December isn’t just the month for manic shopping and spending hours standing around waiting for trains, it’s also the prime time for hastily cobbled-together lists of mild, recent nostalgia.
With that in mind, here’s a list of what we thought was decent this year.
10 – That Stone Island hat with the floppy ears
At ten we’ve got that mad double-layered mountain-cap from Stone Island.
Some people did comment that this hat looks uncannily like the dog-car from Dumb and Dumber, but since when was that a bad thing? Dumb and Dumber is still one of the greatest films ever made, and anything that reminds us of it is obviously a good thing.
9 – Drawcord Trousers
Casual livin’ demands casual legwear, and nothing says casual quite like a bit of string around your waist.
The fine folks at Folk, Margaret Howell and Y.M.C. quenched our thirst for relaxing trousers this year, and we wholeheartedly salute them for it (although we’re not sure the belt industry shares our enthusiasm).
8 - Those Superga Military Pumps
2018 might be remembered by some as the year that trainers started to resemble remote-controlled hovercrafts, but it wasn’t all bad… Superga dug right to the bottom of their archives to bring back a long-lost military gem.
Nothing flashy here, some canvas and a little toe-cap… the ideal shoes to wear for vaulting pommel horses and disassembling rifles with your eyes closed.
7 – Outdoor stuff
This probably applies every year… but there’s been some cracking outdoor stuff around lately. Whether it was ultra-futuristic moon-climbing garb from And Wander, toasty fleeces from Patagonia or those big jackets from Paramo, we’ve been spoilt for choice when it comes to high-brow hiking garb.
6 – That colour that’s not quite brown and not quite orange
Clay? Tan? Caramel? Harvest Gold? Wheatsheaf Memories? Mojave Sunrise? Tatooine Sand-Storm? We’re not too sure what you call that earthy hue that sits somewhere between brown and orange, but we know one thing… it looks very nice.
5 – Smocks
It’s been a banner year for jackets of the ‘over-the-head’ variety, and we are not complaining. These things might be a slight hassle when you’re trying to de-layer in a busy public house, but that’s small price to pay for true outerwear majesty.
4 – The Mephisto Boot (and rugged stompers in general)
Just when we thought the Mephisto Rainbow couldn’t feasibly get any better, those boot-versions turn up and shatter our ankles into smitten smithereens.
And if that wasn’t enough, there was the return of those Timberland lug soles chuggers.
And what should we say about them Danner boots?
Canal paths don’t know what hit ‘em.
3 – That Adsum Flop Neck Fleece
You know Top Cat’s pal with the sharp-looking white turtleneck? Well, if he was a human instead of a fictional, two dimensional cat, he’d probably wear something like this beauty from Adsum.
It’s a fleece, but it’s also a turtleneck, and it’s also really warm, and it’s also got two pockets. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and everything we’ve ever wanted. Truly wondrous.
2 – Rugby Shirts
In at two we’ve got the humble rugby shirt. After years of nabbing style cues from the sophisticated world of tennis, it seems the not-so-beautiful-game of rugby is now ripe for re-appropriation.
Not sure if scrummage caps (or necking a pint of your mate’s vomit) are worth nabbing for the non-sporting realm, but these tough-yet-smart shirts are just the thing for 90% of all situations.
1 – Those Lee Cords (and corduroy stuff in general)
And finally, at the top spot, we’ve got those Lee cords. Actually, this one goes out to all corduroy items out there. It’s been a long road, fraught with sneers, funny looks and numerous tired jokes about geography teachers, but now, in 2018, it seems like people are finally getting their heads around waled cotton. What a time to be alive.