As far as different styles in men’s fashion go, Scandinavian fashion has a spot of its own. Many associate it with thick coats and packed winter-proof clothing. These coats and leather jackets are a significant part of it, sure. But there is also a lot more to appreciate and even more to love.
What To Expect In This Article?
Origin of the Modern Scandinavian Style
The term Scandinavian is often used to describe the countries in northern Europe. The main residents of this classification are Swedes, Norway, and Denmark. These countries have a tightly connected history as well as languages that are significantly related to each other. Finland and Iceland are also grouped as Scandinavian, but their language and culture are a lot different than the other three.
The Scandinavian fashion as we know it today became popular in the West after the 1990s. It had a presence before that, but it wasn’t something that people liked very much. The change happened when a new wave of Scandinavian designers and stylists brought their a-game to the table.
The biggest contributor to the success of Scandinavian brands were their sleek minimal designs, high quality, and relatively low prices. This attracted a lot of customers from all walks of life. These new customers then became lifetime fans of Scandinavian outfits, making them a part of cultures around the world.
How to Dress Like a Scandinavian
Unlike other styles, Scandinavian fashion does not have a set of rigid outfits that define it. Instead, the whole style is a combination of some design philosophies and some iconic garments. Any combination of these two produce outfits that we can classify as Scandinavian. So, we can say that a black bomber jacket with a grey sweatshirt, pair of black jeans, and black high-top shoes are a part of the Scandi style. But what makes this specific combination qualified for this title?
So, instead of going through a list of Scandinavian outfit recommendations, we’ll discuss the lessons and style philosophies that encompass this line of fashion. Understanding the core of Scandinavian fashion will give you an idea of what you should populate your minimalist wardrobe with.
Style principals behind Scandinavian Fashion
Here are a few of the most important lessons regarding Scandinavian men’s fashion. If you can fully understand these, you can master the Scandinavian look in no time.
One coat to rule them all:
True Scandinavian fashion is not complete without a high-quality coat or jacket. This coat is often worn on top of every outfit in every situation. Sure, you can just buy a regular men’s leather jacket and use it over every outfit, but a little consideration is needed to find the perfect match.
The ideal coat or jacket for the Scandi style has a dark color but nothing shiny. It should also be well suited to handle some cold climates, so a black denim jacket is a no-go. Additionally, jackets with a lot of ornaments like shiny metallic zippers don’t really fit the Scandi aesthetic.
Design cleanliness
Scandinavian fashion is a huge promoter of simplicity, and the clothing sold by Scandinavian brands fully represents this ideology. Clothing that has over-the-top patterns, clashing colors, or worst of all, ugly giant logos are fully frowned upon. You will never find a true Scandi brand selling a jacket with a gigantic logo on the outside or any logo for that matter.
Another aspect of this simplicity and cleanliness is the color. Muted colors black, greys, and dark blues are fully welcome. But anything brighter will completely ruin the Nordic look. Even something like a white chambray shirt is not a part of this style as it is deemed too snazzy.
Attractive fit and finish
While the Scandinavian design pretty much forbids bright colors and striking patterns, there is a lot more leeway when it comes to the fit of the outfit. Mixing and matching different fits and cuts is encouraged. You can make the silhouette of the whole outfit exciting by wearing something like a tight-fit sports jacket over a pair of loose, box-cut trousers. This, however, is just one example of the many possibilities that you have.
Embrace the layers
Layering several pieces of clothing on top of each other to create a unique outfit is not something unique to Scandinavian men’s fashion. But this is the style that treats this concept with the most respect. Scandinavian locals are magicians when it comes to crafting a layered outfit. You can give them a trench coat with a tuxedo jacket and a hooded sweatshirt, and they’ll somehow manage to make an appealing-looking outfit with them.
If you want to master Scandi fashion, you’d have to understand the intricacies of layering clothing. Once you’ve mastered this art, you can blend right in with the local crowd without leaving any trace of your foreignness.
Black is love; Black is life
Scandinavian fashion loves the color black. So, much so that an all black outfit is considered exceptionally stylish. But this is not your typical black T-shirt over a pair of black trousers style, that is just uninteresting. Instead, the Scandinavian locals spruce up their black outfits by utilizing the power of textures. The best way to understand this would be with an example.
Let’s say you want to wear an all-black outfit containing a jacket, a shirt, a pair of pants, and suede shoes. The right way to do this would be to layer it with men’s suede jackets. The leather shoes should be some high-top sneakers made from black leather, and the cherry on top would be a black woolen scarf around the neck. This one sample outfit contains five unique textures, which all come together to form an outfit that’ll turn your average Joe into a supermodel.
Scandinavian Fashion and minimalism
You might have noticed by now that all of the above-mentioned qualities of Scandinavian fashion align right up with a type of minimalist fashion, and that is no coincidence. The lack of crazy colors and patterns means that scandic and minimalist fashion has a lot of overlap. You make a list of Scandinavian wardrobe essentials, and a large majority of them will fit in a men’s capsule wardrobe.
Keep in mind that even though they share a lot of similarities, they are still different lines of fashion. For example, the types of jackets acceptable in minimalist style are a lot less than what Scandinavian fashion permits. But despite that, it is still a great opportunity for fans of both styles to broaden their aesthetic horizons.
FAQ
The Scandinavian style can be simple to follow but also confusing at times. Hopefully, the above-mentioned detailed guide on this style’s philosophy helped you understand it better. These are the answers to a few additional questions that get asked a lot regarding this style of clothing.
What kind of style is Scandinavian?
Nordic fashion is a masterful blend of minimalism and practicality. Nothing is over the top or unnecessary while also avoiding the pitfall of being too boring for the modern generation. The colors on the clothes are bleak without getting anywhere near blandness. The outfit options are unique while, paradoxically, also fitting a certain style.
Why do Scandinavians wear black?
First is that black-colored clothing is great at trapping heat. Since the Scandinavian countries regularly see freezing temperatures, anything capable of providing more warmth will become popular. Black color just happened to be the right choice for winter jackets and made its way from there to the rest of the outfit.
Another popular theory is that black is worn so much because it is practical. With shorter days and freezing cold, no one in these countries has the time or energy to spend deciding on an outfit. Wearing black ensures that everything works with everything else effortlessly.
However, these are purely speculative theories, and we might never know the
What pants fit the Scandinavian style?
The answer is all of them. As we discussed in the
What should you not wear in Sweden?
To get this question straight, there is nothing stopping you from wearing whatever you want, aside from shorts, unless it’s actually really humid. There are no laws that forbid colored clothes. You can wear a colorful blazer and jeans combo alongside a pair of bright red shoes, and no one will bat an eye.
But, if you want to blend in with the local crowd, then avoid flashy colors. Swedish men’s fashion is based on less is more when it comes to color. Anything beyond dark blue is too much and should be
Why is Scandinavian fashion so popular?
The popularity of Scandinavian fashion is growing by the day. There are a whole host of reasons behind this, but the most influential aspect has to be its simplicity and elegance. It makes a man look sharp while requiring little to no effort. The results often look too good to be true when compared with the time it will take someone to craft that outfit. Additionally, the brands selling Scandinavian clothing have a level of quality that is rarely matched by anyone else.
Final words
The world of men’s fashion is filled with tons of options. On the one hand, are a lot of modern styles, use flashy colors and striking cuts to prove their uniqueness. On the other hand, is the Scandinavian fashion, unconcerned about standing out or being unique. Funnily enough, this simple approach to clothing is the exact thing that makes it one-of-a-kind in today’s day and age.
Hopefully, this brief guide helped to understand the stylishly simple world of Scandinavian fashion. The best part of this whole article is that you can get started right now. Every typical wardrobe has clothes that are perfectly fit for this style of clothing. Give it a try. Who knows? This might become your favorite style for the rest of your life.
