Image via Complex Original
In 2016, our national conscience and moral center Michelle Obama told us that “when they go low, we go high.” It’s advice we should all take into consideration and put into practice. We’ll start next year. For now, let’s get in one last drag with our assortment of the people who just couldn’t get it together style-wise this year (and a few who couldn’t get it together in any other way, either).
10. Drake
There is absolutely no denying the fact that Aubrey Graham (aka Drake) is one of the hottest artists in the world right now. Just a whisper of new music has the internet speculating, debating and—of course—hating. But what is there to hate about the 30-year old Canadian rap crooner, other than the fact he won't stop talking about that one girl that got away, or his sudden infatuation with patois slang, or his super-cute tough guy act? Well, let's start with his wardrobe that is often reminiscent of a suburban father who is heading to pick up his kids from school and embarrass the shit out of them. The thing we appreciate about Drake is that he may care about how his style is perceived, but he certainly doesn't look like it, while wearing Doris Burke-adorned shirts or his affinity for windbreaker-esque tops. We won't ever really know, because he comes off so damn laid back, which is relatable to the everyday guy. He may try to step out of his lane and swerve over to A$AP Rocky or Kanye world every once in a while in Dries van Noten or Craig Green, but he's most comfortable in his cozy sweatsuits and dad sweaters. Which is fine! Just not cool...or good. —Nick Grant
9. Meek Mill
On Jay Z’s “So Ghetto,” a “bougie broad” implores Jigga Man to take his durag off because he’s rich. Let Complex play the bougie broad: Meek Mill, you’re rich, take the shiny, graphic t-shirt off. There’s an entire international, trillion-dollar industry dedicated to creating alternatives! Surely, at some point in Meek Mill’s life, he looked at a dress shirt, or a Hawaiian shirt, or even a basketball jersey, and was intrigued by the possibilities. More dubious than Meek’s love for the most casual of casual wear is his reluctance to promote his collaboration with Puma. Though he’s a frequent Instagrammer (10,867 photos before he deleted his account this week!), the Philadelphia rapper hasn’t photographed any of his own attire in more than three months. The greatest fashion faux-pas of all is refusing to wear—or even acknowledge—your own product. —Torii MacAdams
8. Leonardo DiCaprio
While '90s Leonardo DiCaprio was (and still is) a style icon to us all, the tides of time have not been kind to his fashion sense. His world famous dad bod is a magnet for ill-fitting polos, and his penchant for newsboy caps, slip-ons, and E-cigarettes definitely doesn’t improve things—vaping and style don’t really go hand in hand, and even DiCaprio can’t pull this look off. DiCaprio does have his one sartorial saving grace: He can really pull off a suit. But after winning his long longed-for Oscar this year, who knows if he’ll even show up again? We may be doomed to only see off-duty Leo forevermore. —Lia McGarrigle
7. Tyga
If you didn’t already hate Tyga for his creepy, inappropriate relationship with Kylie Jenner, then looking at how he butchers style should do it for you. Tyga is the definition of a try-hard. It’s like he has all the ingredients for a great recipe, but he doesn’t know the method to combine then appealingly—everything is just thrown together. Despite wearing what would be considered cool staples—he’s often in Off-White, Supreme, and BAPE—the dude still manages to look amateur.
What’s lacking here is personal taste and authenticity; even the simplest of fits look awkward as hell on him. How can you mess up an oversize tee? How can you directly rip off big bro Kanye’s style and make it look so wrong? From what we’ve seen of his brand Last Kings, we shouldn’t be surprised though. That whole label is essentially market stall knock-offs of what’s hype right now—you might as well be wearing Topman “hip-hop” T-shirts for all the cultural cache Last Kings will get you. —Lia McGarrigle
6. Chris Brown
When Chris Brown’s fans complained about the prices of his Black Pyramid clothing brand, he commented on Instagram that these “so-called fans” could “TASTE THIS FART I BEEN HOLDING IN ON THIS PLANE TO PARIS. shitheads [sic].” Perhaps Brown, an unimpeachable jerk, should hire someone to handle the company’s customer service. In fact, while he’s at it, maybe he should consider hiring designers less prone to plastering cringe-worthy slogans like “This Bitch Lyin’” across the front of shirts. Bad clothes can happen to good people, but Brown deserves the worst attire. —Torii MacAdams
5. Ryan Lochte
2016 was a bizarre year for Ryan Lochte, to say the least. The Olympic swimmer won a gold medal at the Games, but that was quickly overshadowed after he lied about an armed robbery in Rio. But, believe it or not, he's got even more L's than that. Remember his blonde and green hair? Guess you can't expect much from someone who still dresses like a frat bro at age 32. —Karizza Sanchez
4. Cam Newton
Cam Newton has had a bad year. He started off the year losing the Super Bowl, then got off to a poor start to the 2016-2017 season. And worst off all? He's been dressing like a damn asshole. When you're under constant scrutiny for a litany of reasons, you'd think to keep a low profile is best, right? Not Cam Newton. He's vehemently with the shits.
The reigning NFL MVP has taken his image to a new level of fuckery, literally and figuratively, between his Daniel Boone-esque foxtail accessory, the $850 multi-print Versace pants that *probably* lost him the Super Bowl, and his hats that are just dumb tall. Newton has slowly become the Russell Westbrook of the NFL, but, like, not in a good way. One day he's dressed up as a barbershop quartet soprano and the next he looks like broke ass pimp. While we appreciate the fact that he embraces his individuality in a unique manner, we condemn the way he is doing it. —Nick Grant
3. Donald Trump
You’ve heard of the pig and the lipstick and how putting lipstick on the pig only does so much to hide the fact that, yes, it’s still a pig. Well, the 2016 presidential election has given us a twist on that metaphor involving power ties, power suits, pumpkin spice hair dye, and a piece of human excrement who will be our next president.
All of which is to say: You could assign a fleet of the world’s finest stylists to work on Donald J. Trump and there would be only so much they could do for him because, again, he’s a piece of shit, and polishing turds is another time-worn Sisyphean task.
But it’s pretty clear that there isn’t a fleet of stylists working on Trump. If clothes make the man, then yes, our suspicions are confirmed, this dude is a buffoon. The suits, like the empty proclamations, are so big, they’re clearly an attempt to compensate for weaknesses elsewhere. The ties, like the Tweet storms, are long and ugly, an attempt to distract from annoying nuisances like popular vote shellackings, and the combined effect of McDonald’s and 70-year-old metabolisms on chins and paunches (that is, the dude is a fat old fuck, a fact that long-ass red ties can’t hide). And details? Are we surprised that a millionaire who uses scotch tape instead of tie clips isn’t interested in a daily briefing about geopolitics?
From classy to ashy (and fat and bald and—did we mention?—fat), the fall from grace that is the transition from the Obama White House to the Trump White House could not be more stark, and nowhere is the contrast more visible than in the area of personal style. But, look on the bright side! If we all die, Trump’s off-the-rack lifestyle won’t matter to anyone! —Jack Erwin
2. DNCE
This seems like an obvious point, but one DNCE bassist Cole Whittle could stand to learn: Everything isn’t clothing. The plastic lunch he wore on his picnic table/shorts to the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards last year? It’s a plastic lunch, not clothing. The hand towel he cut a hole in and wore as a shirt at the Z100 Jingle Ball? It’s a goddamn hand towel, not clothing. Even when the entirety of his outfit can be classified as clothing—to reiterate: not a garden hose, fire extinguisher, or Buick Skylark—he still looks like he sprinted, blindfolded, through a costume department. Maybe Whittle’s meant to distract us from his bandmates, who look like every other friend group of buzzed suburbanites at Coachella. —Torii MacAdams
1. Jared Leto
Accomplished director, singer-songwriter, Method actor, and Gucci aficionado Jared Leto has not had his best year. Depending on what side of the fence you are on, you were either charmed or pretty turned off by his rendition of the Joker in this year’s biggest superhero flop Suicide Squad, a film that was universally panned by critics and audiences alike. The rest of the year saw the Thirty Seconds To Mars frontman attending award shows, Comic Cons, and branded parties fluctuating between cringeworthy looks. Perhaps you remember the Texan oil tycoon out for a fun night at the strip club Leto, the 90s era Tré Cool Leto, or maybe you prefer him as your childhood babysitter’s John Varvatos-doning rebel boyfriend Leto. The man's involvement with Gucci almost threatened to topple it from atop our list of best men's style brands of the year.
In the end, the year wasn’t a total flop for the budding renaissance man, who secured upcoming roles in the Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049, as Andy Warhol in the biopic Warhol, and in the 2017 film The Outsider. Just keep your distance if he starts doing lighter tricks or wheelies on his Harley. —Mike Sheffield