By Mary Bolling Blackiston, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the winter season rapidly dropping temperatures to the teens in Rio (last night temperatures fell to 17 °C, or 62.6° F), it’s time for men in Rio to start thinking about updating their wardrobes. This winter, it’s all about print T-shirts, denim, colored jeans and plaid patterns.
In Rio, the men’s style is generally pretty uncomplicated, revolving around surf “board” shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops (usually Havaianas). When the colder weather rolls around, jeans, topped with a light jacket and closed shoes, are a safe bet.
Lee Landell, the fashion designer for Reserva explains to The Rio Times, “This winter, [the] bet is denim, the number one essential item in a man’s wardrobe.”
“There’s a variety of denim shirts and jeans, not only in basic versions but also in different colors and patterns. That is because jeans are cool, comfortable and indispensable for every man. Striped tricots, also strong in the collection, go nicely with jeans in colder days,” Landell adds.
Brazilian style-hound Flávio Martini is not a fan of the usual casual Carioca style, he prefers to dress a bit more formally, with a blazer over a button-down shirt – both to go out at night or to work. Martini also likes cardigans, which he pairs with a button-down and jeans.
This year to spice up one’s style, colored jeans are a good way to go. Martini loves to wear colored jeans and claims that he owns jeans in all different colors. He states, “I like darker colored jeans but I wear white sometimes as well, even in the winter, because winter in Rio is hot. You can dress more colorfully in Brazilian winter.”
Another Brazilian, Rimenys Junior Carvalho from Minas Gerais prefers a more casual style, like blue jeans and a button-down shirt layered over a t-shirt. Yet he says that in Rio, “people don’t care much about the winter style, because it’s only June and July and then the winter goes away.”
Even so, Carvalho says that the surf style is not as applicable in the winter: “I love jeans, so I wear jeans all the time, in the summer and the winter.” In line with the casual Carioca style, Carvalho also likes to wear sweatshirts in the colder weather.
In terms of shoes, Carvalho says, “In the winter, I wouldn’t go out with flip-flops; I would wear closed shoes and sneakers. It’s difficult to find people wearing more formal shoes – so people usually go out with sporty or casual sneakers.”
Carvalho shops at Reserva, which he says carries polo shirts and is “all about the jeans, it’s a jean store.” He also goes to Zoomp, a store that sells jeans, print shirts and polos. He says that the style of the store is “similar to Hugo Boss but it’s a Brazilian brand.”
He also likes Armadillo, which has a more casual surfer-style. Of the shop’s style, Carvalho claims: “it’s not formal clothes, it’s more daily clothes, like casual print t-shirts, colored shirts and Bermuda [board] shorts or jeans.”
Finally, to complete any outfit, Englishman Mike Hughson warns: “don’t forget an umbrella,” for the winter weather in Rio can be unpredictable.