How to Look Like a Cool Dad on a Brooklyn Playground, According to Vogue

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

How can you be a cool kid on the playground when you're all grown up? Just ask a Brooklyn dad. One Vogue editor has hilariously discovered that fathers of young offspring in the borough are the ultimate purveyors of style on the playground, putting his "shapeless jeans, grungy Nikes, and cheap Uniqlo puffer" to shame with their "vintage sneakers, fisherman's sweaters, work jackets, and wrap scarves" — better not let tiny, messy hands get a hold of those.

For those out there who can't imagine putting together an outfit for children's playdates, the magazine is here to help, with simple tips like replacing that uncool diaper bag with a backpack and choosing the right roll-on deodorant (to smell like the "chicest mountain man alive," natch), plus picks like a $795 cashmere hoodie. "Dad style is about working harder to look like you aren't actually trying at all," after all.

But why try in the first place? Because kids are a snooze, apparently: "For all of its abundant joys, parenting can also get a little boring, and there's nothing like a style contest to enliven a rather repetitive stretch of winter weekends." Just be sure you've got one eye on the little ones while the other is one that fellow dad's jacket label.