BY STEFAN LEE
Listen up gents:
Does your shirt hang low
Does it wobble to and fro
Can you tie it in a knot
Can you tie it in a bow
Can you throw it over your shoulder
Like a continental soldier
Does your shirt hang low?
If men wearing longer shirts down to their knees seems a bit baffling, then you haven’t been paying attention to menswear’s latest trend: longline shirts.
Longline shirts are longer than standard length.
Justin Bieber, Kanye West, The Weeknd, and even cartoon characters (Hey Arnold)—not to mention, style savvy fashionistas (fashionisto?) have all been spotted wearing their shirts oversized for a while now.
That’s not to say every male should jump on this trend bandwagon. Longline shirts are mainly seen on younger guys ranging from teens to late 20’s.
They are evidence of the notion of street fashion uptick, meaning what is now on trend had its origins born in the streets. Longline shirts particularly draw from hip hop fashion.
Today’s longline tops also take cues from ‘90s grunge elements, (i.e. boxy flannel), however in contrast to the ‘90s where everything was baggy, only tops remain longer.
The current styles comprise button ups, flannel, T-shirts, and hoodies—basically all tops just with an extended length.
Bottoms (pants jeans, joggers) are best worn in slimmer or skinny styles to help counterbalance oversized shirts.
While the trend started late 2014, it hasn’t been until the past year, that they started popping up everywhere.
While the fellas may feel their style game is “on fleek,” not all ladies are quickly embracing this trend. Opinions on this particular style range from the approving nods, to the empathic no’s.
Julia Dechink, 20, stands firmly on the no front.
“I’ve seen a few guys wearing stuff like that. I don’t like it at all. I wanna see a man’s physique,” said Dechink. “ It looks like he’s drowning in them.”
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Dechink’s friend and co-worker Kenzie Sheppard, 21, however doesn’t share her friend’s negative opinion.
“It’s a new thing. It’s in style now. Maybe two years ago I would have thought it was a little sloppy, but now worn right it can look very trendy,” said Sheppard.
Last year, it was harder to track down shirts in this style, with only a few retailers (more expensive fast fashion retailers such as, H&M, Zara, and Topman) carrying them. These past few months you can not only march in to any of the previously listed, but even cheaper fast fashion budget stores like Bluenotes, or Urban Planet and find tonnes of longline shirts.
However, the easy accessibility to this particular trend could be a sign that it is on its way out.
“The more you see it around in stores, are because it’s become more mass produced and beginning to become over saturated,” said fashion business school graduate Javier Zuniga.
However, just because the market has become saturated with this style, Zuniga doesn’t think it’s going away in the near future. In fact, despite its ease of accessibility, Zuniga still thinks people are slightly optimistic about longlines.
“It’s more about confidence. You have to own up that you’re wearing a style of clothing that might turns some heads negatively. You just can’t let that bother you,” said Zuniga.
While young men are often encouraged to wear more appropriate fitting clothes, longline shirts embrace the exact opposite yet still manage to keep a man’s style game on par.
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