Timo Weiland Makes Shorts with Socks and Dress Shoes Cool

We congregated alongside fashion industry folk through the maze-like High Line Hotel and into Hoffman Hall, where the echoing synth sounds of New Order’s “Your Silent Face” played in the background, and the ushers were nicely propped up and ready for viewing. The venue itself was beautifully overwhelming with its wooden turn-of-the-century collegiate Gothic architecture, but the designs themselves weren’t over-the-top in the least, but rather refreshingly prep-punk.

Timo Weiland, through the collective vision of Donna Kang, Alan Eckstein, and Timo Weiland, have a signature look of being casually sporty, but this season the line felt anew. The entire collection had a nautical feel with a navy palette. Each look, however, had a subtle, rebellious air.

Take, for example, a black cardigan paired with black trousers, which featured just one bit of light: a white zip-pocket on the sweater. Or this other highlight that simply had a black sweatshirt over navy blue shorts, but the best part was the black socks and shiny black dress shoes. Yes, shorts with visible socks, and dress shoes! And, next spring won’t be completely about that unlikely pairing, it’s also about the second-coming of man sandals. Note: not Crocs or Birkenstocks, but Dr. Martens black sandals.

We looked over the images we had taken of the show with a friend and realized we couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason why we liked it so much. We said to her that it felt preppy, but not stuffy; classic, yet very modern. The complete essence of this line was irresistible and very much worthwhile. And then she said, “It looks very cool.” Yes! That’s it!