"Honey, does this make me look like a fat President?"
Posted on 03/23/2007 7:22:39 AM PDT by Millee
So, there we were, the husband (we’ll call him Simon, for that is his name) and I, getting dolled up for date night. There was the usual tussle for the mirror, and that’s when I spotted it: my purple Marc Jacobs belt holding up his skinny combats. I would have been miffed, but the truth is, it looked hot. Sort of Justin Timberlake meets the Scissor Sisters. His retort when I feigned annoyance? I was always borrowing his clothes, so it was his turn to even the score.
As it turns out, we were teetering at the top of a very slippery sartorial slope. Next, it was my vintage waistcoat, then my All Saints “boyfriend” cardie (skinny fit on him). By Christmas, it was no surprise that top of his list was “a necklace, but nothing too blokey”. I found a fab Perspex bee pendant on the most delicate of chains at Dior Homme, and it’s proved to be the perfect accessory to set off his new “girlfriend” look.
And a look it definitely is. Slim-fit, slightly tailored, with nods in the direction of 1970s glam and the nu-rock’n’roll fraternity. Think Russell Brand minus the goth. And with much better hair.
Speaking of Dior Homme, its designer, Hedi Slimane, has a lot to answer for when it comes to this new aesthetic. His trademark skeletal silhouettes and elegant tailoring have filtered down to such a level that every lad with even half an eye on what is fashionable now aspires to the “D’omme” effect.
Using women’s clothing to get the look began with boys and their skinny jeans. The stylist Thom Murphy, a regular contributor to iD and Arena Homme Plus, explains: “ You couldn’t really get skinny jeans for men until recently. All the kids I know used to get their skinny jeans from the Gap women’s department.” But how much simpler to just lift a pair from one of your female friends?
Over on the other side of the fence, last year’s “boyfriend” look for girls opened a huge window of opportunity for potential “girlfriend” dressing. “ Women aren’t wearing nearly such girlie clothes as they used to, which makes it easier for men to dip into their wardrobes,” says Murphy.
An enthusiastic advocate of “boyfriend” myself, my wardrobe soon filled up with oversized jumpers and floppy jeans, which also happen to be the perfect size for Simon. Lucky him. The floodgates opened, experimentation began, and now I feel as if I’m buying for two whenever I walk into Topshop. “
The thing is,” Simon expands, when I probe him on this new-found predilection for, well, cross-dressing, “most blokes’ clothes are pretty drab unless you’re going to spend a fortune on designer labels. I want to try out different cuts and colours, so why spend money in Topman, when your wardrobe is right there in the bedroom?”
It’s worth noting that the line between clothing designed for men and women is becoming increasingly blurred. For instance, there is an emerald-green jumper from the spring/summer 2007 Balenciaga catwalk that is virtually identical in the men’s and women’s collections.
Donovan Pascal, the head designer for the boy/girl street brand Religion, says there is lots of crossover between his men’s and women’s collections. He isn’t shy about stepping out in samples from both lines, either. For him, wearing women’s clothes is purely about the fit and styling of the garment. “On the whole, most men’s clothing is very commercial, whereas womenswear is much more adventurous. As long as there aren’t too many details that make it obviously feminine, you can usually get away with wearing it.”
The vintage market is another place where “girlfriend” flourishes. Nisha Thirkell, of the vintage treasure trove Beyond Retro, has seen a flood of boyfriend/girlfriend dressers coming to her shop. “Vintage shoppers are generally more concerned with putting together an original look than whether something was originally designed for a guy or a girl.”
She recently sold a women’s leather jacket to a male customer. “It had a nipped-in waist and buttoned up on the left-hand side, which sharpened up his shoulders a treat and hugged his body like it had a crush — it looked great.”
So, ladies — watch your wardrobes. We started it, and now it’s open season when it comes to rifling through each other’s drawers for the perfect silhouette for summer 2007.
Great minds!
Yes dear, check your forehead - the stiletto will be stuck in there in 10 seconds.
I gotta tell this story on Xena's Guy. He's a slim dude . . . six feet and maybe 140 pounds.
Early in our dating, back in 1997, we were at my place one weekend and wanted to go do something. He was in shorts, so he asked if I had a pair of jeans he could borrow.
I did as a matter of fact have a pair . . . a brand-new pair of size-six Levi straight-legs. I'd never even worn them besides trying them on in the store. I was SOOOO excited to be a size six I couldn't even stand myself!
So he puts on the Levis, and damned if the guy didn't look a thousand percent better than I ever did in 'em. I was torn . . . be miffed because he wore my jeans better than I could, or enjoy the view? (I opted for the latter.)
He still has those jeans, btw. My mission is to get myself into 'em one more time before they disintegrate!
We have a t-shirt collection in common; he wears them under button-downs and I wear them when I'm too lazy to iron something. Also I steal his socks remorselessly during the Festival.
But if I ever found him in, say, my little black Nicole Miller strapless number . . . or my winter-white Victor Costa column gown . . . oh, yeah, that'd be trouble.
I fear masculinity is becoming extinct......
My son just grew in to my size. He has stolen my Chuck Taylors and a pair of grey OSU gym shorts from me, in addition to several Old Navy flag tee-shirts.
My most comfortable clothes!
I don't, but fags are becoming more acceptable by the day it seems.
Oh well, I'll never give up my work boots. They'll have to peel them off my cold dead feet.
"Honey, does this make me look like a fat President?"
All of a sudden, I get the feeling that "Victor's Secret" would be a great name for a cross-dressing boutique.
Oh, no, he did NOT steal your OSU shorts! My mom went to OSU and would have scalped me for such a sin.
You're a kinder woman then I. ;o)
Well, they WERE Levi's. If they were something girly, like Glorias, my reaction would have been different.
Bwahahahaha!!
That is EXACTLY what I said when the Google page came up! We probably even used the same tone of voice.
He didn't like it that my shorts got absconded. He liked them. (On me, that is...)
Does that make me a cross-talker?
What language is this?
Only if you are wearing pantyhose right now.
Um, you're not, are you?
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