The masculine trend is out in full force at the moment, with a little helping hand from London Collections Men earlier this month – see Fashion Editor Heidi’s round up of the trends in our first issue of 2014. But the question is not if we adore this trend or not – we most certainly do! – it’s if we’re becoming a little too comfortable dressing in men’s clothing. I, for one, am a massive fan of anything oversized and I find it a lot less embarrassing to be sat next to a guy wearing the same jumper as me than a girl. Nevertheless, have the lines of men and women’s fashion become too blurred? Should the ‘I’m wearing my boyfriends’ clothes’ look be reserved for next-day walk of shames’ only, or is it acceptable to ditch the, arguably somewhat limited, ladies high street collections in pursuit of something a bit more manly?
My inspiration for masculine dressing came from my new favourite blog: Girl in Menswear. After forever forgetting to pack an outfit for the next day and refusing to wear the same clothes for three days in a row, this blogger started adjusting her boyfriend’s clothes to fit her small 5 foot 2 inch frame. Her love for menswear was consequently born.
But ladies, don’t be put off: the masculine trend does not mean that the concept of shape should be altogether forgotten. I’m a firm believer that everyone should dress according to their height, shape and size, whatever this may be. Adding a belt will never go a-miss, and layers should definitely be a high priority, no matter what the season. Masculine dressing can also come in the form of tailoring, it’s not all about baggy jumpers and shirts. A men’s jacket or blazer can work wonders in giving any outfit a bit of a masculine edge.
I know I’m not on my own with my love for men’s clothing, but how far is my opinion shared? I reached to a few of my dear fashion-loving female friends for a bit of help. “I agree that women can and should be able to wear men’s clothing, but I think that it should be worn in moderation”, one said, whilst another disagreed, stating that men’s clothes should only be worn by women in emergency situations, such as the forever dreaded walk of shame, experienced by many across campus, no doubt. Interestingly, my fashion-loving male friends agreed with the former, sharing that “my girlfriend can borrow my clothes as long as we don’t end up looking like twins”. I have to agree with that one: the ‘his & hers’ look is a bit too matchy-matchy for my liking.
But what do you all think? Should each gender stick to their own clothes, never to be swapped or mix and matched? The next time you see a girl in guys’ clothing walking around campus, are you going to assume that she’s had a cheeky late-night sleepover, or that she made a deliberate outfit choice that morning? I think that men should be flattered that we love their clothes so much; if anything, it’s a compliment to say ‘hey, we think your clothes can be much better than ours!’. Personally, the only thing that’s stopping me from purchasing many items from the Burberry Prorsum Autumn/Winter 2014 collection shown at London Collections Men is my extremely restricted student budget.
