Fashion is a Spectrum

Fashion

is a Spectrum

wood gender rules by proudly donning menswear suits in films. More girls began to ruffle through their mother’s closets, looking for a new and radical way to reshape women’s wear. In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent launched “Le Smoking”, the first tuxedo suit for women. This moment helped to spearhead The Peacock Revolution, a counter-culture movement where men were beginning to break gender stereotypes following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967. By 1980, super-stars like Prince were unapologetically flaunting bold patterns on soft materials, while Grace Jones projected an intoxicating mix of sexy masculinity to her crowds. The Grunge era saw the final push at extinguishing the boundaries of gender, having rock stars don nail polish, long hair, and baby-doll dresses...

Many people think there are two categories to define clothing: feminine and masculine. Lace, florals, and sequins seem to be on any product with a drip of feminine energy, not mentioning the required 101 shades of pink. Masculinity appears in hints of leather and denim, rugged materials for the ‘Tough Guy’. These are very vague terms and don’t capture the world of fashion boldly existing between the two. This is the beauty of androgyny. While it does little to define the exact lines between masculine and feminine, it creates a new region for individuals of any background to blend the line separating genders. The first mentions of androgynous fashion come from the early 1900s, coinciding with World Wars I and II. Traditional gender roles began to blur, empowered women were starting to stretch their legs when the iconic Coco Chanel introduced trousers in women’s fashion. By the 1930s, the daughters of post-suffrage generation had pushed the boundaries of Old Hollyfor the simple pleasure of destroying the patriarchy. Androgynous fashion has broken inartistic boundaries for every individual to define their own style and express how they feel without restriction. It is just as normal for a woman to have a buzzcut with a full tux as it is for a man to wear a coordinating two-piece with matching heels. No longer will we be told what’s appropriate and what isn’t because at the end of the day, it’s your clothing. Fashion opened a variety of (closet) doors and instead of stealing from their mom’s closet, people are borrowing from their dad, their aunt, their rocker girlfriend, and their witchy roommate. Speaking of, can I borrow your spiked, red leather, Doc Martens? They would go just perfectly with my Chanel red wool skirt suit! By: Aura Sterling