Ken's Eye View: Summer 17 Menswear Trends

The guys are back, this time with the best of Summer 2017 fashions! Traditionally, summer collections are not news making styles. It's a time for chilling out and enjoying the beautiful weather in style. After eyeing the catwalks of New York, London, Milan and Paris, the dude dolls in my house have all agreed the way to go is with super cool fashions cut in easy to wear silhouettes cut from soft cottons in white, neutrals and sometimes fruity tones.

Easy Does It!

 

Summer time when the livin' is easy....shapes are loose and large. Think drawstring pants, oversized tunic shirts and Tshirts that float loosely over the abs. Many of the looks on this page can be made using the basic pattern tutorials for the Ken dolls. You only need to lengthen the patterns for the oversized shirts or widen the pattern (and ignore any darts) for the wide pants.

 

Sport coat, slacks with a tie dye oversized tunic peaking out....this is an exotic look with a Middle Eastern flair that our guys simply love. The tie dye aspect of these shirts adds a bold graphic statement to Renauld's ensemble.

 

New Boys on the Block

Bold and big, this is the 2017 version of color blocking. Shirts and jackets are super wide with stark, contrasting accents. This is done by changing up the color of the sleeves or pants, or with the addition of a supersized pockets or blocks of photo images.

 

Country Gentleman

The same idea of loose, easy clothes is carried over to more formal daywear. Sport jackets are cut from textured cottons and linens in styles ranging from the classic blazer through safari jackets. Colors are faithful to sun bleached tones of chalk, clay, white washed pastels, light grey.

 

Mr. Clean

Once again, this is a story of easy fashions cut from the same neutral palette. In this theme, note the appearance of the jumpsuit, the oversized shirt with cargo pockets and the trench coat tossed over the shoulders of a white Tshirt and trousers.

 

Short Stop

As to be expected with summer fashions, shorts... particularly those worn with jackets, are big! Here, the guys show off the best way to wear shorts from daytime safari looks to regal nighttime styles.

Our guy, Marcus wears the total (Moncler Gamme Bleu) package: safari jacket, white shirt and shorts with lots of pockets, worn with knee socks and beige shoes.

 

Suits Me!

There are classic suits, by the way. But look at how they break tradition in terms of choice of color. Whether single breasted or double breasted, think of using soft colors for your Ken doll's summer wardrobe. You could also be rock star daring and use a brocade fabric for the whole( a la Editions MR)  suit OR...add a black ruffled shirt to a charcoal black suit for a glammed up guy look a la Versace.

 

Desert Storm

Military is on everybody's mind! Look for styles inspired by army/navy gear. Rugged fabrics in khaki, camouflage, battleship green and slate grey are key colors for clothes with a lot of structure and detail: patch or cargo pockets, snaps and straps.

 

Serigraffiti

From the battlefields to the mean streets of urban jungles, overcoats, shirts, and sometimes denim jeans are spattered with "stencil graffiti" motifs. Again, this is a story about great big silhouettes and even bigger, bolder patterns literally painted onto the face of the garment.

 

Fresh Prints of BelAir...

Speaking of prints... They're not just reserved for Barbie fashion, you know. Our guys have picked up on the trend in all of its aspects. You can use kitschy florals or vintage prints for shirts and even shorts, subtle patterns in soft cotton for elegant suits or go all out with graffiti scrawled over jackets, shorts and shorts. The patterns are kept simple. The overall effect is large!

 

Dudes in Denim

Not your grandfather's jeans.....these show how far designers have taken the iconic garment. In the version by Christopher Shannon, the classic jeans jacket and pants are fringed using belt loops! The message here is...get creative with your blues! We probably couldn't duplicate Shannon's styles for the doll, but we could substitute rough cut slices denim for the belt loops! Otherwise....my guys denim with subtle patterns like those used in jackets and loose trousers OR the other extreme....super long jeans crushed around the ankles with lots of straps!

 

Tribal Vibes

With far away cultures the center of world events, it's no wonder we are seeing ethnic patterns and prints used in menswear. My dude dolls really loved the look of ikat prints worn with basic navy blazers, animal prints for hipster jackets or exotic geometrics etched over classy daywear gear.

For awhile now, prints, normally reserved for women's wear, has been adopted into menswear. But as styles have relaxed, the use of these prints has grown into a popular way to jazz up the look.

In the meantime, rock star mania continues its influence on men's fashions. Zak liked the idea of a waist length zebra printed jacket over slim pants. But instead of adhering to the original Louis Vuitton garment, we chose a simpler pattern and polished cotton instead of the leather version. Zak's "Nike" (which I found on eBay) perfectly compliments this look.

 

Summer in the City

White and neutrals aren't the only choices you have when choosing fabric for your favorite vinyl guy. There is also a tangy palette of fruit kissed tones to choose from. Keep the individual elements simple. But go as creative as your doll will let you when it comes to fabric and color!

Here, Richard wears a basic blazer (the tutorial for this is HERE) and trousers cut from apricot raw silk. The jacket and pants were made using the tutorials we did early on. To that classic pant suit, we added a shirt (that we lengthened by one inch (2.5 cm) then cut from batik dyed silk. This is the coolest way to look this summer.

 

If you only have the time to make one garment for Ken....let it be an oversized shirt!!!!

Richard (left) wears a classic shirt that was lengthened, whereas his friend Renauld (right), wears a tie dye shirt with no collar that is buttoned down the back. I used the same shirt pattern (which you can find by clicking HERE) but laid it out so that the front center line was on the fold. And I added seam allowance to the center back seam.

 

 

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Ken's Eye View: Menswear F/W 2016 Trends Part 2

Classics with a twist! These are menswear trends my dolls can relate to. Sport coats, suits, daytime staples and evening looks, everything is simple, wearable but with a detail or two that makes it a stand-out style.  These are keepsake looks my guys enjoyed wearing as much as they did selecting.

City Slicker

Nothing like the sleek sheen of leather to bring out the best in a guy. We love the laid back look of leather jeans and a cashmere sweater....perhaps with a kimono slung over the shoulders. Also noteworthy: leather tunics and car coats.

Here, Atsushi pulls off a stunning, new version of great classic, the straight car coat. Inspired by Hermes, we used the same combination of leather/ short hair fur. The pattern is a basic straight coat with a simple shirt collar. The fur is used for the lower half coat front and one sleeve.

Hyde and Seek

This is a story of short fur jackets worn over straight trousers or slim jims. It doesn't matter the color, pattern or combination there of so long as the silhouette is simple and easy to wear.

You don't even have to buy fur to get the look. Here Sean's blazer was cut from panne velvet which has the look of shaved mink! Put it over jeans and stuff into high top boots and your dude doll has a classy look a la Giorgio Armani chic!

Leather Weather

 

Whether real or faux, patterned or smooth, consider adding a sporty leather top or jacket this fall to your doll's wardrobe. The best looking styles featured layered looks and patterned leather, straight trousers and novelty pants. Or go simple....a double breasted leather jacket works with everything.

 

Animal Magnitism

Long haired or short, pattern or monochromatic, dolly need a fur coat this winter to bring out his inner beast!!! The best looks team great big coats with slim pants or leggings.

Our guy Zak looks great in a big, shaggy faux lamb coat with hood. Underneath he's wearing a black sweater and faux stretch leather pants.

Days of Wine and Roses

But not all the news is limited to silhouette. Color is very important, especially when the color palette is rich in Bordeaux, eggplant and dusty rose. Think of using soft knits, chunky wools, even prints in these tones. Cut it wide, layer it on, keep it easy.

Velvet Underground

Velvet makes a come back for eveningwear. You can go with the traditional black, but consider other colors, as well. In this tableau, the guys are all decked out in the classic suit. One word of precaution: use velveteen or cotton velvet. It has the type of structure and body needed for a crisp, clean look. And don't forget to use interfacing on the front pattern pieces!

White Knights

In a look that could easily strut down a summer catwalk show, white is another hot color for winter. But here again, consider looks with layers, silhouettes that are wide and easy and fabrics with structure.

Loic insisted I make this jacket, inspired by Italian designer, Damir Doma. I chose an oyster white heavy silk for the jacket so that it wouldn't resemble a lab coat. It is a simple garment with front panels that crisscross the front of the torso and is belted in place. I cut the trousers a bit wide to contrast the stiff structure of jacket.



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Ken's Eye View: Fall/Winter 2016 Menswear Trends-Part 1

The guys are back! This time around, I'm presenting the menswear trend reports in slightly different fashion. Instead of providing a look at each men's fashion week as they occur (six months in advance), I decided to simplify everything by sharing a general summary of all four cities over two posts. And, I'm running this trend report to coincide with the season that is before us. In part one, I focus on "urbanwear" and more "off-the-beaten-track" clothes. This is the type of casual gear best suited for the lifestyles and aesthetics of younger men. Don't worry if none of this appeals to you (or your dolls) because the next post is menswear for "the rest of us." If you have male fashion dolls, I'm assuming yours, like mine, have a variety of different tastes.

Color Me Cool
The first thing you'll notice with most of the clothes on this page is how large everything is. From T-shirts and jackets to trousers and coats, everything is supersized, loose and easy, allowing for freedom of movement in a fast paced world where young men skate board, bicycle, hover board and ninja hop, skip and jump to their start-up workplaces. The look is young at heart and not afraid of color or standing out in a crowd. With this generation of young menswear, you can go crazy with graphics, customized painted effects, even color blocking! Have fun. Go crazy. Life is just a comic book!!!

Livin' Large
There's always a time and place for neutrals. You'll likely to find them in outerwear cut in generous proportions that easily slide over super-sized casual wear. Extra large coats, parkas and quilted ponchos will be BIG!!!

Below, Renaud was immediately attracted to a supersized wool coat, cut so large, it's practically a cocoon!

Tough and Tattered
Size is not the only thing that matters. Rough cut texture is the key to urban warrior chic. Cover a jacket with ripped strips. Fray the edges of an unlined wool coat. Nothing is polished. Nothing is finished. The look is brutally ripped, shattered, raw, tough!

 

Here's Marcus is a shaggy edged coat with a fur-trimmed hood. Again, the key to this look is that it is cut large and long and has plenty of texture. The pattern is based on the straight basic coat with a hood attached.



My Way

Wide and narrow, short and long.....extremes are incorporated within the same look. These is the new aesthetics for the 21st century. Everything is chunky, slick, slightly off-kilter, super-original. In other words....Mr. Diva ignores the rules and does it his way!

Off the Beaten Track

With no rules in place, you can have just as much fun with Ken as you do with Barbie...without reserve. Translation: feel free to paint flowers on a suit, create a coat in the image of a giant checkerboard or add a dash of embroider to a classic jacket in a non-classic color! Get creative. Do your own thing. Have fun. Anything goes!

Midnight in Manhattan

A basic black theme...here designers explore the thick and thin of styles.  We liked how a soft overcoat is cut from a classic pinstriped wool fabric. We also like the chunkier look of great big pleats that tumble from the shoulders of a priest's coat. And we like everything in between including the layering of a straight jacket over a sweater over a narrow pair of rolled up jeans....all with a touch of fringe!

Yeezy

I will be perfectly honest. When looking through all of New York's fashion shows, I ignored Kanye West because at first glimpse, I was not impressed. There was so much hoopla over this show (by Mr. West) which was presented at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Critics applauded the music but panned the clothing, calling it nothing more than hype used to promote Kanye's real talent...music. Whether it's my taste or not...whether I understand it or not, I believe fashion is about change....for the better or worse. I will often choose garments I don't necessary like, as a way to try and understand the thought process behind the design. Given the aesthetics of today's "streetwear," Yeezy is as valid as anything else we see on today's market. But is it true design? West says everyone will be dressed like this in 5 years. West says he's the greatest thing since Hermes. He says his wife Kim Kardashian is as talented as Chanel!  Does he really have a voice in the evolution of design? I have my opinion. I will let you form your own.

Here I've put Yeezy within the context of similar looks by two world class fashion houses. All looks are wide, flat and street smart. Below, Loic wears a version of the Yeezy sweater made from a man's sweat sock!

Coming up next: Menswear Trends Part 2.

All photos and images, property of Fashion Doll Stylist. 2016.


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Ken's Eye View Menswear Spring Summer '16 Trends: Pt.2 PARIS!!!

Quite often, fashion is flipped off as being a mindless activity carried out by out-of-touch designers alone in their ivory towers. Nothing could be further than the truth. Clothing design is, after all, a multi-billion dollar business spanning the globe. Fashion designers are some of the most knowledgeable, culturally diverse people on the planet. Their job is to reinterpret all aspects of modern day life--from pop culture to politics, climate change to current events, contemporary art movements to cool new travel destination---into a line of clothing. As with women's wear, menswear trends also reflect everything that's happening in the world around us.

Gender Bender Skirts

Recent laws that have legalized gay marriage in the United States, former athletes and current film stars going public with their transgender identities...nothing went unnoticed or unaddressed in Paris. Jean Paul Gaultier was way ahead of his time when he featured skirts for men some 35 years ago. Some designers resurrected the debate by featuring "gender bender" skirts (with or without coordinated trousers) down the catwalk. This was more of a "nod" than an actual trend. Whether you love or hate it, this is an excellent illustration as to how fashion functions within the context modern lifestyles.

Easy, breezy, not girly at all, our guy Zak, was tempted to try one on for size. Think of the "skirt" as a sarong--like a bathrobe wrapped around the hips and worn around the house on a weekend holiday.

 

LOUNGING AROUND 

This is a look borrowed from hip-hop with super-sized silhouettes. What's new is the choice of fabrics that sport colorful prints from nature.

As usual, everything including an XXL T-shirt, is cut with plenty of room to spare. Note the baggy pants.

PHOTO BOMBED

With selfies so much a part of our culture today, it was just a matter of time before they'd end up on our backs. This is not a new concept--Gaultier did them years ago. But somehow now, with so many cellphone cameras flooding the internet with photos, it seems so natural that pants, jackets and shirts would end up in a photo vortex of extreme proportions!

URBAN COMBATTANTS

We live in troubled times with S.W.A.T teams, secret service and other forms of urban militia have become incorporated into our society in their efforts help keep us safe. The nylon, technical clothing they don--complete with multi-usage pockets, zips, snaps and belts--easily fits into our complicated lifestyles of devices, gadgets and gewgaws.

FREAKS OF NATURE

"Save the planet" is the battle cry from Pope Francis to Greenpeace. As our eyes shift towards preserving the wonders of nature,  the designers play homage to Mother Nature's works of art by incorporating "placed prints" and vegetal patterns into jackets, trousers and the like.

THUNDERSTORM

Here again, the story is about prints. XL shapes and silhouettes are zapped with "electric" prints. For our dolls (and our guys), these overall prints are a bit too much. But if you team up the jacket with a solid pair of pants or slide on the crazy trousers with a fitted tank top--it all works in a hip hop sort of way.

 

DESERT STORM

Let us not forget that we continue to be engaged in military actions in far away lands. Designers continue to borrow from the color palette of the desert, the utilitarian aspect of armed servicemen's garb. Think of safari jackets, drawstring pants, and clothing with pockets.

The message here was: textured top and drawstring baggy pants. Lamar's top was cut from the "wrong" side of a sweatshirt. The pants have drawstrings at both the waist and the ankles.

The best looking suit for the summer is topped off with a safari jacket!

CRAYOLA KIDS 2.0

We live in a diverse world of cultures, nationalities and ethnicities, each contributing to the melting pot of today's society. As such, color is a major force in fashion for next summer. What's different here (as opposed to the colorful garments in Part I) is that the colors are a little bit subdued for a more sophisticated look.

Mr. Ken's classic taste in suits and sports jackets is given a contemporary twist when drenched in a subdued but distinctly saturated color palette.

THE NEW CEO

The Millennials have now taken over from the Boomers and are now in charge. With them comes a more relaxed, less stuffy sense of aesthetics. They're keeping it real with simple 2-button sports jackets in lightweight fabrics and matching trousers or denims. T-shirts and sweaters are for the "daily grind" while suits with butt-grazing jackets worn over shirts and ties, are left for important business meetings.  

 

 

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