Fashion
Your Androgynous Clothing Fashion Guide – Top Tips & Best Brands
The word, androgynous, is a bit of a mouthful and I hope it won’t be long before someone comes up with a shorter word to describe this important clothing trend! But in the meantime, let’s find out exactly what androgynous dressing entails and how it could benefit everyone!
What is androgynous fashion?
The unfamiliar word, ‘androgynous’ comes from Ancient Greek, transmitted into various languages through Latin.
Andro means male and gynous means female, so it’s a handy way to explain the concept of something being both genders at the same time, or without gender.
In today’s fashion world, ‘androgyny’ is usually taken to mean neither male nor female, but appropriate for wear by any and all gender-types. It’s sexually neutral and allows the wearer just to be a person, without expressing any gender profile.
And the whole idea of androgynous fashion is to be all inclusive and remove sexual stereotypes from the situation altogether. And it makes a lot of sense to stop people being forced into dressing in a range of fixed styles!
The only questions is – why on earth has it taken this long to let people be themselves!
Androgynous clothing characteristics
The main characteristics of an androgynous outfit would be a loose and open shape, boxy jackets, denim fabrics and deep, dark colors.
Loose capes are perfect outerwear for an androgynous outfit and geometric patterns are popular, too. Skirts are ‘in’ for everyone and that includes Scottish kilts!
How to get the androgynous look!
1. Choosing androgynous clothing
Your choice of clothing colors always projects a specific image to onlookers and it’s vital to wear suitable colors in your androgynous outfits.
Classically, a gender-neutral outfit would have neutral, non-color tones like, black, white, beige and various shades of gray.
But a splash of color can really enhance your look, so add accessories that suit your skin tones, and bring out the color of your eyes and hair color to get the best effect.
So a cool, blue scarf would help accentuate blue eyes, warm orangey shades can look great with brown eyes and purple accessories would bring out any green color in your eyes.
2. How to get the androgynous look – feminine body type
People with a feminine body type look great in loose pants/trousers/jeans, if they’re going for an androgynous look. This tends to downplay the shape of a feminine waist and hips.
Avoid leggings and skinny trousers that emphasize the female shape, and choose male jeans’ styles like boyfriend jeans to get the androgynous effect.
Teamed up with an oversized t-shirt, top, jacket or cardigan, this will further enhance your gender-neutral style and create a casual, streetwear ensemble. Especially if you wear canvas sneakers.
Loose-fit, button-up shirts for men are great for women to wear in an office-job. And worn with a V-necked sweater or over-size cardigan and flat, brogues/Oxford shoes you can create a professional, gender-neutral look
What to avoid
Femboy fashion outfits are a great trend, but they only make women appear more feminine. So they aren’t really a part of the androgynous fashion style.
3. How to get the androgynous look – masculine body type
The idea is to balance out your masculine characteristics, so wearing lighter, brighter, feminine-style fabrics helps a lot. And look out for clothing in softer fabrics, like velvet, satin, silk and lace.
Wear tailored shirts and tops or throw-on a cardigan or oversized jacket over a T-shirt, when you’re wearing jeans and trainers. Or hunt for vintage, tailored men’s jackets with a nipped-in waistline, like Bowie used to wear for a stylish, silhouette changer.
And for a stronger look, wear a ‘see-through’ blouse with fine-fabric, loose trousers in a similar color to the top, and low-heeled footwear.
4. Trendy androgynous fashion accessories
Accessories are great for cancelling out gender clues, so choosing the right belt, hat, scarf, spectacle frames or bag can really help you create a fabulous gender-free style.
Adding a fashionable fedora, a retro news-boy cap, an everyday baseball cap or a trapper hat will definitely shift the image of a too-powerful, unified outfit.
5. Fashionable androgynous hairstyles
Your hairstyle is a very strong part of your overall image, so if you have feminine features, you may choose to balance them out with a short hairstyle. Pixies and buzz-cuts, with plenty of trendy texture, are a good choice.
And the asymmetrical, side Mohawk is another simple, yet eye-catching style that anyone can wear. Whatever your face shape, your stylist can adjust the long slanted fringe and side parting to be flattering. This is an edgy look that will suit your fashionable, androgynous clothing style.
On the other hand, anyone with more masculine features should select a longer hairstyle to balance the look. But there are no hard and fast rules about your hairstyles and a lot depends on your face shape and the type of clothes you prefer to wear.
6. Best androgynous makeup styles
For an androgyne look, you will need to use a careful blend of subtle and daring color techniques. And Korean beauty looks are often used as a guide to getting the right look. So you should use matte face powder to even out your skin tone, but then you can add a strong brow.
Red lipstick is highly fashionable and looks great with a simple makeup style, but make sure you get the correct type of red for your natural coloring. Some reds have cool blue tones in them and others have pink or warm, orange tones.
Ask the store-assistant to help you find the right shade of red for your natural skin undertones. Adding gorgeous red lips to a fairly neutral clothing outfit can be really eye-catching and classy!
Your androgynous style can still be influenced by techwear, streetwear, cottagecore or whatever. So match your hairstyle and makeup with the fashion trend you prefer – within your androgynous wardrobe!
Top 5 Androgynous Fashion Designer Brands
And to help you get the right combination, here are our Top 5 Favorite Androgynous Fashion Designers for this year! Take a look at these fabulous androgynous clothing outfits and you’ll soon know exactly what styles you prefer!
1. Telfar – Androgynous clothing
Trading successfully since 2005, Telfar has a fabulous motto that reminds us of all-inclusive clothing. And it’s the phrase, ‘Not for You – for Everyone!’ which has helped propel this business into a well-respected, global androgynous brand.
Telfar produces impressive, unusual and daring collections, which mix and match items in a truly innovative way. And they support sustainable practices and cruelty-free fashion by offering fabulous vegan ‘leather’ shopping bags. Shop here for outrageous, New York City style and cozy hoodies!
2. Toogood – Androgynous clothing
Toogood champions individuality and kindness to others, in their modern approach to gender-fluid fashion clothing. So the clothing is gender-neutral and totally focused on sustainability and eco-conscious manufacture.
This British androgynous brand is owned and run by Faye and Erica Toogood, sisters who offer a fabulous range of clothing that is unconventional and non-conformist! Go here for comfortable shapes that have a simple and practical vibe.
3. Wildfang – Androgynous clothing
This brand had a great idea, to design clothing for women that is structured exactly like apparel from the men’s department. So you can buy great suits and separates here, designed to be chic and tom-boyish, for women who support modern, feminist ideals.
Wildfang clothing comes in a huge range of androgynous garments for every occasion, including functional and smart workwear. And the founders, Julia Parsley, Taralyn Thuot and Emma McIlroy are working hard to get fashion to catch-up with how people live their lives in the 21st century!
4. Chelsea Bravo – Androgynous clothing
Chelsea Bravo began in New York, but is now an exciting androgynous fashion design brand in London. CB clothing is comfortable to wear and made in natural materials, including sustainably-sourced hemp fiber and organic cotton.
Go here for elegant clothing and slow-fashion. Chelsea designs are highly stylish and focus on comfort and non-restricted body fluidity beneath a smart, chic exterior.
5. One DNA – Androgynous clothing
Another New York-based label, One DNA emphasizes what human bodies have in common, rather than trying to emphasize gender. So their genderless clothing is popular within a wide range of gender-identities.
Look out for trendy mutton-chop sleeves on blouses and a range of clothing that breaks with all previous stereotypes. And when you shop at One DNA, you know you’ll be able to find clothing to suit all sizes and shapes!
It’s an exciting time in fashion, with the whole industry opening up to different trends and more individuality than ever before! And that means everyone can dress to reflect how they feel inside, which is enormously freeing and a fantastic step forward!
Your Comments
Your thoughts and opinions are extremely important and help guide our editorial decisions, so have you got a minute or two to answer these questions?
- Which of the above brands attract you most – and why?
- Which androgynous styles have you worn and how did you feel in them?
- Do you want to wear androgynous clothing all the time or part of the time?
- Which celebs are furthering the androgynous clothing cause most right now?
