventionally attractive, then ideas of “proper fit” work well for that. For others, the point is self-expression and cultivation of a vibe, and they make their choices to achieve that
Please don’t dress to avoid appearing cringe looking back from an unknown point in the future
Also, a lot of people in more relaxed/baggier fits have been through a slim fit phase and have gotten bored of it and want to move to something they find more interesting
No one is really saying to buy suits that fit like this tho. This is still a very fashion forward suit just like it was at the time
I guess I mean more timeliness meaning it will always look good like subway tile. But maybe you are sort of saying the same thing
I agree, but I wish I could go back in time to when I was kid and make myself get a good haircut. I definitly screwed myself on that lol
We all have regrets from when we were younger
Baggy fits hiding your body is really only true for photos. When you move it will be clear whether or not you are fit. A lot of fit people wear wide clothes because they like the way the clothing moves when they wear it.
Also there are ways to show off your body even in wider fits. Wide pants with drawstring closure to show a slim waist for instance, or wide pants with a slim top. Crochet/mesh shirts have been popular the last two summers. On the women's side you'll often see distressed jeans and crop tops used to show skin with wider fits.
It really depends on who you want to look good to, to the people with a careful eye who are always paying attention to fashion, there is no timeless, everything is in flux and conversation with the past and the future
If you just want a random person on the street to think you look decent, then probably your best bet is to avoid any extremes
Slim fit era was an extreme, it moved the window of fit really far
But the pendulum is swinging back
And the vague middle isn’t far off from either thing, but you won’t be wowing fashion people by staying in the middle
but they just slowly fall down to my ass and then look too long. How do you get them to stay up? And any brands you like with higher rises?The answer is always suspenders ;) the other answer is to have a body shape that makes your natural waist your slimmest portion of your body. Every other solution is more difficult.
I feel like if you are unsure about wider fits, try it out. Also maybe start out with a single wider piece. I would say trousers is a good option there.
At least from what I see wider trousers are the most common wide element
What is the "natural waist"? Like the belly button area?
It can depend from person to person, but is usually just above the belly button. If you look at slim people, the narrowest part of their torso is that. It makes it easy to put pants there because when you belt em up (or use side adjusters), they're reasonably tight at the waist and can't really fall down... but only if you are actually the thinnest at the natural waist. Which, yknow, most people are not, these days.
big suits are cool
I have three suits that are like 4 sizes too big for me but I look fresh as hell in em
Yeah I dunno if I'll ever have that. I carry my body fat disproportionately in my belly. Like a pregnant lady
Then your choices are to wear suspenders or regularly adjust your pants, pretty much, if doing high rise. :)
Do they make casual suspenders. I've never owned a pair actually
I'd only wear suspenders under a jacket or if I was a professor who ran out of fucks
tries on waistcoat and throws in a zip-up hoodie