A Lighter and Brighter...Spring is Ahead, 1963

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A Lighter and Brighter...Spring is Ahead, by Howard Charles

A subtle lightening in colors heralds the arrival of 1963 spring-summer fashions for men. The months ahead will witness a trend reversal that will have a long time effect on the look of men's clothes.

Even sports wear and leisure wear have taken on added brilliance in this swing away from the darks.

Vigorous new shades of brown which made fashion headlines last fall are big in spring summer-weight suitings, too. These brawny browns will be turned out in a host of smart variations and mixtures of brown-grays and brown-olive.

Here is the way that several segments of men's wear shape up for spring and summer:

Suits - Silver gray is an important color and, for a big change, this is a light color rather than merely a lighter one. Designers have come up with new and varied sharkskin effects, shadow checks, hairlines, pin stripes and pencil stripes, plaids and overplaids, classic glens, multicolored vertical effects and the ever popular frost points.

The natural shoulder styling will be more popular than ever this season. Men everywhere are attracted to the youthful appearance of this approach with its casual air, straight waist and natural shoulders, trim lapels and flap pockets.

Most conventional models, too, will be somewhat slimmer in appearance this year. Pleated trousers still will be worn by most men, although younger executives will favor the plain front with natural shoulder jackets.

Two button suits continue their revival, helped no end by the fashion pace set by President Kennedy. There is even a stirring in college circles to give the two button a chance to regain its position in the fashion world.

Sport Coats - 1963 will be the gayest, most colorful yet for sports jackets. Blues and olives and a thousand and one blends of these colors will predominate. Checks and plaids will outweigh stripes in popularity, while India madras in classic muted colorings of brilliant new shades will continue to brighten the scene. And seersuckers, in both blends and cotton, will enjoy their busiest season in a generation.

Blazers in many shades, but with navy blue still the leader, will be widely worn to contrast with white and bright, or merely lighter, slacks and walk shorts.

Source:

The Milwaukee Sentinel - 3/25/63