Underestimate Lil Yachty's Outfit Game at Your Own Risk
Lil Boat is dressin'. It's odd, isn't it, that when most folks are discussing obviously stylish musicians, that Lil Yachty isn't often at the top of their lists? Let's correct that mistake.
Spotted strolling New York on August 2, Lil Yachty was shopping at some of the stores that you'd expect a stylish, wealthy gent to visit.
Yes, Balenciaga was on the list, and so was Marni. He was staying at a hotel nearby, so why not? This is what you do when you wanna experience garments IRL, feel them, style them.
Yachty was dressed the part of a hip 24-year-old with cash, too, all layered up in a Denim Tears polo sweater (a sweater! In August!), billowing cargo pants, dark New Balance 990s (akin the recent JJJJound collab), and a vintage Chanel messenger bag.
Specifically, Yachty's toting a Chanel Spring/Summer 2015 "On the Pavements" bag, which you can buy secondhand if you've got anywhere from a measly $8k to $13k laying around.
A small flex amidst those big proportions.
I wonder if Lil Yachty was in town to appear in A$AP Rocky's new music video, for which Rihanna's beau slipped into a leather skirt.
He's dressed up far beyond what you'd expect anyone to be wearing in the middle of summer, though.
In fact, having been spotted around that same spot in Soho several times over the past couple weeks, Lil Boat has nearly always been layered in sweaters and jackets aplenty, making it look all too easy to dress up in July and August.
Yachty's already worn Balenciaga stuff around — once you're in the DONDA crew, Balenciaga just becomes part of your uniform — but he mixes all these brands in a way that's distinct.
Rarely does he go for the obvious styling play, like doing Kanye cosplay, or fall into fashion pitfalls, like wearing giant Triple S sneakers with skinny jeans.
This is what makes Yachty's approach to outfits so impressive and so criminally underrated by those not already in the know: he's got a good sense of what works and why. Not to mention the accessories — those bug-eye sunglasses don't work for everyone's face, you know.
The secret behind Yachty's style is the same factor that makes his music so engaging.
He channels a sense of joy throughout whatever he wears, this atmosphere of exuberant wonder that's impossibly difficult to fake if you aren't already feeling it.
This is what separates the stylish from the swagless. There's a lot that you can teach and a lot that's just sheer intuition, confidence, and personality. Yachty instinctually knows the difference.