The Greatest Dad Fashion Moves of All Time

Dad style is cooler than ever, but somehow it's because it's inherently uncool.

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Complex Original

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Fashion moves in cycles. What was cool becomes uncool. The uncool lays dormant on the fashion scrap heap until it becomes vintage, which makes it cool again. Sometimes this means that the style of our fathers, the looks we mocked relentlessly as children, sometimes come back in style. Some of us even come to the realization that the parents we once thought were painfully uncool actually dressed better than we did through our teen years. If you ever wore JNCO jeans or a TapOut shirt, this is almost certainly true. Sometimes, we learn that dad fashion is actually, in some ways, superior to our own.

There are also certain dad fashion moves that only a dad can pull off. Just as fathers possess wisdom that comes with experience, and the phenomenon of "old man strength" is very real, there are items of clothing that only a dad execute to perfection. Today, we celebrate the clothing of our fathers, those impressive style choices that dads make work better than anyone else. These are The Greatest Dad Fashion Moves of All Time.

Cut-Off Jean Shorts

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The 90s were a terrible decade for many things. One of the most offensive fashion ideas from that dark era of terrible family sitcoms and Lilith Fair jams was the idea that shorts should be as long as possible. Dads, however, never wavered. Fathers knew in their hearts that shorts should never touch your knee, and that a real man knows when to show a little bit of thigh, no matter what pop culture tried to tell them. In the 2000s, hipster communities caught on to the virtues of shorts that were a bit shorter than the rest. Men across the country came to realize that maybe they too should show a little leg, and the rest is history.

Image via Pinterest

 

Hawaiian Shirts

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If there's one thing that we know about dads, it's that they love to let you know when it's time to party. A Hawaiian shirt is the perfect indication that the work week is over, it's five o'clock somewhere, and that it's dad party time. Sure, Hawaiian shirts have not had the best look in popular culture, worn as they are by Jimmy Buffet, Burt Reynolds, and the more annoying of the Rescue Rangers.

Image via Disney

In recent years, Hawaiian shirts have been rehabilitated. Menswear blogs have declared that we are due for a Renaissance de party shirt. Hawaiian shirts have been going in and out of style for years, and the cycle is certain to repeat itself again. But, no matter how society views these festive shirts, you can rest assured that wherever you find grills, beer cozies, or beach chairs across the country, there will be dads wearing these shirts wide open. Their shirts wave like a flag to all who pass by, letting the world know that as far as they're concerned, it's time to party.

Tucked in T-Shirts

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Head-to-Toe Team Gear

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Cabbie Hats

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Before Williamsburg circa 2008 made 19th century chic the look of the moment and Mumford and Sons took Civil War era coal miner fashion to the masses, your dad was wearing a cabbie hat. These hats aren't just for newsboys and sheep farmers and your dad knows it. While fedoras have been sullied by the men's right movement and there will always be something casual about that flat brim, the cabbie hat strikes the perfect balance of business and casual. 

Unless you get cast in the chorus line of a Newsies revival, this probably isn't your go-to hat in your twenties. But it is comforting to know that when you're ready for it, the warm woolen embrace of the cabbie hat will be there waiting for you.


Image via Universal

Canadian Tuxedo

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Novelty Ties

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There are so many things to consider when picking out a tie. Color, thickness, pattern, and brand all play into the fashionable male's tie choice. Dads understand that none of that matters. The most important consideration when picking out a tie is this: does it make you laugh? If it wasn't for dads, so many popular cartoon characters would fade from our collective memory. These days, animated characters of yesteryear like Betty Boop and the more obscure Looney Tunes live on thanks to the ties of our fathers. It seems impossible now, but some day in the distant future the Despicable Me minions will only exist in the popular imagination because dads continue to immortalize them with their neckwear.

Image via Pinterest

​Dads understand that the greatest thing one's clothes can do is make someone else laugh. If you become a father, it is your sartorial responsibility to entertain first and impress second.

Pulled Up Socks

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The motivation for pulled up socks remains a mystery. If your calves are cold, why not wear pants? These socks can't be an attempt to make a fashion statement, can they? If the move is a throwback to the days when men wore stockings with their knickers, then, frankly, it isn't working. 

Image via HBO

Regardless of the reason, one thing is clear. The once widespread trend of pulling your socks up as high as they will go is dying out. The fatherly tradition of socks and shorts is steadily becoming a grandfatherly tradition. It may only be a matter of time before the grand legacy of high socks with shorts only exists in soccer and period pieces. Let us celebrate this dying tradition.

Old men of America, may your socks stay long and your shorts stay approximately thigh length. We see you. We won't follow suit. But, we see you.

 

Festive Sweaters

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Fanny Packs

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Suspenders

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Bandanas

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Though many relics of the hippie generation have come back into vogue, for whatever reason, the bandana hasn't made it back in style. Even Johnny Depp's strong bandana game in Pirates of the Caribbean didn't move the needle in terms of mass culture's bandana rebirth.

Image via Disney

Women's fashion has embraced the bandana far more than menswear, and mankind is worse off for it. Men, we need to get our act together. Until the day comes when men once again claim the bandana for their own, jogging dads, motorcycle dads, and ex-hippie dads will have to keep the bandana dream alive.

The Uncool Leather Jacket

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Pushing the Limits of Sweatpants

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Dad Jeans

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