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The transition from winter to spring is never a smooth ride to an ideal 70-degrees. It’s a perilous journey, fraught with temperamental weather, unpredictable highs and lows, and every type of surprise precipitation between. On top of that, your body is going through plenty of tribulations of its own as it attempts to acclimate to the new normal (hello, pollen!) only for freezing temps to confuse it all over again the next day. Meanwhile, you’re playing chicken with your closet, seeing how long you can hold off before it’s safe to finally stow away your winter clothes. It’s a quagmire about as difficult as the Sunday Times crossword. Luckily for us, Tyler, the Creator has a way with words—literally, sure, but also when it comes to this prolonged analogy we’re trying to land here.
Over the weekend, the Grammy-winning artist was spotted outside Swinger’s Diner in Fairfax, just down the block from his Le Fleur flagship store, serving up a perfect look for the moody weather. SoCal’s notorious for its consistently balmy weather, but recent forecasts have thrown the script out the window. The larger implications of that, ahem, rapid change of climate are worth taking seriously. In the meantime, Tyler offers a lesson on how to handle it with grace, all as he teases Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale.
He begins his lesson with a pair of sky-blue light-wash jeans from Noah. A safe choice at first glance, but the added pleat lets us know it’s a little deeper than that; on his feet, a taupe suede pair of hiking boots because, as far as we can tell, none of his bikes are mountain bikes. But the real finesse comes at torso level—a white tee underneath his signature emerald green cardigan. Had Tyler stopped there, the outfit would’ve been a fine everyday choice for the usual SoCal spring day. But given the recent torrential downpours and bouts of actual snow, the addition of a western-inspired down vest from RRL is the key that opens the entire look.
A puffy vest is warm enough to handle near-freezing temperatures but isn’t so cumbersome to doff should the sun come out from behind the clouds. (It’s also an easy way to bump up your layering points, which tend to decline inversely with the rising mercury.) Before he’s done, a thick diamond chain and a clean ball cap to garnish the entire fit to completion. It's a look that swipes from all corners of menswear, from prep to gorp to western to sportswear, not unlike the work of Ralph Lauren, the GOAT himself.
Tyler, the Creator’s been known to pull off some daring looks on the red carpet. On the daily, though, he’s a master of casual, approachable dressing informed by a keen sense of proportion, color, and layering. There are plenty of guys who push the fashion boundaries to their breaking points. But Tyler’s the type of guy who knows how to consistently pull of great looks, no matter the weather—and if you're totally flummoxed when it comes to getting dressed these days, he's the one you should take inspiration from.
