Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Upgrade Your Wardrobe with the New Year’s Best Menswear Essentials

The start of a new year brings with it reflection, the chance to refocus, and the chance to jumpstart or improve your wardrobe. We’re all about buying quality and buying better. Skipping bulk purchases of fast-fashion essentials is but one way to do that.

That’s where this list comes in. Think of these picks as the best new menswear essentials for a new year, the sort of pieces you can wear for months and years on end. These pieces represent a few crucial categories, and even more critically, most of them can be mixed and matched to create a host of perfect outfits for 2020. If you’ve resolved to shop and wear only the best new menswear this year, we’ve got the ideal place to start: right here.

Recommended Videos

Button-Down

Flint and Tinder Soft-Washed Oxford Shirt

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If we had to pick just one shirt that every guy should own — the perfect shirt to wear to the office or out to the bar, or anywhere in between — we’d pick a classic Oxford shirt. Not only that, we’d suggest you go with an expertly washed Oxford shirt from the team at Huckberry and Flint and Tinder.

Pants

Mott and Bow Slim Mosco Denim

Mott and Bow Mosco Denim
Image used with permission by copyright holder

We’ll keep it simple. To start off 2020, you need a pair of crisp, classic dark blue denim that you can wear with everything from a T-shirt to a classic cardigan. Mott and Bow more than delivers.

Shoes

Beckett Simonon Sutton Derbies

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Invest in the best early this year with these handsome, endlessly versatile brown leather derbies from Beckett Simonon. They’re perfect for the business casual office, able to be worn with a navy wool suit, and cool enough to pair with a V-neck sweater and dark denim for a bit of sharp weekend style.

Sweater

Todd Snyder Cashmere V-Neck Sweater

Todd Snyder Cashmere V-Neck
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Is nearly $300 a heck of a lot to spend on a sweater? Yes, it sure is, but this sleek Todd Snyder cashmere sweater is destined to be the last V-neck sweater you buy for a long, long time. Able to be worn on its own or paired with that aforementioned navy wool suit, it’s a classic and classy mid-layer for winter. Think of it as a must-have when you want to amp up your seasonal layering.

Pants

Taylor Stitch Slim Chinos

Taylor Stitch Slim Chinos
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When jeans are too casual but you don’t want to go all the way suited-up, a pair of classic tan chinos — particularly this durable, iconic pair from Taylor Stitch — are the right move. Add in your new Oxford shirt, those brown leather derby shoes, and that Todd Snyder V-neck sweater, then head to the office or out on the town.

Shirt

Buck Mason Field-Spec Cotton Surplus Henley

Buck Mason Field-Spec Henley
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The building blocks of a proper wardrobe, as you can now see, involve pieces both casual-yet-classic and slightly more tailored. This durable cotton henley from the menswear experts at Buck Mason is a great change of pace from an Oxford shirt or a V-neck sweater, yet it can be layered under either with ease. It’s a new menswear essential you’ll love wearing this year.

Beau Hayhoe
Beau Hayhoe is a freelance men's style writer, consultant and PR pro based in Brooklyn. Beau's menswear and gear writing has…
Bespoke Post’s Spring and Summer collection is comprised of three brands not on your radar
Get to know Line of Trade, Wren, and Fieldworth
Bespoke Post Line of Trade shirt

Any brand worth its salt has (or at least considered) some sort of subscription service. Sure, there is a bit of an oversaturated market out there, so it may feel more like they should wait it out. But the old dogs that have been doing it for a while are still going strong. One of the first to offer a men's focused subscription service is Bespoke Post. Make one monthly payment, and you get a package with some of the coolest dude-centered gear you could ask for. I got a pretty sweet weekender bag modeled after an old-school tool bag my grandfather used to carry. There was an excellent knife in there somewhere. And the list of stellar gear for the exceptional man goes on. But now they have expanded and you may not know that they have three sensational lines of clothing that also come in the shipments. The Bespoke Post Spring and Summer collection is comprised of three brands you need to know about and some great picks within them.

The three brands to know

Read more
Paul Smith and Lee reach back to their roots in new collection
Lee x Paul Smith is one of the more important collabs in jeans
Lee x Paul Smith Deneille Robert Percival and Emil Sands

Lee Jeans has been a staple in the denim industry for 50 years, with some of the best workwear on the market. Paul Smith has been a mainstay in England thanks to his dedication to creativity, positivity, and curiosity. The two came together in the 70s to launch Paul Smith's iconic Painters Jeans, distributed in the States by Lee. Five and a half decades later, the two are collaborating again to release a 14-piece limited edition collection that includes jeans, denim jackets, western-style shirts, and T-shirts. The Lee x Paul Smith collection takes the Lee 101 jeans and 101 Stormrider jacket, Lee chore jacket, western shirt, and carpenter pant to reimagine them in distinct Paul Smith patterns like his classic pinstripes and a playful washed jacquard.

“Paul Smith is renowned for its ‘classic with a twist’ aesthetic which fits authentically with Lee’s timeless style. Fans around the world have been waiting for this capsule since June’s initial announcement. At Lee, we can’t wait to see the momentum and excitement the launch generates for both brands.” - Jenni Broyles, Executive Vice-President & Global Brands President, Lee.

Read more
The North Face looks to keep you dry in 2025 with new rain collection
Staying dry through the April Showers and May Flowers
The North Face new rain collection

In 1966, a brand emerged with a name defining its goal. The North Face got its name from the most challenging side of the mountain to traverse. Since then, they have been one of the most popular and most dependable brands when it comes to the outdoorsman looking to summit the tallest peak, navigate the harshest climate, or just go from the car to the house without being drenched in a downpour. They have now dropped the 2025 rain collection with the goal of getting you from the April showers to the May flowers without spending months soaked to the bone. While they are always stacked with great outdoors gear, there are a few standouts in the collection The North Face released this year for you to consider.

Standouts from the collection

Read more