Boyhood's Got a Whole New Look
Who says boys don't have style? Some call it "swag," some call it "silly," and some even call it "gross," but maybe that's precisely the point of these iPhone-clad 2010s fashions for boys. In any case, a whole new trend is cropping up, and it's giving boyhood a whole new look for a new millennium. Appropriating ideas long associated with our cultural ideas of boyhood, but with modern, purely childish twists, these new styles allow boys to simply be the silly, fun-loving, energetic kids they are, emphasizing angles, bright colors, and edgy or "Xtreme" designs, whether pre-faded or space-age, at once skimpy and bulky, but always proportioned and snug like a glove. They go for style and functionality, but most of all comfort. They take advantage of and celebrate the real estate they cover and express everything we love about boyhood's eternal charms: their delightful immaturity, over-abundance of self-confidence, enterprising spirit, sneaky subversiveness, silly sense of humor, boundless energy, compulsive pleasure seeking, and ever-present craving for style and comfort. Combine a tad silly, a tad gross, and a tad "awesome," and what you got is the spirit of modern boyhood-- snips, snails, and swag.
Bright yellows on a dark denim canvass give a "yellow-jacket" look, a natural eye-catcher, and a warning! Beware: this boy is a force to be reckoned with! Pre-fades, wrinkles, and extra pockets give more texture, along with sewn-on patches. Pockets let boys take anything and "store it for later," and patches give off a sense of group affiliation or accomplishment.
Bright colors, and especially earth tones (for boys), stand out on dark denim and make a quirky, fun, statement, and also help boys claim a traditionally feminine polka-dot design pattern and "boy-ize" it. Ladybug? No, more like beetle bug! Also, snug fit emphasizes wrinkles, with feminine cut styles and fun bright stitching, the package meshes "masculine angles" with childhood's bright colors and zany patterns: a perfect representation of modern boyhood.
Earth tones do well with boys, because boys are typically seen as more earthy, more "in the mud," so to speak, as do prefades, suggesting energy and well-worn use in the dirty outdoors. A boy could come home with all the grass stains he wants and they would match beautifully with the earthen green motif already present. Olive greens imply an army-man look, making imagination a reality, and any daily routine a "mission." For other purposes, lime green and similar greens are used in boy wear to bring out the "toxic" oozy-look, something rotten, or the the pukey-green "barf" aesthetic.
Stripes give background texture for bright colored pastiches on top, signifying the quirkiness of childhood, but not in that oh-so-trad "red-yellow-blue" kindergarten "primary colors" way. No no. These colors are slightly off. Lime "puke" green! Toxic waste neon orange and yellow! Bloody reds and purples... innocence and mayhem at once! Tassels on these zippered pockets and lime-green accent around the front zipper highlight the functionality of the zippers (boys love focusing on the mechanics of things) and give the boy an adventurous and hands-on look, while also being zany and subversive. Wide, harem-style crotch cut provides comfort and "swinging room" without sacrificing mobility.
Perhaps paramount for any boy is comfort and mixed utility. Boys are on the move and want clothes that can be worn across multiple contexts, from the bed to the pool to the living room with a video game. They want clothes that are simple to get on and off and yet still have style. That is why a lot o boys' fashion these days is more "swim-fit"; comfortable, thin, and can be worn anytime, anyplace. Mixing colors adds variety to the single-fabric style, giving them a lazy and yet sporty, cool and chill "by-the-pool" look. All the comfort of pajamas any time of day, plus, roll out of bed and their bright popping colors make them eye catching and amenable "public wear" as well.
Shorts keep everything slim and scant, but harem pants provide comfort you can actually see, including wide gussets that resist any attempts at riding up (and therefore prevent discomfort), and crotches cut low enough to stop all friction and compression (to once again, prevent discomfort). They provide plenty of pocket room for boys to hide frogs and other trinkets they like to collect, plus their bagginess actually does permit an even greater range of mobility than conventional jeans, and are way more comfortable in the process. In boy wear, comfort = good, discomfort = bad. Call it "lazy freedom!"
But what about formals? Boys can't always just wear pajamas! Eventually they will have to get dressed up for the big event, whatever that may be, and it's true, most of them actually do love "dressing up" just as much as girls do! A common theme among formal wear for boys is contrasts, stark blacks and whites, but now done in unconventional ways. In boy wear, unconventional = good. Instead of white sleeves and a black suit jacket, how about black sleeves on a white suit vest? How about playing around with off-whites, or even blues. Boys never stop being unconventionally boyish, even when they're all dolled up!
Sweatpants give them the comfort they crave, and slit-cut knees allow for versatility down below. Boy clothes are made to be versatile. Shorts can often become pants, short sleeves can be turned long. Boys live versatile lives and need clothes to match. Cool imagery, predators, pirates, or planets, and stark, clashing colors bring out every boy's natural renegade!
Girl fashions have more recently allowed girls to express their burgeoning confidence and "show it off" so to speak, often spelled out as "Princess" or "PINK" or even "Juicy" in big letters wherever they will fit on the body. Until recently, boys have not been given too many options when it comes to "advertising" their more boyish qualities across the terrain they have available, leaving much boy attire without that extra "spark," "flair" or "zazzle." And given boys' love of crudeness and "showing off," it seems inexplicable that this trend in girls' fashion hasn't been expanded to boys... but all that is about to change! Boy fashions are catching up in this department, and in a less literary and more visually comical way to match boys' flair for theatrics and strong visuals over those "words" that girls wear. No. A boy's burgeoning confidence is not easily something defined by "words," but what about SHARKS?
Here's a fun, funny, and edgy gimmick without the sexual overtones that girls are given, but one that couldn't be more representative of the typical boyish fascination with death-defying thrill and bodily crudeness. A backside zippered shark "pouch" unzips and hangs open to reveal a full shark teeth design and bloody red interior. More "PREDATOR" than "PRINCESS," these allow a boy to advertise or "show off" his more extreme, death-defying, power thrill with obvious humorous undercurrents. Also available are "angel wings" or "mustaches."
Equally so, other funny or cool designs show off an even more humorous edge, with sunglasses and silly faces in subversive places, an opened mouth, on light stone-washed denim, calling for breezy summertime fun... and funnies.
It should be noted that these styles are more unisex without being explicitly so. They give less traditional girls more room for self expression too! What they do for boys though is allow them to be every bit as "cute" and "delicate" as girls are traditionally allowed to be, and yet still be no less "boyish" about it.
As for accessories, you can never go wrong with sunglasses, or "shades," especially tinted and retro-styled wide. Also, jewelry ain't just for girls anymore. Simple necklaces, bracelets, and "chains" give off a relaxed, cool, "fly" impression... slick as an iPad, you might say, which is most likely part of the ensemble anyways.
Also, when it comes to hats, along with the classic baseball cap, you can't go wrong with fedoras these days. Not only are they "fedorable," but nothing really shows off a little of that old-time "gentleman's confidence" than 1940s swag. Retro "wise guy" looks never go out of style, because boys never quit being little wise guys!
Of course it's not the clothes that make the boy, but if those clothes can make him feel proud of being who he is, whatever the flavor, and celebrate all the qualities of boyhood in the process, then they've accomplished their purpose.
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