IMO, real fashion is not about celebrities—it's about what happens on the ground. One of the most important moments of "men in womenswear" happened in the wake of the Stonewall Riots, which made many gay men tired of hiding in the closet.
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American "fashion" outside of the metro centers clothing mostly doesn't change for men almost ever. the materials and quality get cheaper but in many ways men are still wearing what they would have worn in the 80's.
America's strength is its size, it is also its biggest weakness. So many people just don't get exposed to anything that is fashion, just what sells which is compliance and fitting in.
I am a grandad... the shape of the legs on your pants isn't fashion. Also, thats what I said the 80's - thats when mass market, cheaply manufactured really started to kick in.
As a Brit' I've seen fashion take massive changes in 6-months to a year, becuase all the newspapers, TV etc. are national
where as here everything is regional and almost always commercial which has to appeal to advertisers who sell what they've got. I'm not saying it's good or bad it just is.
That's another really weird thing... American men used to wear speedos for swimming now they wear knee length baggy shorts. Women used to wear one piece and modest bikinis now they wear little more than string... Just nuts.
Taking inspiration from transgender sex workers, many gay men adopted "radical drag," which blurred gender lines by combining extreme symbols of masculinity and femininity. Gold lamé dresses were worn with work boots; pink tutus were paired with Army jackets.
Radical drag never took off because ... well, it was too radical for the mainstream. But it did influence protopunk bands such as The New York Dolls, who performed in feminine dresses, long hair, and glitter-glam make-up. And they influenced the glam rock bands of the 1980s.
Richard Hell in some interviews claimed the punk aesthetic he developed—short hair, ripped clothes–was in large part to stand out in the early 70s NYC scene where there was a big cabaret revival. His bands were playing the same clubs as Wayne/Jayne County and Bette Midler.
Not well-known in the US at all, but even into the 90s, the UK post-punk band the Manic Street Preachers wore very gender-bending outfits, in purposeful contrast to grunge. Their bass guitarist /lyricist Nicky Wire still sometimes wears skirts on stage.
Just three members of a little known band that almost no impact on modern music at all and definitely didn’t shape the political mindsets of late gen x / early millennials in any way, shape, or form.
Interesting. I was in Canada and those who listened to metal were definitely in skinny jeans. The 90s mom jeans were what most wore though (metal lovers being a smaller portion of population).
I was born in ‘77 and would say they started popping up once we got to high school (grade 9). I remember being shocked when they came back in Europe in the mid-2000s and then they were full steam here in the USA a few years later.
As someone who cycles a lot and has short legs, I really couldn’t get into skinny jeans (literally) so I’m always trying to find something that fits my shape.
Back in the 90’s it was flared jeans, they vanished but hoping this is a return! They’re so comfy.
Flares are great if you are always indoors, but live in the country and you ended up permanently wet to the knees. I was very pleased when skinny jeans came into fashion. I've still got some traditional metal trouser clips for cycling.
I was just about to say sometimes your style is an extension of the practical requirements of your life. I'm a tapered cut guy, can't get in skinny stuff but I don't like flared cuts.
I'm a mountain biker and that's how mtb trousers are cut.
I actually have a pair of "cycling jeans" that are skinny, lots of lycra, and reflective bikes on the turn ups. Ideal for the short of leg!
Maybe they make them for men?
There’s like 3 basic things you never do — land war in Asia, Chotiner interview if you have something to hide, and fuck with Derek Guy on anything fashion-related.
Even a Sicilian has no chance against a battle of wits against Derek Guy, for he annihilates all of them. Heck, even the Dread Pirate Roberts had best stand down.
Back when he was the creative head of Dior, Hedi Slimane made waves by releasing skinny jeans for men, which he later said was an intentional celebration of androgyny, as that type of cut was only worn by women at the time.
People have to be either very young or incredibly tuned out to not have noticed these things change during one’s lifetime. Have they never even watched movie from the 70s and seen men wearing pants like this?
This silhouette was then made desirable through bands such as The Strokes and non-gender-conforming hipsters. Men who couldn't afford Dior jeans raided the women's aisle for their denim—a move Levi's celebrated in 2011 when they released their "ex-girlfriend cut" for men.
Shiiiit I was buying stretch, low rise, boot cut jeans from the women’s section in 2003 and my shirts from the children’s section. People made fun of me, and then a few years later were buying the same styles but from the men’s section.
In the last 30 years, skinny jeans have moved from "womenswear" to "androgynous" to "hip guy" to "passé." As I've said, it's ironic that some of the most critical voices in today's gender wars are wearing a cut that was once seen as a sign of declining masculinity in the West.
As a person who grew up in a scene with a lot of tight pants/girl pants wearers (punk/hardcore/emo bands), it's funny how incredibly late Levi's was to the style. I remember how prominent it was in 2003/4.
Of interest is an ode to patched flared pants in the hippie era, as recounted by contemporaries (and adapted by Levi Strauss & Co. as 646 Bell Bottom Jeans). It's the latest post on my timeline and takes Derek Guy's name in vain: https://bsky.app/profile/loquitur.bsky.social/post/3ld53wjm3r22e
Twisted Sister was more ‘normal’ than J Edgar Hoover, who allegedly wore dresses and protected Mafia, when wasn’t disrupting Black Panthers and peace activists with Cointelpro
The cultural thing kicks in as well I guess. Robes in various cultures have always been accepted for a variety of reasons. There are just periods when men don't have that much in the way of "fancy" clothes. The difference between Cromwell being in charge and King Charles the second.
A friend of mine in the early 80s wore women's jeans because he liked colours and men's jeans were only blue or black. He had orange, green and purple ones. And in the 70s, men were very colourful - florals, chiffon, blouse-like shirts, fringes, sequins. My brother wore the lot.
This is what we grew up with in Britain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNXFtVWB47E
My dad called them all 'poofters' but as far as I know, all the members of Sweet were as straight as a die. Steve Priest (the bassist here in the German helmet) said it was just drag. 😁
Personally I'm on a one woman mission to get the men at work to adopt a cravatte or a jaunty neck tie. They think the others will laugh at them if they wear something different and that bothers them. Men make their own style prisons!
A new dress code launched at work and a male colleague complained that women had more options in hot weather. I pointed out that the company did not specify gender in the dress code. They are always the ones building their own prisons.
My way in was wearing a silk scarf under my shirt whenever I shave and my neck would get very irritated by the collar. Silk feels amazing on a freshly-shaved neck, and no irritation!
My ex bf is 6'4, he used to buy black womens jeans at secondhand stores before they made skinnies for rocker dudes(late 00s into the 10s). Some skater guy friends too. Wore them with boxers to prevent the buttcrack flashing
Thank you! Growing up GenX I was surrounded by New Romantics, men with blow
Outs and a full face of makeup and women with short hair and shoulder pads. Have always believed clothes and fashion should b genderless and this is an important convo at this moment in history 🙏🏻
Children of the revolution? Going against the drabness of the war and the fifties? Was the challenge of gender roles part of this too. With a call say for example of wages for housework, or am I stretching a bit there? Certainly a lot of questioning at the time.
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As a Brit' I've seen fashion take massive changes in 6-months to a year, becuase all the newspapers, TV etc. are national
(Pic: Sigue Sigue Sputnik)
https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Visual_Kei
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_kei
So visual kei is fashion coming full circle.
https://www.insidejapantours.com/blog/2016/01/11/kabuki-and-the-art-of-david-bowie/
Not true. We first have to again recognize that codes change over time. For instance, the slim fit trend today started with non-conforming men.
Back in the 90’s it was flared jeans, they vanished but hoping this is a return! They’re so comfy.
Taller heels would be nice too.
Maybe I should have riding jeans and keep the flared ones for when the bike is left at home.
I'm a mountain biker and that's how mtb trousers are cut.
Maybe they make them for men?
Fortunately his loss is our gain.
My dad called them all 'poofters' but as far as I know, all the members of Sweet were as straight as a die. Steve Priest (the bassist here in the German helmet) said it was just drag. 😁
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-year-old-fashion-trendsetter-wears-suits-to-school-chelsea-maine/
Outs and a full face of makeup and women with short hair and shoulder pads. Have always believed clothes and fashion should b genderless and this is an important convo at this moment in history 🙏🏻
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glam_rock
https://www.sweetrelief.org/davidjohansenfund.html