Gentlemen, Here’s How to Amp up Your Winter Wardrobe NOW

Dear men, there’s so much more you can rock in winter besides that boring black suit and the common leather jacket.

Enough of the women already.

One look at the style calendars this time o’ year, and you know that they’re entirely run by the ladies. What Sonam Kapoor wore to her dentist’s, who she air-kissed, the colour of her latest feline purchases – it’s all rather been there, done that. I mean, it’s no secret that men are grossly underrepresented on the red carpet – and that’s both a good and a bad thing. If there’s no brouhaha over a ‘nip slip’ for the men, there’s also little mention of the poor chap who shelled out a fortune for that particularly fashionable scarf.

Let’s right some style wrongs this winter, shall we? Our leading men of tinsel town have already been showing us how it’s done – and now with fashion weeks around the world dizzying to an end, we have an endless range of possibilities for the gorgeously dressed lads.

We sifted through the staples to put together a stylebook for you. Make no mistake – these WILL filter into your wardrobe four months from now, coz that’s just how fashion off the runway works.

Want to master them ahead of time?

Here’s what to shamelessly ape (and what to drop!):

The Blue Bandwagon

You may have scoffed at this one before – but not anymore. Blue is a BIG winner in Bollywood this season (was, all of 2015) and will continue to colour your wardrobe in the coming year. (Our eyes were entirely on Ranbir Kapoor in that dapper all-blue suit than on Kareena in her candy pink gown on Karan Johar’s couch this year.)

However, it’s essential that you do it right! Here are the perfect two examples of the classic blue – one that you could break your bank for, the other that you should stay away from with a two-foot pole:

While Imran Khan, easily the master of all things good on the male red carpet, rocks it in that blue ensemble, he also tells you how it’s done. That perfect shade of periwinkle blue, the double-breasted jacket paired with the simple white shirt – and that triangle fold red handkerchief? Score!

You should probably keep away from the Neil Nitin Mukesh kinda shiny blue this winter though. You don’t want to look like a Christmas light.

Layer, Layer, Layer – Till You’ve Got it Right

It’s rather easy to go wrong with this one. Layering, layering, layering... (phew) is key with this trend and the best part is, it seems to transcend effortlessly from year to year. Word of warning though? If it ain’t broken, DON’T fix it. We mean – don’t go OTT with the layers and stick to what you learned in Fashion 101.

Layering’s simple, really. Just top up that dark woollen vest with a dark-coloured blazer – and then a muffler of the same colour family. In our experience, this ain’t the trend where you mix n’ match too much. You’ll just end up looking like Picasso’s unused palette.

That look on the left is a dream! Take it from us, you’ll be turning heads, left, right and centre.

That electric green bomber jacket on the right, however, with its checked insides – worn OVER a checked waistcoat, OVER an ethnic woollen vest is much too distracting for a second look, fella.

Burgundy is the New Everything

Wine and burgundy colours are very wintery, which is why it surprises us that it’s taken this long to make it to the runway. But now that it has, it shows no signs of receding! Burgundy is a beautifully warm, lush hue – provided you wear it right.

Don’t be afraid to pair this one, for a burgundy with a gorgeous brown cargo looks damn fine. So does the all-burgundy suit – as Ranbir Kapoor happily proves. He has in fact, also opted for a very retro theme, with the grey and white striped shirt – a risk, but one which pays off.

We strongly recommend you take a long, hard look at the burgundy in the store, though, before you stake your claim on it. Otherwise, you might end up looking like Neil Nitin Mukesh here. That bandhgala is glossy to a fault and reminds us of the velvet suits our mothers would put us in for distant relatives’ shaadis. (We’re sorry you featured twice on our list, Neil).

Wrap it up, Guys

Aah, the scarf! Is there any way you could POSSIBLY go wrong with it? This one’s your fail-safe, gentlemen – which is why we’re refraining from slotting it into our ‘hot or not’ lists.

INSTEAD, we’ve handpicked some looks we heart. You can take your pick from the styles below! Eat your hearts out, ladies!