Welcome to What to Wear Now, GQ’s recurring recap of the need-to-know menswear hitting stores imminently — plus our shrewdest insights into pulling it off. First up: an in-depth guide to dressing for the office in 2026, whether you’re logging on from an executive suite in a skyscraper or a corner table at your local coffee shop.
The New New Celine
Jeans and a blazer have been the uniform of renegade creatives since time immemorial – see ’80s-era David Letterman, ’90s-era Denzel, or any-era Fran Lebowitz for proof. Designer Michael Rider’s freshly prepified Celine currently produces the fashion world’s chicest renditions of each, along with a grip of punchy squared-off ties for good measure. —Nikolas Cruz-Marsted, designer
Power Dressing 2.0
No, there aren’t many jobs left that actually demand a suit every day. And sure, there remains no shortage of great ways to dress a suit down: a vintage tee and shredded Converse, say, or a knitted polo and cowboy boots. Which is why, right now, there’s no bigger flex than suiting up all the way – sharp shirt, taut tie, shined shoes, the whole nine yards – just because.
1. Your two-button starter-suit phase is over. Go all-in on mile-wide peak lapels and a double-breasted CEO cut. —Isaiah McNair-Wilson, 31, marketing manager
2. There’s no greater suiting sin than a wimpy collar. Stock up on dress shirts with a strong, substantial point, like this crisp striped rendition from fresh-faced London tailor Speciale.
3. For most of the 2010s, slim – and often downright skinny – suiting reigned supreme. Then, as the decade turned, silhouettes loosened to roomier, slouchier, more expressive proportions. These days, we’re after a happy medium: suits that just fit full stop, neither under-nor oversized. –IM-W
4. Trad details like pleats and cuffs used to be telltale signs that your trousers were hopelessly fuddy-duddy. Now, along with a fuller, more flattering cut through the leg, they’re once again proof you have a great tailor and know how to talk to him.
Midtown Uniform, Hold the Mid
Tech bros and finance guys tend to catch flak for their fashion choices. But the basic elements of their day-to-day looks – logo-happy baseball caps, comfortable shoes, cosy fleece zip-ups – are totally permissible, as long as you’re choosing interesting versions and wearing ’em the right way. Here’s how to reprogramme the look to deliver serious style.
1. You could spend countless hours scouring eBay for a weathered dad-cap this rare. Or you could entrust the search to Ralph Lauren’s vintage gurus, who regularly surface forgotten gems from the brand’s archives and make them directly available to the diehards.
2. Two details separate a grown-man fleece jacket from the type issued to junior analysts on orientation day: the fit and the fabric. Rier’s signature spin is crafted from a biodegradable wool that’s handsomer, hardier, and a hell of a lot more pulled together than polyester. And, it’s cut to sit right at the natural waist – all the better to show off a hint of belt or a set of pleats.
3. The cure for your tote bag fatigue isn’t a designer briefcase – it’s a rugged-but-refined backpack that isn’t precious about its practicality, and eschews premium-grade leather for military-grade nylon.
4. Chuck your Allbirds in the bin and lace up a pair of trail shoes instead – the kind engineered for climbing literal mountains, not the corporate ladder. They’ll lend even your most polished outfits a dash of ready-for-anything energy.
Brooks Brothers for Brooklynites
Copenhagen’s Mfpen reimagines the normie duds your dad wore to the office in the ’90s—raffish, roomy slacks and boxy, rumpled button-ups—with a healthy dose of right-now Scandi cool. If you’re looking to refresh your work wardrobe with basics that are anything but, start here.
Heavy Hitters
Real-deal workwear will always be cool. But when a dozen other dudes are wearing Carhartt at the coffee shop you post up in all day, it’s time to upgrade your options accordingly. This year, there’s a new crew of artful indie labels remixing the genre for guys willing to pay a premium for elevated builder-style classics.
1. Don’t let the sleek look fool you: this hardy flannel zip jacket is even more functional, versatile and flattering than your standby twill chore coat.
2. The fastest way to transform a pair of jeans into a left-of-centre fashion grail? Twist the side seams ever so slightly inwards. If the devil is in the detail, Lemaire’s subtly curved denim is damn-near satanic.
3. Reason 1,001 that workwear isn’t just for the construction site? Even maisons like Louis Vuitton are getting in on the act, courtesy of calf-leather boots so tough, they put your Timbs to shame.
3 New-School Workwear Brands to Watch
Turns out, you can wear workwear to work even if you’re not an actual welder—it just needs to be the right kind of workwear.
