For something so tricky to wear, baggy clothes are really popular. Then again, people love cigarettes, and they kill you. But thankfully, menswear's move to 8XL sizes is a tiny bit safer than that. It hasn't hurt Jacob Elordi for one, who was pictured in Milan wearing the stuff that doesn't fit right, and yet just feels so right. And it's in this sweet spot that the rarest of menswear's treasures can be found: the elusive slouch.
Like Jason's golden fleece and a good, honest man, the elusive slouch is hard to find. Go too big with your clothes and you'll disappear. Go too small with your baggy fit, and they're no longer baggy. They're just a bad fit. And herein lies the conundrum: what does one need to pull all this stuff off?
It's a painful realisation that, yes, genetics help. At an Asgardian 6'4, Elordi has a huge advantage at both Hinge filters and securing the elusive slouch (plus, his Valentino denim and Valentino Garavani sneakers are largely bulletproof too). But with some thought, guys that don't stand eye level with a doorframe can also go baggy. It's about scale and proportion. Elordi's jeans are not only baggy, but boxy: it's a cut that's consistent throughout, rather than a tighter waist that billows out towards the legs. The big ‘70s trend is all well and good, but it cannot and will not unlock the elusive slouch. And up-top, Euphoria’s resident toxic Chad has made sure to reveal some forearm in a polo shirt that's as baggy (and not skinnier, or larger) than the jeans below. He's not getting lost in his clothes. Better yet, it's the same volume of slouch throughout.
Take, for instance, Justin Bieber. His elusive slouch is larger than the collective GDP of the United Kingdom. And yet it works. One, because that ultra-baggy thing has become his thing. And two, because, again, the fits are consistent.
You could reason that the elusive slouch is another Y2K trend that's stuttered back to life under fashion's big defibrillator. But why are so many brands both storied and up-and-coming returning to this? (Louis Vuitton, JW Anderson, Egonlab, Rick Owens, Emporio Armani and so on and so forth). Because guys all over the planet are Into This™, and there's perhaps something to be said for comfy, swaddling clothes when the world has never seemed scarier. The elusive slouch is maybe as much a trend as it is a comfort blanket. And with the right proportions, and the right pieces, everyone deserves a little bit of that in 2023.
