GQ's Spring Preview 2013: Less is More

It might be colder than a snowman's nuts outside, but all the clothes that are going to make your spring are already hitting stores. (Yes, really.) Here, we show you why the season ahead is all about simplifying. The point isn't to go monkishly minimal—it's about making every piece you wear count

 

Antony Starr
Age: 37
Tune in: Banshee (upcoming on Cinemax)
Role: Ex-con Lucas Hood

01. First Things First: Let Your Tie Bloom

Yes, this spring is about keeping it simple—but you need one piece that brings your look to life. Instead of mixing busy patterns, try taking a solid suit and shirt and then bringing them to life with a print tie.

Suit, $1,625 and shirt, $295 by Dolce & Gabbana. Tie, $97 by The Hill-Side. Tie bar by The Tie Bar. Pocket square by Paul Stuart.

JD Pardo
Age: 32
Tune in: Revolution (NBC)
Role: Jason Neville, the militia’s go-to guy

2. Sure, There Are Fifty Shades of Gray. Choose the Palest One.

Conventional wisdom says your gray suit should fall on the darker side of the spectrum. Let's smash the conventional wisdom. Once the weather warms up, pale gray is flat-out cooler—in every sense of the word.

Suit, $1,125, shirt, $295, and tie, $195, by Calvin Klein Collection. Loafers, $1,350 by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture.

Sterling Sulieman
Age: 28
Tune in: The New Normal (NBC)
Role: NeNe Leakes's strapping, conservative brother

3. That Pale Thing Applies to Colors, Too

Your girlfriend calls these pastels, but we like to think of them as chalky. Wear one at a time, or mix several if you want the double takes.

Sports jacket, $750 by Michael Bastian. Shirt, $154, and pants, $198, by Closed. Tie, $115 by Ralph Lauren Black Label. Sweatshirt, $175 by Todd Snyder. Watch by Rolex. Hat by Polo Ralph Lauren.

4. Look Fly. Stay Dry.

Designers have been tweaking rubberized Mackintosh-style raincoats for 200 years. This season's revelation? Suiting patterns like windowpane.

Trench coat, $1,510 by Marc Jacobs. Polo shirt, $98 by Marc by Marc Jacobs. Khakis, $395 by Band of Outsiders. Sneakers, $70 by Converse. Belt by C.S. Simko. Hat by Bally.

 

5. Loafing: Now Encouraged at Work

The shoe of the season? Loafers. They used to be strictly casual, but right now you can march into work in them.

Loafers, $580 by Gucci. Suit, $456 by J.Crew Ludlow.

6. If the Suit Is Pale, the Shirt Can Pop

We meant it when we said you should wear chalky colors. But don't miss the chance to electrify a pale gray suit with this bubblegum pink shirt that pops.

Shirt, $40 by American Eagle Outfitters. Suit jacket, $298 by J.Crew Ludlow. Tie, $15, tie bar, and pocket square by The Tie Bar.

07. A Belt with a Ring to It

Fashion is strange: Suddenly one belt becomes the coolest thing since Miles Davis. Right now, the D-ring is our go-to pants-holder-upper.

Belt, $115 by Gant by Michael Bastian. Pants, $150 by DKNY. Sports jacket and tie by Polo Ralph Lauren. Shirt by Patrik Ervell.

Reid Scott
Age: 35
Tune in: Veep (HBO)
Role: Dan Egan, the vice president’s deputy communications director

8. Stay (All the Way) Solid

We've championed patterned shirts and ties more than anyone, but less is more right now, remember? This spring, solid colors look super-sharp, not snoozy. Especially when you think beyond just classic white and blue dress shirts and reach for a new strain of green.

Suit, $1,625, and shirt, $295, by Dolce & Gabbana. Tie, $97 by The Hill-Side. Tie bar by The Tie Bar. Pocket Square by Paul Stuart.

Ben Feldman
Age: 32
Tune in: Mad Men (AMC)
Role: Michael Ginsberg, Don Draper’s brilliant wiseass copywriter

9. Not Even James Dean Thought of This

But we're sure he'd approve. Your jean jacket should fit as snug as a cardigan—so why not rock it like one? Just put it on under a sport coat and go.

Jean jacket, $1,120 by Brunello Cucinelli. Sports jacket, $695 by Gant by Michael Bastian. Shirt, $265 by Nick Wooster for Hamilton 1883. Pants, $192 by J Brand. Belt by Scotch & Soda

Teddy Sears
Age: 35
Tune in: Masters of Sex (upcoming on Showtime)
Role: Dr. Austin Langham, sex researcher and philanderer

10. Meet Khaki's Sophisticated Brother

Got the khaki suit down pat? Good. Now try stepping up to brown in either single-breasted or double.

Suit, $2,800 by Bottega Veneta. Polo shirt, $198 by Diesel Black Gold. Belt by Tom Ford.

11.And Chuck Taylor's (Very Rich) Cousin

Dressing up doesn't mean no-sneakers-allowed. Especially if they're high-end sneakers that never look sloppy.

Sneakers, $840 by Hermès

12. Out of the Dugout, onto the Street

The freshest leather jacket right now is the baseball jacket. Don't be afraid to knot up a tie with it.

Jacket, $1,575, and pants, $395, by Emporio Armani. Shirt, $375 by Salvatore Piccolo. Loafers, $545 by Tod’s. Belt by J.Crew.

13. A Squarer Wayfarer

We tried on every new pair of glasses, but this squared-off take on the classic reigned supreme.

Sunglasses, $95 by Warby Parker.

14. The Wider a Man's Brim, the Bigger His Style. 
Or something like that. Ditch the porkpies and fedoras and go big with an old-school Panama.

Hat, $350 by Borsalino at JJ Hat Center. Suit, $1,725 by Neil Barrett. Shirt, $65 by Tommy Hilfiger. Tie, $195 by Dior Homme. Tie bar by The Tie Bar. Pocket square by Brunello Cucinelli.

15. Trust the Italians to Think of This

One pocket square, two colors of piping. Style ingenuity from the country that knows suits best.

Pocket square, $135 by by Brunello Cucinelli. Sports jacket, $1,350 by by Polo Ralph Lauren.

Leslie Odom Jr.
Age: 31
Tune in: Smash (NBC)
Role:Insanely charming chorus member Sam Strickland

16. Teach Your Casual Clothes to Dance

Sometimes it's not the clothes you buy, it's how you put them together. Take a cardigan and khakis. Put them together as carefully as you would a tux. They're capable of moves you can't imagine.

Cardigan, $648 by Etro. Shirt, $750 by Giorgio Armani. Tie, $85 by The Hill-Side. Khakis, $450 by Prada. Loafers, $590 by Gucci. Tie bar by The Tie Bar. Hat by Stetson.

Josh Bowman
Age: 24
Tune in: Revenge (ABC)
Role: Handsome Hamptons-bred Daniel Grayson

17. This Blazer Doesn't Pack Heat

Your style shouldn't go limp as the temp rises. Now there are killer textured blazers in fabrics like this toothy linen- and-wool blend.

Suit jacket, $3,520 by Tom Ford.

18. The Sweet Spot Between a Dress Shirt and a Tee

Don't settle for the same old polo when you can now get ones with ribbing and piping. The polo shirt is progressing, and style is all about evolution, right?

Polo sweater, $395 by Todd Snyder. Pants, $645 by Prada. Pocket square by Brunello Cucinelli. Glasses by Topman.

My Prized Possession

Abdul Abasi
Co-owner, Nepenthes NY

Abdul's prized possession:
Maison Martin Margiela Line 22 Shoes

"Several years ago while on summer vacation in Paris, I stopped by the Maison Martin Margiela boutique and discovered the most interesting pair of dress shoes I'd ever seen. They were from Margiela's Line 22 and I loved their punk sensibility: a black patent leather upper liberally sprayed with an iridescent bronze treatment and laced with thin purple ribbons. I was hooked—until I saw the price tag, which was not college-student friendly. So regretfully, I settled on a German army version of the same shoe; it was beautiful, but not the one I'd fallen in love with. A few months later, a friend spotted the shoes at an NYC designer consignment store—and selling for considerably less. As soon as he told me, I was there trying them on. Amazingly, they fit perfectly. I bought them and subsisted on pasta and PB and J for a few weeks. To this day, the fascination and beauty of the shoe hasn't waned."

Siki Im
Designer, Siki Im

Im's prized possession:
German train conductor pants

"I bought these conductor pants in a vintage store in Cologne, Germany when I was 16. I love their fit and the details on them. They have a button fly, which is the only kind I wear, and they're baggy—back in the day, I used to skate in them because I wasn't into skate clothing. I was very careful to make sure they didn't get too much wear."

Richard Haines
Illustrator, What I Saw Today

Haines's prized possession: Church's suede wingtips

"These chocolate suede wingtips are from Church's. They're the color of powdered truffles, only these last much longer—31 years, to be exact. They were a gift from the first Perry Ellis men's show I worked on as a designer. Today, they give me the same jolt of sexiness and style as they did back then—A testament to their quality and good design."

Mordechai Rubinstein
Photographer, Mister Mort
Rubinstein's prized possession: Banana Republic brown fedora

"As Chassidim, we start wearing a fedora (usually in black) three months before our bar mitzvah at age 13. The winter before my bar mitzvah, I was at South Street Seaport with a friend and we happened into Banana Republic. This hat was on sale there for $19.99 or $29.99 and, while it wasn't black, it was really talking to me. I knew I'd get in trouble if I wore it to Yeshiva, but I had to have it and it fit my tiny head perfectly. I'll never forget wearing it outside while my buddy (also around 12) chomped on a cigar. Who were we kidding, trying to act all grown-up? Thanks, Banana and Nat Sherman, for the moment."

Robert Geller
Designer, Robert Geller 
Geller's prized possession: Creative Growth for Everyone T-shirt

"It must have been three or four years ago when Stella Ishii, the founder of the News  fashion showrooms in NYC told me about this project she was working on, called Creative Growth for Everyone. It's a line that features screen-printed images from artists from the Creative Growth Art Center, a non-profit for adult artists with developmental, mental, and physical disabilities. I was really blown away by how cool the designs were. For the lookbook shoot, she asked a couple of designers to wear them and she gave me the one that I wore. That was the first time I wore it, and there haven't been many days since when I've taken it off. This T-shirt wouldn't be my oldest friend, but it's definitely my closest. Over the years, it has become super-thin, and the color is fading into these great sepia tones that you can only get from a lot of wear and sunlight. It's just the right kind of oversized, and it's so light it feels like wearing nothing at all. Back in April 2009, when I opened my first pop-up store on the Lower East Side, I managed to get a white paint all over it during the build-out. At first, I was a little bummed, and then I just turned it inside out and kept wearing it every day. You can still see traces of the paint, but it's always a reminder of that time—my first Robert Geller retail experience—which was really exciting for me."

Jared Flint
Art Director, Park & Bond
Flint's prized possession:
Astros Nolan Ryan T-shirt

"I have no idea why I still have this shirt. It's about 15 or 16 years old, and it's huge. Like, XXXL huge. It's from a summer baseball league I played in toward the end of high school in California. It's survived dozens of moves through Indiana, Hawaii, Kansas, and even Brooklyn. I never wear it. Never. But I never throw it out—it always makes the cut. Anyone with a Manhattan-sized closet realizes the premium on space, yet I've always employed a resigned reticence to toss this one in the trash (and there's no way I would bequeath this Astros muumuu to anyone.) So, while prized Dunks and the Hundreds shirts were long ago picked up by the local Salvation Army, this piece of shit stays around. I've got two theories as to why it's survived:

1) It's my Rosebud. A reminder of carefree days in California, tossing baseballs around and getting Slurpee's, with nothing to worry about except how to score some beer for the weekend and other clichéd scenes from Dazed and Confused.
2) After somehow making the first couple of moves out of my parent's house, I've developed an unconscious and begrudging respect for this behemoth of cotton. It's the Bird to my Magic, if you will. I'd like to think the real answer lies somewhere in the middle."

Christopher Bastin
Creative Director, Gant Rugger
Bastin's prized possession:
Gant Rugger for ACL & Co. handloom madras shirt

"This madras shirt is from a collaboration I did with Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean. I'd been reading A Continuous Lean since the beginning, and immediately knew Michael Williams was 'one of those dudes'—he had me at 'Americana,' so to speak. I was a rookie in the New York scene when I first met him, and when he asked if I wanted to do a collaboration, it was the first sign to me that we were on to something good with Rugger. It's a very special project to me. I had this vintage Gant shirt in the archives that I knew would be perfect in madras. Till this day, it's one of the nicest madras checks we've done. I've worn the crap out of it, but I stashed away two of the prototypes in my closet, so I'm good for another ten years. It also keeps me from becoming too chubby—huge bonus."

Nine Things Every Man Should Have in His Pockets USB

A flash drive that looks like a pocketknife says, "I seem rugged, but really I just need the entire first season of Game of Thrones on me at all times." 32GB Flash Drive
$150, available at

Love the pry bar, screwdrivers, and tweezers. But it's the lighter that's most handy, whether for a bottle rocket or a campfire. Everyday Carry Kit
$44, available at kaufmann-mercantile.com

When not being used to make jet engines, titanium is the perfect material for the difficult task of keeping your cash organized. Money Clip
$30, available at

The people at Klhip completely reengineered the nail clipper using surgical-grade metal. Think of it as overkill—glorious overkill. Nail Clipper
$50, available at klhip.com

Carrying a comb was de rigueur in the 1950s. Well, it's back, now that leather-goods geniuses Billykirk got all artisanal on your coif with this handstitched case. Comb Case
$45, available at billykirk.com

This pen is made in Nevada for NASA. I use it to scribble in this Japanese reporter's notebook, even when I'm not on the moon.
Notebook
$19, available at postalco.net
Pen
$30, available at spacepen.com

A flask of booze is an easy way to make friends. An English pewter flask by Wentworth adds top notes of envy.
Flask
$68, available at kaufmann-mercantile.com

With the evolution of LED light sources, powerful flashlights don't need to be the size of a Pringles can anymore. Surefire makes the most badass illumination gear for both civilian and tactical uses that's easy to stash in your pocket. Surefire 6PX Tactical Flashlight
$115, available at surefire.com

Originally this was a combat utility knife. But you don't have to be on the brink of kicking someone's ass to use one. Surefire Knife
$445, available at surefire.com