You get the best of both worlds-feminine or masculine, no matter how divided the worlds are, the number of options of the garments you can choose from are a whole heap.
From H&M to Zara, Lifestyle to Shoppers Stop, there are different sections for men and women. On our shopping days, we all come across men snoring outside the ladies’ trial room. A baby girl is identified by the pink floral frock she is wearing. Not only the shopping outlets, but even the known brands that are trend-setters in today’s market also have a different section for men and women. For a long time, social rules were proven to be a cause for the restriction on people’s dressing style according to their gender. From the runway trends to clothing in stores, the influence of gender bias has always been marked. This sometimes becomes limiting as it inhibits expression. Some individuals who express themselves through non-binary clothing are scorned or mocked for being non-aesthetic.
Dressing in an androgynous manner is not something which is widely appreciated but is on a path to acceptance. Nowadays, gender fluidity in fashion is a very common idea to be seen and is vigorously accepted. The idea behind androgyny in fashion is that the clothes are not supposed to be gender-specific which basically means men wearing skirts and women wearing boxers is something that should be widely accepted.
Androgynous style evades gender stereotypes. The people dress or style themselves to look neither like a typical man nor a daily woman. This new trend on the radar allows you to be you, ignoring the basic gender bias that still coexists in our society. There are multiple brands and designers who strike back to this binary fashion trend, trying to diffuse it in the industry by using androgyny to innovate new trends in a way that they don’t support any particular gender and let the individuals express their true selves. Some brands like Gucci are using their position in the industry to promote the use of female points in men’s clothing. The androgynous clothes created a boom in the sales of men’s clothing lately. Many brands like Wales Bonner and Wildfang have been following the trend, proving binary clothing ideals to be outdated. Some designers like Pierre Cardin have been quite successful in showcasing androgynous clothes. These designers and brands have been trying to successfully mould the way the general public views and accept androgynous fashion. This includes tampering layers or lengths and mixing the fabrics that are considered more masculine to something that is more inclined towards feminine clothing. Some examples of androgyny seen daily on the street are long hoodies, joggers and leather jackets.
Fashion always played with androgyny, but lately, it has been taking pro-active steps. For example, the wide-leg pants have been in trend since the 1980s. For androgynous fashion to be more widely accepted, the concepts of masculine and feminine characteristics need to be eradicated and merged for gender-neutral clothes to set on the trend wheel. As a kid we heard Miley say 'You get the best of both worlds, hottest styles, every shoe, every colour' - feminine or masculine, no matter how divided the worlds are, the number of options of the garments you can choose from are a whole heap. The way we style them may differ but any of them can be labelled as androgynous giving the non-binary look we are aiming for.
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