The Waif in Chic Clothing

For Fall, Designers Celebrate Every Man's Outer Child

Thom Browne's models showed their moves and his clothes on a West Side skating rink. (Maria Valentino For The Washington Post)

NEW YORK -- Apparently a significant number of parents have stopped insisting that their sons eat their vegetables, drink their milk and take their Flintstones vitamins. This group of underfed boys is growing up to become models and threatening the self-esteem of men who always cleaned their plates.

Kick sand in their faces if you want. They will keep on coming. And their hair will be perfectly tousled.

Back in the days before metrosexuals, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and entire books dedicated to grooming products, the models marching down menswear runways tended to look a bit sheepish and embarrassed to be there. They gave the impression that they had been coerced into participating through some form of blackmail involving tequila shots and police officers with no sense of humor. The men were rakish and slim, but they did not have the look of hunger associated with their female counterparts.

Now the fellas mostly look happy to be on the catwalk, pleased with the opportunity to preen and strut. But too many of them have the underdeveloped physiques of 12-year-olds. Some possess a preternatural boyish demeanor and look to be up past their bedtime.

This was especially striking Friday when menswear designer John Varvatos presented his fall collection. Varvatos has built his reputation on an aesthetic that celebrates grown-up men. His clothes have always suggested a version of masculinity that is both familiar and reassuring, neither exaggerated nor understated. The palette, as in the past, is dominated by pine, mushroom, sage and lapis, with silhouettes that leave room for broad shoulders and strong legs, but also a bit of leeway for the paunchy gentleman who spends more time riding around in a golf cart than walking 18 holes.

That generosity is still evident for fall, particularly in knitwear and cozy sweater jackets. And like a lot of designers, Varvatos incorporates military touches -- cargo trousers and overcoats that might have been inspired by a trip to the Army-Navy surplus store. The flagship line had all of the expected markers of his brand of masculinity, but the Star USA collection seemed to confuse informality with adolescence.

Star USA, which began as a small offering of vintage-inspired denim, is now a casual/weekend-wear division of the company. Denim continues to be its focus, but now there are down vests, rumpled shirts and loose-fitting trousers, all in faded colors and gently worn fabrics.

In his program notes, Varvatos describes Star USA as part "rebellious schoolboy, part rumpled headmaster." Watching his models, however, it was hard to find much evidence of adult supervision in a cast of children.

Polo Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne

---

Menswear designers long ago backed away from boxy business suits and the old turtleneck-and-sports-jacket notion of casual attire. They have been trying to give men more choices in their closets, working to bring fun and joy to wardrobes dominated by banker grays and sad-sack chinos. The challenge has been in finding a way to allow maturity and playfulness to coexist.

Thom Browne and relative newcomer Tomer Gendler have come close to getting that balance right. Browne has infused Wall Street grays with pleasure simply by altering traditional proportions and adding quiet details. And Gendler makes a man's rock-and-roll fantasies look dignified. They are both examples of a new energy in the New York menswear industry. After a dearth of innovation, there are finally signs of life. New labels have arrived that fizz and pop with creativity.

And an old brand, Polo Ralph Lauren, returned its menswear to the runway after more than 30 years. Yesterday afternoon, Lauren proved that his musings, fantasies and daydreams about the glamorous lives of men are no less lively. Lauren showed men of all colors on his runway, from one with a golden Grizzly Adams beard to one with rich brown dreadlocks. They were dressed in everything from shrunken patchwork blazers and destroyed jeans to pinstriped suits with tight, high armholes and narrow trousers that brushed the tops of cowboy boots.

Lauren's vision of men has them roping steers, running hedge funds and walking the red carpet. Sometimes those frothy notions overwhelm the aesthetic and send it veering into costume design. Not this time. Lauren encourages men to dream of themselves as archetypes, to engage in fashion make-believe. A man may barely be able to balance his own checkbook and be deathly afraid of horses, but Lauren allows him dress and swagger as though his wildest dreams were real.