Photo by StockholmStreetStyle
I’ve been ogling a lot of Swedish men lately. Given the popular preconception that Sweden is chock full of beautiful people and only beautiful people, this may not come as a massive surprise, but bear with me. Because I’m actually staring at their clothes.
But there is a certain type that I’m currently attracted to. I’m tentatively calling it the ‘Outdoorsy Cosmopolitan’ look: tailored coats, casually rolled-up trousers, sturdy ankle boots and colourful sock combination, and the perfect beanie. Or, perhaps, a workman-inspired jacket, dark denim jeans, brogues and, er, another beanie.
A crush, by definition, is a “brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable or inappropriate.” In this case, only time will tell exactly how long I’ll be ogling these Swedish men, but I would have to disagree with the fact my infatuation is unattainable or inappropriate.
What impresses me most about the male Swedes mentioned above is that compared to some of their other European counterparts, they have an uncanny ability to look pulled together whilst not being infinitely ‘dressed up’. They might not be wearing coordinated suit-wearing folk, but there is still something to be said for looking polished. It’s something I personally struggle with, at least mentally, because I only think I need to be dressed up to look good.
So in a bid to attain fashion nirvana in an appropriate manner, I’ve made myself a small checklist of style cues:
- Buy the best tailoring I can afford
- Socks maketh the man, er, woman
- Try wearing bottoms that are not too tight
- Master the art of the casual hem roll-up
- Lug soles are a lovely contrast to dressy
- New mantra: hats are not superfluous accessories
The point of all this is that while a lot of attention from abroad has been paid to many a Swedish designer’s take on womenswear, since most labels do both womenswear and menswear, we should not take Sweden’s influence on menswear lightly. So let’s hear it for the boys!
