Is Men’s Designer Fashion Becoming Too Feminine?

This week saw the first Toronto Men’s Fashion Week happen (also know as TOM). There aren’t many fashion events purely just for men, this being Canada’s first, but some of the collections have come under steam for being too feminine.  This is undoubtedly something we are noticing in high end fashion; that men’s clothing is looking more and more like women’s clothing. Is it ok to blur the lines and be a little androgynous or should men always dress like ‘men’?  

During the week, a collection by designer Mic Carter was dropped from the show because it was described as too feminine.  Known for his often gender crossing clothes, some of Carter’s latest collections have included male models in cropped shirts and skirts.

Where should men be drawing the line, or in fact should no line be drawn at all?  Of course you aren’t going to see many me wearing exactly what’s been debuted on the catwalk, as with any high fashion display, but the new trends we see from these high end designers do work their way one way or another into the high street stores.  Florals for instance, have slowly but surely made their way onto men, with a big rise in the trend in 2013 and 2014.  As has wearing pink as well, now seen as perfectly normal and acceptable by a lot of men and women.  However, we can’t help but feel that most men would draw the line at these flowing sleeves and dress like creation. Either way we are excited to see where men’s fashion will go in the future and who will follow the trends.

Fashion does cross the gender lines and it is a common sight for us to see the women of Hollywood flashing a full suit or tuxedo from time to time in place of a pretty girly dress so just for viewing pleasure here’s some A-list women rocking some suits and showing men how it’s done.

Are you Afraid of Florals?

Florals have always been, and still are, a prominent feature in women’s fashion but right now they are making their way over to men’s fashion too! It looks like florals are a big trend for 2014, both on the high street and in a lot of the top fashion designers’ collections.  Now that summer is just around the corner, there is no better time to be pulling out the floral prints.  If you do choose to give them a try, and you wear them well, they are the ultimate sign of masculinity.  They don’t all have to be bright and bold either if that is what you are afraid of.  Some of what we saw on the catwalks for Spring was shall we say, quite daring?  You also don’t need to be decked out in it from head to toe; in fact I would recommend definitely not doing that.

Something subtle like this floral shirt from Animal can be a great place to start, smart and casual and great for both the day and evening!  But by all means go with the bright and daring if you prefer, just remember to pair a print or pattern with something plain and simple to even it out and spare yourself from looking like a walking flowerbed!