What are guys wearing to work these days? Do men still wear jeans? Do they like jewelry? What about cologne?
We collected thousands of responses from 1,000+ men to get a sense of how regular guys are approaching personal style this year.
The insights from these men about fashion offer a fascinating glimpse into modern style preferences and trends. It’s interesting to see how individual tastes vary and how external influences shape these choices. This data provides valuable perspectives for both fashion brands and consumers looking to understand evolving style dynamics.
Here are some of our most interesting findings:
- Only 1 out of every 10 men wear a suit to work daily.
- Just 20% of men wear business casual to work.
- More men (41%) prefer jeans to chinos, joggers or dress pants.
- Most men prefer
sneakers over boots or loafers. - Smart casual is the most confusing dress code for men.
- Most men (60%) wear a watch every day.
- 5% of men have spent over $5k on a watch.
- Roughly half of men wear jewelry (rings, necklaces and bracelets).
- Most men (78%) wear cologne.
Read on for the full report…
👨🏻💼 Business Casual Has Been Dethroned
37% of men hold jobs that only require casual dress. Smart casual is the second most popular work dress code (29%), followed by business casual (20%).
Less than 2% of men wear a suit to work every day.
Most of our respondents actually work on location, either every day or some days. Only 16% of respondents work remotely all the time.
🙋🏻♂️ Some Guys Miss Suiting Up
While only 2% of men wear suits to work every day, 1 in 4 men have purchased a custom made suit.
Guys are divided on the increasingly casual of men’s fashion: 48% are “all about comfort” while 44% “miss dressing up a bit”.
👖 Jeans & Sneakers Reign Supreme
More men (41%) prefer to wear jeans over chinos, joggers, performance pants or dress pants.
Sneakers are guys’ favorite type of shoes to wear (46%), followed by boots (33%) and loafers (10%).
When it’s hot outside, most men (82%) enjoy wearing shorts.
🤷🏻♂️ Men are confused by…
27% of men consider “smart casual” to be the most confusing dress code. 20% find “business casual” to be even more confusing.
18% of men are confused about how to dress for a date night, but only 8% of men are confused about what to wear to a wedding.
⌚️ Watches, Jewelry & Cologne
60% of men wear a wrist watch every day. Only 10% of men never wear a watch.
5% of men have spent more than $5,000 on a watch.
Men are divided on wearing jewelry: 52% wear it, and 48% do not.
A wedding ring is the most commonly worn piece of men’s jewelry, followed by bracelets and necklaces.
Most men wear cologne all the time or sometimes. Only 22% of men never wear cologne.
🕺🏻 Personal Style Aesthetics
Most men describe their personal style aesthetic as: minimal, classic, smart, timeless and basic.
Only 6% of men would describe their personal style as “trendy”.
Some men (21%) view fashion as a creative pursuit. Others (28%) simply want to look put together.
Most men (50%) sometimes, but not all the time, express themselves through their style choices.
📖 Where do men learn about fashion?
Men learn about fashion from many different sources, including their wives, people on the street, Pinterest, and “style god Brock McGoff”.
But the most popular sources of fashion tips and advice for men are YouTube, blogs and Instagram (in that order).
Of the men surveyed, only 7.5% look for fashion advice on TikTok.
🏆 Guys’ Favorite Brands
When asked to choose one favorite men’s apparel brand, these were our respondents’ top six picks:
- J.Crew
- Banana Republic
- Uniqlo
- Ralph Lauren
- Levi’s
- Bonobos
Lesser known favorite brands included ASKET, Spier & Mackay, Buck Mason and Suitsupply.
🤔 Opinions About Fashion Trends
Finally, we asked men which fashion trends they’d like to see more or less of in 2025.
Our respondents had opinions on everything from skinny jeans to shackets.
But there was one obvious theme: men want to see oversized and “baggy fit” clothing go away.
69% of men are not fans of the oversized (relaxed fit) fashion trend. Only 6% are “leaning into it”.
In other words, many of the guys we surveyed want to see slimmer fit clothing remain in vogue for the long-term.
Who did we survey?
We reached out to the TMM audience via email, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
In total, 1,163 people completed the survey.
Most of them were men between the ages of 18 and 44. 37% of respondents were between 25 and 34 years old.
The vast majority of our respondents live in the United States. Some live the UK, Canada, India, Australia and other countries.
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Please be sure to cite our research by linking to this article and tagging us on social (@modestmanstyle on Instagram).
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