Maybe you’ve perfected your “morning after not sleeping in your own bed” look by learning how to rock borrowed, oversized joggers and a “groutfit” (strictly gray outfit). Perhaps you rock these outfits so well that you begin to incorporate cool grays and loose silhouettes into your daily looks. But when you get to a clothing store, you might run into the problem of never finding a hoodie off the rack that is as perfectly nonchalant as the ones you borrow.
Clothing companies are starting to catch onto the idea that clothes are not as binary as we like to think—just like gender, they fall on a spectrum.
The solution to finding those unspoiled, loose-fit clothes that many women thought they could only find by getting weird looks in the men’s department or stealing friends’ clothes is quickly becoming the newest “trend” in fashion.
Genderless clothing is clothing that theoretically works for any human that wears it and appeals to anyone. It does not play into the gender binary that separates men and women sections in stores.
Clothing is something that has always cooperated with our gendered society. As a result, when genderless or agender clothing start to become more prevalent among fashion companies, young people’s support demonstrates that maybe genderless clothing is not just a trend—but rather a deeper shift in fashion and even social movement.
Zara, a Spanish clothing line, was recently one of the first mainstream clothing companies to introduce a genderless clothing line. The company presented “Ungendered,” 16 different items modeled by all types of genders, in its TRF label. The 16 items included neutral tones and their hoodies, denim and basics.
Zara is not the first occurrence of breaking gender divides in the fashion world. The clothing divide between men and women started to break at the same time traditional gender roles started being broken socially.
Women joining the work force and then integrating into corporate positions reformed traditional gender roles and changed the fashion industry forever. Women wanted to be taken seriously in the office so they started wearing what the men wore: pantsuits.
Today we hear the word “pantsuit” and automatically picture Hillary Clinton in a room full of men questioning her fashion choices. Clinton was the only first lady to wear a pantsuit in the official White House portrait, but today we are so accustomed to women in chic pantsuits that this is hardly shocking.
Today’s image of a pantsuit isn’t men on Wall Street, but rather a ring of strong women in powerful positions probably dominated by men. More and more badass women are making the traditionally male pantsuit work for them and their lifestyles by tailoring the cut and style to them. Women like Rihanna and Angelina Jolie can be seen rocking Dior suits on the red carpet at major events.
The altering of the pantsuit to women as well as the chic, gray ungendered clothes of Zara brings up the question of whether clothes that are strictly non-binary can be sexy. I say that the clothes, whatever type of clothes they be and whatever gender section they were bought from, should fit the occasion and the person. The pantsuit can now be bought in both the men’s section and the women’s section—though the women’s pantsuits are tailored lower cut and slimmer. Maybe that works for your occasion, or perhaps you buy pieces from the men’s section to have a wider range or types of fit.
Clothing that is ungendered, as drab and neutral as it sounds, can be worn to be sexy. The clothes add to the person, they do not make the person. So shop in whatever section you want, take inspiration from your boyfriend’s grey joggers or class it up with a chic pantsuit while your friends are in dresses—just be sure it’s your choice.
