Katie Holmes Is Still a New York Menswear Icon

Last summer, Katie Holmes stepped out in a sweatpant-Samba mash-up that put most TikTok ‘get ready with me’s to shame. It was louche and laidback. But it was also effective, pulling together incumbent grails (the sneakers for one, the designer handbag for another) in one look that didn’t try too hard. In this current age of menswear, in which ‘effortlessness’ has become the most valuable currency, Holmes found herself an accidental menswearhead. And listen, it wasn’t a one-off.

Just like that heady summer day (but much colder), Holmes bestowed Menswear Twitter with another embarrassment of riches. This time though, it’s less Aimé Leon Dore digital account manager with a busy Hinge account. It was a more structured, polished and classic menswearhead approach. All-black is a solid move as old as time, and incorporating the overcoat, gold chains and loafers feels slightly Sopranos funeral coded. Grief rizz, if you will.

Ignat/Bauer-Griffin

But they’re not just any old loafers. In a pair of Gucci Horsebits – a cash cow and a cornerstone of the Italian brand ever since they were launched in 1953—Holmes once again utilises an evergreen grail. Sambas might be for this year, but Gucci loafers are forever. Plus, there’s a combo of the old and new school. The massive overcoat once again underpins the awesome power to be wielded during Big Coat Season, but the cropped, slightly flared denim is new and fresh and shows that she knows exactly what she’s doing.

Which is why a small army of women have idolised Katie Holmes’ style ever since the words “IDANWANNAWAIT” were shrieked onto screens with Dawson’s Creek all the way back in 1998. But now, the wardrobe has changed—and so has our mindset. Katie Holmes is a menswearhead that everyone can follow.

This story originally appeared on British GQ with the title ‘Katie Holmes is New York’s greatest menswear don’