Dec. 31, 2013 3:45 p.m. ET
Now that our New Year's resolutions are finally behind us, there is much to look forward to in 2014 fashions. Comfort is chic. Elegance is in. Clydesdale-like platform shoes are out.
In fact, while there are likely to be a few surprises in store, 2014 promises to be an excellent vintage, grown from subtler, more traditional fashion terroir. The new "It" color—purple—complements nearly every complexion. Some easy-wearing classics—preppy shirt patterns for men, cropped pants for women, and suits for everyone—will continue to rebound. Here's a look at the surprisingly friendly near future of fashion.
Elegant Comeback
Say "yes" to pinstripe suits and hosiery for daytime and to tuxedos and sequins as evening wear: Elegance is back, but with a very modern sense of ease. Rigid traditionalists may cringe at seeing sandals under a pressed pair of tuxedo pants, but Slim flat sandals will add a youthful touch to an evening gown. Gentlemen, break out your ties, and enjoy the option—not the requirement—of wearing them.
Hail Nicolas
Nicolas Ghesquière's much-anticipated return to the runway as designer of Louis Vuitton will dominate headlines during Paris Fashion Week in February, stealing some of the spotlight from Dior's Raf Simons and Saint Laurent's Hedi Slimane. Pay attention! The former Balenciaga designer, who gave us gladiator sandals, casts such a long shadow that other designers are already wondering what direction he'll send fashions.
Fash-flation
China giveth cheap apparel prices, and China taketh away. We can look forward to higher clothing prices in 2014, and much of the blame lies with rising labor costs in the world's largest producer of apparel. (China produced 89% of the cotton sweaters imported to the U.S. in the year ended Oct. 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.) Also to blame are higher prices for cotton and other commodities and higher fuel costs as we transport apparel and its parts around the globe.
Mobile Fashion
In 2014, for the first time in history, there will be more cellphones than human inhabitants of earth—7.3 billion, by estimates of the International Telecommunications Union. Fashion retailers are finally beginning to give mobile sites their due. While no one is suggesting we'll be buying clothes on Twitter (though imagine what that would have done for their IPO), truly convenient cellphone shopping will be possible this year.
Supersize Me
With ample access to online data, the fashion industry will show new attentiveness to actual consumer sizes. Many middle-aged men will welcome new "traditional" styles, which not only recall their dads but add an extra inch or two in the girth to trendy slim sizes. For American women—half of whom wear size 14 and up—the plus-size industry will continue expanding, more fashionably than ever.
Stubble Stumble
Metrosexuals are so 2004, but in 2014, men will come into their own as fashion victims. Overdesigned clothes and a plethora of manly hair and skin-care lines will enable carriers of Y chromosomes to make fashion choices just as ill-judged as those of the fairer sex.
Whence Jil Sander?
Soap operas can be mesmerizing, and this year we'll continue watching "As Jil Sander Turns" as the label maps out its future. Where will the designer, turn up next, now that Ms. Sander has dumped her eponymous brand for the third time? And what will come of the designer-less brand she left at the altar with fall 2014 yet to be designed? Tune in for the next segment in Milan this February.
Logo Mania
There's recently been a great deal of debate about whether logos are in, or out, or back in again. So here you have it: Logos won't disappear in 2014, but they'll be more subtle. Note Gucci's tone-on-tone double Gs. That handbag covered in initials? Ditch it already.
Streetwear or not?
Streetwear—boxing shorts, adapted weightlifting belts—is one of the most-discussed trendsetting styles these days—so much so that quite a few high-fashion designers have been trying it on for size. The look will remain niche—but an important niche: Look to emerging designers like Moscow's Gosha Rubchinskiy and Finland's Sasu Kauppi.
Work(out) Wear
One of the last taboos in office clothing will begin to fall, with a little help from the outdoor apparel industry. With brands like Ibex and Prana designing outdoor clothing stylish enough for the office, people will spend even more time in their exercise togs. This isn't the ubiquitous Spandex-y Lululemon look. Instead, it is new crossover styling, like washable wool T-shirts and trendy khakis, manufactured with the strong seams and sturdy fabrics of hiking clothes, but in styles the work just as well for the city.
Write to Christina Binkley at christina.binkley@wsj.com
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