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4 controversial men’s fashion trends we hope to never see again

2023 is the best time to leave these clothing trends behind and move on to better things

Mark D. McKee
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2022 is in the rearview, and 2023 is well underway. New fashion trends will arrive in the style world and take the world by storm. Some will be long-lasting and define your style for years to come; others will be an unfortunate phase we can’t help eliminate.

2022 brought some significant style evolutions for men, but it also brought a handful of hopefully short-lived trends. Here is a list of clothing trends we hope to leave behind.

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Sling Bags

Let’s be honest; some things just don’t ever look great on men. While sling bags are high on function, they are low in style and in space. The majority of these bags are small and not meant for real storage (mostly flat items like wallets and passports), so the sacrifice they demand in style isn’t really worth the function. Thanks to Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover, it is hard to take a man seriously when he is wearing a sling bag.

Crocs

Shoes make or break an outfit. You can have the sharpest and most stylish suit that can be ruined by the wrong shoes. The same principle applies to streetwear. The wrong shoe can destroy the most fantastic ensemble. When it comes to Crocs, few outfits are topped off with this niche footwear. If you wear plastic or rubber, you will only fit in if you are working in a kitchen. In truth, these shoes are the mullets of footwear—business on the top, party on the bottom. If you want to be taken seriously, you best opt for more grown-up shoes.

Ultra Skinny/Baggy Jeans

Jeans have a cyclical pattern. In the 1970s, the jean world embraced tighter fits. Around the 90s, the style world shifted to extremely loose fits. When men began to tire of the baggy fits of Dawson’s Creek and Party of Five, the style shifted to a more form-fitting look.

While the slim-fit jeans kept drifting to skinnier and skinnier, it got to the point that painting them on was the only way to get into them. This year, balance is key. Finding a middle-ground between the ultra baggy and the suffocatingly skinny will hopefully create a denim look that will last for years.

Tight Tailoring

Just like jeans, suits have had a similar life. While Ross Gellar sported the wide-lapelled boxy cuts of the 1990s, Justin Timberlake ushered in the skinny lapels and skinnier tailoring of the 2000s. When Daniel Craig’s James Bond saw the suits get about as tight as they would get, men were starting to long for the days when they could move.

This year, tailors are focused on finding the perfect fit to keep it sharp but movable. When shopping for a new suit this year, pass by the super skinny, and grab the super comfortable.

Few things are worse than indulging in a style trend that doesn’t look as good in the rearview mirror as it does in the actual mirror. Now that you have your list of clothing trends you need to get rid of and move beyond in 2023, you also have a new list of photos you need to delete ASAP. One of the few things worse than indulging in those style trends is the photographic evidence of it years later.

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