SS16 Trend: The Evolution of Genderless Dressing

First off, I'd like to say that I initially intended to title this post 'How To Dress Like A Boy', followed by some feminine-connotative word such as 'girly' in some form or other (don't hate me, keep reading), before I had an epiphany and realised that that was a fucking stupid, stereotypically-influenced idea and gave myself a slap on the wrist. Lol, life. I literally stopped and said to myself 'hang on, Olivia' -and I never call myself Olivia- 'describe exactly what you think it means to dress like a boy', or, as it was coming from my point of view, what do you consider to be 'dressing like a girl'? And why are you "apparently" not dressing like one in this shoot?

You see, I love to put on a dress and heels and get glammed up, just as much as the next person but the reality is, I'd much rather live in comfortable, baggy clothes and trainers. That's just me. And I am a girl. And plenty of other girls, most probably, feel the exact same, so why does my mind automatically go to 'boy dressing' whenever I throw on something less fitted and "therefore" less feminine? We see the term 'boyfriend (insert item of clothing type here)' thrown around left, right and centre, and I'm guilty of using it myself, but this has all stemmed from the idea that it wasn't initially created for the gender it's now being marketed to. That it was 'borrowed' from the opposite sex but why can't it just belong to us too? To everyone.

Androgynous dressing has been around for a while, I know, I know - it's nothing new, but there's never been a stronger time for it, as a movement, than this year. We've seen catwalks flooded with guys in tighter clothing, made from fabrics that once wouldn't have even crossed a mile radius of the menswear quarters, our high street friends, Zara have followed suit with their 'ungendered' range and don't get me started on my babe Jaden Smith and his unlikely, but fabulous fashions. Gender biases and stereotypes are becoming more and more blurred, as things are becoming more widely accepted and quite frankly, I love it.

Photos: @luzynsky

I am wearing

H&M shirt

H&M trousers (not online, similar here)

Adidas stan smiths

Mango bag (similar here)

Ultimate collections sunglasses

Speaking of biases, I'm aware I'm pretty much wearing head-to-toe H&M here and I'd like to say this was intentional, as I am entering myself into the BIGGEST COMPETITION OF THE CENTURY (Bloglovin x H&M x Manrepeller), though, it would appear my entire wardrobe this season was sourced from said store, so it was a natural progression to take part and HELLOOOOOO, we all love Leandra.

The moral of this post is that - I'mma continue waking up wanting to wear my figure-concealing, sometimes tent-resembling attire one day, and bodycon, "damn, girl, that ass" ensembles the next, without a care for what category they come under. If you like it, you wear it.

Afterall, this is fashion.

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♡