Boys will be Girls will be Boys

Post by CM

Men’s Fashion seems to be coming to the fore. Where once they were the sex leading the way sartorially – think Louis XVI’s natty heels and enormous wig,  brooches adorning the cloaks of powerful Bronze Age chieftains and ancient Romans’ tunics, not to mention the pomp and circumstance of religious figures throughout the years – in relatively recent times fashion extremes and major trends have been left to the ladies.

But if you think about it, all the above – the jewellery, shoes, opulent garments – have been adopted, even commandeered by and for women, and the relatively recent fad for androgyny further goes to show that fashion can be fluid and adaptable.

London Collections: Men A/W 14/15 came to a close yesterday and for the first time in a long time got quite a bit of love from the press. Perhaps because many of the collections on show seem as likely to be worn by the dolls as the guys? There were beautiful cuts, glorious textures, unexpected colours and prints and serious attitude.

Long, grey and moody was the order of the day at Nicole Farhi and Xander Zhou, with Zhou adding that dandy but curiously butch ribbon to his offering. Agi and Sam also went down the dark route, with their gorgeously tailored loose and long-silhouetted suits with cropped trousers. Not an easy look to pull off and quite daring for the board room, it’s maybe best left to very confident creative types. However, myself being of the fairer sex, I can absolutely see myself in an amalgamation of the looks above. In fact I’ve already worn one!

LCM Street Style, Photo by Dvora

The tartan trend has been huge across the board, as demonstrated here by Alexander McQueen, and they’ve gone one step further by adding a kilt-like addition to a three piece suit. I don’t think it’s a huge stretch – tartan and kilts go hand in hand after all – and I actually think the whole ensemble is rather cool. Taking away the trousers and experimenting with texture, Ada and Nick have declared that men can wear skirts now. It may take a while to take off – designers have been trying to get men to drop trow for years now – but Ada and Nick aren’t the only ones; skirt-type garments have been spotted all over LCM.

Bright colours and prints, with plenty of layering and big chunky scarves were also spotted in abundance.

Quite streamlined, J W Anderson showed the most feminine offerings – oh and look, more cropped pants! Bags were big, Anderson’s bucket would hold all your manly needs (comb, wallet..?). Burberry Prorsum upped the ante with a glorious carry-all, and any men aiming to emulate that silk-scarf tied nonchalantly over your shoulders, call me I have loads (mostly inherited from my grandmother).

Well known male fashion enthusiasts are already embracing the girl/boy trend. Timie Tempah looks great (as always) in his floral jacket, and check out Elton’s royal purple and pearls!

This pair perfectly compliment each other, and you can imagine each in the other’s outfit still working the look. There are plenty of ways to keep your individuality, your femininity or your masculinity while experimenting with a bit of gender bending.

So thanks LCM, you’ve provided us with loads of stuff we can steal from our boyfriends. And loads more that they can steal from us!