Breaking Down GQ's 2022 Fall/Winter Men's Fashion Trends To Help You Upgrade Your Style Ft. Leo Chan | LEVEL UP Part 2

Part 2 - Today's episode is our level-up series, and we'll talk about how you can upgrade your style for this upcoming fall/winter season. We're going to break down GQ's 16 Men's Fashion Trends for 2022 with the help of our cohost Leo, a fashion/style expert. You should have some ideas on how to level up your wardrobe when you're done listening.

Link to GQ article -
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/autumn-winter-2022-trends-for-men

0:40 - Trend #9 - Cheer up it’s all about Misery Chic
1:33 - Trend #10 -  Sweater Vests are still here 
3:41 - Trend #11 - Pounce on the Animal Print
5:40 - Trend #12 - Sex Clogs are a thing
9:17 - Trend 13 - Wrap it up in a dressing gown Coat
11:45 - Trend #14 - Pop on a spot of pink
14:22 - Trend #15 - Get it on the baggy jean thing
16:30 - What type of sneakers go well with baggier jeans?
18:36 - Trend #16 - You’re either red, or you’re dead

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Transcript

0:00

Hey, what's up guys. This is part two of Leo and I breaking down GQ UKs men's fashion trends. For fall and winter 2022.

Mike Tran: 0:08

The next one is Cheer up. It's all about misery chic,

Leo Chan: 0:12

uh, so this one it's almost like. A very style upgraded version of like a emo look. Basically All black, everything. But like, um, this one, is easy to pull off actually cuz it's just like mixing all your black things. But the trick is to have different proportions. So it's like having a, a more fitted shirt, but then your pants are baggy, having a more baggier jacket, but then your pants are tight. So having the proportion is kind of fun. I think this, you don't need to like go and buy new pieces. You can just kind of mix around different black pieces you have, um, and call it that way. So I think this is kind of fun to pull off just to have fun with it. Just to try out with what you already have. I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy very emo like pieces. Um, yeah.

Mike Tran: 1:05

Yeah. It doesn't seem too, uh, out of there. Um, it just seems like they're all wearing black with different

Leo Chan: 1:11

Yeah, this is, this is where you really just playing with proportion. So like bag your this, but slimmer this. And you can kind of have a little bit fun with that.

Mike Tran: 1:19

Got it. So it sounds like it's gonna be a Yes.

Leo Chan: 1:22

Yeah. Just the way the word is weird. Misery chic

Mike Tran: 1:26

Yeah.

Leo Chan: 1:27

but it's just more of a, I guess it's just more like a high

Mike Tran: 1:30

the regular man.

Leo Chan: 1:32

Yeah. High fashion golf look, I guess. But it, it looks

Mike Tran: 1:35

black

Leo Chan: 1:36

I think it's fun to mix it up.

Mike Tran: 1:39

All right. Number 10. Sweater vests are still here.

Leo Chan: 1:43

Uh, yeah. So I'd be like, their photos a little funky. They're going like super weird, crazy holiday sweaters, which I think they're okay. Um, actually, I don't know, like it's kind of. I think, I honestly think a sweater vest is okay. You don't need to buy like five, 10 of them. Maybe just have like the one that you wear once a year. It's okay. A normal sweater vest is cool. You can really dress it up or down. You can dress it up at like a office party, and then yeah, you can just wear it down with a t-shirt more casual. Um, but I wouldn't like go by too many if anything. Like I kind of rather people have more fun than just get like a ugly sweater, like just do the ugly sweater party. The, the sweater, the examples they have is way too high fashion that I don't think regular guys can really pull off. Yeah. So in, in this example, I'll say no

Mike Tran: 2:46

Okay. Got it. And this is funny cuz this is, uh, one of the outfits that I saw, like for inspiration, the guy was rocking the vest, but, but obviously not in this way. It was very casual where he just had like a nice vest, but also like a, white T underneath and it was very casual looking. Um, but yeah, it looked good in in that sense. I think people can, can rock that, that sweater. Well I get Oh, sweater vests. Well, no, no,

Leo Chan: 3:10

Sort of best. But these ones, um, I mean, yes, I, I I think the more traditional ones that you'll find at like Brooks Brothers j Crew, I think like, especially for, I think for our audience, uh, I think it's not a, this high fashion, I think the normal sweater vest is good to have, but again, just one or two don't go and buy five, 10 different ones. I, I'd rather people invest in more of a proper designer sweater than just a sweater vest. Cause I think sort of vest is still a little bit more of a, on a trendy side in that way. Yeah.

Mike Tran: 3:44

Temporary. All right, next one. Pounce on the animal print.

Leo Chan: 3:47

Okay, so this one, basically imagine the cheetah print in different colors, but like bold cheetah print on like long coats. Big sweater. Okay. I think this is a very personal, personal style thing. Um, again, if you compare women's fashion to men's fashion, men's fashion, we don't have that many prints to work with. Traditionally, we're dealing with what? Pin stripes, plaid get em, uh,

Mike Tran: 4:15

It isn't plaid. Isn't plaid in right now too

Leo Chan: 4:17

I mean, plaid is always good. Like it's, it's kind of timeless to me. Animal print, to be honest. If you like it, rocket it. If you don. Don't force yourself to do it. Like, I just think like it's a personal thing where, like for me, I don't have anything in animal print. I just think it's not for me,

Mike Tran: 4:35

It's a preference.

Leo Chan: 4:36

I, I think it's more of a personal preference. So I, I wouldn't even jump on this as a trend. it's just, especially in the world of like peta and like animal rights, right? Like even if it's a fake thing, it's just like you're wearing, animal fur, like you're wearing like an animal skin. I just think if you like the style, if you can pull it off rocket. Personally for me, I prefer the camel print. Like, I think camel is always in, like it shouldn't be a trendy with camo. Like you should be able to just wear camel all the time. Um, so I prefer that that has obviously more of a military inspire background animal print. Not for me. If you like it, go for it. What about you?

Mike Tran: 5:17

Yeah. No, I, I, I agree. I think, it's a type of person who wants to wear this type of print. Um, but for me, it, I wouldn't wear it. Um, but I can, I can see if someone liked it, it wouldn't be bad.

Leo Chan: 5:29

Yeah. I don't think it needs to be a trend. If you like it, you can wear it all the time. Like it doesn't have to be a

Mike Tran: 5:33

things. Yeah. So I guess this would be a yes for those who,

Leo Chan: 5:38

Like it, it's a middle ground

Mike Tran: 5:40

Cool, cool. All right. Uh, next one is sex Clogs are a thing.

Leo Chan: 5:45

Okay. So they're talking about clogs. So, so clogs specifically shoes. So basically imagine, um,

Mike Tran: 5:53

right?

Leo Chan: 5:54

birk socks, but like, uh, they have specific ones that covers your toe. So it's kind of like a slipper, but covers your toe. So that is technically clogs. I will say from the beginning, I do like it. some of them are a little too much. You have to find one that's not too like crazy big. For example, one that I actually picked up and I got recently is the fear of God clog, Um, slipper, Sneaker they call it. Uh, I think they're actually, they're actually like really nice, like shaped like in person. They're really like tailored and the way he style it, uh, fear of God, Jerry Lorenzo, he styles it with like suits. And I've seen celebrities wear them on the rec carpet with like a, again baggy but Taylor suit, it poses it off really nice cuz it has that like perfect California chill casual vibe but dressed up a little bit. So depends on the clock. Cuz if you look at other brands like Bottega, different designer brands, they make clocks gigantic. Chunky clogs is where I say no. I think if you still wanna wear clogs, definitely go with, uh, Birkenstock or like a fear of God, where it's a better shape and you can still dress it up with like jeans and like flannels and all that kind of stuff. The chunky ones is a little too much, and I think that would be too trendy and that's gonna go away in a few months, or it's only really for like, high fashion people. So yeah. What do you think?

Mike Tran: 7:25

Um, I mean the one that I've seen is like the Bricken stock version, you know, like the cover toe, like slipper version. And I think it's nice but I also think, yeah, I think it is gonna be a, it's just a trend that eventually will, will go away. Um, but I think if you wanted to rock it now, I think it's cool to have, So, yeah. I, Is that what you said too, you said? Yeah,

Leo Chan: 7:45

Would you, would you wear the Birkenstocks.

Mike Tran: 7:48

Yeah. The, the, the bi star version. Yeah.

Leo Chan: 7:50

I think, I think those are more classic. So actually like, I feel like if, if the, if the general like clogs are in, go for the more classic version so you can still wear it year after year. I think like that's usually a little bit more of a men's word niche. Like I know certain people in that menswear crowd in that like j Crew kind of more preppy look, they love those things. They, they wear 'em all the time. So it's not as trendy, but like this could be a good time to hop on it during this time and then you can still wear it in the years later on. Um, but not the chunky one. The chunky ones are way too chunky. It's really hard to pull off. So it depends on the size.

Mike Tran: 8:31

chunky clogs.

Leo Chan: 8:33

Yeah.

Mike Tran: 8:34

I like the, uh, the fear of God ones. Those are kind of nice. I

Leo Chan: 8:36

Yeah. Um, and like, you know, I was on the fence about it cuz I think. you know, they're different. But even my brother who lives in la, of all the shoes I wear, he was like, Yo, what are those? Cause he, he realizes, cuz he realizes how casual they are, how easy they are, it has that vibe. But if I'm wearing it, that means he knows that, oh, like this must be more dressy, or it looks nice, or you can pull it off. Yeah. I think, um, get the fear of God and the Birkenstocks. I think that's definitely a good move.

Mike Tran: 9:09

yeah, yeah. I think I'm gonna have to get me a per cuz they look, Yeah,

Leo Chan: 9:13

Yeah. You, you can pull it off. You can definitely pull that

Mike Tran: 9:15

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. We're gonna go with a yes. We're gonna go yes with this then. All right. Uh, next one. Wrap it up in a dressing gown coat.

Leo Chan: 9:24

Okay. Uh, so this one, dressing gown. Okay. I think specifically, uh, dressing gown usually in the past is more like a smoking jacket. Kind of like, like a fancier, almost like a rope.

Mike Tran: 9:39

Yeah, it's like a hotel robe,

Leo Chan: 9:41

Yeah, but a little bit. but, But, like the, the vintage ones is more, it really is more like a, they call it like a smoking jacket or it's called a dressing gown. So you kind of typically wear that over like a suit. And you imagine back in the day they wear this to like, to the cigar room, to like smoke cigars. So it's a cool vibe. So what they're saying is they're making coats in that silhouette. So it has like a sha collar with the belt, which I've seen from the examples. I actually really love the coats that they make. Cause I think, to me it's. Shaw collars. It's a little different from the usual coats where it's like the traditional kind of like a suit jacket collar or like a PE collar. So I think the Shaw collar, has a different vibe. And for me, I love belts cuz like it just adds like a little bit extra detail on it. So this is actually a big yes for me cuz I think they look really nice, especially the examples they have. So if you can't invest in one, if you can't afford, obviously like a designer one, I will wait for like a Zara to make one and get like a nice neutral color. And even in this case you can actually have some fun with it cuz they have some like bolder, like yellow and blue color. I think that's like a perfect little statement piece to spice up. Otherwise your like usual uniform. Um, yeah, actually big yes for this one for me. Uh, I love the design of these ones. Yeah.

Mike Tran: 11:12

I guess I'm just looking at the, the one in the middle or like the two in the middle. It, it just reminds me so much. Yeah, like, like a robe that you just walk around in your house. Um, so you're talking about the one more so like to the

Leo Chan: 11:23

there, there's like the gray one, the yellow one. Um, yeah, I mean, but I, I, I just think like, you can have some fun with this one. I think like structurally it's still like a nice coat. So if you are always wearing the usual, right, like gray sweater, navy jeans, white sneaker, this is that one coat that's like, it changes your outfit completely. Uh, it's that one like statement piece. And I think it won't just go outta style because it's still just like a nice coat. It's just the detail of it's a little bit different, especially the belt part. Um, so I think that's really the main difference. Um, so I, I dig it and I, and I like the photos that they have. Yeah.

Mike Tran: 12:06

It into the, uh, every day wear All right, next one is pop on a spot of pink. And I think this is like, very similar to the cheetah print or one of those

Leo Chan: 12:16

Yeah. Um, I mean this one, it has been very hot cuz like you can see so many photos with this one. Especially, I think like Valentino did a specific kind of pink. So pink. I do think that guys could always rock pink, just a little bit of pink. More of a, I think the more muted kind of pink is nice. It's just like a nice little pop. Um, the hop pink, that's definitely trendy. Uh, I don't mind it if you only just spend like a hundred bucks or 50 bucks at like a Zara, I wouldn't get a high end one unless you really want invest in it, unless that's like your personal thing. Like you would., that's fine. But to get something just to wear for a few months, I don't think it's worth it. So, um, it's, it's a yes for me. Cuz I think a lot of guys, especially like everyday guys, they're like scared of pink, but I feel like pink could wear well, like a nice little pink sweater, a nice little pink coat. It's not that bad. Like you can really rock it. I think if anything it shows more of the masculinity. People are like, ah, I can't wear a pink. But it's like, you, if you could pull it off, bro, it's gonna be, it's, it's a, it is a sick look. So for me actually, I would love to get like a pink coat from like the suit supply or

Mike Tran: 13:31

you, I was like, I don't remember you wearing pink

Leo Chan: 13:34

It's hard to find one because not a lot of brands make it in like a nice color. Uh, I think there was one time I wanted to get one, but then like the moment passed and I like, couldn't get it. Or like, I'm trying to look for it in like a nice price. but I think pink overall, people should rock it.

Mike Tran: 13:52

Okay. I think it's one of the things that you can have fun with,

Leo Chan: 13:56

Yeah.

Mike Tran: 13:57

right? And it is okay, So I agree. All right. We got two

Leo Chan: 14:02

So, so, so, so you're gonna wear pink soon? Hopefully.

Mike Tran: 14:05

we're on the next podcast. I'm gonna go

Leo Chan: 14:07

There you go

Mike Tran: 14:07

go with the hot, I'm gonna go with the hot pink

Leo Chan: 14:09

Whew. Woo.

Mike Tran: 14:10

my hair hot pink.

Leo Chan: 14:12

Woo. Midlife, Midlife crisis.

Mike Tran: 14:16

And I'm gonna have animal print on my, my jeans animal, full animal print jeans

Leo Chan: 14:21

pink animal print,

Mike Tran: 14:23

with the chic she shoes.

Leo Chan: 14:25

Just all the trends. in one

Mike Tran: 14:27

Try to add everything in one outfit.

Leo Chan: 14:29

Uh,

Mike Tran: 14:30

All right. Number 15, get it on the baggy jean thing.

Leo Chan: 14:34

all right. So baggy jeans has been coming back slowly, slowly, and more and more baggy, actually even in past year. How you

Mike Tran: 14:42

I f I finally bought like it was just straight. But it's not like, for me that's baggy, but I like it. Um, honestly, cuz something that I've been kind of thinking about is because I have big calves, so a lot of times when I wear certain jeans, it doesn't fit nicely because it doesn't flow, It gets stuck all my calf, and because of that, it makes my jeans look funny. Yeah. Or like, it doesn't look nice on my legs because it, it messes up like the nice, seamless like, flow of the genes because the calf is like, like kinda like blocking it. So now that I have these, it feels like , the silhouette of the jean is like nice and straight because it's not getting blocked by anything. It's not getting stuck on anything. So, yeah. And I think, yeah, trying to move away from like the skinny jean look and, and doing something a little different than what I normally would, um, is it's nice to, to try something on. It feels like it's not redundant. It

Leo Chan: 15:31

Yeah. I feel like this is a good trend for it to come back. But not super baggy. Not like saggy. I think baggy is fine. Not like in some of the examples I would like maybe the first two and then the last one I feel like, So I think thinking Levi's wise is the easiest thing is like 5 0 1, the classic one that's more of the straight fit. Perfect. Um, kind of like staying away from the skinny and even like that slim fit. Uh, I feel like the straight is really in right now, which straight feels baggy. I think anything baggier than that, you really have to know how to pull it off. You really have to know your proportions. Like you really have to like, wear chunkier boots or like wear chunkier sneakers to go with the baggier jeans. Cause if you're wearing like baggy jeans and you're still wearing. The really sharp, like you can't wear loafers with baggy, baggy jeans and you can't really wear, you need to have that balance.

Mike Tran: 16:30

Yeah. Yeah. for baggier jeans, what sort of shoes are you looking for? Like what kind of shoes are meant

Leo Chan: 16:34

So I think like, again, that's why the chunkier like boots make sense cuz it goes with the baggier jeans, uh, combat boots, chunkier soul boots. You need to have that proportion to go with those jeans as well. Um, I feel like when it comes to sneakers, the classics work. Like the classics like Converse, Adidas, uh, Nikes, they all work because they, that's how they style it back in the day with the baggy jeans. So certain sneakers are good, but like, if you talk about like common projects, the really like sharp sneakers you would normally wear with suits, that's not gonna work well cuz it's just gonna look funky. Go for it. But you also gotta know how to pair your shoes and also proportion wise with your jackets to make it work well.

Mike Tran: 17:24

Would you say baggy jeans? Definitely. Especially for our generation,. The skinny gene was like born Basically.

Leo Chan: 17:32

Yeah, yeah. Basically,

Mike Tran: 17:33

So I, I encourage you to try go back to bag year.

Leo Chan: 17:38

you would look younger. Cause you gotta look like a Gen Z. yeah, It feels more like you, You feel more on the tram without going too crazy. And again, it's like you don't need a designer pair of baggy jeans. You can go. To get Levi's or even go drifting. There's so many baggie stuff from back then.

Mike Tran: 17:55

How do you go. A little baggy, but also still maintaining, I guess, your age with the baggy. Cuz baggy does always kind of like, I guess, age you younger a bit, right? Like how do you keep that? Or you can't do that, or it's like you can't do

Leo Chan: 18:10

Uh, well, I then, I think then you can kinda mix it up with like the jackets and your sweaters because like the, the, the Gen Z crowd will probably still wear like baggy sweaters with the baggy jeans and you, you can maybe play around with a safari jacket or a trench coat with the baggy jeans. I think that's where you can still kind of maintain both. Um, or you can go full on Gen Z if you want. Yeah.

Mike Tran: 18:37

nice. That's get to, That's a good tip. All right, so we are finally at our last one, and I think this is a pretty easy one, but you're either red or you're dead.

Leo Chan: 18:46

All right. So basically similar to like that pink trend. So they're just talking about like bright red. Um, this one is easy for me because I feel like red is such a strong color and especially for us Asians, we love red and to me red is always, it's such a great thing to invest in because you can wear red a lot in the fall and winter season cuz holiday time, fall time. Red is in, in general. So it's like in the holiday spirit. And then also for us with the Asian holidays, you can wear red for Chinese New Year. You can wear red for uh, like autumn festival, like there's more holidays with red and then also red. You can wear that for Valentine's Day. So if you think about like just holiday or more festive things, you can wear red for a lot of things. Uh, I think guys are a little scared cuz it's like, especially if you're looking at like the red, if you're looking at like a red suit. The bright red is a little bit more trendy, but I think if you go more of a maroon, a little bit darker

Mike Tran: 19:44

That's what I was thinking. That's like the safer Yeah. Like the guy in the the second pick. I like, I like that

Leo Chan: 19:48

it's nice. I do

Mike Tran: 19:49

yeah, that color's really nice. Um, Sounds like it. It's a yes. And I think this is probably even easier than the pink and the, uh, the, the animal print and what's the other one? Was there another one?

Leo Chan: 20:01

Uh, the animal print the, the pink. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But this one, this one's easier to pull off cuz you have so many occasion to wear it. Um, I feel like maybe the trend-wise is maybe like wearing full red, bright red that's a little bit more trendy. But if you like break it apart, you know, wear the one red sweater for like holiday. I think that's perfect.

Mike Tran: 20:25

Got it. Cool. I mean, we just went over the 16 fashion trends according to GQ uk. Um, I wonder, do they have a list for the everyday man, I wonder if they have that. But I think everything kind of comes from this anyway. Right?

Leo Chan: 20:42

I think you, you, you can really look at the high fashion stuff and kind of pick and choose certain ones. Obviously you don't have to do all 16. I think like, you know, kind of, uh, like us kind of breaking down the list essentially. I feel like we kind of nailed down like half and half that we agreed on. So by doing half of them, I feel like if you really agree with half of them and you do like a little bit of a level down from the high fashion stuff, that's the sweet spot for the everyday guy.

Mike Tran: 21:08

Got it. But yeah, it looks like about half. So it's double breasted leather, architectural sweater, oversized safari jackets or safari jackets. Um, misery chic, which is just black, uh, sweater vests, animal print, uh, clogs, dressing, gown, coat, uh, a spot of pink, so just pink, uh, baggy jeans. And then red. So is that, there's a, there's actually a lot, No, Yeah, it's actually looks like about like 65% of the

Leo Chan: 21:36

Yeah. It's not

Mike Tran: 21:36

70%.

Leo Chan: 21:37

We can, do it guys.

Mike Tran: 21:39

Yeah. So if, if you haven't added those pieces, like try it. Um, you know, like, uh, I think, again, My reason for doing it is just, it just brings like more, not more excitement, but like more

Leo Chan: 21:51

Switch things up, man.

Mike Tran: 21:52

Yeah. Switch things up. Exactly. Like, you know, like sometimes when you, you change up your routine and you feel different because you, you do that, right? So it's like, just like that. Like you change up what you wear and you just feel different because you look different, right. So, you know, it's something that hopefully you guys take the advice in and include it into your, your style. Uh, but there you have it, you know, Leo breaking down the hard stuff so that we can understand it and make it easy, Um, but yeah. Anything else you wanna add to that, uh, Leo for,

Leo Chan: 22:22

I mean, yeah, it's, uh, it's always fun to try out trends. Uh, it, it doesn't hurt, especially if you can find them in a thrift store. I think that's the best way to go about it, especially since it's like fashion cycles back, uh, decade, decades later. So you can find similar pieces for a fraction of the price and it doesn't hurt to, uh, try it out that way.

Mike Tran: 22:44

Yeah. Cool. There you have it guys. GQ UK unpacking the fashion trends for fall and winter. Hope you guys found some value in that. Remember to subscribe, uh, turn on the notification so you'll be the first to know when we release an episode. Alright guys, we'll catch you guys for the next episode. Peace.