Men's Fashion: A casual guide to spring 2011 trends

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Singapore Men's Fashion Week 2011 (Credit Chris McGrath, Getty) | Photo 02

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  uploaded by Chris Barker | add comment

Everyone has their own way of acquiring new fashion, conscious of it or not.  Some look to fashionable friends for easy-to-acquire tidbits.  Some rely on entertainment websites or television shows to teach them the dos and don’ts of the stars for us to learn from.  Others look to actual fashion shows, introduce it into their wardrobe immediately and ultimately look like fools until years later when it has finally become socially acceptable. Imagine one of these guys walking into your house for your next poker night.  A bit of a gamble for most to be “fashion forward.”  Just think of the tighter fitting pants three years ago.  Probably not going to work in most places, but now you can’t walk downtown and spit without upsetting someone in skinny jeans.
 
This year in men’s fashion, it’s more of the relaxed, but also dressed up look.  The “I’m dressed up for the occasion, but maybe, just maybe, I wear this all the time,” look.  According to ThisIsBrandX.com, T-shirts being replaced by a casual button up shirt.  Chino’s and dress pants will make a stand in attempt to phase out the popular jean epidemic of the last few years.  Nonchalant dress shoes are putting a foot down in the realm of everyday attire.  Imagine the dress shoe as the fine wine of footwear and your old sneakers as a beer that’s been out of the fridge for too long.  To generalize it all, the more casual and laid-back the look, the more time that probably went into it.
 
For cheap ways to stay in fashion, thrift stores and the Goodwill are timely, but ultimately cost effective alternatives for some (newcomers or skeptics, check out Marina Robert’s article).  Urban Outfitters is always a good one-stop shop for complete wardrobe and lifestyle updates while local-run shops or boutiques  might be a bit pricey, but will enable you to not only walk away empowered by your purchase and support of the community, but also be confident that you will not run into a mirror on the streets.