Your male and female sense of style

[Alice]

This is something I've been curious about: how does your male sense of style relate to your female sense of style? I've gotten the impression that many of the people here don't feel particularly strongly about the male clothes they wear, and obviously just about everyone here probably feels strongly about the female clothes they wear.

Personally I enjoy shopping for clothes and getting dressed regardless of what gender the clothes were intended for. Anyone enjoy dressing their male self as well?

In addition I find my taste for both male and female clothes to be fairly similar, at least in terms of general style. Do others enjoy the opportunity to dress in a drastically different way as a female, or do you dress along similar lines? I guess I'm just looking to see where I stand in relation to everyone else.

Lastly, does anyone here shop the same stores or brands for both male and female clothes? I love just about anything from J. Crew, Brooks Brothers or Lacoste, to name a few.

[Jane G]

A very good question & one I've not really thought about. My wife and I go clothes shopping together and as a rule, we have very similar taste. I think over the years I have choosen as many of her dresses & blouses, as she has and vise versa.

As for male clothes, I do like to look smart once in a while, but other than a few nice suits my male clothes consist of training shoes several pairs of Chino's and a few dozen printed T shirts, basicaly a total bore.

[April_Ligeia]

There is a lot of overlap in my male and female clothes. When i'm not at work i am androgynous, so i simply think of my clothes as 'my clothes,' whether male or female. I wear scrubs for work so that is a nonissue.

[Beverley Sims]

For female clothes I choose carefully, styles and suitability for my appearance.
For male clothes.. Anything that will help me pass.... as a male.

[Cheryl T]

Female clothes...OMG what am I going to wear today...hunt through closet, try on 6 different outfits, change mind 12 times, finally put on a cute skirt nice blouse hose and heels and go YES!!!
Male clothes ... pull out a t-shirt, grab a pair of jeans, add socks and sneakers ... ok now I can do anything.

[Jocelyn Quivers]

Similar but different, even though I actually care and place a heavy emphasis in how I look in fem mode there are some similarities that have been inherited from my male side.
The similarities I share,
1. Shopping only at a few select stores- Male Mode- Kohls, Men's Warehouse, Wal-Mart, Target. Fem Mode- H&M, Old Navy, Target, Express
2. Wearing the same style or color of clothing- Male Mode- bland dull color shirts, ties, suits etc. Fem Mode same color of hosiery black or suntan, not too much of a fan of multi colored hosiery.Same outfit set up usually dress, top, skirt.
3. Shoes- do not care at all in male mode as long as it fit's right that's all that matters. Same for fem mode due to my big size 11-12 I'm limited in this area and go more for confort.

[xdressed]

My male mode and female mode have very little in common clothes wise. Male mode is pretty much all black shirts with heavy metal bands on them or related things. I do take pride in these clothes and what they represent, but not in a fashion sense, more because I am representing a community that is misunderstood and sometimes unfairly stigmatised, as well as specific people in that scene (not to mention giving money to people who work very hard and get very little cash for it even if they have a strong fan base). In girl mode it's very different, the top and the bottom have to match each other and my mood, my black dress is my favourite but I feel like I need to have colour and difference in my attire. Oddly when I crossdress I often feel 'normal' whereas in my day to day life I feel more like what Kurt Cobain called 'a chosen reject', as in I'm happy to be me and not what everyone is trying to make me.

[RainyNightGirl]

Alice, thats a great question. Since I have started taking my CDing more seriously and thinking more about en-femme style and clothes (well its closer to obsession than interest but thats another thread lol), I have also been noticing that I really want to dress better when I am in male mode, eg I want to be en-homme as opposed to drab. Leave drab for about the house but en-homme when going out.

I have just recently taken a lot more interest in what people are wearing (eg on TV), mostly for femme clothing, but I have also really noticed when there are well dressed men. I have really noticed when those well dressed men do not use the typical open shirt, and standard jacket, but when the colours are better coordinated, wear long flowing jackets and also when there are nice accessories (like a neck chain, belt buckle) that really add panache.

One of the things I like about women's clothing is that there are so many more options, so many different types of shoes, so many different types of dress and skirt. For guys it really is shirt and trousers...one length, on main style, (ok short sleeves or long sleeves). So I really do admire some men when they do have that real different sense of style and do something beyond the 'shirt and slacks'. So yes I do want to dress better when en-homme, I want long flowing jackets/coats. I want shiny accessories, I want different and varied shoes to wear. I also notice that some men are able to wear earrings on both ears and really pull it off with their attire, whereas in my limited fashion sense some cannot pull of a single earring with their overall appearance.

So my question to your self and others, do you think men are given the opportunity to wear more interesting clothes from what is available in the shops, or do you think a lot of guys are not really that interested in what they wear, are quite happy with the shirt and slacks?

Great question Alice, thanks for posting.

Hugs
Natasha

[terrianncd]

There is a lot of overlap in my male and female clothes. When i'm not at work i am androgynous, so i simply think of my clothes as 'my clothes,' whether male or female. I wear scrubs for work so that is a nonissue.

This describes me as well. I'm short and petite jeans come the right lenght. When wearing skirts, I tend to go for a "retro" style. Something with a full skirt to even out my body shape.

[AngelaKelly<3]

I don't really put much thought into the male clothes I wear. But I tend to go for colourful things like, bright t-shirts and what-not; I also like colourful female clothes

[docrobbysherry]

In drab, I'm a complete slob! Because it's pretty pointless to dress nice and STILL look so unattractive!

As a CD? I try to look good, but my dressing taste is still in my mouth! I see so many girls here with true fashion sense and realize I have SO MUCH TO LEARN!

[Chardonnay Merlot]

Count me as a person who pays as much attention to my male clothes as my female ones. I will never buy into the concept that male="drab".

I also take serious inventory of my dress as a man because many of my male clothes can crossover. Not being very tall and being slender, a good sum of my male attire can be feminized.

But I still need a stylish women's blazer.

[melaniecd34]

I am the same as Chardonnay - I pay as much attention to my male clothes as female clothes. I do wear a lot of pink in male mode - even in the office, a nice pink shirt or a pink tie. just because you are in male mode doesnt mean you can't bring out some of your feminine side