Military clothing and accessories are a great way to spice up a wardrobe. Many people wish to beat trends. Men can often follow women’s fashion; for example see pants. Women’s jeans introduced the skinny style, and a few years later, men’s fashion followed to include skinny jeans. To see what will be in style for mainstream fashion, it is often a good idea to keep track of the styles of teenagers, as most of them are not afraid to branch in to styles that are new and extreme. But, what’s extreme one year, will often eventually become the norm.

Some people place more value on transcending trends, instead of attempting to ride them. Instead of surfing the fickle waves, they are like submarines, calm and steady, regardless of what the surface is doing. Transcending fashion is a matter of choosing styles that are relatively conservative. Extreme ideas tend to come in and go out rather quickly, while more moderate ideas tend to stick around. For example, while casual clothing has definitely changed a lot from the beginning of the 20^th century to now, business casual has not. An oxford shirt and chinos have been acceptable wear for a long time. Of course minor details such as pleats in pants or width of ties or location of darts on the back of a shirt see a little fluctuation, these are minor details.

Military fashions are an excellent example of timeless clothing that transcends fashion. This can refer to one of two ideas. The first is actual jackets, pants and other clothing that was actually created to military specifications, and designed to be used by actual servicemen and women. These clothes are sometimes referred to as military surplus, but can also be located at second-hand or vintage stores. Clothes such as the M-65 jacket are a good example of this. Military issue, standard in 1965 and later, these are now not used by military personnel, but the rugged look is popular with civilians.

The other way military fashion influences civilian culture is through clothing that is styled to look as though it might belong in the military, but which is actually specifically designed for civilian wear. These are often not as durable or timeless, since there is a sort of fusion between military quality and civilian fashion ideals.

For great, authentic military styles, Top Rank Vintage has a wide assortment of jackets, pants and other accessories.