Spring Style

By Amos Posner and Aditya Shah

Men's fashion rarely sees the drastic, sweeping changes that women's fashion does. You almost never see something suddenly conquer men's wardrobes the way. For example, flood pants did for women a few years back. Shifting style for men occurs more subtly on a year-to-year or season-to-season basis. Now, as we move into the spring, some new slight variations for college guys are arising from pre-existing motifs.

Of course, in the world of college students, the casual route is still king, as some new brands gain traction and some older brands struggle to regain much deserved relevance.

In jeans, Seven For All Mankind, Mavi and Diesel have pretty much passed their peak with overwhelming popularity killing their individuality. For the college student whose parents can't ever say no, there is a relatively new, stylish brand out called Stitch's. Be warned, though, that buying them may require a second bartending job. Guys should look to Levi's Premium and A.G. Jeans for more affordable top-flight jeans (which, granted, is equivalent to the more dignified end of the Bullfeathers crowd on a Thursday night).

Meanwhile, polo shirts are showing a strong lean toward horizontal stripes in bold colors. For guys tentative about bold colors and patterns, www.polo.com offers the chance to customize polo shirts. Dressier shirts have shown little change from the past few seasons, with emphasis again on bold colors and stripes.

For sneakers, guys might check out adidas Originals, which range from about $65 to $100 and many of which offer a cool vintage look, yet have somehow not hit their stride yet in the mainstream. These are far more affordable than Adidas' other project, the $200+ Y-3 line of sneakers on which they collaborated with designer Yohji Yamamoto. There's no excuse for $300 sneakers, but they do look pretty cool.

A quick word for hair: Yes, blonde highlights for guys died with Mark McGrath's career, and no, you should absolutely not get a faux-hawk. Put down the gel.

Above all, guys' fashion is still easier, less expensive, less degrading, and far less complicated than women's fashion. Guys who dressed well last year probably dressed well this year with little effort. The real trick is to not try too hard and end up with unfortunate ensembles, like unnecessary trucker hats combined with unnecessary vintage t-shirts and unnecessary sport coats. In any season or decade, too much is just too much.