UrbanUpdate

You don’t have to make over-the-top, bold choices in fashion and grooming to stand out—just look at John Legend. He's a minimalist. His approach to style is similar to his music—timeless and classic with a modern cadence.

Legend hit the music scene when hip-hop and rock ruled the charts. In 2004, if there was an audio-playing device near you, it probably blasted Lil Jon, Usher, Avril Lavigne, and/or Nickelback. And since music and style go hand-in-hand, the dress code included baggy jeans, trucker hats, and wearing two pastel-colored polo shirts with the collars popped. Apparently we all decided to take unnecessary risks in life after seeing The Day After Tomorrow.

On occasion, Legend fell victim to some of those trends, yes. But then he learned what worked for him, and now he's sticking to it. At the beginning of his career, John rocked twists. When those went out of style (cough D.L. Hughley), he opted for a timeless, tapered cut keeping the sides faded low. He also keeps his facial hair short and subtle. This keeps his boyish face looking full grown—without hiding those dimples. It’s a low maintenance look and it works whether he’s leaving the airport, walking the red carpet, or performing on stage.

If, like 80% of Instagram, you're dabbling in minimalism, take notes from Legend. He excels at dialing-up the fresh and clean look from safe-but-boring to an elevated state of bold-yet-subtle style.

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Legend started hitting the red carpet tie-less long ago. (A turtleneck is a reliable way to remix a black suit.) Take note of his subtle stubble. He adds the right amount of edge to any traces of that baby face by shaping up his shadow. Depending on how fast your facial hair grows, you can shave the day before or the morning of your event and then line it up as you get ready to head out. That's the key to achieving this look. (Plus, it’ll decrease your likelihood of getting carded.)

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Even while traveling with the kids, Legend looks like he’s ready for a photoshoot—which is incredibly difficult to do. He keeps things simple and relies on the color black from head to toe, and lets his jacket and accessories do the heavy lifting. Grooming-wise, Legend keeps it simple with a low fade cut leaving some length on the sides and top. If you have trouble explaining to your barber the type of fade you want, screenshot this photo.

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Here’s an example of Legend's unimpeachable airport style. Simplicity is key. So is looking like you belong in first-class. Again he sticks to black, and uses the jacket to dial it up and the sunglasses for an understated flex (shades being a great sleep-aid on a plane as well). Also ready for lift off is his hair. Legend left his sides short, but let the top grow out a bit. An underappreciated styling product to add to your toolkit is a leave-in conditioner. Leave-in conditioners are great for moisturizing, adding a touch of shine and hyping up your waves or curls without weighing your hair down like gel or grease. To get Legend’s look, after washing your hair, brush the product in on your sides and comb it through on the top.

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John looks effortless by subtly shaping up his 5 o’clock shadow and delicately fading the sides as to not look like he got a haircut on the same day as this event. Paired with a super crisp suit and air tie, and this more relaxed grooming style looks incredibly sharp.

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Remember when we said music and style go hand-in-hand and that Avril Lavigne was a thing? Yeah this kind of thing used to happen back then. But hey, we all have photos from 14 years ago we’re not proud of, right?

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