Those of us who’ve had our eyes open for the last decade have probably noticed a few shifts in fashion; or if you will, a shifting back to things we thought we’d be over and done with. In short; I’m talking about the androgynous fashion styles. The most obvious examples of this will be the shirts that were all the rage a few years ago; salmon, baby blue, or even decorated in the same style as we’ll usually see women’s blouses. While we now mostly appear to have moved beyond that – most of what is akin to that fashion nowadays comes in a cut that you can accept. So much for that!
If you have recently seen pictures of the catwalks in Milan showing the next two season’s worth of fashion, you will notice something rather odd; men’s shawls! Yeah, that’s right. We’re now supposed to wear shawls too. Now, you can probably say, we’re already wearing ties, bow-ties, scarves when it’s cold – what’s the difference? Well, really. There’s a difference. A scarf can be tied to look masculine. A tie is quite simply one of the most stereotypical male items to wear – the old saying about who wears the pants in a household? Well, at this point in time, it would be more sensible to make it who wears the tie. The bow-tie is a tux-item that also works with other snazzy outfits, but it is clearly a male thing (outside of certain traditional outfits/costumes that is – the same goes for the tie I guess).
So what is the shawl, then? It is a traditional women’s item, that’s what it is. It looks feminine, and you’ll be challenged every step of the way if you are to make it appear even remotely masculine. I don’t deny that somebody might make it work – people manage the most amazing things! But the designers that are now trying to hype it as a male fashion accessory, well, it sounds like telling fat women to wear thongs to the beach. There are just some things the world is better off not seeing!
Fear the return of androgynous men’s fashions?
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