All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
It’s been a weird year for getting dressed. If you’re shaking off the style cobwebs, breaking free of your sweatpants, and need some pointers on where to go next, we’ve got you. All week long, GQ Recommends is exploring What to Wear Now: the clothes, designers, bold moves and big vibes that matter at this precise moment.
Just four months into 2021, it feels like a year’s worth of stuff has already gone down: we swore in a new president; vaccinations began rolling out; NFTs are selling for millions of dollars and still not one person you know can explain what they are. But for everything that's happened and changed, there's still one steady, reliable phenomenon we can count on: sick brands making sick clothes.
Today, we’re diving deep on all the finest menswear the year has delivered thus far: the heart-stopping grails, future family heirlooms, and everyday workhorses we’ll still be talking about—and wearing!—long past December. If you’ve been hanging on to your stimmy for just the right splurge or need a little extra heat to get your wardrobe set for summer, the 36 topflight shirts, jackets, trousers, shoes, and more that we’ve amassed here will send you in the right direction.
Virtually overnight, crochet has emerged as the hottest thing in fashion, with everybody from college kids on Instagram to designer labels suddenly hawking intricate needlework. Valentino crafted this of-the-moment bowling shirt in an airy, loose-gauge crochet knit, replete with oversized florals to really hammer home the springtime vibes.
For its latest linkup with Barbour, Noah juiced up a handful of the venerable British label's waxed cotton classics in audacious zebra and paisley prints. The jackets have long since sold out, but you can still nab this very good weatherproof cap.
Fresh off concocting the clog of the fall, JW Anderson is making a strong bid for the loafer of the summer, supercharging a prototypical penny with panels of baby blue suede and jumbo-sized green leather stitching.
Few folks have an aptitude for pairing traditional garments from one culture with traditional textiles from another quite like Engineered Garments' Daiki Suzuki. His steady hand and discerning eye make pieces like this British anorak flipped in Indonesian ikat downright transcendent.
Not quite ready to go all-in on Issey Miyake's iconic pleats? Dip your toe in the water with this righteous orange-and-blue belt—a nice, unintentional nod to the first half-decent Knicks squad in a decade.
Every pair of denim that Kapital turns out is sublime in its own right, but none more so than these astonishingly beautiful, preposterously-named patchwork jeans.
Grace Wales Bonner's spring collection is a loving tribute to the emergence of dancehall culture in Jamaica in the early '80s, and this searing hot sweater vest—best worn biceps out, with nothing underneath—will absolutely put you in the mood to party.
>Buy Now at Slam Jam
While the Great Shorts Length Debate rages ever on, Jil Sander made her position very clear with this pair from her latest Uniqlo collection: loose and billowy wins the day.
It takes a special kind of puffer jacket to make you genuinely look forward to bitingly cold winter days—and an even more special kind to make you want to wear a puffer jacket long after it's necessary. ERL hit the bullseye here.
Bode calls these Italian-made, charm-adorned slip-ons “house shoes”—and sure, they'll be a massive upgrade on the fuzzy slippers you've been padding around in all pandemic. But boy, would they ever look fly peeking out from under some crisp, wide trousers on a big night out.
After a couple of false starts over the years, the mock neck movement is officially, definitively here to stay. Sandro's lightweight version is just right for layering under a biker jacket or cord suit.
Jacques Marie Mage is the L.A. eyewear outfit responsible for the heavyweight frames you've seen on some of our most iconic recent covers. (See: Reeves, K.; Scott, T.; Pitt, B.) Their newest elite shades ask you to be the kind of person cool and fearless enough to spend their days seeing the world through purple tinted lenses—and trust us, you want to be that person.
>Buy Now at Jacques Marie Mage
Between that infectiously sunny hue and the fuzzy ribbed chenille, Post-Imperial blessed us with the most feel-good jacket of the year.
Marni's luxe take on the Birkenstock gardening clog swaps the typical polyurethane for two types of buttery calfskin: rich and grainy on the exterior, smooth and soft along the footbed.
A pretty serious upgrade on your fanny pack, this punchy Fendi shoulder bag is the perfect size to keep all your essentials on lock—passport, wallet, phone, keys—and help ease you back into air travel in style.
It'll look killer sandwiched between a dress shirt and sport coat, yes, but this ornate Etro knit might actually be best served tossed on over a threadbare tee and some beat-up jeans.
Pulled straight outta the Swoosh archives, this tasty nautical pullover is the kind of thing we'd normally be willing to fork over unspeakable amounts for on Etsy. Thankfully, you can cop it here brand new for well under $200—without any musty vintage smell or mysterious hidden stains.
This one is simple enough to explain: Gucci put its legendary horsebit on the strappy sandals of the moment. They rule.
2020's Comeback Brand of the Year is rolling strong into 2021 with an onslaught of game-raising garms at deliciously low prices—this alluring lace camp shirt very much included.
The kind of lush, impossibly rich leather jacket you see in person and just want to reach out and feel. Ideally with your cheek. Hopefully nobody's wearing it when you do—or, better yet, hopefully you're wearing it when you do.
A-Cold-Wall's Samuel Ross filtered elements from the timeless German Army trainer through his peculiar sci-fi lens, resulting in these extra wavy—and very wearable!—transparent-soled beauts.
After a year where we've all spent more hours huddled in hoodies than we'd probably care to admit, Telfar Clemens delivers the most distinctive one we've seen in ages.
As far as wild-style, big-mood pants go, this pair scores high in the wearability department: for all their baroque flair, they're still subtle and tonal enough to read as straightforward cords.
To mark its 90th anniversary, Jaeger-LeCoultre gave its most forward-thinking icon a stunning refresh: adding a sharp second dial on the back of the case, with a cordovan and canvas strap fashioned by Argentine bootmaker Casa Fagliano.
Flip this painterly waxed cotton vest to the vivid water-repellent cloth on the reverse, and you've got yourself two cozy, handsome layers for the price of one.
Fear of God's landmark seventh collection marks Jerry Lorenzo's transition toward tailoring, but it's his homages to the Negro Leagues—in which his grandfather was once a pitcher—that hold the most personal weight.
Wear ‘em like a loafer as is, wear ’em like a moccasin with the heel pushed down—either way, these croc'd-out heaters will start all your fits off on the right foot.
If you thought there was no room left to innovate on the humble button-up, Goodfight would like a word. The dramatic hemline of its Danzig shirt drapes beautifully when left alone, but can also be tied up at the front or sides for a lil' Brad Pitt-in-GQ action.
Just about everything early-aughts is cool again, and that includes all those bright, stripey sweaters you used to wear on big dates.
Hedi Slimane's latest signature trouser blends the refined pleats and houndstooth wool of your grandpa's favorite slacks with all the baggy, slouchy goodness of your skate rat nephew's go-to Carhartts.
Suede bombers don't get much better than this: impossibly soft, perfectly oversized, direct from the vast Levi's archives.
Through their Worn Wear program, Patagonia's begun turning their reclaimed, post-consumer down jackets into, frankly, even better down jackets—like this very excellent liner-style puffer.
You. The beach. This hat. Good times. All of 'em go hand in hand.
After years of increasingly bonkers camp shirts, Nicholas Daley's refined take—with its subtle black piping and pleasing slanted pockets—is a balm for our summer wardrobes.
Crafted from breezy organic linen and artfully dyed using wholly natural ingredients, Story Mfg.'s signature shorts feel exceptionally good to wear—both inside and out.
An endlessly versatile showstopper from one of the most promising new labels in menswear.
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Photographs by Martin Brown
Styled by Jon Tietz and Liz Serwin