As conversations continue to evolve around the social construct of gender, fashion continues to adapt to the ever-growing fluidity of gender that goes beyond the definition of sex. Clothes do not have gender, they’re pieces of fabric. Historically speaking, fashion cycles through different periods of appropriate dress. We have created a culture in which men are meant to wear pants, suits, boots, etc. If you look back even further historically though, you’ll find that men wore dresses and skirts prior to the 19th century, particularly in ancient Rome, ancient Greece and medieval Europe. Whether it was true to style or a marketing tactic, we’ve seen David Bowie, Kurt Cobaine, Prince and Freddie Mercury all sport dresses of some kind in their lifetime. They’ve paved the way for the Jaden Smiths and Ezra Millers of today. Like a lot of things in life, it was different … but it wasn’t wrong. There is no wrong way to dress.
Fashion is seen as inherently feminine. If women go outside the bounds of what is considered ‘normal’ because they are trying to achieve an aesthetically pleasing look. If men dare to go outside the bounds of masculine dress by so much as wearing a more tailored jean, people will question them. It has taken a bit longer for men to adapt, but we have finally arrived in a time period where the fine line drawn between man and woman is becoming more of a blurred margin, creating new definitions of fashion for people of all genders. We are headed toward a cultural melting pot of fashion that doesn’t dissect what you wear based off of who you are. It is becoming more and more acceptable for people to dress in such a way that disregards outward opinion.
Just as women are experimenting with different types of pants, men are finally venturing out of the boot-cut jeans that they’ve grown so comfortable in. Celine and Gucci (with the assistance of Harry Styles) have ventured toward a retro ‘70s flared pant in corduroy. This is very reminiscent of when women began wearing pants and they took on a more gender-fluid form.
Men wearing florals for spring actually is groundbreaking. Flowers have traditionally been known as very delicate and feminine, so it’s exciting to see the print become a trend for men. Gucci and Fendi have released their inner Midsommar and brought this trend to fruition along with an array of colors and pastels.
It’s rare that you’ll see men play around with different silhouettes, particularly when it comes to suits, so it’s interesting for men and women to be indulging in a similar look at the same time. They’re both adopting a steadfast symbol of patriarchal dress, but brands like Balmain, Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga are adding to the design by making them oversized, colorful and/or structured, which mimics what we’ve seen from traditionally female suits over the last decade.
A blouse is essentially a loose-fitting shirt intended for women made from a variety of delicate fabrics. You won’t specifically find blouses made for men, but there are shirts from SS21 Gucci and Ludovic de Saint Vernin menswear collections that come just about as close as you can get. While we’re in this age of gender-bending trends, it’s acceptable to casually browse the women’s section and keep your mind open to the possibility of trying a blouse on.
Many men of modern day have donned the skirt/dress look. Billy Porter, Harry Styles, Ezra Miller, Jaden Smith and even Kanye West have worn skirts throughout the past decade. Dan Levy, who played David Rose on the popular breakout show Schitt’s Creek, often styled his character in skirts. The skirt trend really took off, however, on Femboy TikTok, which is composed of predominantly teenage queer and straight boys twirling around in skirts. Though it hasn’t quite been a hit runway trend, it is not far off from what could become a reality.
Choosing to embrace these gender-bending fashion trends does not emasculate you. Choosing to dress the way you want regardless of societal expectations is empowering and shows the security that you have in yourself. Fashion is an art — it is a personal choice based off of your own personal expression — it’s ok to push the boundaries from the norm in order to achieve a look that is your own.