As a 36-year-old father who needs both style and comfort, these are Autumn’s most wearable menswear trends
Across both the designer catwalks and the high street, the menswear mood is becoming noticeably more relaxed
Dressing well as a dad isn't an easy feat.
White T-shirts quickly become canvases for sticky, peanut butter-clad fingers. Slim trousers are a distant memory thanks to years of neglected fitness routines and the fact I now spend half my life crouching down to wipe noses, tie shoelaces and retrieve dropped Scampi Fries. Leather jackets are best left hanging in the wardrobe if there's even a slight chance your toddler might use your shoulders as a climbing frame.
"Fashion knows not of comfort," declared Blair Waldorf in an episode of my guilty pleasure show, Gossip Girl. Fortunately, menswear has moved on a fair bit since the era of blood-flow-restricting skinny jeans, copyright infringing Rihanna T-shirts and blazers cut so slim they practically required a spotter to put on.
AW26 feels like a turning point. Across both the designer catwalks and the high street, the mood is noticeably more relaxed. Barrel-leg denim is no longer reserved for skaters. Tailoring has softened. Workwear has become smarter. Even knitwear has been given room to breathe. For once, the biggest trends aren't asking men to sacrifice comfort in the name of style. They're proving the two can happily coexist.
As someone whose weekends now revolve around early morning gymnastics, Sunday markets and the occasional pint while keeping one eye on the climbing frame, I've found myself naturally gravitating towards many of this season's biggest trends already. Better still, most don't require a complete wardrobe reset. They're wearable, versatile and, perhaps most importantly, practical enough for real life.
Here are the four trends I'll actually be wearing this autumn.
NEW NEUTRALS
One of the easiest ways to make affordable clothes look premium is by limiting your colour palette and adding smart accessories.
Stone linen, olive tailoring, oatmeal knitwear and chocolate leather all sit comfortably together because they're borrowing from nature rather than chasing trends. It's a styling trick luxury brands have relied on for years, and thankfully the high street has caught up.
For a London wedding I paired a linen shirt from M&S with relaxed tailored trousers and a simple neckerchief rather than opting for a full suit, because a three-piece in 30-degree heat feels less "well dressed" and more "heatstroke waiting to happen". Keeping everything within the same muted palette made the outfit feel intentional, while the scarf added just enough personality without shouting for attention. It's proof that dressing smart doesn't always have to mean wearing a three piece suit.
BRITISH WESTERN
From sell-out shows by country star Luke Combs to Yellowstone becoming one of the biggest TV franchises of the decade, Britain's fascination with Americana shows no sign of slowing down — and it's quietly influencing the way men dress.
Fortunately, embracing the trend doesn't mean turning up to your local in a Stetson and bolo tie. The most wearable nods to Western style are far more understated. Think rugged denim, heritage leather, workwear silhouettes and boots with just enough cowboy influence to spark a conversation rather than looking like that one guy from the Village People. Hell, you probably own half the look already.
Double denim is the easiest place to start, provided the washes aren't identical. Think of it less as a co-ord and more as two well-loved pieces that happen to share the same DNA. If a denim shirt feels a little too Top Gear-era Clarkson, swap it for a denim gilet layered over a plain white tee. It's lighter, more contemporary and ideal for those awkward in-between days when summer hasn't quite let go.
As for footwear, I've gone all in with Dr. Martens' Western-inspired boots, complete with suede fringing. Traditional cowboy boots are famous for requiring weeks of painful breaking in, but thankfully these have only borrowed the attitude — not the blisters.
RELAXED TAILORING
If the words "tailoring" still conjure memories of shiny polyester wedding suits and trousers so tight they're essentially compression leggings, it's time to reset your expectations.
The biggest tailoring trend this season isn't sharper suits… it's softer ones. Unstructured jackets, wider trousers and tactile, cushioned fabrics like corduroy mean tailoring has become something you can happily wear to the office and on jollies.
This Toast corduroy suit pictured above is a perfect example. Separately, they're brilliant wardrobe staples. Together, they feel polished without looking corporate. Think Richard Ayoade if he got a job on the tills at a vintage shop in Brick Lane.
Instead of reaching for a shirt and tie, try layering a crisp white tee beneath an open Oxford shirt and throw the textured jacket over the top. It's relaxed enough for a Sunday roast with your posh inlaws but still smart enough that nobody's asking why you've turned up in trainers.
WORKWEAR 2.0
It’s long been established that chore jackets, heavyweight canvas and carpenter-inspired silhouettes are no longer reserved for tradesmen. But now they've been elevated by brands like Wax London into wardrobe staples that feel just as at home in a small plates restaurant as they do on a trip to the garden centre.
The trick is all in the styling. Rather than leaning fully into rugged Americana, I've treated my canvas Mason work jacket like a blazer, layering it over a V-neck knitted vest and relaxed barrel-leg jeans. It keeps all the practicality that made workwear appealing in the first place (hardwearing fabrics, generous pockets and a relaxed fit) but feels considerably more refined. Think less DIY enthusiast, more multi-hyphenate creative grabbing an oat flat white before heading into the studio.
And if you thought the Samba had become the unofficial trainer of Westminster, think again. Adidas has reworked its terrace icon with a sleeker, bowling-inspired shape and leopard-print stripes that owe more to Tyler, the Creator than your local five-a-side. Against an otherwise muted outfit, they're a reminder that one bold piece is often all you need.
It's a combination that perfectly sums up where menswear is heading. Clothes no longer have to choose between function and style. A good work jacket should be tough enough to survive a day at the playground, smart enough for a dinner with a client, and only get better the more it gets worn.
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