22 Stylish Spring Outfits For Men: How To Dress For Changeable Weather

Moving out of winter and into spring requires quite a shift in your wardrobe as the weather improves. The big wool silhouettes of the turn of the year can be put away in favor of lighter layers that can be added or removed depending on the spring conditions.

It can be a tricky time since you can experience all four seasons in a day during March, so versatile garments are a must. Lightweight technical fabrics combined with breathable natural fibers such as cotton and linen are a good way to go, whether your wardrobe leans towards a more tailored aesthetic or a streetwear attitude.

To help you get through this sartorially challenging time, here are 22 versatile spring outfits all men can wear, to cover every occasion.

22 cool spring outfits

The shacket

One of the most important spring silhouettes is the shacket or overshirt, which can come in a variety of natural fibers, from wool to brushed cotton and lightweight linen.

Wool styles will also serve you well in the fall, even if you don’t get a lot of wear from them through spring, but brushed cotton versions with plaid patterns are a great lightweight layer that you can wear year-round. They are so easy to style with jeans and a simple white tee, as proven here.

Spring layering

Much is written about how to transition your wardrobe for spring, with layering being a crucial tool for success. This look is a good example of how to pull off an off-duty look with simple layers: a brushed cotton shirt, crew neck sweater and rugged cotton twill jacket paired with jeans and tan suede shoes.

Textural, tactile and modern with a nod to heritage silhouettes.

Cropped pants

Spring is officially the start of cropped pant season, which unofficially runs until the fall. Whether you prefer relaxed wide-leg styles or neatly tapered tailored pants, a cropped silhouette offers a modern and slightly more relaxed aesthetic.

You can wear them with loafers or sneakers depending on how you wish to style the look – either way, the cropped leg gives you a slightly more off-duty finish.

The suede jacket

It takes a brave man to break out a suede jacket in early spring. But once you get into mid-April, when the flash Biblical showers have passed, it becomes a great piece of elevated menswear.

Whether you’re wearing track pants or chinos, the suede jacket offers an instant outfit upgrade. This version has been styled with a smart pair of pleated trousers but kept casual with the addition of white sneakers and a navy quarter-zip.

Khaki green

Khaki green is a great tone to wear year-round, but it seems to come into its own just as the leaves are starting to reappear on the trees. With a military heritage that gives it a masculine attitude when deployed in silhouettes such as field jackets and overshirts, it’s a color you can combine with just about any other.

It’s a nice foil for denim, but also neutral tones such as cream or white pants.

Hail the half-zip

Preppy, comfortable and woefully underused, the half-zip sweater is an excellent spring garment, providing you with a warm layer that you can use as outerwear on chilly days, or wear beneath a technical jacket when the heavens open.

It’s styled here in a modern, preppy way with off-white jeans and sports sneakers, but you could make it a little more edgy with some wide-leg pants and a technical jacket.

The versatile hoodie

The humble hoodie has evolved from mere sportswear to become an intrinsic part of the modern menswear canon, as evidenced by some sublime styles being made in luxury fabrics.

Still, the classic plain cotton hoodie is a wardrobe workhorse in spring, affording you casual style as well as warmth and comfort. But moreover, you can add a streetwear edge to your fits by layering beneath tailored coats for a very Parisian vibe.

All-black in spring

This is another great example of a spring-weight overshirt; this time, the look is much more minimalist thanks to the tonal color palette.

Restricting yourself to just one hue and playing with tones and textures makes life that little bit easier, and it never fails to look sophisticated.

Relaxed strides

Spring is a great time to broaden your trouser remit. Relaxed cotton twill pants offer a nice casual alternative to chinos, giving your looks a utilitarian touch.

Go for earthy colors such as brown, green, khaki and black as these are the most versatile. You can wear them with everything from hoodies and sweats to chore jackets and bombers.

Smart white jeans

The window for wearing white jeans is pretty narrow unless you like looking dirty, but come mid-April they become a great option to have in your wardrobe thanks to the myriad styling options they provide.

In this case, olive green has been effectively used to create a country-inspired look, but you can just as easily wear a smart tailored navy jacket with white jeans as you could a pink hoodie and chunky kicks.

They bring the contrast, you bring the color.

Keep on trucking

An icon of Americana, the denim trucker jacket never fails to find a home in the modern menswear wardrobe. Rugged, masculine and effortless to style, it is all things to all men.

Classic western-inspired versions like this one are good for a classic look, but keep an eye out for minimalist boxy versions if you prefer a more contemporary aesthetic.

Black and green

For those of us who can’t bear to disband our all-black outfits when spring rolls around, there’s a simple solution: layer with green.

Earthy tones such as olive, forest and khaki are all good options to give your monochrome look a hint of color without losing the minimalist aesthetic.

Jeans and sweats

The enduring appeal of jeans and sweats. So simple and yet so effective as a casual streetwear duo.

This version has opted for a tonal look to complement the denim, but really your crew-neck sweatshirt can come in any flavor. Just make sure your kicks are on point.

Cropped navy pants

Navy cotton twill chinos are a spring must-have since they can be dressed up or down depending on the look you’re trying to achieve.

A cropped style oozes a contemporary attitude, allowing you to play around with softer sportswear silhouettes, such as this zip-through jersey.

Navy pairs well with every color, so you’ll get a ton of mileage from pants like these.

We like it raw

Our denim that is. Paying that premium for raw denim is a no-brainer since the quality of the fabric is generally so much higher. Yes, breaking them in will take some time, but when you do, they’ll feel like a second skin. Raw denim ages nicely too.

A tapered style like this has the added benefit of appearing quite smart so you can dress them up with a cashmere crew neck for a balanced spring fit.

Nailing neutral tones

We love a head-to-toe neutral look for many reasons, the main ones being it looks chic and it’s hard to get wrong. Whites, off-whites, creams and the spectrum of tan hues all combine beautifully and are perfect for warm spring days.

It’s important to mix up your textures so the aesthetic doesn’t look flat, so think about fabrics such as wool, suede, cotton and linen.

The three-quarter-length coat

It’s easy to forget tailored coats in spring because we’re always looking forward to the next sunny day, which invariably involves a cropped blouson or jacket. However, there are plenty of chilly spring days when something more substantial is needed, as the three-quarter-length wool coat ticks all the boxes.

It’s substantial but not like your full-length winter coats, and you can wear it in a more off-duty fashion, such as here with a fine-gauge turtleneck and turned-up twill chinos. Wool is also a great temperature regulator, so you’ll still be comfortable even if it does warm up outside.

Spring cardigan

Spring is the opportune time for the cardigan since it can be worn open or closed, and as an outer layer or an inner one, depending on the temperature.

Classic shawl collar styles like this look particularly stylish paired with selvage denim jeans and a simple white tee. Still, you can also opt for a regular cardigan if you prefer more of a modern preppy aesthetic.

Earthy tones

Spring is a great time to play with an understated yet diverse color palette, as the improving weather lets you incorporate a greater array of tones without going too wild.

Earthy tones such as rust red, ochre, green, brown and navy complement one another and give you strong accents of color without trying too hard, as this casual off-duty look perfectly demonstrates.

The suede overshirt

We’ve already spoken about the benefits of a suede jacket come spring, but a slightly different angle on the buttery-soft leather fabric is the suede overshirt, which has risen in popularity in recent years.

You can wear it just as you would any shacket but expect an instant elevation in your outfit. This tan style has been deftly combined with some smart tapered navy trousers and a navy crew-neck tee to create a look you could equally wear at the office or on the weekend.

Tailored pants, only make them casual

This look perfectly demonstrates how to combine the refinement of tailored trousers with the laid-back cool of a brushed cotton overshirt and sneakers.

It’s the confident juxtaposition that makes the look work, while the cream and navy pairing is a foolproof combination.

Statement spring jacket

The weather in spring can still pull a few surprises so you don’t want to completely switch around your wardrobe just yet. It’s always a good idea to keep a warm statement jacket in the locker –  something you can wear over a simple tee or sweatshirt that will do all the heavy lifting.

This flight jacket is the perfect example, but it could just as well be a simple quilted or bomber jacket – something with utility but also the ‘look-at-me’ factor.

How to dress for spring

Lightweight layers

Plenty of column inches have been dedicated to the art of layering when it comes to transitional dressing. Still, in practice, it’s a pretty simple concept: changeable weather requires greater versatility from your fits to regulate temperature better, stay comfortable and be protected from the elements.

Spring can throw at you any number of elemental conditions in a single day so incorporating lightweight layers into your looks is key. For example, a technical blouson worn over a cotton shirt and a plain white tee gives you options that a heavy jacket over a tee doesn’t.

Technical fabrics such as nylon are great for protecting you against spring showers, while also being perfectly comfortable layers when the sun comes out. Natural fibers such as cotton and linen make great mid-layers since they’re extremely breathable.

Keep it textural

While the shape and fit of your clothes are of utmost importance, one of the elements that many guys forget about is texture. The nature of the fabrics you wear can completely elevate your look with texture and tactility.

If you’re wearing the same fabric from head to toe, for example, your fit can look flat, but mix up the textures with interesting materials such as wool, cotton, linen and even technical cloths and you have a look with so much more depth to it.

For spring, all those aforementioned fabrics come into play so there’s no shortage of options. On warm days, consider incorporating a knitted merino polo rather than a standard cotton one, or bring out an indigo-dyed linen jacket for a slubby textured finish.

The contrasts between the different fabrics will turn a good outfit into a great one.

Understated palette

All too often, a lot of guys will opt for bold colors when they want to make a statement or display confidence through their outfits, but it’s not necessary, especially as we transition into spring. 

Better weather naturally draws out more neutral hues such as grey, cream, light pastels and earthy shades of green and brown. Use these as your base and introduce accents of orange, yellow, white, red and blue.

Flashes of bold tones look great set against a muted color palette, and you’ll get much more mileage out of your wardrobe when dressing this way.