Cult-Favorite Womenswear Brand Toteme Just Launched Menswear. I Have Thoughts.

Earlier this week, I attended a press preview of the first ever menswear collection from the Swedish label Toteme, which launched today in stores and online. In today’s post, I’ll be running you through all of the major questions you might have about the offering, starting with, well, “What is Toteme” to my honest thoughts on how the clothes are IRL. Let’s get right into it, and as always, enjoy!!!

Toteme is a fashion label founded in 2014 by Elin Kling and Karl Lindman. Originally based in New York, the label (and at the time, newlywed couple) moved back to Stockholm, Sweden in 2016. Before launching the brand, Kling was widely known for her style blog Style By Kling, while Lindman was most recently the design director for Interview Magazine.

Since the beginning, Toteme has been known mostly by its minimalist aesthetic, limited color palette, and sophisticated silhouettes. I think it’s fair to say that it’s one of the tentpole brands that helped usher in this latest wave of what people call “quiet luxury,” where shapes and materials take priority over logos and patterns. Still, “quiet luxury” doesn’t mean the absence of status symbols (actually, the whole idea is, in a way, to stand out with subtle, “in-the know” flexes), and in the case of Toteme, the brand has become well known in the fashion scene for items like its “T-lock” handbag, striped sweater, and scarf coat.

The reason I’m talking about Toteme today, however, is that until now, they’ve only made clothes and accessories for women. Kling and Lindman remain at the helm of the label, but to assist with their first menswear offering, they brought in Alexander Häggblad—a designer whose name you might not know, but who spent most of his career working with Hedi Slimane at both Saint Laurent and Celine. It was at the latter that Häggblad became the official men’s design director until 2025, which is when he joined Toteme.

The launch comes at a moment when the subtle flex menswear scene is particularly vibrant, with brands like The Row, Comoli, A.Presse, Evan Kinori, Lemaire, and Auralee all continuing to rapidly cultivate their die-hard audiences. Shoppers are also more attuned than ever to the nuances of silhouette and fabric—two things Toteme womenswear has historically excelled at, and which I imagine the menswear collection will look to build upon.

Much like the Toteme womenswear offering, Toteme menswear—or as I like to call it, Totemnswear—features pieces are that simple, minimal, and intended to feel luxurious on body. The guiding idea, though, with this first Fall-Winter collection, seems to be something like “the perfect wardrobe.” It’s an inherently abstract idea, with no singular “right answer,” but what it means for this first Toteme collection is that, while every major menswear category is covered, there are limited options in each (usually just one or two).

I think this is generally a good thing. If it’s not your literal job to keep up with the increasingly feverish churn of the menswear scene, then I imagine it would be incredibly easy to get inundated with the amount of choice in today’s marketplace. So a collection that limits them, instead opting to focus on only what’s truly essential in a person’s closet, can, I believe, be helpful for a lot of shoppers. Sure, some people—myself included—would love to choose from a stack of sweaters that looks like a Pantone book, but I get that to others this sound like a straight-up nightmare. Thus, Toteme looks to cut through the noise and present men with a handful of products that are all versatile, all look good together, and all feel immune to wherever the trend hype cycle currently is at this particular moment.

As such, the collection features a host of familiar staples: There are long, oversized wool overcoats, cashmere sweaters, jeans, trucker jackets, suits, hoodies, loafers, belts, bags, and button-up shirts in both solids and stripes, all of which can be characterized by minimal adornments and classic silhouettes. A couple pieces might be categorized as more “fashion forward,” but even those—namely, the built-in scarf cardigans and coats—have restraint in terms of color palette and embellishments. They’re boundary pushing for the average guy, but if you’re a risk-taker on the fashion front, there’s little here that will come as a surprise.

Like I mentioned, I got a preview of most of the Toteme menswear offering earlier this week. I spent about an hour and a half at the brand’s SoHo store, trying things on and talking to the brand’s PR team about them. So I figured the best way to tell you about this experience was to just run through all of the items I wore, and tell you what I think about them. These are my honest opinions, though I want to note I’ve taken into account the general price category that these products slot into and done my best to compare them to similar offerings from other comparable labels.

Note for sizing and fit: I am 5’9”, 160 lbs.

This zip up hoodie comes in two colors—red and a washed black—and it’s made from an extremely heavy, 100% cotton Terry fleece. I don’t have an exact ounce number on hand, nor was one available on the website, but it would have to be in the ballpark of 18 or 19 ounces.

I’m wearing a size medium in the above photo, and like most of the collection, this hoodie is very oversized. If I wanted a more trim fit I could easily get into a size small, but personally I like my hoodies big and would choose the medium.

There are drawstrings in the hood which is nice to see at a time when a lot of brands, even high end ones, are cutting corners by not including them. But ultimately, that doesn’t change the fact that I think $670 for a cotton hoodie is a heck of a lot, especially when Japanese labels like A.Presse charge $600 for ones with crazy accurate vintage washes. (And that’s the price in the US—those same hoodies are more in the $400 range in Japan.) Point is, I think this is a genuinely nice hoodie that I could see myself wearing regularly this winter. That said, if these had come in more around the $350-$400 range I think I’d be more open to fully endorsing them.

They call this one a “liner jacket,” but it doesn’t much resemble the quilted, collarless military styles you’re probably used to seeing under that term. In reality, it’s more like a padded coaches jacket. Honestly, that’s fine by me because I love a coach’s jacket, and I also love black down jackets—so basically, this baby is right in my wheelhouse. This one also has a fun hidden detail in that the lining depicts a map of 18th Century Stockholm, which is a nod to old pilot’s jackets that had map liners soldiers could use in case of emergency.

One slight bummer is that I don’t think there are actual down feathers used for the insulation, but instead, recycled polyester fill, which means it might not be as warm as you’d like in an outer most layer. But on, say, a 40 degree day, if you were to sport this over a cashmere sweater you’d probably be A-OK. And “liner jacket” might be an apt description after all—because the lightly padded nature of this item means it’ll be a very useful mid-layer on particularly frigid days this winter.

Now, $940 is a pretty penny for something this lightweight and non-genuine down-filled, but I recall a very lightweight jacket of similar style from Comoli coming out last year for a similar price. (Maybe it was a little less, like $800.) There’s also a similar jacket with recycled poly fill for sale from Veilance this season that goes for $600. Ultimately, if warmth isn’t your main focus, but a versatile, cool-looking jacket that you can layer up all winter long is, then I think this one is pretty cool. And despite its simple form, I think it actually looks different than a lot of other lightweight down jackets on the market. Specifically I like that it’s made from technical fabrics, but doesn’t feel overly GORP-y.

If you’re searching for a simple overcoat you can deploy day in and day out all winter long, I think one from Toteme this is a great option. Now, maybe this is a sign that I have a truly sicko brain, but at around $1,600, it’s not as expensive as I would have guessed. Comparable coats from luxury houses can fetch upwards of $7,000, though $1,600 does place it in the same ballpark as wool outerwear from labels like Lemaire.

Made from a hefty-feeling, warm double-faced wool and featuring a very relaxed, easily layer-able fit, this is a coat that you buy now and keep in the closet for a decade. It genuinely won’t go out of style, will look just as good over a suit as it will with sweats and a hoodie, and the color options—black or navy—are really all you need. In short, this long overcoat is simple, stylish, and elegant—it’s everything Toteme menswear seemingly aims to be.

Premium fabrics are an essential part of the Toteme ethos, and you can feel it when you put on one of their button-up shirts. They’re light, airy, and crisp, and have a nice, relaxed fit that gives them a sophisticated flow. I’m wearing a size 50 (aka Large) above and, while I didn’t have the chance to try on a 48 (medium), I think a 50 is how I’d go with these shirts. It’s just really comfortable and luxurious feeling, and I appreciate the added touches of custom buttons as well as the crown tag at the base of the shirt.

Now, $460 is objectively a good amount of scratch for a button up. That said, it is comparable to offerings from labels like Our Legacy and Auralee, so I think it makes sense given Toteme’s place in the market.

The white version is also lovely. But even though it’s done-up in a dressy-feeling solid white poplin, as its product name implies, it’s definitely more of a casual shirt than something I’d necessarily lean on when sporting a suit and tie. But as far as a go-to white button up that you can lean on as a staple, whether that means tucking it into a pair of jeans, rocking it under a sweater, or as the base of a clean cut office look, I think this simple, easygoing shirt is pretty, well, solid.

These double black (meaning the warp and weft are both black) jeans are done-up in a non-selvedge Italian denim. (The jeans themselves are made in Turkey.) Fabric is crucial when it comes to denim, but the most important ingredient by a country mile is fit. And these jeans, at least on my body, fit exceptionally well.

I naturally have bigger legs, yet I love how these fit comfortably though the top block, thigh, and lower leg. Leg opening wise I didn’t grab an exact measurement (my bad), but I’d guess they’re in the 8-8.5” range, which is similar to what you’ll find on a classic pair of Levi’s 501. And in general, I’d classify these as essentially 501s with a bit more room up top, which is a nice, in my case welcomed, tweak to make.

I tried on a size 30 waist, which fit me comfortably, the result of some serious vanity sizing. (The size 30, according to the brand’s website, actually measures at 32.9 inches.) I also want to commend Toteme for making jeans in various inseam lengths, even if at the moment there’s no 30 inseam. (Hopefully soon!) but at present if yojre a 32 they’ve got you, and if you’re super tall they even offer a 34 inseam length.

As for the $450 price, it’s fair to say there are lots of Japanese, denim-centric brands making premium selvedge products with pricing in that ballpark. So if you’d rather spend your money on a pair from a brand that specializes in top tier jeans, I wouldn’t blame you. On the other hand, at a time when $1,000 jeans are becoming the new norm for luxury brands, I was actually pleasantly surprised to learn that these are sub-$500. And I think because of that, they’re going to do big numbers for Toteme. Ultimately, I like them, I’d buy them, and I’d definitely wear them.

***I also want to note that while the solid white and black jeans are made in Turkey of Italian denim, the washed pairs, which retail for $590, are made in Japan of Japanese fabrics.

In general, I’m not a big fan of when fashion brands dip their toes into tailoring. It’s not their fault—it’s just the category is jam-packed with specialists who know how to dial in suits to their clients’ body types, and make suits using old school, high quality techniques. By contrast, when it’s not your sole focus, and you try as a brand to make a suit via an off the rack option that appeals to a semi-broad audience, it’s difficult, hell, nearly impossible, to make something that a) is worth the price and b) looks good on a lot of people.

Now, having said all of that, I actually think this Toteme suit would look really cool on some folks (namely tall ones!), but it’s just not my taste. The jacket is quite boxy and oversized, but the lapels are smaller than I’d prefer. The trousers are cut in a slightly flared manner which I don’t automatically hate in concept—I just never like how bootcut trousers look on me specifically.

Ultimately, I think at $2,000 it’s hard to argue for a “vibe-y” suit like this when you could get something off-the-rack from a brand like J.Mueser for around that same price. You could also spend an extra $1,000 and get something MTM, or an off the rack suit from a brand like Husbands that is dialed into this kind of rockstar, 1970s, flare leg pinstripe suit aesthetic.

I understand why this coat has become an iconic Toteme womenswear item—you take a classic button front wool coat, add a giant scarf to it, and boom, the result is a versatile, functional, warm-as-heck piece of outerwear that can be styled in a bunch of ways. And given how unique the design is, it can easily stand out as an “it” item among those in-the-know without the need for some crazy color scheme or giant logo.

But honestly, even though it was tweaked for the fellas, I don’t know if this one’s for me. To be fair, I think it looked better in the above photo when I deployed the built in scarf as, well, a scarf. But when I rocked it down loose-y goose-y style I just felt like I was wearing a cape.

Now, it’s worth noting that my style and this coat are just not aligned, which is not the coat’s fault. In fact, I think there are men out there with much more adventurous senses of style who could make this thing look sick as fuck. I simply accept my fate that I am not one of them.

Aesthetically, I think these loafers are perfect for 2026—the ruched toe signals trend awareness, but a classic penny loafer shape indicates these are intended to be your go-to loafers for the long haul. The fact that they have no beef roll or penny slot is a classic Toteme nod to their minimalist leanings.

The brass tacks of these loafers is this: they’re made in Italy from using a Blake stitch construction, which means they’re flexible right out of the box. They’re also technically resoleable, though not as easily as Goodyear welted shoes.

Now, I respect Toteme in general for being transparent about where its products are made—they go so far as to even name specific factories they working with right on their product pages. (In the case of these shoes the factory is GEM Srl in Stabbia, Italy.) But when it comes to shoes, especially $880 loafers, I wish they would also add details about the tanneries they work with and the specific grades of leather used if they wanted to take the idea of transparency all the way. I’m nitpicking a little bit, but I think it’s the kind of things real footwear nerds like to know.

All of that said, how do they feel on foot? Pretty damn good if I’m keeping it a buck. To be fair, I didn’t get the opportunity to wear a pair all day, but the initial comfort was there as they have a wide, forgiving toe box that doesn’t smush your toes or feel like it would cause blisters. Also, this is just anecdotal evidence, but I was told co-founder Karl Lindman wore his own pair on a walk from the brand’s SoHo store all the way to its Upper East Side outpost pain-free, so make of that what you will.

Alongside the jeans and doublé coat, these loafers are in the running for my favorite item from the Toteme menswear collection, and I expect to see a lot of dudes wearing them in the coming months.

This was one of the first pieces I saw from Toteme’s menswear offering. Actually, I’ve actually had it in red in my own closet for the last couple of months. The brand sent it to me as a gift, and I’ve worn it a handful of times, particularly in the rain. Now, I think it’s a pretty nice-looking jacket that adds an easy pop of color to an outfit. But I didn’t know the price of it until this week. So while I think this is objectively a versatile windbreaker that has the nice added benefit of double zippers and a built in hood, the problem is, it’s really expensive for what it is. Even if it were $400, I’d think that was a lot for what is ultimately a thin nylon shell. Unfortunately, the asking price is actually $900.

I’m not saying nylon jackets don’t deserve to fetch big money. But when it’s Arc’Teryx, the price comes with the guarantee that you won’t get wet. And when it’s Stone Island, there’s usually some crazy garment-dyeing process and technical innovation that went into its creation. With this Toteme jacket, it’s kind of, in all honesty, just a plain nylon jacket with a hefty price tag and a small chest logo. I have no issue dropping $900 on a dope jacket, but I can’t imagine spending that kind of dough on this one.

It’s hard for any black cashmere crewneck to stand out in the marketplace in 2026. After all, you can get one from Uniqlo for like $100, or Loro Piana for $1,900. At the end of the day, the purchasing decision comes down to your budget, how a particular sweater fits you, what fabric weight you think feels right, and if we’re being honest, a lot of the time, just which brand’s vibes you like the best. If you can get some kind of story behind the specific yarns used that help justify the price, that’s a bonus, too.

I say all of that to say that this is definitely a black cashmere crewneck. Specifically, it’s one where the weight is not too heavy or too light. (For what it’s worth, I don’t particularly like ultra-thin cashmere as it feels too precious.) It’s also a sweater that fits me quite well. Namely, I like how Toteme purposefully designed it to be just a hair shorter than your average sweater, meaning it looks good both tucked and untucked. The neckline is nice, elegantly framing a collared shirt without being too tight.

At $770 it’s on the higher end of the cashmere sweater price spectrum, but also nowhere near the apex of the market. Point is, if I were you I’d go try this one on IRL, but if you are in search of a solid cashmere sweater with a great fit and have the dough to spend, I wouldn’t be disappointed to learn you scooped up this one.

I gave you my honest review of 12 key products from Toteme’s first-ever menswear collection, but I need to mention that there are a lot more pieces from the offering I didn’t have a chance to experience in person—either because I didn’t have time or they weren’t available yet. But from what I was able to see, touch, and wear in person, plus the info I’ve gathered from perusing the online shop for the last few hours, I’m left with a few key thoughts.

1. I think the collection achieves its goal of being a complete, simple wardrobe for men who just want nice clothes they can wear anytime, anywhere—whether that’s to the office, out to dinner with friends, or hanging out doing absolutely nothing on the weekend. Nothing in the offering is particularly extreme from an aesthetic POV, which on one hand means you’re not going to wow many out-of-the-loop onlookers. On the other, it all goes together pretty effortlessly. Think of it this way: if your entire closet was comprised of Toteme menswear, you could easily pick out items blind and know that you’d end up with a nice looking outfit. To a lot of people, that’s a huge win.

2. In terms of the specific products, I think they’re all, for the most part, made of quality materials, constructed solidly, and decently priced. As I mentioned earlier, there are a couple of items that gave me genuine sticker shock (namely the hoodie and shell jacket), but other than that I think everything is in line with what I’d expect given where the womenswear offering sits in the market, and what pricing is like for comparable labels like Lemaire and Auralee. It’s worth pointing out that Toteme is not priced to sit with high-end luxury. And thank god for that, because the whole segment has frankly gotten preposterously expensive over the last few years. So while these items are objectively pricey, there are mercifully no $1,600 loafers or $1,300 jeans to be found, even though those items are made of quality materials in Italy and Japan, respectively.

3. Where I’m interested to see how things with Toteme menswear shake out is in who exactly it’s trying to speak to. Because it might not appeal to true style obsessives, but I’m not sure it wants to, either. If you’re the kind of shopper who likes to know every last detail about about a garment’s construction, fabric origin, etc., then there are probably options that would be more your speed at these price points. You might reach for Samurai jeans over Toteme’s, or Alden Leisure Handsewns over the above Moccasin Loafers. But if you’re a guy who has a few bucks to spend, and you want to easily up your style without needing to overthink it, I do think Totemnswear hits a nice sweet spot. Hell, I’d rather you wear this brand than 90% percent of the other poly-blend nonsense that’s on the market vying for the attention of “non-fashion guys.” But as a certified menswear sicko, I also gotta state for the record: I genuinely enjoyed wearing the doublé coat, button-up shirts, black jeans, and black loafers. They’re all things that’ll be on my radar as we enter the fall shopping season.