Forbes India – Fashion: from pearl necklace to pastel pink, the “soft-boy” style is all the rage

The “soft boy” likes pastel clothes, chinos and pearl necklaces.
Image: Dean Drobot/Shutterstock

A a delicate breeze is blowing on men’s fashion. After the ‘bad boy’ aesthetic, it’s the turn of the ‘soft-boy’ style to impose itself in the dressing room of these gentlemen. A key trend that appeals to younger generations and is reflected in a growing interest in pastel clothes, chinos and pearl necklaces.

Rappers may soon find themselves outdated! Say goodbye to baggy pants and big gold chains, too flashy for “soft boys”, those men who may seem like the ideal son-in-law, the perfect gentleman, but who ultimately turn out to be natural seducers, accumulating encounters and conquests. But even if the image of the ‘soft boy’ can be controversial in the dating world, his style is unanimous, relegating the ‘bad boy’ and all his flashy accessories to the background.

Chinos, Converse shoes and pearl necklaces

The “soft-boy” aesthetic breaks with typical male styling conventions – yes, those exist for the male gender as well. Gone is the cliché of the virile man, replaced by a wardrobe that breaks gender stereotypes. The “soft boy”, a term for which searches on Google increased by 157% between December and January, seems to be associated with several very specific categories of clothing, starting with chinos. According to the global search platform Stylight*, clicks for chinos increased by 44% over the same period, demonstrating a growing interest in this trending style.

And the “soft boy” can also swear by Converse shoes, which Internet users have been looking for for a few weeks (+42% clicks), as well as denim jackets (+24%), which are also gaining in popularity.

In terms of colors, the favorite palette in the wardrobes of those who adopt the “soft-boy” style is that of delicate and pastel tones. Pink (+40%) and lilac (+41%) are particularly popular at the start of the year. On the accessories side, pearl necklaces (+15%), which blur gender lines, are gradually replacing the thick chains that were previously in demand for the “bad-boy” style.

* Stylight specifies that the data refer to the period from December 21 to 31, 2021 compared to January 1 to 10, 2022.

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