I was fascinated with menswear since I was a teenager. Dapper men were one thing, but when women borrowed experimented with masculine pieces, they just looked so much…what’s the word…handsomer? Stand-out-ish? After discovering Annie Hall, I’d first forge some ties out of some skinny old scarfs before graduating onto some authentic ones from Amazon.
Shortly after, I drastically my upped my game.
I would mix hyper-feminine features with masculine, or sometimes I’d just go hardcore tomboy with a cropped haircut, suspenders and brogues. Now that I found a happy, androgynous balance for my gamine body type, I pose a question: why does menswear clothing look fascinating on girls? My inferences:
- Menswear muses throughout the decades have proven to us that when done right, we can take new pieces and revolutionize another way of dispalying sex appeal.
- It can enhance our femininity.
- By contrast, we love borrowing some masculine appeal from the boys (We do love them so, after all!).
I work in retail, so every time I look over at the men’s section, I became elated by the sheer beauty of the newest clothing items followed by a sinking feeling that alas, they won’t fit my frame.
But! I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to shop at the men’s section and get it tailored every which way in order to experiment with style a little.
We already have the staple oversized blazer as well as the oversized button down that’s been coming in and out of trends for a while. Last week I gave you one template of my signature menswear-inspired look followed by a basic menswear formua. In today’s post, here are some other unsuspecting pieces that you might want to consider adding to your menswear ensemble.
Ascot
Part scarf, part bandana — full modernism! There are several ways to tie an ascot, but I’m going to try it tucked under a button up.
Hoodie
Okay, so hoodies are not normally my preferred clothes item (any surprise here?) because when it comes to elevated fashion, hoodies are just the lazy way out. However, it’s very trendy for men to style it with a topcoat today, so I will make an exception for that type of combination.
Floral shirts
I love how florals have become so androgynous. THey look great on both men and women. Simply take a shirt that has fewer gender distinctions and features like bows and soft patterns, and voila!
Suspenders
Okay, this one is a no-brainer. I’d personally pair these with a poet blouse and trousers. I used to wear them with a necktie as well, but later I gave up on that as I think it’s a bit overkill.
Trucker jacket
The good news is yes, there are trucker jackets readily available for women. In fact, you may have passed them over at Old Navy. The Levi’s collection is also the most recognizable.
Trench coat
Make sure to grab a thick one and you’ll get a sturdiness that’s most evident in men’s fabrics like gabardine. See, menswear doesn’t have to be all out and obvious like an Annie Hall thick necktie; it can be as subtle as the material that you associate with gendered clothing.
Wool knitwear
Okay, you can thank me for this one since it’s SUPER easy to style. If I wanted to sport a casual vibe I just slip on a basic white tee underneath the knitwear and tuck into my seat all warm and comfy on a rainy day. There’s something strangely comforting and romantic in knowing what guys like to wear in their comfort zones.
Dr. Martens
They’re certainly not unusual to find in the girls’ aisle — you can find them in Zara anywhere near you so they’re consiered unisex by — but they’ve stemmed from equestrian wear before passing down to the working class for manual labor. I always thought that ones with shoelaces had clear cut associations with menswear.
Flower
I pin it on the breast coats of my blazers — and the bigger the better. Enough said.
Bonus: Cologne
If I am sporting menswear I add an extra twist of expectations by adding some Bourbon cologne from Bed Bath and Beyond. Perhaps one day, people will associate me as the girl who likes to wear men’s cologne. Why, though? Why does she wear it?
Well, why not? It’s very outside the box, if I say so myself.
