Mixing Menswear & Womenswear

[phathack]

This is an article that I found where a woman talks about how she mixes clothing found in the menswear department with her normal womenswear. http://girlinthelens.com/2013/02/28/how ... omenswear/

As a skirt wearing man its clear that I like to turn things around the other way and mix womenswear with my normal menswear wardrobe. Since I started wearing skirts, about 7 or 8 years ago, I have expanded my use of womenswear beyond skirts to womens pants and shorts as well since they are available in far more styles and colors than mens pants. After all I can't wear a skirt to every event I may attend, some people just don't understand fashion freedom and their opinion may reflect negatively on me...

Through experimentation I have settled on a look that works for me. These days you will find me wearing a womenswear/menswear mix of clothing at least 90% of the time and no one seems to notice, if they do no one has said anything to me about it and its hasnt causes a noticeable negative effect on me.

The one thing that struck me about the article was her heavy use to mens tops while avoiding mens pants. My experiences are exactly the opposite. I have found that womenswear tops simply don't work due to the fact that most womenswear have necklines that are tailored to emphasize the bust line. That seems to be true regardless of what the piece so I no longer even look at women's tops. I also avoid wearing the bright colors that are available in most womenswear as well. After all menswear is black, navy, brown, tan & grey. Anything else is only found in sports wear, like on the golf course.

Over all I happy to be able to broaden my style some. I don't dress exactly like the rest of the men I'm around while not calling too much attention to myself. Just that right amount of comfort and style while not looking too far out of place.

[skirtyscot]

The one thing that struck me about the article was her heavy use to mens tops while avoiding mens pants. My experiences are exactly the opposite. I have found that womenswear tops simply don't work due to the fact that most womenswear have necklines that are tailored to emphasize the bust line. That seems to be true regardless of what the piece so I no longer even look at women's tops. I also avoid wearing the bright colors that are available in most womenswear as well. After all menswear is black, navy, brown, tan & grey. Anything else is only found in sports wear, like on the golf course.

Surely your experience is the same as hers: you both go for tops from the men's dept and bottoms from the women's!

I disagree that menswear has to be (or is) restricted to so few colours, and so drab. I. Have shirts for the office in pink, pale blue and purple. T shirts and other casual shirts come in all colours. And have you seen a kilt in the MacLeod tartan?

[crfriend]

I have found that womenswear tops simply don't work due to the fact that most womenswear have necklines that are tailored to emphasize the bust line.

Some work, and some don't. I have three blouses "from the other side of the aisle" which all work very well on me, even though they do have rather deeply-cut necklines. This is not as much of a problem as it might seem as I usually leave two buttons or so undone unless I'm wearing a necktie so it's not a large departure from the normal for me.

Whilst I've not had the cubes to show up at my new job (yet) wearing a skirt, I've worn a couple of my blouses to good effect and nobody seems to notice.

On colour: I do not fear it in the slightest. Why should I? I have pink shirts, and I've always favoured brilliantly coloured waistcoats.

[r.m.anderson]

Other factors of the other side of aisle is the HEM line is usually proportioned for a shorter person.
The sleeves are also shorter on long sleeve garments. If not that the sleeves are 'Cap' or shorter
than men's short sleeve 'T' type shirts. The area around the waist may be 'darted' in for the hour
glass shape of the female form. And then the button placket invariably is reversed. For the observant
eye these things stand right out. The observant eye is usually one of us or a cross dresser or a
clothing sales person. The average Joe would not get it unless educated in what to look for in clothing
on the other side of aisle.

Solid muted colors and subdued patterns tend to hide the above. Wearing NEON pinks; loud colors
and floral designs (not Hawaiian Aloha gear) give away the clothing characteristics as being that
worn by females. After awhile you just know that that piece of clothing was designed for opposite
sex. But then what it is paired with may give the illusion that that is normal. A blouse and skirt - OK
female - questionable male. A blouse and the dreaded pants/shorts - OK female - should pass for
the male also. A dress here is a no contest issue unless it is a wrap type garment worn like in
Asian countries.

One interesting way for combining clothing for kilt wearers is a blouse for the top (similar to a
pirate's jacobite shirt). The kilt is traditionally worn at the high waist (belly button) and most
women's blouses can be either tucked in under the waist or simply worn free. Just try and use
some sense and don't mix a tartan kilt with a floral blouse !

So you are shopping in a Department store and the general norm is that if it sold in the women's
department then it is worn by women. Conversely if the clothing is found in the men's department
then it must be for a man. -BUT- au contraire why are folks crossing the aisle to wear what is
over there? The prices? The fit? The color? It goes with the other half of my outfit? Some and all
of these is the answer. There are of course some items that are not considered unless that person
is opting for the full CD effect.

In a nutshell - why worry about tradition; normality; something made for the other side of the
sexual aisle - if it befits you wear it - if someone notices the differences it can be the start of
interesting conversation just like when you first started out wearing the kilt or your first skirt!
Enjoy the conversation!

[WesleyN]

I've bought other woman's clothes, than skirts too. I have a woman's pant and shoes, you don't see it's made for women. Woman's pants are commonly slimmer. I know you have skinny jeans for men. And I like to wear them too.

But as a man you can wear all of kinds today, include pink. The only colours I don't like to care are brown, beige, navy and yellow. The only reason I hardly wear yellow is that the colour is changed (is gowing ugly) after washing.

[Jim]

My clothes I mostly buy used, mostly originally designed for women. This fits me better because I am much shorter than the average man. A men's short sleeve shirt goes past my elbows, and long pants need to be rolled up a lot, or cut off and re-hemed. But I don't go for a feminine look; most clothes are similar enough in style I don't think anyone notices. A long beard covers the slightly lower neckline on the button-up shirts.

I usually don't pay much attention if what I'm wearing was originally for men or women; some of my jeans, I really don't know.

Let's don't worry about it!

[rick401r]

I found it interesting that no one in the comments thought it odd that a woman can wear men's clothing. I wonder how they would respond if the article had been written by a man?

[Ron]

why do you have to stick with dull dark drab colors?
I like bright colors

[Sinned]

I also wear bright colours as I have indicated in other threads. I also find that the brightly coloured trousers or jeans can only come from the other side of the isle ( I have always said that I don't want to wear a skirt full time but include it as part of my overall wardrobe ). I mix menswear and womenswear as I see fit and I generally don't take too much notice as to whether the garment was designed for men or women, just the overall look. I have lately become more interested in tops because there is a HUGE section that can be pretty much unisex, if you take out such as frills and sleeve lengths.

It is not odd that women can wear men's clothing - they do it all the time, and not just feminised versions but actual men's clothing. They are the true cross dressers, not us and they do it openly. But when we ask for equality then on the whole it's completely unacceptable. We are labelled transvestites, cross dressers ( as a derogatory term ) or even perverts. And I have practical experience of this from MOH.

Interestingly, and this may actually advance our cause, with the movement towards clothes that can be worn by either sex what's to stop stores doing away with the male and female sections and just have sections marked Tops ( blouses and shirts ), Woollenwear ( all classes of cardigans, jumpers, pullovers etc ), Trousers ( including jeans ), Skirts, Underwear, Shoes and so on. That way men would be forced to become more familiar with women's garments and it would help remove the stigma of men being seen in the female section. I wonder if any retailer would be brave enough to do this or more importantly from their point of view would it offer them any retail advantage? What do others think?

[norstdresses]

In the weets in my yellow swinging dress.gif

yes, Ron. Bright colors are really beautiful and I like them very much. Looks great your dress

[Ron]

In the weets in my yellow swinging dress.gif

yes, Ron. Bright colors are really beautiful and I like them very much. Looks great your dress

Thanks,yours looks good too.

[Grok]

The double standard was addressed in the Fashion Freestyler (formerly Casual Crossdresser) web site. It was pointed out that women have leverage as the gatekeepers of sex-and the gatekeepers of reproduction. For a man to procreate, he must-for practical purposes-conform to an image of traditional masculinity. Otherwise, he will be rejected by the vast majority of women, and will likely leave no offspring. A woman who is a Tomboy, on the other hand, has the option of reproducing even though she is a nonconformist.

[Grok]

Regarding Sinned comments about clothing categories.... I don't know about the far future, but the reorganization of categories won't happen during our lifetimes. There is sheer inertia, plus the prejudices/preconceptions of the sheeple-the overwhelming majority of the population. The most that can be done now is to dress to please yourself, and hope to inspire others.

[Caultron]

The double standard was addressed in the Fashion Freestyler (formerly Casual Crossdresser) web site. It was pointed out that women have leverage as the gatekeepers of sex-and the gatekeepers of reproduction. For a man to procreate, he must-for practical purposes-conform to an image of traditional masculinity. Otherwise, he will be rejected by the vast majority of women, and will likely leave no offspring. A woman who is a Tomboy, on the other hand, has the option of reproducing even though she is a nonconformist.

I'm not buying it. The vast majority of women reject the vast majority of men anyway. But fortunately, all it takes is one out of 3.5 billion.

[Grok]

To use a metaphor, women seem to be looking for an exceptional man, a Prince. However, in their search for The Prince women will immediately weed out men who obviously fail to conform to traditional masculinity.

I know this is getting way off topic, but there are both men and women who are rejected by mistake-individuals who are Diamonds In The Rough. Individuals who are who have a lot to offer, but are quickly ruled out because they don't seem to fit the images of Prince or Beauty Queen.