And thank the fashion gods. I'm glad that oversize thing is over, but I don't like the idea of a grown man walking around with his pants too tight, either. This new relaxed, more adult look, an easy blend of elements of hip-hop with the pocket square and lining details of hipsters, is an incremental change, but feels just right.
Now if we could just get more folks to catch on.
It's been a slow process: A dip in the economy led to the demise of a few local stores, from Center City's Wayne Edwards boutique to Bryn Mawr's Pants.
But in the last two years, new stores have opened, too, including His Exclusively, former attorney Vincent Sawyer's Northern Liberties custom specialty shop, and Metro, ex-marketing executive Tom Longo's edgier South Philly spot.
"Guys want to get more mileage out of their clothing. They need things they can wear to work and be casual," said Longo, who carries Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, and Penguin.
Earlier this year, Matthew Izzo closed his brick-and-mortar women's store and furniture store - both retain an online presence - so he could focus on men's clothing.
Izzo says menswear, even casual lounge clothes, is embracing a cleaner, much more fitted, but not baggy look. He points to a rack of soft V-neck T-shirts, labeled Farah, in muted grays and greens. This look, he says, is catapulting him out of the hipster era. We like this.
"This is definitely a time to be more enthusiastic as things are picking up," Izzo said. "I'm selling more pieces at full price these days."
