22/01/2009

adrogyny takes fashion to a whole new level

The 'boy meets girl' look has been apparent since the early 40's, and fashion hasn't since chosen to fade far from it's infatuation with androgyny and sexual ambiguity.

Adrogyny began in the mid 19th century, following outrage that the miners 'pit brow lassies' wore trousers underneath their skirts. This was a scandal to the Victorian Society as it was part of the era in which girls were corseted to enhance the feminity of their figures. In the 40's fashion was simplified to keep in tact with the busier lives of women post war. The dissipation of high couture in Paris, and the introduction of rationing meant that beautiful clothes were slightly harder to come across, and the increase of working rights for women ensured that clothes had to be practical. Up untill the 1960's, women wearing trousers was prohibited in public places and schools, for being too 'overtly masculine'. In 1965, André Courrèges featured trousers and tailoring in his womenswear line, being the first occasion in which long trousers were considered as a fashion item. Since then with the rise of punk in the 1970's, women were persevering an entirely new take on masculinity. The rise of materials such as leather aswell as adrogynous layering built strong connections with adrogyny, forcing our opinion of sexual ambiguity to develop from dislike and disregard into acceptance.

With the history part over, in fashion we can see that adrogyny is still evident in the ready to wear runways. In the recent collections, we can see some clear correlations between the womenswear and menswear.


LES HOMMES A/W 09 ALEXANDER WANG S/S 09- HOLEY T-SHIRTS

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN A/W 09 CHANEL S/S 09- POCKET CHAINS


ETRO A/W 09 CACHAREL S/S 09 - AUTUMNAL SHADE JACKETS


LES HOMMES A/W 09 YSL S/S 09- BLACK SHEER SHIRTS


What do you all think of adrogyny? I think that it's fantastic that designers are embracing both sides of human creation and always playing on our ideals of masculine and feminine. There are always some parts of us that correlates between both genders so why not portray this through fashion?

33 comments:

Sarah-Mary said...

I heart androgyny! Frankly there's nothing sexier than not being restricted by your sex.
You write so eloquently! You'd make a mint journalist!
xx

Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky said...

I rode for about 11 years. I had to give it up to go to college though. I miss it very much.

Raquel said...

I adore the chanel dress! <3 the bow

xx

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, today androgyny is generally taken for granted and women can wear pretty much anything they want. And as a result, new definitions of femininity and masculinity have appeared which i find both challenging and exciting.

Nice post Molly, I agree with Sarah-Mary, you'd make a great journalist!

Demi said...

haha, yesss, i love it!

ooh lovely clothes, i love all the pants that were on the runways this season, but i dont think i'll be wearing them anytime soon! i think you have to be a certain bodyshape, which suckss.

those ysl cage shoes are hot!!

xx

saray said...

awesome post..

Anonymous said...

i'm all for it! :)

xoxo,
La C.

Adele said...

i LOVE that sweater by mcqueen and always have.
did you see karla of karla's closet do her take on it? looks so good.
androgyny - a big fan. can't get enough of it.

Eeli said...

Aaah, it would appear you MAY have missed the disclamier. Read it and weep while i wipe a trickle of sweat off my forehead. Phew! I'm glad i wrote that in :P

Thankyou for your thoughts, i'm glad to here that your own circumstances ended on a positive. It seems a bit downcast for me right now but we'll see.

As for androgyny. I love it, Second to my love of layers really. I enjoy the play between the masculine and feminine personas. It always illicits some wonder with others and its like an overt expression of your alter masculinity or femininity.

What a great post this is :)

Eelie xo

Fashion Tidbits said...

yup. i love androgeny and i love wearing boy's clothes too

Annabel Wendt (LoveMore) said...

i am totally for it! such a good thing right now..and the fusion is working OH SO WELL!!! lovely exploration of it :)

did you buy the jeans!!!??? hope so - they would look amazing on you doll!!

hope you had a great friday dearest!!

xxx love LM

giggleness said...

alexander wang sweater. i love.

Syed said...

Oh wow beautiful examples dear, I do adore the adrogynous look, it is unexpected in a way but wonderfully creative. Although at times I do wish we could also go back to that couture boom of the post war period!

Couture Carrie said...

Fabulous post! I love your side-by-side looks - great research! Androgynous dressing fascinates me!

xoxox,
CC

Anonymous said...

how amazing is that post?
adrogoney,or however you spell it is pretty damn good:)and i would happily wear all the outfits down those ctawalks,if i could fit into any of them,natch
primarni-thats cute:)ill back you up too,we ARE proud of cheap and chic accessories,and possible further basics and etc.I have to admit,a lot of the dresses and tshirts look INCREDIBLY tacky:)))
the chanel?glad you like:)
IVE ADDED YOU TOO!OMG!yay:)
plus i know i sound like an incredible bimbo,im not,i just like smiley faces and the word omg
TOPSHOP SALES RULE ALL.supreme forever.allthough im really sad because now i dont have a reason to spend in there coz the giftcards all gone:(((
your comment has made my day!
i go on a bit dont i?
anyway,ihave the feeling were gonna get on just fine:))))
muchlove
lottie

yiqin; said...

I think it doesnt suit me though. I'll just look like a boy :(

Cate said...

Your "history of androgyny" was really interesting!
I have to say I hate the black sheer shirt on the guy. Lol.
I don't like androgyny when it's too severe, but when you put an edge or feminine twist in it in your outfits, I think it's very interesting.
I pinch things from my dad's wardrobe quite often ;)

I not only grew up in Germany, but am still living there :D So yes, I speak German fluently.

Kisses,
Cate

jessica said...

well, i think that adrogyny is great, but i also think that we should play up what we've got every now and again .
mainly, im a huge advocate for balance .
men's blazer & watch, herve leger dress ..

x

Rand said...

thank you darling:) but they still havnt given me the"prefect" bagde so i can tell off the younger idiots.hehe:)
ahh well good for you about the socks or else uniform will be boring.it is boring....mine is like gross:S
oh i got a samsung wirh 13.6 MP from argos.it says on it L313.i have no idea:)
i love ur blog!
x

electric feel said...

great post!
every girl has a "boyish" side!

Aisha said...

God bless androgyny!
Now I can enter men's departure and don't feel guilty about it :)

*** said...

Alexander Mcqueen is amazing, but I prefer Burberry ;-)
Your blog is cool!

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

I think androgyny is great, I just wish I had a better figure to wear it!

Marie said...

women can pull of anything guys wear, if it's nice and fitted. I'm sad to say that doesn't always work the other way around.

But this was very informative! Thank you sharing. Great post, once again (:

Jen (MahaloFashion) said...

I saw a few diys of the alxander wang sweathers, too cool.

Sienna said...

Great blog. Link trade?

Em said...

Wow this is a great post to do because it can be so controversial. I myself love androgyny. I do agree with Deline, women have it easier then men in a sense that they can be more flexible when it comes to this. I like how you told us the history behind it. The part about the 60's and women wearing trousers and being prohibited from public places, I never even knew that before! thanks for sharing.

xoxo

Trish said...

Wow. Cool post!! I love how you compared those two pictures!!

clémencepoésyonline said...

i so lvoe all of this outfits

Anonymous said...

Androginy style is so creative..Thx for your nice comment,to answer your question I have a Nikon reflex :)

TheMinx said...

oh my god it's one of my favorite things about fashion. Have you ever read Androgyny magazine? It's my absolute favorite-printed in the UK but available in the US too. It has amazing fashion spreads. Thanks for your comment!

h said...

first of all thank u so much for your comment my hair is not straight this is my original hair:)love ur blog great pics u have...
kisses HANDE

Merily said...

I loooove the chanel dress.