2024 Men’s Style Survey: Views on Suits, Dress Sneakers, Wearing Makeup and More

Check out guys’ attitudes about makeup, workleisure, dress sneakers, custom suiting and more in Modern Fellows’ 2024 Men’s Style Survey results.

Introduction: Exploring 2024 Men’s Style Trends

While I enjoy writing about what I believe are key style trends like dress sneakers, workleisure, custom suiting, and skincare for men, I decided to ask guys about their style preferences, work dress codes and trends they’d like to try for 2024. Here’s what they said:

Key Takeaways

• Guys overwhelmingly like shopping in stores. 76% of men prefer to shop at a physical store exclusively or sometimes. Fewer than 24% of guys prefer to shop for clothes online.
• Men love dressing up, but almost nobody wears a suit to work. Nearly 80% of guys are enthusiastic about custom suits, casual blazers and workleisure, but less than 4% are required to don formal business attire at the office.
• Social Media is the place for style advice: More men turn to social media for style advice (68%) than friends (46.5%), magazines and newspapers (30%), or bloggers (10.5%).
• What’s Hot for 2024? Dressing up comfortably. Significant majorities of men are enthusiastic about custom-made suits (78.5%), workleisure clothing (77.5%), casual blazers (76.5%), and dress sneakers (64%). Conversely, 65% of men are unenthusiastic about the cross-body bag trend.
• Amazon is the go-to digital department store for guys. 44% of men chose Amazon as their favorite multi-brand clothing destination, followed by Macy’s (22%) and Nordstrom (13.5%).
• Post-pandemic workplace dress codes have become completely scattered. About a third of guys (31.5%) wear Business Casual to the workplace, while 22.5% dress in “Smart Casual.” Nearly 30% of workplaces don’t have a dress code.
• Guys are into jewelry…. Significant majorities of guys wear an old-fashioned wristwatch (60.5%) and either wear, or are open to wearing, a ring (besides a wedding ring) (82%), necklace (64%), and bracelet (57%).
• …But not makeup. Only 22% of men wear or are willing to try makeup (like concealer), though 71.5% wear moisturizer.

2024 Men’s Style Trends: Workleisure, Dress Sneakers are Hot

In 2024, guys are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about custom suits, casual blazers and workleisure clothing. But a majority (65%) of men are not into cross-body bags, and men are split in their enthusiasm for trench coats, cardigan sweaters and shirt jackets (aka shackets).

Men’s Attitudes towards Jewelry, Skincare and Makeup Are Evolving

Guys are extremely open to wearing jewelry: Majorities of men are open to wearing a ring (82%), a necklace (64%) and a bracelet (57%). Surprisingly, over 60% of guys wear an old-fashioned wristwatch frequently or occasionally.

When it comes to skincare and fragrances, 72% of men wear cologne frequently or occasionally, and over 71% of guys wear moisturizer. Guys are still hesitant to wear makeup however: Only 22% of men wear, or are open to wearing, makeup like concealer.

Workplace Dress Codes for Men Are All Over the Place

One big takeaway is that workplace dress codes are all over the map in the wake of the pandemic:

• Business Casual (31.5%) is the most prevalent dress code.
• “Smart Casual” is the second most common dress code (22.5%).
• Nearly one-third of men don’t face a specific dress code at work.
• Almost nobody (3.5%) wears a suit to work.

In spite of the dominance of smart and business casual workplaces and the rise of comfortable workleisure apparel, nearly 60% of men do not wear the same clothes to work as they do for socializing.

Amazon (and Macy’s!) are Go-to Department Stores for Guys

Over 40% of guys picked Amazon as their favorite multi-brand department store or online retailer to purchase clothing. Macy’s finished an exceptionally strong second as the favorite of 22.5% of respondents. Nordstrom was third with 13.5%.

Other responses were scattered across Saks Fifth Avenue, Mr. Porter, JC Penny, Kohl’s, Walmart, Stitch Fix, Dillard and secondhand and vintage clothing stores.

(For what it’s worth, Nordstrom and Huckberry are my favorite online department stores for guys.)

Men Like to Shop in Person

When it comes to online vs. in person shopping, 41% of men prefer to shop for clothes in-person at a store, while another 35% like to shop in a physical retailer “sometimes.” Just 23.5% of men prefer to shop online.

Major Athletic Names Dominate the Top Clothing Brands for Men in 2024

In the survey, major athletic brands dominated mindshare for guys for 2024. 39% of men said adidas, Nike or Under Armour was their favorite clothing brand. Levi’s (16.5%) and Ralph Lauren (12.5%) also scored high.

Participants also called out a number of independent men’s brands and startups including Ministry of Supply, Olikai, Todd Snyder, Fair Harbor, Outlier, Off-White, Faherty Brands and Kuhl.

Guys Overwhelmingly Turn to Social Media for Style Advice

Nearly 70% of men turn to social media for style advice. The most popular social media destinations for guy’s style advice are Instagram (48%), YouTube (41.5%), TikTok (30.5%), Reddit (23.5%), and X/Twitter (20.5%). (Distressingly, only about 10% of respondents turned to bloggers for advice.)

Aside from social media, friends and family (46.5%), and newspapers and magazines (30%) were most frequently cited as sources of advice.

Nearly 15% of respondents cited GQ as one of their favorite sources of advice and inspiration. Other sources of style advice for guys include: Men’s Health, Esquire, Dappered, Hypebeast, the New York Times, Real Men Real Style, Effortless Gent, HeSpokeStyle, Art of Manliness, Bespoke Post, Ape to Gentlemen, Complex, Primer, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Men’s Journal.

Download Modern Fellows’ 2024 Men’s Style Survey

Please feel free to download a pdf of Modern Fellows’ 2024 Men’s Style Survey presentation.

Methodology

Modern Fellows surveyed 200 U.S-based men over 18 years old between March 3-16 in partnership with online survey platforms.