Alternative Layering Techniques

Last week on FashionBeans we brought you a comprehensive guide to winter layering. This showed you how to effortlessly deal with whatever Mother Nature throws at you over the coming months by combining multiple pieces and textures to create looks that are full of depth and character.

But let’s be honest, once you’ve mastered the basics, layering can get a little repetitive. If you’re feeling lazy it can be as simple as donning some jeans and an Oxford shirt, then adding a big heavy duty coat over the top. If you’re slightly more advanced it may even involve slipping some form of knitwear in-between these layers, along with the incorporation of seasonally-appropriate fabrics like tweed, corduroy or lambswool.

Yet no matter what, the same rule is always applied and followed religiously: layer from thin to thick. In other words, the thinner the layer, the closer to your body it should be. This way you don’t restrict your movement and it allows you to regulate body temperature by removing or adding a single piece.

So what happens when you do get bored of following this rule day in, day out until May rolls back around? Well, why not take the lead from our female counterparts and start to experiment with alternative ways of layering?

Obviously the rule of thin to thick should still be loosely followed so that you remain comfortable and can function efficiently during the day, but why not incorporate pieces that you wouldn’t usually think to use or play around with fabrics and proportions?

Things don’t always have to be so black and white when it comes to menswear these days, so we’re here to give you a few ideas of what you can do in the grey area of alternative layering…

Some Clothes Are Bigger Than Others

Within a casual setting, changing the proportions of your layering can add an individual touch to your outfit. A popular technique amongst streetwear designers and celebrities such as Kanye West and Tyler the Creator, it is extremely simple to do.