Girls wearing men’s clothes have always been fashionable. But when men start wearing clothes that might be straight out of their girlfriends’ closet – girlfriend fashion – you can’t help but stare. Especially when it is not a bisexual or gay man but a proven alpha male.
Hunky football star Cristiano Ronaldo is a case in point. He was recently spotted in hot pants, with pink fresh flowers in his hair and carrying a clutch. So too action movie star, Jason Statham of Transporter fame, who was recently seen wearing girly hot pants accessorized with a clutch. In fact, girlfriend fashion, is being taken so seriously that supermodel Kate Moss made her beau Jamie Hince wear a pair of her cut-off denim hot pants.
Back home, men in skirts are becoming increasingly common at ‘Page 3’ parties. When Abhishek Bachchan started wearing a hair band, he set off a trend. And when Katrina wore pants in the film New York boys began s t r u t t i n g around in Katpants too. A n d ro g y - nous clothing – not particularly male or female – has been around for a while but till now, it was women exuding uber cool in men’s shirts with ties and tuxedos.
The fashion changed at the start of the year and brands such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, YSL, John Galliano, Number (N)ine and Yohji Yamamoto began to offer designs ranging from long skirts to skorts (skirtlike shorts).
Back in 2003, Rohit Bal sent male models out on to the catwalk in swishing skirts and sindoor but girlfriend fashion is not quite so obvious. Instead, designers are making subtle changes to colours, textures and cuts to introduce an understated femininity.
For his new season, designer Ashish Soni is “highlighting jackets with shorter length, lapels going thinner, classic bandhgalas with satin and velvet trimmings, teamed with slim and slender pants for men”.
Soni says he is using unconventional colours such as prune and burgundy in luxurious fabrics such as silk. But he insists that “as a men’s designer, I don’t prefer men carrying sissy stuff, but this season I do recommend accessorizing with interesting colours, even if they are in your socks!”
Stylist Smriti Mukerji says she has seen men in girlfriend fashion for a while. “Though it is still restricted to a certain strata of people, the silhouette of men has been changing for a while.”
Marc Jacobs, creative director at Louis Vuitton, is thought to have set the trend. His skirts are worn with such elegance that even women envy him. He recently went a step further by pairing a man’s skirt with Stephen Sprouse graffiti tights.
Girlfriend fashion may not be the in-thing for every man, but it is finding a surprising number of takers among men who want to stand out isn a crowd or express their individuality.
But the best, unstated advantage of genderless clothing is that in these hard times, the harried shopper can be sold the idea of a couple sharing a wardrobe and getting twice the value from each outfit.
sunday.times@timesgroup.com
Hunky football star Cristiano Ronaldo is a case in point. He was recently spotted in hot pants, with pink fresh flowers in his hair and carrying a clutch. So too action movie star, Jason Statham of Transporter fame, who was recently seen wearing girly hot pants accessorized with a clutch. In fact, girlfriend fashion, is being taken so seriously that supermodel Kate Moss made her beau Jamie Hince wear a pair of her cut-off denim hot pants.
Back home, men in skirts are becoming increasingly common at ‘Page 3’ parties. When Abhishek Bachchan started wearing a hair band, he set off a trend. And when Katrina wore pants in the film New York boys began s t r u t t i n g around in Katpants too. A n d ro g y - nous clothing – not particularly male or female – has been around for a while but till now, it was women exuding uber cool in men’s shirts with ties and tuxedos.
The fashion changed at the start of the year and brands such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, YSL, John Galliano, Number (N)ine and Yohji Yamamoto began to offer designs ranging from long skirts to skorts (skirtlike shorts).
Back in 2003, Rohit Bal sent male models out on to the catwalk in swishing skirts and sindoor but girlfriend fashion is not quite so obvious. Instead, designers are making subtle changes to colours, textures and cuts to introduce an understated femininity.
For his new season, designer Ashish Soni is “highlighting jackets with shorter length, lapels going thinner, classic bandhgalas with satin and velvet trimmings, teamed with slim and slender pants for men”.
Soni says he is using unconventional colours such as prune and burgundy in luxurious fabrics such as silk. But he insists that “as a men’s designer, I don’t prefer men carrying sissy stuff, but this season I do recommend accessorizing with interesting colours, even if they are in your socks!”
Stylist Smriti Mukerji says she has seen men in girlfriend fashion for a while. “Though it is still restricted to a certain strata of people, the silhouette of men has been changing for a while.”
Marc Jacobs, creative director at Louis Vuitton, is thought to have set the trend. His skirts are worn with such elegance that even women envy him. He recently went a step further by pairing a man’s skirt with Stephen Sprouse graffiti tights.
Girlfriend fashion may not be the in-thing for every man, but it is finding a surprising number of takers among men who want to stand out isn a crowd or express their individuality.
But the best, unstated advantage of genderless clothing is that in these hard times, the harried shopper can be sold the idea of a couple sharing a wardrobe and getting twice the value from each outfit.
sunday.times@timesgroup.com
NO SKIRTING THE ISSUE HERE: (clockwise from le
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