18.12.2015

Here you go — our list of things we thought were good in 2015. This list was going to be limited to a more traditional ten, but there were too many good things this year so we had to stretch the rules a bit.

Honourable mentions go to Klättermusen, that mad YMC jacket, Ark Air, the Ralph jumper with the bear on it and those Astorflex desert boots.

Now, here’s that list… 11 – The Steve McQueen Jumper

Many years after his passing, Steve McQueen still casts a shadow over men’s wearable items — meaning that the cream Peter Scott jumper that he wore for a grand total of about seven minutes in The Thomas Crown Affair earns a large place in our hearts and the eleventh place in this list. 10 – Those Nudie Rainbow Jeans

At ten we’ve got those jeans with the rainbows stitched on the back. OP bosses Nigel and Steve had been persistently pestering Nudie to do rainbow jeans for years — in 2015 they finally buckled and made some. Bungle and George were reportedly overjoyed, but sadly Zippy was unavailable for comment. 9 – Fancy Tracksuits

There have been some particular good tracksuits this year, making getting about like a Mafioso wiseguy easier than ever. Fancy Tracksuit of the Year Y2K+15 is a toss-up between that cord adidas Spezial beauty and those high-class pique bad-boys from A Kind of Guise, but in our eyes, they’re all winners. 8 – Suede Mephistos

Long seen as a Marmite footwear option, this was the year we finally saw worldwide acceptance of the Mephisto Rainbow. Critics speculate that this may be down to the visual appeal of these suede ones and the fact that the weather has been absolutely useless, or perhaps a combination of both. 7 – adidas Jeans

No, not actual denim jeans made by adidas with stripes sewn down the sides — we’re talking about the trainers confusingly called adidas Jeans. Trefoil fans have been after these since the early 90s, so to see them finally back was akin to watching hundreds of white doves being released into the sky on a clear, perfect day — beautiful. 6 – Towels

In at six, we’ve got towels, or to be more specific — clothes made out of towels. In these crazy days of leisure and easy living, comfort is king, and nothing says comfort quite like terry towelling tee. 5 – Novesta Tennis Shoes

Slovakia has a long and illustrious history of canvas tennis shoes, so it was no surprise that in 2015 we were all strolling about in these Novesta numbers like a young Branislav Stankovič (of 1989 French Open third round fame). Those cord ones were good too. 4 – Engineered Garments Workaday

This year we finally got our hands on that trouser-dousingly good Engineered Garments Workaday stuff… or at least our London shop did. Talking of our London shop, how about that new Oi Polloi in London eh?

To be honest our Soho outpost is definitely our numero uno thing that happened this year, but as this chart is more about items that you can wear instead of ‘retail spaces’, we’ve had to shoe-horn it in here instead. 3 – Those Oi Polloi Reeboks

In at three we’ve got those trainers we made with Reebok. To be honest, all we did was tell them which shoe to do and get them put our name on the inside, but surely that counts for something? Reebok founder Joe Foster has been spotted wearing some of these himself — high praise indeed. 2 – Tender

2015 hasn’t just been a big year for midnight release trainer madness, it’s also been a banner year for pirate shirts — especially those dyed with mysterious substances favoured by Celtic warriors. 1 – This Patagonia Hat

Many years from now, when 2015 is reduced to a three minute segment on one of those late night Channel 4 nostalgia-fests, chances are it’ll be remembered primarily for this hat from Patagonia.

It’s blue, it’s lined with fleece and it’s got flaps that fold down to keep your ears warm — if there was any proof out there of higher powers at work, then this hat is surely it.