One of menswear’s rising stars Jsen Wintle championed pastels and muted shades of suiting on the catwalk at London fashion week SS10, as did Burberry Prorsum and elsewhere at Dior Homme and Michael Kors. The trend is a great way to add a bit of a summer lift to an outfit and it brings a new approach to classic separates such as a tailored suit jacket.

We’ve bought together some of the best pastels around, so take your pick.

This blazer brings a whole new meaning to parma violets – not just a childhood sweet but a viable shade for a piece of clothing too. Ok so this Marc Jacobs blazer is officially ‘light grey’ but from here we’re calling it parma violet. Either way with its subtle pinstripe and cropped style it’s a great alternative to your dark blazer. £365 Buy it here.

Salmon? Pink? Whatever you want to call it this Gant polo shirt is a sherbert staple that will see you right through summer and is a great work wear alternative to a shirt for a slightly more relaxed look. Keep it on trend and mix with a light pair of trousers, or you can even wear it with your brand new Marc Jacobs blazer…£55 Buy it here.

For a lighthearted look try experimenting with a pattern and sport this very fetching polka dot jersey in mint green. Pair this Paul Smith jumper with a tailored jacket to give your look a bit more of a smart edge. £115 Buy it here.

These dusty pink shorts from Reiss aren’t exactly the best choice for rolling around in the park practicing your World Cup standard skills, but they are perfect for city outings and make for a super cool work wear alternative. £59 Buy them here.

With only 3000 of these limited collectors edition Oakley Frogskins made it’s time to embrace the eighties and get your hands on a pair while you can. £90 Buy them here.

Fashion Icon award winner Iman attended the event with husband David Bowie, who looked effortlessly stylish in a black suit with a loosely draped cravat. There was also a host of top designers who looked ever-so-dapper in their suits including Marc Jacobs, who took home the coveted womenswear designer of the year award, as well as Jason Wu and Peter Som amongst many others, each with a beautiful model on their arm – showcasing the designer’s clothing of course.

It was American design duo Marcus Wainwright and David Neville of Rag and Bone who were awarded Menswear designer of the year, beating Tom Ford and Michael Bastian to the accolade. After winning the 2007 Swarovski award for emerging talent the label, which is known for its mix of British feel tailoring with understated sportswear, has become one of the most covetable – and wearable – menswear brands. Receiving this years Swarovski emerging talent award for menswear was up-and-coming designer Richard Chai, who after already being known for his successful womenswear designs, launched his menswear line in 2008.

So the American version of the fashion Oscars brought the US style mavens out to play but it was International Award winner and Burberry designer Christopher Bailey who gave us the most valuable lesson in sartorial elegance with his classic suit and relaxed look – not to mention his comments to style.com about the differences between the CDFAs and our own version, the British Fashion Awards, saying, ‘The sentiments are the same, but I think the Brits drink a lot more.’ Really? Us? No…

You’ve heard of the mandigan – the man’s cardigan, now prepare for the meel, yes that’s right, the man’s heel. It seems that for the first time in three decades the elevated shoe for men is back, and this time it’s not glam rock that’s leading the way, but high fashion.

According to The Times man heels were spotted at the Paris shows this Spring in audiences including both Gareth Pugh and Rick Owens, as well as at Pam Hogg and Rodarte in New York. When it comes to the designers who are daring to take the man heel to new heights, look out for Jean-Michel Cazabat and Rick Owens himself, who are both producing heels in excess of four inches – proper heels then. The trend continued from the catwalk on to the sidewalk as the very stylish attendee pictured above proves with his super-high peep toes and fringed bag, captured by fashion blogger Peter Stigter.

We rather like the idea of man-heels, although there is the distinct possibility that they could transform even the most dapper man into a Frank-n-Furter wannabe. Saying that, Mr. Style himself Marc Jacobs admits to wearing heels that are featured in his shows during hours of long fittings, but added ‘I don’t wear them out on the street.’ So if you, like Jacobs, quite like the idea of a couple of extra inches in the shoe-department but aren’t quite ready to venture outside in them, there is a more discreet option available. James Taylor & Sons of London make ‘status shoes’ which appear much the same as a regular heel, but have a hidden 1 ½ inch lift inside the shoe. Sneaky.

Whether you’ll be stepping out in four inch meels or secretly bumping up the height chart with hidden status shoes is purely a matter of taste, but when it comes to embracing the trend for a man-heel then we’re pretty sure it’s going to be when rather than if. There’s a reason us girls love our heels, and once you’ve tried them there’ll be no going back – just as long as you don’t start stealing our favourite pair…

A little over a month ago in the quaint town of Poitiers in western France, a gentleman by the name of Dominique Moreau engages in a movement against the rigid, gender−based sartorial codes of fashion. He—in league with thirty other able bodied men—spends a good part of the day wearing skirts.

Why, you might ask? Well, it just so has it that, historically, the skirt has been a item of clothing not exclusively marked out for women and Moreau wants to instill that verve to wear skirts in men once again!

Hearken back a month and, quite frankly, we wished Mr. Moreau and his organization, Hommes en Jupe (Men in Skirts), all the best in their endeavors at culling legions of men to their somewhat gender-bending calling, but now we’re reevaluating. Based on the events that took place on Wednesday at New York Fashion Week, Hommes en Jupe’s male skirt movement will definitely gained some pep in its step courtesy of a new patron: Marc Jacobs!

Heroically clad in a red tartan kilt, Jacob’s gaily received accolades for his Marc by Marc Jacobs show. Tartan is seriously doing the rounds this season so the pattern was a pleasing nod to the enlightened, however, there’s no doubt in my mind that a flurry of men who are both expressive with their clothing and comfortable with their sexuality will begin to latch unto this skirt craze.

As is the case with androgynous trends, questions are sure to arise as per the acceptable length at which a man should don his skirt. Unlike the fiasco that currently surrounds men, shorts, and how short is too short, skirts on men and the appropriate length is more of a weighty matter that needs serious discussion.

Not too long ago, The Sartorialist quipped about whether men’s skirts should fall above or or below the knee. My response to that is keep in consonant with Mr. Jacobs—below the knee—and you won’t draw too many added stares!

[Image]