The trend cycle moves at a breakneck clip, and keeping up can be a royal headache. So if you were feeling a little stressed following the fashion circus as it migrated across Europe, we’ve got the cure for your whiplash. Below, you’ll find a not-quite-comprehensive list of all the weirdest, wildest menswear moves we’re itching to make this spring—along with a handful of brands doing them best—hand-picked by the GQ Recommends squad. Are these the only things we’re going to wear for the next six months straight? Probably not. But they’re definitely the only things we want to wear right this very minute, and if you’re looking for a quick rundown on how to dress like a GQ staffer this season there’s no better place to start.
Low Profile, High-Vis Sneakers
The best way to combat your gnawing sense of Samba fatigue? Swap them out for a retro-indebted runner drenched in eye-searing hues and finished off with a svelte gum sole.
Raw Jeans
The raw denim resurgence isn’t coming—it’s here. This time around, though, the silhouettes are freakier, the hems are longer, and the emphasis should be on the jeans themselves; no one else needs to know about their Japanese provenance.
Buggin’ Shades
Looking to inject your warm-weather fits with a jolt of pop star energy? Make like Bieber and cop a pair of glorious, Y2K-doused frames.
’90s-Era Leather Jackets
Meet this year’s leather jacket: boxy, cropped just-so, and yanked straight off the back of a megawatt celebrity leaving LAX during the heyday of airport style.
Ringer Tees
You could spend a fortune at the gym to make sure your biceps look appropriately juicy…or you could just buy one of these—the effect will be the same.
Kicky Boots
Our favorite swerve to come out of menswear’s ongoing western kick is the well-heeled boots favored by ranch hands in the outback—and disco-bound groovers just looking for the perfect shoes to anchor their flared jeans.
Fashion Jerseys
It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you laced up some cleats (or flipped through the Sports section): Everybody’s rooting for the fashion jersey, and nothing will look better accented by a simple gold chain.
Strappy Leather Sandals
Your sandals deserve a swanky upgrade. Start with Birkenstock’s sleeper-hit Kyoto style, and then level up to a pair of dainty T-bar loafers from the hard-bottom enthusiasts at Hereu.
Crisp Trousers
Man cannot live on raw denim alone! When your indigo-stained thighs need a break from the selvedge, treat ’em to a pair of sleek black dress pants—the crisper the crease the better.
Geometric Neckwear
In 2023, knotting up a tie is righteous flex all on its own. Why not use the opportunity to elevate your rumpled button-ups to an explosion of color and pattern worthy of the Biennial?
Sick Skirts
After years of flirting with the style, Robert Pattinson and Jordan Clarkson are picking up where elite fashion plates like Rodman and Cobain left off. Throw Goodfight’s goth-kid mesh skirt over your jeans, wear Thom Browne’s crisp pleated skirt with a shrunken OCBD; the trick to pulling one off starts with slipping one on—and then forgetting about it entirely.
