As you’ve probably heard by now, your old man is trending hard this year. Ever since Balenciaga sent real dads with their real kids down the catwalk, there has been a new and unexpected fashion tribe, the DILF.

For those who thought the acronym had another meaning, allow us to correct you. DILF – as far as we’re concerned – stands for ‘Dads In Latest Fashions’. Okay, you might quibble on the term ‘latest’. The fashions we’re talking about are synonymous with styles now a quarter of a century old: relaxed, stonewash denim, sensible jackets, dad caps and more. Which raises a question:

How have fathers, once synonymous with lame fits and sadsack style, become fashionable?

Some commentators have suggested that the DILF look came about from cash-strapped millennials hankering after the stability embodied by the suburban dads of their childhood, with their big houses, sensible cars and retirement savings. What once was boring has become aspirational.

That may be true, but there are other, more prosaic reasons. “Fashion is cyclical,” says Jess Punter, a menswear stylist and writer. “The shapes and styles that the dad trend has resurrected are from the early nineties. It’s also comfortable and practical.” Dads dress for function, not form; the outdoorsy brands they favour, such as Patagonia and the North Face, tend to be eco-conscious, thereby bestowing wokeness on their wearers. (Patagonia sued the Trump administration for shrinking US national parks.)

Then there’s the simple fact that a DILF’s uncoolness is precisely what makes it cool. If everybody was rocking it then it wouldn’t be a swerve. “It’s pointing the finger at fashion, which has created this anti-fashion phenomenon,” says James Lawrence, head of menswear design at ASOS. “It’s fun and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.”

Finally, the DILF look is chaotically, eye-catchingly eclectic. “It’s created a great way of clashing different styles from different genres together and making them all work,” continues Lawrence. Because if there’s one thing dads don’t have time to think about, it’s putting together coherent outfits. Forget Steve McQueen: it’s dads who have truly effortless style.