In the whimsical world of fashion, the one thing you can count on is change. Trends come and go; creative directors are ousted and replaced as frequently as Premier League managers; last season’s ‘next big thing’ is destined to be flung unceremoniously into next season’s bargain bin, and so on.
Except, that’s not always the case. There are certain trends so enduring, that it seems wrong to call them trends at all. And there’s one such ‘trend’ that has shown a particular resilience over the last few years.
It’s a look comprised of Harrington blouson jackets, camp-collar bowling shirts, pleated trousers and penny loafers worn with white socks, and while hugely popular in the 1980s, its origins lie a little further back than that, in the bowling lanes and drive-in cinemas of middle America in the 1950s.
When it comes to style, it seems that men just can’t get enough of the 1950s
When it comes to style, it seems that men just can’t get enough of the 1950s. This, after all, was the decade of the rebel, when beat poets and rock’n’rollers first began to rail against the buttoned-up establishment. It was the dawn of the American high school, too, when the stereotypes that continue to underpin our understanding of youth culture – the jocks, rockers, slickers and nerds – began to take shape. It was when early style icons such as Elvis Presley, James Dean and Marlon Brando were in their swaggering prime.
And nobody is more responsible for the era’s revival than Prada. Over the last few seasons, the brand has continually managed to drag this charmingly retro aesthetic out of the 1950s and make it wearable all over again.
This season, Mr Porter has joined forces with the label to create an exclusive 35-piece collection rooted in vintage American style. There’s no better time to take this clean-cut look for a spin. You’ll bowl them over.
For more info, see Mr Porter
