TOP CLOTHING BRANDS

Men's Clothing in New York Fashion Week shed his scrappy image and developed his own style, to compete in Paris and Milan runways, shows the purer, better, tailored clothes, remaining true all-American style, experts say.

For the autumn and winter 2011 New York menswear collections, which ended on Thursday, the designers took a more toned-down elegance by blending American style with European taste.

"We have seen this Americana thing over the past couple of years, but this year it was all a bit clearer," said Kevin Harter, vice president of fashion in the U.S. department store Bloomingdale's.

Young designers such as Richard Chai, finally hit their stride, Harter said, creditingmen's style at New York Fashion Week more seriously.

"I did not find it patchy this season," Harter said. "Young, emerging designers really impressed me this year."

Some designers, such as an orchestra Outsiders held its first show of the runway. Others, like Patrick Ervell returned to the runway after many years of simple presentations. Ervell sleek and toned-down clothes may end up on shelves Bloomingdale's for the first time, Harter said the sign design Ervell's got the right balance for the broader market.

Focus on American heritage items such as clothing, consisting of a lumberjack shirt and heavy boots and cuffed denim so prevalent on the runways last season, was tempered and refined for greater elegance, buyers there.

Style elements from abroad were given the American treatment. Tartans and tweeds in a rag and bone show had been weakened and layered, again for more The American men's style.

"I still think it was the domination of America - you have not seen a literal representation of a dandy guy, you saw an American guy a dandy, "said Paul Birardi, owner of men's clothing store New York One, which has three branches in New York and 80 percent of the shares of American designers.

In addition to trends, designers and buyers said, male consumers continue to improve how they dress, and that was reflected in a greater sophistication on the runway.

"He's suddenly OK for men to care about how they look," said Paul Marlow, one of the founders of the male line Loden Dager. "Sloppiness was OK so long," he added.