Today, the Chicago Redeye featured an interesting article on skinny jeans and the mainstream man. I recall that even before men's skinny jeans first hit the denim scene, they were first associated with the rocker and skater types who had already adopted this item as their everyday wardrobe staple. It wasn't "fashionable" and it damn sure wasn't "hot." This wasn't a man you would date...it was a man we'd say was going through some immature "phase" in life. And for the record, Lenny Kravitz is the exception that proves this rule, thank you very much.
However this time around, the resurgence of the skinny jean became associated with the stylish, primping, metrosexual male. For some women, it was still a miss, but for many of us, It. Was. A. Hit. Its actually been quite pleasurable to see David Beckhams and Mehcad Brooks' wearing the quadricep-hugging, gluteal-contouring...but I digress. *wiping my brow*
Now, with more "masculine" male-figures such as Olympian, Shaun White and rapper, Lil Wayne embracing the trend, making the skinny jean more of a wardrobe basic than a fashion statement, we must bring into question: Now that the "trend" has become mainstream, is it time for the skinny jean to be a look men adopt, or drop?
Jim Moore, Creative Director at GQ claims the popularity of skinny jeans continues to rise. "There's a lot of guys out there wearing skinny jeans. It's not that revolutionary anymore because it's been around for awhile...But maybe for the average guy, they're starting to wake up to it just now."
Yeah Jim, but when you say "average guy," that scares me. I don't want to see the average guy in a pair of skinny jeans. As a matter of fact, I don't even think every girl should wear skinny jeans. Everybody can't do it. I've committed a large part of my life pointing out those who can. So for men, I'm especially discriminating. It takes a certain build, style, and swag to pull off this look, and placing the skinny jean in the path of every clueless shopping male is a recipe for disaster. Think about it...David Beckham in skinny jeans??? Oh yeah! Jack Black in skinny jeans??? Oh hell to the no!
The progression of the men's skinny jean:
The Rocker
The Metrosexual
The Mainstream