GQ Recommends All-Stars: 75 Menswear Staples Every Guy Needs
GQ RecommendsA comprehensive, deeply vetted guide to the game-raising menswear you need to live a smarter, sharper life right now.By Yang-Yi Goh and Avidan GrossmanNovember 15, 2024Bowen FernieSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.Last year, GQ Recommends introduced our first-ever All-Stars class, a who's who of perennial menswear upgrades handpicked by our crack team of shopping experts. This year, we're doubling down on the proposition, inducting a new roster of instant style classics more stacked than the '90s Bulls. In aggregate, the 75 items on the list represent some of the most rigorously vetted, highly endorsed goods in the Recommends universe, and each and every one is guaranteed to make your life a whole lot more stylish.Lady White Co. Our Tee (2-Pack)Lady White CoOur Tee (2-Pack)$110 SSENSELA’s Lady White Co. produces its ultra-premium, perfect-fitting tees in a wide array of weights. Our favorite of the bunch is this slinky-but-not-precious ring-spun cotton version, which might just end your journey to find the perfect white T-shirt for good.John Smedley Knit Polo ShirtJohn SmedleyKnit Polo Shirt$338 Todd SnyderA knit polo so dashing and refined, it’s been worn by multiple Bonds (Connery and Craig, namely).Burberry Camden Long Car CoatBurberryCamden Long Car Coat$2,150 NordstromLooking for a trench coat tough enough to handle a sudden English downpour, but elegant enough to hold its own at tea? Burberry’s venerable gabardine slickers still set the standard. Ditch the belt and epaulets and you’re left with a trench so clean you could eat a crumpet off its iconic plaid lining.J.Crew Giant-Fit ChinosJ.CrewGiant-Fit Chinos$98 J.CrewWhen J.Crew tapped Noah founder Brendon Babenzien to lead a reboot of its men’s division, he began by blowing up the proportions of the onetime slim-fit-championing chain’s hero trousers. The result, a tasteful wide-leg throwback to J.Crew’s ’90s golden age, wound up becoming the brand’s first smash hit in years—and absolutely deserves a spot in your rotation.Belgian Shoes Mr. Casual LoafersBelgian ShoesMr. Casual Loafers$725 Belgian ShoesFrom the aggressively low cut to the dainty little bow, Belgian Shoes's iconic loafers—beloved by Upper West Side WASPs and Lower East Side artists alike for generations—are not for the faint of heart. You can wear 'em with a tux, sure, but the real trick is to subvert the fustiness by slipping them on with beat-to-shit jeans and patched-up work pants.Skims Boxer Briefs (3-Pack)SkimsBoxer Briefs (3-Pack)$46 SkimsWhat, exactly, does Kim Kardashian know about your skivvies? A lot, it turns out. The Skims mogul’s inaugural foray into men’s undies yielded a glut of excellent briefs, none more slinky, slimming, and downright sexy than these, which wrap a whole lot of support in cotton softer than a lullaby.Anderson's Woven Leather BeltAnderson'sWoven Leather Belt$210 Mr PorterYou want your belt to bring some texture and character to your outfits, but not so much that it's a distraction. This calf leather number, meticulously woven by hand in Italy, hits precisely the right note.Tom Ford Oud Wood Eau de ParfumTom FordOud Wood Eau de Parfum$445 NordstromSex appeal has always been a key variable in the Tom Ford equation, but the designer’s exquisite Oud Wood fragrance is subtle enough to spritz everyday without antagonizing your cubicle mate. It’s spicy and woody in equal measure, undercut by a sly hit of rosewood to take the edge off.Tom Wood Gold Chain NecklaceTom WoodGold Chain Necklace$380 SSENSEJust ask our guy Paul Mescal: Sometimes the difference between a bland everyday outfit and a transcendent sex-symbol-minting look is the presence of a simple chain necklace.Buck Mason Graduate SuitBuck MasonThree-Season Wool Graduate Blazer$498 Buck MasonBuck MasonThree-Season Wool Graduate Pants$248 Buck MasonDoesn't matter if you're a recent college grad looking for your first two-piece or a tenured professional with a closetful of sartorial gems: the flattering cut, menswear-dork-approved details (wide lapels! Patch pockets! A three-roll-two button stance! Full canvas construction!), and sub-$800 price point make this suit a genuine must-buy.Industry of All Nations Alpaca BeanieIndustry of All NationsAlpaca Beanie$80 Industry of All NationsEverything you could ask for in a beanie: impossibly soft, incomparably warm, and just the right balance of structure and slouch.Husbands Wide-Collar ShirtHusbandsWide Collar Shirt$480 HusbandsThe most compelling argument we’ve seen in favor of dressing up right now comes straight from Paris, where Husbands outfits its worldly clientele in swaggering dress shirts that look rad unbuttoned to the navel—and even groovier with a tie.Beams Plus CardiganBeams PlusBrushed Jacquard Cardigan$305 Mr PorterEvery season, Japan’s Beams Plus drops a handful of preppy, grandpa-esque cardigans that, counterintuitive
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Last year, GQ Recommends introduced our first-ever All-Stars class, a who's who of perennial menswear upgrades handpicked by our crack team of shopping experts. This year, we're doubling down on the proposition, inducting a new roster of instant style classics more stacked than the '90s Bulls. In aggregate, the 75 items on the list represent some of the most rigorously vetted, highly endorsed goods in the Recommends universe, and each and every one is guaranteed to make your life a whole lot more stylish.
Lady White Co. Our Tee (2-Pack)
LA’s Lady White Co. produces its ultra-premium, perfect-fitting tees in a wide array of weights. Our favorite of the bunch is this slinky-but-not-precious ring-spun cotton version, which might just end your journey to find the perfect white T-shirt for good.
John Smedley Knit Polo Shirt
A knit polo so dashing and refined, it’s been worn by multiple Bonds (Connery and Craig, namely).
Burberry Camden Long Car Coat
Looking for a trench coat tough enough to handle a sudden English downpour, but elegant enough to hold its own at tea? Burberry’s venerable gabardine slickers still set the standard. Ditch the belt and epaulets and you’re left with a trench so clean you could eat a crumpet off its iconic plaid lining.
J.Crew Giant-Fit Chinos
When J.Crew tapped Noah founder Brendon Babenzien to lead a reboot of its men’s division, he began by blowing up the proportions of the onetime slim-fit-championing chain’s hero trousers. The result, a tasteful wide-leg throwback to J.Crew’s ’90s golden age, wound up becoming the brand’s first smash hit in years—and absolutely deserves a spot in your rotation.
Belgian Shoes Mr. Casual Loafers
From the aggressively low cut to the dainty little bow, Belgian Shoes's iconic loafers—beloved by Upper West Side WASPs and Lower East Side artists alike for generations—are not for the faint of heart. You can wear 'em with a tux, sure, but the real trick is to subvert the fustiness by slipping them on with beat-to-shit jeans and patched-up work pants.
Skims Boxer Briefs (3-Pack)
What, exactly, does Kim Kardashian know about your skivvies? A lot, it turns out. The Skims mogul’s inaugural foray into men’s undies yielded a glut of excellent briefs, none more slinky, slimming, and downright sexy than these, which wrap a whole lot of support in cotton softer than a lullaby.
Anderson's Woven Leather Belt
You want your belt to bring some texture and character to your outfits, but not so much that it's a distraction. This calf leather number, meticulously woven by hand in Italy, hits precisely the right note.
Tom Ford Oud Wood Eau de Parfum
Sex appeal has always been a key variable in the Tom Ford equation, but the designer’s exquisite Oud Wood fragrance is subtle enough to spritz everyday without antagonizing your cubicle mate. It’s spicy and woody in equal measure, undercut by a sly hit of rosewood to take the edge off.
Tom Wood Gold Chain Necklace
Just ask our guy Paul Mescal: Sometimes the difference between a bland everyday outfit and a transcendent sex-symbol-minting look is the presence of a simple chain necklace.
Buck Mason Graduate Suit
Doesn't matter if you're a recent college grad looking for your first two-piece or a tenured professional with a closetful of sartorial gems: the flattering cut, menswear-dork-approved details (wide lapels! Patch pockets! A three-roll-two button stance! Full canvas construction!), and sub-$800 price point make this suit a genuine must-buy.
Industry of All Nations Alpaca Beanie
Everything you could ask for in a beanie: impossibly soft, incomparably warm, and just the right balance of structure and slouch.
Husbands Wide-Collar Shirt
The most compelling argument we’ve seen in favor of dressing up right now comes straight from Paris, where Husbands outfits its worldly clientele in swaggering dress shirts that look rad unbuttoned to the navel—and even groovier with a tie.
Beams Plus Cardigan
Every season, Japan’s Beams Plus drops a handful of preppy, grandpa-esque cardigans that, counterintuitively, are the single sickest way to supercharge your illest vintage tees and beat-to-hell oxford shirts.
Comfort Colors Heavyweight Pocket Tee
Does exactly what it says on the tin: the comfiest T-shirt you’ll ever wear, available in a wide range of spectacular garment-dyed colors.
Converse Chuck 70 Sneakers
The quintessential version of the quintessential sneaker, with design specs—like beefier canvas uppers and thicker midsoles—taken from 1970s Chuck Taylors.
Levi’s Type I Trucker Jacket
Based on a WW II–era archival model, this brawny denim jacket possesses a whole lot more juice than your average thrift-store trucker.
Issey Miyake Homme Plissé Pleated Pants
Rarely will you find a true-blue designer grail as downright joyful as these trousers fashioned from Issey Miyake’s iconic pleated polyester, which look like graceful dress pants but feel like airy pajama bottoms.
American Trench Socks
The old-school good looks of the gym socks you wore in grade school, spiffed up with a modern cushioned footbed and fresh color palettes.
Prada Brushed-Leather Derby Shoes
When you want to impress your friends, you tell them you’re really into Prada. When you want to send your friends scurrying home to their Docs? You buy a pair of Prada’s brushed-leather derby shoes, a no-frills silhouette that telegraphs your blue-chip taste—and hints at a closet full of grails—without saying a word.
Arc’teryx Beta Jacket
Real-deal mountaineers rely on Arc’teryx’s slick waterproof shells to endure the harshest of high-altitude conditions—which means they’ll perform like a dream on your drizzly morning commute.
Camber 232 Cross-Knit Heavyweight Sweatshirt
The world’s greatest sweatshirt, period. Crafted in a decades-old Pennsylvania factory from the heaviest of heavyweight fleece, it’ll age and soften over time as beautifully as your best pair of jeans.
Comme des Garçons Zip Around Wallet
Swap your Costanza-size black leather bifold for one of Comme des Garçons’s staple zip pocketbooks—periodically updated in new styles and colors—and your everyday carry will instantly feel 70 percent more fun.
Saint Laurent Tuxedo
When Yves Saint Laurent’s sexed-up tuxedo sashayed down the runway in the ’60s, it catalyzed a shift in the fashion psyche the industry is still reckoning with. Anthony Vaccarello’s razor-sharp riff proves the French maison still has a few tricks up its silk-lined sleeve.
Seiko 5 SRPD55 Watch
Watch geeks adore this reliable Japanese ticker, which packs an automatic movement, a day-date display, and 100-meter water resistance into a wildly affordable package.
Supreme Regular Jeans
Supreme’s quietest hit isn’t a wacky accessory or a cheekily branded tchotchke—it’s the streetwear juggernaut’s all-American jeans. The brand makes baggier versions for the punky skate rats queued outside its stores, but its slimmer denim just feels a touch cooler.
Patagonia Retro-X Fleece Jacket
You could pay an extortionate premium for a vintage version of Patagonia’s definitive fleece jackets, or you could just go straight to the source, where the first name in eco-conscious outdoor gear makes ’em exactly like they used to.
Bottega Veneta Large Andiamo Bag
The sumptuous woven leather and flashy metal knot lend this Bottega Veneta tote the buzzy curb appeal of an It bag. The spacious interior, meanwhile—big enough to house a laptop and a change of clothes—makes it as practical as your workaday gym bag.
Bather Swim Trunks
Bather's trunks are cut from crisp quick-dry nylon that’ll excel at the beach or pool, but the just-right 5.5-inch inseam, deep side pockets, and endless array of fetching colors and prints mean you’ll want to wear ’em just about everywhere else too.
Alex Mill Mill Shirt
The kind of slightly rumpled, always attractive button-up you can—and should!—wear every day of the week.
Prounis Paperlink Bracelet
Jean Prounis’s jewelry merges old-world craftsmanship with a new-age appreciation for simple elegance. In practice, that dichotomy yields future heirlooms like this, a paper clip–esque bracelet in 22-karat gold using goldsmithing techniques all but forgotten by her counterparts.
Blundstone 550 Chelsea Boots
When faced with serious muck—be it a downpour, slushy winter sidewalks, or a swampy music-festival field—you’ll want a pair of these rugged, Australian ranch boots in the mix to yank on at a moment’s notice ($230).
Polo Ralph Lauren RL67 Jacket
Consider this tweedy, professorial sport coat the ultimate five-tool player: It’ll look great with a tie at a wedding, sure, but it’s even better when you need to level up a polo and chinos for a lunch meeting or with a tee and jeans on a third date.
Thom Browne Cotton Oxford Shirt
To make the workhorse oxford shirt feel as revolutionary as his shrunken wool suits, Thom Browne exploded the collar to ’80s-banker proportions and kitted out the tail with his signature name tag detail.
Drake’s Silk Tie
England’s vibiest haberdasher sells the raddest ties on the planet, handmade in London and festooned with prints worthy of a wing at the Tate.
Gucci 1953 Horsebit Loafer
Wall Street big shots, European trustafarians, and impossibly well-heeled retirees all share a penchant for Gucci’s horsebit loafers, the rare icon actually worthy of the honorific. Classic black is forever cool, but a two-tone version helps that sumptuous leather pop.
Frédéric Malle Musc Ravageur Eau de Parfum
The first name in lofty, small-batch fragrances rarely misses, but this powerful concoction of bergamot, vanilla, and musk is still blowing minds—and eliciting appreciative sniffs—well over two decades after it debuted.
Standard Issue Thermal Sweater
There’s perhaps no layer more effortlessly flattering than a waffle-knit thermal, and Standard Issue’s drapey, hefty take is best in class.
Les Tien Heavyweight Sweatpants
LA-based Les Tien specializes in sweatpants of the highest order, cut with a tailor’s eye for precision and an Angeleno’s appreciation for pared-back ease. Think of them as supremely cozy capital-T trousers, and style ’em accordingly.
Birkenstock Boston Sandals
Sharp enough to pair with all the wildest clothes in your closet, laid-back enough to slip on to walk the dog in your gnarliest sweats.
Rimowa Cabin Carry-On
It’s a jet-set status symbol for a reason: No other luggage possesses Rimowa’s precise blend of stark aesthetic charm and rough-and-tumble durability.
Another Aspect Another Shirt 3.0
It didn’t take long for Another Aspect to perfect its house-speciality button-ups, which update the ‘90s-heartthrob staple in every shade of striped organic cotton. Throw it on beneath a slouchy blazer or let its gently-curved shirttails float in the breeze—either way, you’re going to look a little more artful than the guy in a graphic tee.
Persol Square-Frame Sunglasses
Steve McQueen’s rounded Persol shades are legendary, but these squared-off frames from the age-old Italian specs operation are a fresh alternative to the cool-guy classic.
Dickies Original 874 Work Pants
The one thing your carpenter dad, skater nephew, and fashion-obsessed sister can all agree on? These hardy, infinitely versatile work pants, which cost less than $30 and will last more than 30 years.
Maximum Henry Western Belt
Thanks to its rakishly slim strap and elaborate cowpoke buckle, this New York–made stunner is distinctive and adaptable enough to be the only belt you own.
Crescent Down Works Classico Down Parka
Nobody makes a better down parka than Crescent Down Works, which has been turning out retro-leaning, winter-busting outerwear from its family-owned Pacific Northwest facilities for nearly 50 years.
Unimatic UC4 Watch
For the better part of a decade, Italy's Unimatic has been turning out stripped-down, strikingly handsome timepieces at shockingly affordable prices. The UC4—with its stocky stainless-steel bezel and automatic movement—is a perfect introduction to the brand's smash-hit minimalist oeuvre.
L.L.Bean Signature Cotton Fisherman Sweater
Rugged good looks and impenetrable warmth with none of the typical wooly scratchiness, thanks to a soft-yet-sturdy cotton build.
Charvet Suede Slippers
Charvet is widely considered the globe’s finest shirtmaker, but real heads know the Parisian atelier also happens to hawk the plushest, most opulent house shoes your old dogs will ever slip into.
JW Anderson V-Neck Sweater
Design genius Jonathan Anderson is perhaps best known for his off-kilter Loewe collections, but he's also a master of quiet, elevated, just-weird-enough staples like this shaggy gray pullover.
Porter-Yoshida & Co. Tanker 2Way Duffle Bag
Ever wondered what your favorite MA-1 jacket would look like as a bag? The Japanese repro experts at Porter-Yoshida & Co. have the answer, down to the puffy nylon exterior and hi-vis orange lining. Their duffle is a vintage gem in the making—but it’s also just the toughest way to haul around your stuff.
Wythe Raglan Wool Overcoat
There’s maybe no better feeling on earth than cocooning yourself in a big, swaddly topcoat on a blustery fall day. And there’s no topcoat bigger and swaddlier than Wythe’s, tailored in New York from heavy Donegal wool with drooping raglan contours.Great sunglasses should make you feel like a movie star. All of Jacques Marie Mage's edgy, angular frames are engineered to do exactly that—to the point that just about every actual movie star in Hollywood sports 'em on the regular.
Phipps Boxer Shorts
Spencer Phipps made the humble boxer short a signature of his rollicking label by ensuring you can’t find an alternative exactly like his anywhere else on the market. Each pair is cut from deadstock fabrics done up in retro-doused plaids, all the better to complement your rodeo-wild leather chaps.
Wales Bonner Track Jacket
We've said it before and we'll say it again: Grace Wales Bonner is the Mozart of the tracksuit. This exactingly tailored, indisputably sexy zip-up is all the proof you need.
Todd Snyder Italian Flannel Wythe Suit
There are the suits you need to own, the kind you keep on hand for job interviews and funerals. And then there are the suits you want to own—and, more importantly, want to wear, flexing with everything from a swervy tie at a wedding to a sick vintage tee on a date. This rich, drapey, enveloping houndstooth number from Todd Snyder is unequivocally the latter.
CDLP Rib Tank Top
It doesn’t matter what you call it—a tank top as ridiculously luxe as CDLP’s innovative cotton-lyocell number is a big fit in and of itself, whether you wear it with nothing but a slutty chain or tuck it beneath a boxy flannel.
Ghiaia Cashmere Cotton Working Shirt
Ghiaia Cashmere founder Davide Baroncini, a Brunello Cucinelli alum now comfortably ensconced in the leafy environs of Pasadena, knows his way around a sweater. But he also knows that men of leisure—or the dudes who aspire to dress like them—can’t survive on rarified goat fabric alone. So he cuts his retro-inflected work shirts from a suitably hefty cotton drill designed to withstand bolognese stains, gardening mishaps, and the sundry rigors of LA-meets-Italy life. What could possibly be more aspirational than that?
Dr. Martens 1461 3-Tie Shoes
Hardcore punks, British boarding schoolers, and GQ editors all agree: Dr. Martens' time-tested, tough-as-nails, surprisingly comfortable lace-ups are as versatile and dependable a shoe as you're ever likely to own.
Aesop Eidesis Eau de Parfum
Aesop’s Eidesis fragrance bottles the hallmarks of what the label does best. Its subtle blast of black pepper, frankincense, and sandalwood starts bright and finishes ambery, all offset by a healthy disdain for branded hoopla and inscrutable ingredients.
Lacoste Classic Pique Polo Shirt
Lacoste quite literally invented the tennis shirt back in 1933, and there's still no topping the Parisian OG's sporty trim cut and breezy pique cotton.
Lands' End Pleated Chino Shorts
A generous pleated cut that still shows off plenty of leg, a classic cotton khaki that'll survive a hundred spins in the washing machine, and a price tag that feels straight out of 1992. In other words: Everything you could possibly want in a pair of shorts.
Morjas Boat Shoes
Not sure if you’re ready to ride the boat shoe wave just yet? Allow the upstart cobblers at Morjas to make the case for the silhouette's staying power. Their buttery suede riff upgrades the ur-prep staple with a dose of old-world Euro cool, a timely reconfiguration that reads less Bud-swilling frat bro, more Chablis-sipping playboy.
Baracuta G9 Jacket
If you’re chasing a jacket with McQueen-level cool, head straight to Baracuta, the vaunted British label that invented the Harrington almost a century ago. These days, the brand still makes ‘em exactly like they used to, down to the perfectly dialed silhouette and gentlemanly tartan lining.
R.M. Williams Yearling Boots
Since 1932, the Aussies at R.M. Williams have stood fast by their hero product, a sleek Chelsea boot cut from a single piece of leather equipped with two floppy pull tabs at the top. The Yearling shares those essential qualities—ditto the chiseled toe and Goodyear-welted construction—but adds one crucial flourish: a blocky 1.5-inch heel it’s hard to imagine anyone wearing in the outback.
District Vision Layered Pocketed Trail Shorts
Leave it to next-gen fitness wonks at District Vision to design running shorts for the trails that wouldn’t look a lick out of place in the Erewhon checkout line. Smash as many PRs in them as you’d like: their double-layer construction and feather-light nylon-ripstop exterior will hold up through countless jogs—and just as many produce-aisle scuffles.
Cartier Tank Must Watch
The legendary dress watch of choice for everyone from Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali to Princess Diana and Tyler, the Creator. It’s a lineage well worth the price of admission.
Our Legacy Third Cut Jeans
The kooky Swedes at Our Legacy boast no shortage of hit products to their name, but their Third Cut jeans might be the purest distillation of what they do best. Relaxed enough to wear with a mohair sweater and clogs, subtle enough to dress down a tweed jacket and derby shoes, they’re an inside-menswear favorite that go a long way in explaining why the number-crunchers at LVMH came calling.
Celine Lambskin Blouson Jacket
Don’t let the Italian lambskin fool you: Celine’s zip-up blouson oozes pure Parisian swagger. This is how a leather jacket should fit right now—and how you’ll want one to fit 10 years from now, too.
Tecovas Johnny Cowboy Boots
The angled heel and muscular silhouette radiate plenty of welcome yee-haw energy, but the dusty caramel suede makes 'em every bit as approachable and wearable as your go-to Wallabees.
Oakley Radar EV Path Sunglasses
Leave it to the tireless churn of the fashion cycle to make the sunglasses you wore warming the bench on your middle school volleyball team look impossibly rad again. Oakley’s genre-defining shades might not land you an endorsement deal, but they continue to set the standard in sporty cool.
Satisfy MothTech Muscle Tee
Satisfy riddles its MothTech tees with small ventilating punctures carefully placed throughout the torso to mitigate sweating when you’re on the move. The brand calls them “strategic cooling zones”, but let’s be honest: they’re moth holes, and they’re sick. They might be a mother’s nightmare, but they’re a runner’s dream.
Nike Dri-FIT Hat
It’s designed to help you hit a new PR, but this low-profile running cap will look best topping off your everyday ensembles—hoodies and jeans, button-downs and shorts, even the occasional slouchy suit.
Jacques Marie Mage Rectangular Sunglasses
Great sunglasses should make you feel like a movie star. All of Jacques Marie Mage's edgy, angular frames are engineered to do exactly that—to the point that just about every actual movie star in Hollywood sports 'em on the regular.
Vans LX Reissue '98 Sneakers
Your Warped Tour-attending, swoopy-bang-having, 14-year-old self got a few things absolutely correct: Taking Back Sunday's Where You Want to Be really is a perfect album, and the Vans slip-on really is a perfect shoe. Especially this leveled-up reissue with a slightly beefier sole and clean black canvas uppers—the latter of which'll sync up a little better with your casual office fits than the fully cooked checkerboard joints you rocked in high school.
