Qualifying the Ins-and-Outs of the January Fashion Scene in New York City
Let's chat about what's more common and what's fading out in New York to understand what's happening in the fashion scene, qualified by in-person experience and not what's paid to be on your feed.
Hi friends!
This week—and potentially each month moving forward—on One Size Fits All, I’d like to discuss the ever-evolving, ever-shifting New York fashion scene. Please rest assured that these aren’t TikTok-driven observations; I keep a list on my phone of things I see more of (and less of!) each month in the city as I’m out and about.
As always, One Size Fits All is free and I intend to keep it that way. If you’re enjoying what I do, please take a second to share the post, subscribe, and discuss wherever you please. My DMs are always open.
Without further ado, here’s the list.
On the way in:
Esoteric style icons (Goh Hinogami)
Nail art for men but not posting about it / making it your personality
Not really knowing anything about fashion but having that shit on
Going out tops
Mending/Darning
Bjork (the music, not just the shirts)
“I got a bad feeling about this”
Praying on Dua Lipa’s fiancé’s downfall
Long Johns
Charm bracelets
Carrying a spare toothbrush
Smoking cigars
Beat-to-shit but lovingly-lived-in leather
Small-town knickknack shops
Shamefully admitting you’re shopping for vintage D&G
Daft Punk / Basement Jaxx / Todd Terry / Junior Sanchez
Not paying asking price ever
Lip masks
Having friends over for tea
Jordan 1s
Physical event invites
Bleached buzz cuts
Physical media ownership
On the way out:
Men in Alo Yoga anything
Trying to find the When Harry Met Sally sweater
Men trying to impersonate Liam Gallagher
Pretending Mandarina Duck was/is the second coming of Christ
Backwards basketball jerseys
Polyester Kiko pants that make a bunch of noise
Corduroy jackets
Hand tattoos
Square toes
Hat/Sunglasses combo
Being obsessed with Après Ski
Over-caffeinating
Only having one pillow
Patent leather
Stussy
Lime green
Following “Americana Vintage” pages
Anything Beatles-related
Men with dangly earrings
Convincing yourself you’re friends with the vintage store owner
Being a little too obsessed with doing fit check videos
Giving people advice on their parlays
Carrying a film camera but not taking photos
Pretending to give back
A quick stipulation: this list isn’t prescriptive. These are all observations of what I am seeing more of and what I am seeing less of. This doesn’t mean I hate any of these things. If you want a solid ins-and-outs list, go look at Emily Powers’ 2025 list — it’s the only one that matters in this regard. Let’s go through the list and add some flavor to some of the observations from your favorite neurotic, previously paid-to-know-things-as-deeply-as-possible, good-looking writer.
On-the-Way-Ins
Esoteric style icons
There’s been an increasing push towards hyper-individuality, emphasis on experience, and the exploration (or exploitation) of nostalgia within the fashion community; see the rise of “sourcing” rare pieces, an increase in experiential marketing, and the disgusting, late-stage-capitalism-driven Coperni X Disney runway show respectively. With these headwinds, I see more people taking style cues from increasingly random and niche places. Revisit my previous piece on nostalgia, with discussion and contextualization of Wisdom Kaye helping to set the precedent for replicating styles from anime/manga/TV/movies. I think it’s infinitely cooler to emulate and name-drop the sweatsuit legend Goh Hinogami from Virtua Fighter than the conventional and trite Tyler Durden.
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Nail art for men but not posting about it / making it your personality
Michael Smith painted his nails! Michael Smith painted his nails! I think that, as a community, we’re past needing to make a big deal of integrating conventionally ‘feminine’ style cues into men’s fashion. This is a thin line: guys who make a point to touch their faces as much as possible with painted nails are corny. Guys that just do it are not. Thankfully, I’m seeing more of the latter and less of the former.
Not really caring to be super into fashion but having that shit on
Ok. Let me quickly restate this in a way that doesn’t sound like I’m being a dick. Having really good taste is punching through the insane amount of disgusting schlock polluting the Lower East Side of New York. Huge shoutout to one of my favorite great-taste-havers, Michael Beaumont Bray, owner and proprietor of multiple great restaurants and bars. I’ve only had the pleasure of hanging with Michael a few times, but he’s got great taste, a very clear look (well-fitting trousers, some sort of wool jacket, a shock of blonde hair), and a consistency that points to having that shit on. Ask him about what he likes, and he’ll talk about fit or how things work together in the context of what he owns, rather than launching into an explanation of brand history or a masturbatory take on why some random creative director of a former streetwear brand is now god’s gift to earth. For those who aren’t tapped in, this is a not-so-subtle dig at Awake. I respect the store from a money-making perspective, but it isn’t very exciting.
Going out tops
Hedonism! Going out! Reactions to Trump being elected again! I think we’re going to see a lot of people going out more, especially because of a grand-scale push away from the internet-as-proof-of-having-fun. I’m so excited for this — genuinely; having an outfit, particularly a shirt or jacket, that you feel comfortable in and that makes you feel hot is essential to a good night out! I’m seeing more people repeat outfits (this isn’t a dig, I love a uniform) because they look good, get compliments, and are good to wear when going out to dance!
Mending/Darning
So, the growth of hyper-individuality is blended with an increased consciousness of environmental sustainability; it’s time to take care of what you own! The knitwear community seems to be loving the mending/darning (basically, fixing holes in sweaters/socks/knit garments with yarn) wave in a much louder way as of late. My lovely friend Ella recently offered to darn one of my sweaters simply for the fun of it (thank you!). Another lovely friend and pod guest Bailey Goldberg posted a mending process for a customer’s beanie on his story the other day. As someone who studies the environment and, like many others, feels like we’re constantly fighting a losing battle against climate change, the little things really matter and make me happy.
Not paying asking price ever
Bring back haggling! Bring back walking away from things if someone’s scamming! Bring back knowing what things cost! I’m seeing more people simply put things down and walk out of stores should their expectations of cost not align with the sticker price. Anecdotally, I watched someone pick up an item in Country Of (a Lower East Side store that stocks a LOT of Comme straight from Yahoo Japan), scoff, and turn around and walk out. Foregoing a purchase because of a price is common, but a vocal, bold rejection of a markup is not; If you ask me to provide reasoning, I’d say that the average fashion bro is more educated on what stuff costs. People are taking notice of where and how things are being ‘sourced’ (a word I hate, but more on that in a future article), and refusing to pay a 2-4x markup simply because the piece is offered in a brick-and-mortar store.
Bleached buzz cuts
See earlier discussion of Mr. Bray, but I’ll keep it simple. I think buzzed, bleached cuts in the winter are an elite combination. To intellectualize this (as I am prone to do), I think that increased feelings of despair and hopelessness within today’s youth (this is proven by science, see my citation here or just read medical journals) leads to people doing fun stuff with their hair. We saw a huge growth in this trend right around the last Trump election (2019-2020), and I see it happening again.
Physical media ownership
I sound like a broken record at this point; individuality is in! Being a Luddite is back, baby! Charlie, aka divineeprovidence, is the epitome of being cool. If you ever have the pleasure of meeting Charlie you’ll instantly understand what I mean when I say that they’re a capital A artist. Their space is eclectic, wonderfully curated, and truly theirs in a way that brands today try and emulate. If I haven’t done enough to sell you on them, they also own a CD of Discovery and a Walkman. In a year and time where brands try and sell you an identity, both in-store and through ads (like the woeful warm lighting and fake-cool Aime Leon Dore lookbooks or the horrible commodification and co-opting of clothing personalization à la Bode), it’s so incredibly refreshing to see people earnestly connect with their interests (music, books, etc.) through physical media rather than entirely relying on an Instagram page or a brand trying to sell them on a passion or identity trojan-horsed in a shitty hoodie. I think physical media indicates, very clearly and very plainly, a different level of passion for something, and I’m seeing increasing numbers of people signaling their passions to others by literally buying in.
Ok! Let’s touch on some stuff that’s fading out.
On-the-way-outs
Men trying to impersonate Liam Gallagher
Oasis is coming back! Woohoo! After that announcement, I saw a ton of men getting their sorta-ugly Liam Gallagher mod/bowl cuts (also spurred by The Dare’s popularity) back in November. I’m simply not seeing that haircut anymore: seems like more people, present company included, are rocking mullets.
Trying to find the When Harry Met Sally sweater
I swear to god: there’s some malevolent entity that possesses a poor menswear writer each December. It forces unwilling fingers to churn out an article that explore the supposed plummeting quality of today’s knitwear. First of all, I think the assertion that modern knitwear is somehow worse is bullshit. Knitwear, as a category, is in an awesome spot if you know where to look. Please see this great list of creators if you don’t believe me. Second of all, good cable knit sweaters are $40-50. I managed to find one for my friend Diego’s little brother Andres within five minutes. Finally, I don’t really see anybody (men or women!) wearing cable knit at the moment, but my friend Lindsay insists that there’s a cable knit wave on the rise, especially in the West Village. Keep an eye on this for the spring.
Backwards basketball jerseys
This was very much a flash-in-the-pan, but Playboi Carti managed to get the under-21 crowd to buy into this for all of 10 days in November/December. Not much else to say here other than I’m not seeing it anymore.
Square toes
It’s colder than an ex-girlfriend’s stare from across a crowded room in New York. With that, people are tucking away the Camion boots and Tabis and wearing some practical footwear — Timbs are having their yearly resurgence.
Hat/Sunglasses combo
I’m seeing more faces on my nights out. If I were to theorize, I think people want to be seen when they’re out and about! I think it’s an unspoken point of pride to be able to carry on through a climate crisis, a shitty election, and the time of year when seasonal depression is running rampant. While not outwardly exuberant, showing face while out and about is proof-of-life and a certification that you’re really out here doing your thing. It’s not cool to be anonymous anymore, and honestly, I don’t really think anybody cares how anyone else is moving if they’re out and about. Maybe it’s presumptuous to speak for everyone, but I love seeing my fellow people happy and outside rather than tucked away in a dark bedroom.
Pretending Mandarina Duck was/is the second coming of Christ
Thank god we’re doing away with this. Every year at the end of the fall, ‘archive’ pages re-discover the military-referential CCP precursor, Mandarina Duck, and every year at the end of the fall, I watch fashion bros salivate over $1,000 pieces (I will not be paying any lip service or linking any of the terrible “vintage” pages that extort people for pieces I know they’re finding for $100-200 on eBay) that I firmly believe are inferior in almost every way to early Helmut Lang. I’m always happy to be proven wrong, but I think that reasons people list for liking MD (other than being designed/guided by Carol) could be applied, and are better applied, to early Helmut or other military-referential designers of the mid/late 90’s or today.
I think it’s important for any good writer to back up their claims with either: 1. Research 2. Interviews, and/or 3. Lived experience. I’ve provided real-life experience and my credentials and citations check out. For anybody looking to fashion influencers for indicators of ‘the culture,’ I’d strongly warn you against taking what you see on your screen as truth. An influencer talking about something they purportedly enjoy because of a brand deal will not and does not ever drive culture. I do not disparage the practice of influencing — someone is always going to do it. I am simply warning against the logical fallacy of believing brand-funded trend reports and videos over your own lived experiences. “I rarely see you at the club” sounds like a cliché, but it’s important to note that fashion moves forward in the spaces where phones are afterthoughts rather than facilitators of or essential to the experience.
Clothing moves! It’s meant to be seen in real-life situations: dancing at a nightclub, leaning in to gossip over a coffee, or wrangling a dog on the sidewalk. It is not meant to be viewed on a two-dimensional screen, regardless of whether or not the person you’re watching is moving. This is the point I’m trying to drive home in commenting on my list: these real-life experiences of wearing, living in, and observing clothing and the way people use what they wear are essential to understanding and commenting on culture. Go outside! Meet cool people! Ask people what they enjoy! People watch but don’t you dare sit around and wait for the fun to come to you; I promise there’s more to fashion than what you see on Instagram.
praying for denim fades to be out
it’s a smelly, pretentious way to wear jeans that even the japanese brands enthusiasts salivate over make fun of it
can we start a trend of no more Celsius (or energy drinks for that matter), and have caffeine pills be in instead