There seems to be a correlation between films by Robert Zemeckis and characters that become fashion icons; Marty McFly, Eddie Valiant, and perhaps most surprisingly of all, Forrest Gump.
The 1994 film sees Gump living his life in the most unwittingly audacious way, getting wrapped up in major historical events and meeting an entire pantheon of famous figures along the way.
Gump’s signature look has become a guerrilla cosplay for people who may not even realise that they’ve unwittingly taken inspiration from the eponymous Gump. The stone coloured suit, blue gingham shirt, and white leather Nike Cortez trainers made Forrest’s aesthetic instantly achievable by most people. In 2017, such a minimalist look with a focus on heritage trainers is at the absolute forefront of men’s fashion.
This look has been updated for spring 2017 with a slimmer fit, higher quality fabrics and a more textured appearance.
The blazer is perhaps the most deliberately different part of this outfit – gone is the boxy fit of the original suit jacket, to be replaced with this beautifully soft, unstructured, and heavily textured spring blazer from Exibit. I’d recommend any unlined, soft blazer for this look as it’s the perfect way to dress up any casual outfit in the warmer months. I have one from Fat Face in a soft cotton that I absolutely love – I can’t recommend them enough!
The shirt is a beautifully comfortable gingham offering from Charles Tyrwhitt. I own several CT shirts and the quality is always excellent for a price that doesn’t break the bank – they’re easily better than other high street brands like Burton, Moss Bros, or River Island and make for a much higher quality addition to your wardrobe. The gingham pattern on this is much smaller than the blue check on Gump’s original shirt and makes for a less visually jarring experience.
To match the shirt, I’ve selected a pair of luxe sports socks from Topman – I own several pairs of their white striped sports socks and the quality is exceptional, they’re super comfortable and soft and they pair brilliantly with chinos, selvedge denim and high quality heritage kicks.
The stretch slim chinos from Next call to mind the original suit trousers, while actually being a shade darker – I’d also recommend cuffing these chinos a little bit shorter, in order to draw the eye to the Nike Cortez trainers that round off the look.
Overall, it’s a very simple yet clean cut look that I know I’ll be sporting on occasion during the warmer months; would you wear something like this? Let me know in the comments or shoot us a tweet via Twitter!
An Adventure With Ties In Space 