Playboy's Spring & Summer Fashion Forecast

Emancipation and Eclecticism are the keynotes of the spring and summer silhouette: emancipation from the conservative tradition of male attire, eclecticism in the vast variety of liberated styles that promise to infuse vernal fashions with a mood of upbeat iconoclasm, a look of offbeat innovation. From lids to loafers, sportswear will dominate the sartorial scene with the boldest burst of new departures in a month of sun-days -- via styles sparked with uninhibited shades, unorthodox patterns and unconventional fabrics. In the shape of things to come, the tailored lines of Ivy will be trimmed to an ultraslim outline in every realm of casual wear. Only suit styles (text continued on page 107) will attempt to preserve some semblance of tradition in tone and profile. Retaining the tasteful restraint of natural shoulders, center vent, seat-length jacket, full chest expansion and pleatless belt-loop trousers, three-button models will remain indisputably in charge -- some with lapels rolled to the middle button in emulation of the two-button look. With slightly shaped shoulders and gently indented waistline, this Presidentially inspired style will continue to find favor among Jims slim enough to do it justice. Though last year's renaissance in double-breasted suits has since played itself out, the venturesome one-button model will be back in force with conservatively squared shoulders, Continental coat lengths and enough waist indentation to show light between the sleeves and jacket body. In quiet contrast to the unfettered shades and patterns which prevail in both dress and sportswear, suits will be setting a stylishly subdued pace in glen plaids of medium gray, moss green and tan; in nailhead and shepherd checks of putty and black, olive and navy, gray and olive, navy and gray; in hairlines and pin stripes of medium gray on black or blue, and light gray on charcoal; and in classic solids of black and navy. Materially speaking, bantamweight wool tropicals, gabardines, Dacron mixtures and polyester-worsteds will predominate; (text continued on next page) but watch for seersuckers to offset the low-key look with pronounced pencil stripes.

Sports jackets will be going like '63 in a vast array of outspoken styles, shades and patterns. Both traditional Ivy models and country-squire cuts will be coming on strong in black-white, brown-white and sand-toned plaids; pin-striped seersuckers, bar-striped ducks and denims; black-and-white hound's-tooths; richly tinted madras and batiks; bold gingham checks in light tones and solid-toned silks and linens. Blazers will be playing their ordinarily blazing role with unaccustomed understatement.

At the other end of the social spectrum -- but kindred in sartorial spirit -- the classic black dinner jacket will be complemented by a coaterie of three colorful departures from tradition. Combining offbeat elegance with featherweight comfort -- a white formal coat with contrasting madras vest and tie, a black-and-white striped seersucker jacket with shawl collar, and an Arnel-rayon solid-color model in denim blue and maize will be offering maximum latitude for outspoken individualism.

In chromatic contrast to the muted tone of suits and dress shirts -- but in harmony with the liberated look of the new sports coats -- business shirts will branch out in a new wave of shades and patterns. The basic outline, however, will remain the same; with bodies tapered two to four inches for a trimmer fit, regulation Ivy buttondown and snaptab -- collared models will be running neck and neck in popular preference. Short-point buttondown, pin and regulation spread collars, meanwhile, will remain the odds-on favorites of those with face and neck dimensions better suited to these second-running styles (see From Collar to Cuffs, Playboy, February 1963). Barrel, French and convertible cuffs will be equally acceptable with any collar style -- except for buttondown, which requires the barrel cuff. Though white, as always, will be unquestionably correct for any hour or occasion, spirited striped and solid-color shirts will predominate for daytime office wear. Stripings will range through thick and thin from broad British block stripes to hairline and pencil widths in bright shades on white or tinted backgrounds. Monotoned shirts will be trooping the colors in light olives and sepias, medium tones of mustard yellow, and even denim shades of blue and red. From a material point of view, this season's batch of business shirts will be the coolest ever -- and the most texturally attractive: they'll be available in sleek broadcloths, looseweave oxfords, durable Dacron blends, superfine Egyptian and Pima cottons and bantamweight batistes.

An always significant finishing touch 108 for the urban wardrobe, the selection of a suitable tie can bridge the chasm between mere correctness and sartorial distinction. This season's bountiful harvest of neckwear should enable the discerning male to make this crossing with dash and elegance. As elsewhere on the vernal fashion scene, color will be putting up a bold front with traditional rep and regimental stripes enlivened by brighter pigments, particularly two-tone blends of deep blue and black, green and gold; and with the revival of richly tinted paisleys, challis, ancient madders and foulards.

The silhouette in slackwear will remain trimly tapered, neatly pleatless, Continentally cuffless and -- in the case of trousers for tie-and-jacket wear -- traditionally tailored with belt loops and vertical side pockets. Casual slacks, meanwhile, will be bidding both for the conservative and liberal votes in standard belt-loop styles and in closely fitted beltless models cut below the waist line -- accoutered with unconventional pocket treatments featuring flap- and slit-style openings, side zippers, curved and frontier tops. Maritime-minded men should keep a lookout for a fashionable fleet of slack styles: renascent white ducks, bell-bottomed sea pants and fitted deck pants with slit bottoms. Casual slacks for seafarers and landlubbers alike will be taking bold strides in denims, ducks, chambrays and fine-lined twills; in two-toned Dacron-cotton pinchecks; and in searing seersucker stripes and oxford-weave solids.

On the April-shower front, rainwear will continue to perform the double duty of protection from inclemency and unseasonal winds. Acquiring the lines as well as the functions of the traditional topcoat, raincoats will be adopting a trimmer, more fitted silhouette, and many new models will be assimilating such topcoat detailing as notched lapels, deep V-closures, split shoulders, set-in sleeves, exposed button fronts, and full-patterned linings. Knee lengths will remain standard, but keep a weather eye peeled for a breezy mid-thigh-- length model tailor made for the active outdoor man about town and country. Borrowing inspiration from classic trenchcoat styles, these new raincoats will be designed with such details as full- and half-belts, slightly flaring bottoms, deep center vents and accordion back pleats. Most familiar as a suiting or topcoat material, gabardine will be making its presence felt in springweight versions as a stylish raincoat fabric. So will an assortment of durable Dacron mixtures, silk blends, lightweight canvas and even weatherized denims in characteristically faded blues, grays and black. Though solid black will remain in charge, many of the new raincoats will be braving the elements in black-and-white hound's tooth checks; in navy, brown and gray glen plaids; and in solid tones ranging from classic gray to bronze.

In the realm of informal outerwear appropriate for highway, fairway or waterway, the range of styles -- each adapting a different silhouette -- will be as varied as the pastimes for which they've been designed. In lightweight, heavyduty ducks, chambrays, laminated terrys and nylon slicker cloths that warm or ventilate as needed, summerized skiparkas -- some reversible -- will be venturing out with hoods, drawstring necks and waists, snapped and zippered pockets. Borrowing its basic design from a classic sweater style, a cardigan-type summer surcoat with collarless V-neck and six- or seven-button from will be spinning a novel yarn in lightweight, link-stitched alpaca weaves. In both sports-coat fabrics and laminated knits, still another of the new models will be revamping the military-academy coat with crew necks and piped button fronts. Ranging westward for its inspiration, one line of lightweight warmers will rustle fashion ideas from the ranchers' domain: short cowboy jackets in beefy knits, denims and chambrays, appurtenanced with Western workshirt detailing. But the most conspicuous -- and strikingly handsome -- feature of the entire alfresco wardrobe will be its array of patterns and colors: the predominant solids in moss greens, mustards, rust, cream and powder blue; classic hound's-tooths, exotic batiks, brilliant slicker cloths and kaleidoscopic stripes.

With the proliferation of wool, cotton and synthetic fibers that warm without weighing, sweaterwear has become a year-round sartorial staple of the welldressed man for all seasons. Eye-catchingly updated in pattern and pigment, the new crop of classic cardigans and V-necks will be outdoors in link- and cable-stitched shirtingweight alpaca, wool and cotton blends -- even in semibulky mohair mixtures, headed for a comeback in both loop-stitched and fleecy weaves. Pullover or button front, solid colors will prevail but stripes will be causing the biggest stir with all-over patterns melding as many as four coordinate colors in one-inch stripings; and two or three vivid tints in 2 1/2-inch blazer widths.

The sport-shirt scene will also be splashed with color and innovations in design. Regulation button fronts and pullovers with trimly tapered shapes in tried-and-true tones and patterns will buck a trail-blazing trend toward increasingly bright, unshirtlike styles. Knit shirts, for example, will be heading the spring list with a cardigan model that's virtually indistinguishable from the classic button-front sweater style, which in turn is becoming increasingly more shirt-like in both weight and function. The main distinction: In some models, the (concluded on page 161) Fashion Forecast (continued from page 108) traditional six-button cardigan front will be supplanted by jacket-style three-button fronts or by clean-lined zipper fronts. So close, however, is the sartorial rapport between these two types of top-wear that they're going to be turning up in matched sets of harmonizing stripes and solids for spring and summer wear: crew-neck pullover knits worn under coordinated cardigans, and collarless button-front knits worn over crew-neck pullovers. For more active leisurewear, the new knits will be showing up also in collarless cardigans, hooded parkas, sea- and ski-styled sweatshirt warmers, and zip-front models in crew- and boat-neck styles. Whatever the model, knit-wear will be stepping out in emphatically outspoken solid shades and stripes. In another liaison of hitherto separate clothing categories, sport shirts will be indulging the urge to merge with jacket styles this spring. Result: unabashed sports-coat designs in many of the new sport shirts, giving birth to a brand-new article of informal attire -- a versatile shirt-jacket like the one we featured last month.

Running a decided second but still in the fashion race, pullover sport shirts will be racking up stylish mileage with buttondown or Continental collar, and either zipper-front or slit-style neckline with matching snap-in bib, in effortless emulation of an ascot.

An indispensable coordinate for the entire leisure wardrobe, the new walk shorts will be seen in styles tailor-made for the slim physique and active pastimes of the man who plays as hard as he works. Emulating the lean lines and lively tones of casual slackwear, many of the new models will be cut below the waistline with form-fitting trimness in beltless styles accoutered with extension waistbands, adjustable side tabs and an assortment of unorthodox pocket treatments. With low-slung and standard waistbands, the new shorts will be running the gamut from classic boxers to mid-thigh Jamaicans, knee-topping Bermudas and even traditional golfing models with towel loops and commodious bellows pockets. And they'll be strutting their stuff in a choice multiple choice of ducks, denims, chambrays, oxfords, linen weaves, Dacron blends, and seersuckers. Solid tones will predominate in shades both subdued and supercharged. But multifarious stripes, checks and plaids will be no less conspicuous by their presence.

Swimwear will be taking the plunge with its perennial complement of trim knit cotton briefs and boxer trunks, which will be free-styling cleanly this season in tailored models of denim, madras and seersucker. But the biggest fashion splash will be made by a neat new model that mirrors the low-slung look in slacks and walk shorts: a form-fitting trunk style cut below the waistline with extra-short squared legs. Available in both knit and woven fabrics, it will join the standard swimwear styles in brightening the briny -- and attracting distaff admiration -- with such undiluted shades as cardinal red, chrome yellow, electric blue and Kelly green in an assortment of solids, stripes, checks, glens and madras plaids. In another new wave of wetwear, Western styles will be getting into the swim with a blue-jean look in boxer trunks: denim and chambray converted to lastex and stretch-knit versions and detailed with rope belts and rugged contrast stitching. Cabana sets will be cresting in popularity with dozens of new coordinated swim-suit--topwear combinations.

For a preview of pace-setting fashions in footwear, backtrack briefly to last month's rundown on upcoming shoe-in favorites (Feet First). Then read on as we round out our profile of the warm-weather wardrobe with a few last words on the latest word in headgear, tailored to the lean lines of the seasonal silhouette in trim shapes with ultranarrow brims and low, tapered crowns with neat center creases. In dress models for the workaday world and evenings on the town they'll be a bit lighter than last year -- both in shade and weight. Featherweight felts will be the order of the day and night in archconservative tones of beige, gray and blue with slightly darker bands in one-inch ribbon widths. There's also a suitable straw in the city wind: the immaculate Milan hat, a streamlined version of the classic Panama in ivory white banded with black. Topping the list of lids for leisurewear, cotton poplin hats in dress-felt shapes -- some weatherized for rainwear -- will be disporting themselves in rich glen plaids, Indian madras, hound's-tooths and bright district checks. Headlining the straw-hat circuit on beach and board-walk: an S.R.O. cast of trim-brimmed, low-crowned lids in soft woven coconut fibers, braided palm leaves and hemp cloths encircled by rep-striped bands in muted shades to match the mellow natural hat tones. Our nomination for the most improbable hat style of the year -- and the most likely to succeed without really trying -- is the "hobo" hat: a bandless, brimless, one-size cone of felt so flexible that it can be shaped effortlessly into almost any known or unknown hat style; it's do-it-yourself haberdashery for those who'd like to flip their lids to suit their whims and whereabouts -- and a fitting capper for our forecast of the freewheeling fashions in store for the balmy months ahead.