‘Dad Style’ Is Now in Fashion

But before you dust off those jeans and sneakers with a triumphant ‘I told you so’, consider our guide to this tricky trend.

The 1990s called and they want their fashion back.

Balenciaga didn’t even need the kids. The brand’s spring 2018 fashion show, held last June in the verdant Bois de Boulogne park in Paris, featured a parade of models in over-size colour-striped windbreakers, pale jeans similar to those that made Barack Obama dad-in-chief and bloated running shoes in the style of podiatrist-approved Asics.

The actual children the male models carried were almost overkill: The 99-year-old brand was clearly celebrating that most unlikely of style icons, the dad.

Balenciaga’s father-fest was the most literal interpretation of the trend, but across the men’s style scene, dressing like a stereotypical suburban dad has become au courant. “The whole dad trend is noticeable,” said Chris Green, the divisional merchandise manager at retailers Totokaelo and Need Supply Co. in New York, “You see guys dressing like dads with the bigger sneakers, baggy pants, big shirts and over-size track jackets. I’m surprised Members Only jackets haven’t come back huge yet.” (Side note: “dad style” is an offshoot of the “normcore” trend for aggressively simple basics that reigned a few years back.)

Dad style might feel familiar if your Saturday go-to outfit is a pair of comfy jeans and an old hunter-green polo shirt. Alternatively, the term might evoke memories of your own pop’s closet, if he favoured argyle vests and canvas baseball hats.

Tim Allen models the look in Home Improvement.

Even if you are a superior being who wouldn’t be caught dead in anything but Brunello Cucinelli fine-gauge sweaters, you know the look from its influential TV heyday in the ’90s: Think Tim Allen on “Home Improvement” or Jerry Seinfeld’s sitcom alter-ego. Mr. Seinfeld’s character may have lacked children, but many baby boomer dads at the time aped his regular-guy style. In much of America, fathers and non-fathers alike are still stuck in a style that is so out it’s suddenly in.

If you’re among their numbers, it may be head-scratching to realise that hoity toity fashion designers are taking their cues from your closet full of decades-old Brooks Brothers shirts and Lands’ End windbreakers. (Surprise, you’re on trend!) If, on the other hand, your current style is not particularly fatherly, you may be wondering: Why would any guy, old or young, want to lean into a staid suburban-dad look?

Well, for one thing, it can be a relief to opt out of the edgier style game. “There’s so much stuff being pushed out there, that you’re just like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to go with what I know,’ and maybe that does somehow come back to what your dad wore,” explained Jeff Halmos, a Los Angeles dad and co-founder of women’s T-shirt brand Monogram.

At 38, Halmos is part of the generation that first grappled with the sleek “metrosexual” style that prevailed after Queer Eye for the Straight Guy debuted in 2003, encouraging men to spruce up their wardrobes. Men’s fashion sped up its trend cycle, rapidly hurling skinny jeans and Chinoiserie bomber jackets at us. If keeping up has left you exhausted, dad style can be an exit ramp to a comfort zone of fleece jackets and dependable khakis, the sort you relied on in college.

Dads need clothes that can withstand whatever fatherhood throws their way.

The reason you never threw away those sturdy, humble essentials is because dad garments harbour a certain utility that bloodflow-constricting jeans and silk jackets lack. Dads need clothes that can withstand boogers, pizza sauce and whatever mystery substances fatherhood throws their way.

“Dad style feels like a functionality play along with some nostalgia,” explained Al James, 40, a freelance writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, and a father of two. He readily acknowledges that his Patagonia fleece jacket and his New Balance sneakers are “trendy” right now, but to him, they’re simply versatile pieces that help him get through a day filled with school pickups and diaper changes. “You just have to pick up some stuff that you’re going to be able to roll with the entire day. There’s no costume changes,” said James.

The guide

Practical? Check. Comfortable? Definitely. I may already own it? Ideal. Critically though, dad style is not an invitation to pull out your most egregiously mockable pieces under the cover of “fashion fad.”

Fleece zip-up vests printed with a defunct law firm name are not fair game, nor are Sopranos-style tracksuits. Instead, revisit tried-and-true workhorses like Levi’s 501s, Ray-Ban Wayfarers and Lacoste polos. Prioritise good dad style (defined by quality, subtlety, fit) and eschew bad dad style (squareness, stodginess, sloppiness).

And consider upgrading some of your staples to more presentable versions, like Burberry’s trim harrington jacket and Spalwart’s streamlined waffle-soled running sneakers. These pieces boast dad reliability, but you could wear them to say, dinner and a movie.

“I’m a dad, but I’m not going for dad’s style,” explained Brendon Babenzien, the designer of New York-based label Noah. His brand’s latest collection (rugby shirts, wide pleated pants and plaid anoraks) has a throwback, Long-Island-suburbs air, but the trimmer shape and refined patterns are clearly of 2018.

By tidying up the fits, using finer fabrics and adding details like tech-friendly pockets, designers like Babenzien are making it easier to be dad but not bad. A pair of Noah’s wide-legged khakis come in a thicker, harder-wearing cotton than you’d be used to if you’re still wearing leftover Gap chinos from the ’90s.

Swedish label Our Legacy’s broad-striped shirts might remind you of an old Benetton button-up but without the paunchy extra fabric. British brand Martine Rose offers functional windbreakers that aren’t wispy or techy, and Lanvin’s striped mock-neck long sleeve T-shirts have a retro sensibility without a flabby retro fit.

Acne Studios makes a streamlined, logo-free ball cap that might sub in nicely for that Black Dog hat you bought back in ’89. With such styles, you can get that cozy, familiar feel without looking Al Bundy frumpy.

The Japanese term “wabi-sabi,” loosely defined as “beauty in the imperfections,” encapsulates dad style. Be yourself, and don’t worry about looking model-perfect while mowing the lawn or even out on the town.

A dad-style jumper by Dries Van Noten. Picture: AFP

Brooklyn-based photographer Mordechai Rubinstein documents real guys around New York, particularly stylish older men, for his Instagram account “Mister Mort.” When he asks them about a certain appealingly aged sweatshirt or military jacket, they often say, “This old thing?” Keep that in mind when someone compliments your great new windbreaker. “Oh, this? It’s just something I picked up from my dad.”

8 Dad Style classics to steal from your father’s closet (or your own)

Now that dad style is meriting rapt attention on Paris runways, raiding your father’s wardrobe (or excavating the depths of your own) is more interesting than ever. With designers proposing their versions of dad stand-bys like colour-blocked anoraks and thick sweatshirts, a cheaper — and more nostalgic — option is to wear the originals.

Be discerning, though: Some garments are best left in the past. Those old broad-striped shirts are likely too blousy and knee-high athletic socks still belong in the dark recesses of the underwear drawer. While pleated pants are “relevant” again, today’s cut is more tapered.

Here’s a guide to eight pieces you can shop for in Dad’s closet (or your own) to help you save money and be, yessir, “on trend.”

The Functional Sneaker

No brand has benefited from dad style’s popularity more than New Balance. Young and old men alike are fetishising its sneakers (chunky and grey on the outside, squishy on the inside). Some labels like Balenciaga and Gucci have taken the look a bit too far with their hulked-out trainers. Daddish New Balances are just clunky enough.

The Dad Cap

Also known as “vacation hats,” these canvas ball caps may feature the name of some town where your family spent the summer in the ‘80s or ’90s. Although Balenciaga and Acne Studios are making their own pricey versions, you can nab a sweetly nostalgic version Chez Dad.

The Fleece Jacket

Among the unlikely shared enthusiasms of snooty menswear editors and ecologically-minded suburbanites, you’ll find Patagonia’s Synchilla jackets. Developed by the California label in the ’80s, the fuzzy classic is more authentic and affordable than the new riffs developed by luxury.

The Professorial Sport Coat

Tweedy, elbow-patched, definitely oversized sport coats are the George Jefferson-approved tailoring trend of the moment. Odds are high that one is already hanging in a dad’s closet. But, remember, as with any tailoring, if it’s too wide in the shoulders, leave it right where it is.

The Vintage-Inspired Polo

Salvaged from the years before the phrase “slim-fit” was ever uttered, the roomy polo is having a renaissance. Bonus: Piqué cotton acquires a nice patina over the years.

T he Argyle Sweater Vest

Though Urkel co-opted it for a time, the argyle sweater vest will always be associated with dads, particularly those with a “Dr.” in front of their name. Italian brand Marni recently showed off a version over a short-sleeved shirt, but this classic works best as a layering item under a jacket. That helps to diminish the dweebish Urkel factor.

The Fishing Vest

As a kid, you may have dreaded those weekends when your dad dragged you out fishing, but that multi-pocket fishing vest, of his has become a surprisingly useful outer layer in the era of portable chargers and plus-sized cell phones. Maybe you already have your own.

The Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses

Bob Dylan, John F. Kennedy and ... your dad? Should you be lucky enough to have a Wayfarer fan as a father, go ahead and “borrow” his. The squared-off, dark, tilted frames are as quintessentially “cool” today as when they debuted 66 years ago.

The Wall Street Journal