The Gentleman in My Closet

by Rachelle Bergstein

Sometimes I find myself sitting in a room of girls, all in flower-patterned dresses, headbands with bows, white lace gloves and kitten heels.  At least, that’s how it can feel in my mind.  When I look down at my own outfit, I usually see a pair of jeans, a wifebeater, a tailored men’s vest or a tiny suit jacket, or an oversized men’s shirt paired with leggings and scuffed boots.  I’m not, in the day-to-day, a particularly girly dresser.  I like clean lines and solid colors: there’s normally not a bead, ruche, frill, or rosette in sight.  I can’t show off cleavage I don’t have, and even the tightest clothes don’t look too scandalous on my body.  I do – girly-style – tend to wear accessories, but those too are relatively plain: big, but thin, silver hoop earrings, one bangle, a few silver rings.  Over time, I suppose, I’vedeveloped consistent taste.  What’s difficult, at this point, is not identifying the things I like to wear, but always feeling confident in my choices, especially when I’m confronted with girls who prefer more typically- feminine clothing. 

When I think about it, I’m not surprised I tend towards menswear.  My mother, the Norma Kamali queen, loves it (a staple of her wardrobe, for as long as I can remember, has been a man’s white collared shirt).  In my house, growing up, we loved hearts and stars, but also plaid and pinstripes and houndstooth.  For a childhood birthday party, mom and I raided my grandfather’s overstuffed closet for suit vests, which became the main event for me and six other girls.  We attacked them with glitter, buttons, lace, thread, and yes – tiny pink and red roses.  The difference, however, between me and the others is that while the vests were a momentary diversion for my guests, I actually wore my creation for months to come.  The girls who called themselves my friends looked at me sideways, unable to appreciate that a large man’s suit vest would later set a precedent for various items in my wardrobe (luckily, I’ve learned since then to competently hand-tailor.  I’ve made a man’s tuxedo vest - $8 at the now closed Antique Boutique – fit well).  Still, in the interim, I would frequently drive to my grandparents’ house for some last-minute “shopping.”  A shiny blue polyester shirt, brown bellbottomed suit pants, a pageboy cap and a hideous/perfect selection of paisley ties were among my favorite finds.  With girls in my high school all wearing pastel shirts, tight black pants, black, Steve Madden boots and carrying Kate Spade purses, however, I wasn’t always the coolest cat in the halls. 

Certainly, I’m not the first would-be fashion freak to incorporate menswear into my wardrobe.  Katherine Hepburn is credited with making pants acceptable for women (seriously, I can’t imagine a time when wearing all but a dress with a girdle underneath was uncouth).  More, according to Patrick McMurray on Sellusedlclothing.com, “In 1971 Katherine took the extraordinary step of ordering tailor made blue denim jeans from her late lover's Savile Row tailor. Hepburn's commission foreshadowed bespoke [sic] denim collections launched in 2006 by Timothy Everest and Evisu.” Many years later, when bellbottom jeans were uniform for all the most fashionable women, Diane Keaton – as Woody Allen’s kooky Annie Hall – took the menswear-for-women style to the next level:  “Keaton's eccentric wardrobe in Annie Hall, which consisted mainly of vintage men's clothing, including neckties, vests, baggy pants, and fedora hats, made her an unlikely fashion icon of the late 1970s. Most of the clothing seen in the film came from Keaton herself, who was already known for her tomboyish clothing style years before Annie Hall, though Ruth Morley and Ralph Lauren reportedly worked on the movie's costume.  Soon after the film's release, men's clothing and pantsuits became popular attire for women” Wikipedia.  Both women, however, were able to retain their femininity, even while sporting clothes perceived to be more appropriate to the opposite sex.  No one would say Annie Hall isn’t, in her own way, sexy; indeed, it’s the confidence to pull off an unlikely wardrobe that adds to her appeal. 

These days, it’s easier than ever to dress across genders.  Elie Tahari has made a career of offering clean, tailored clothes to women; he believes “clothing should be "quieter than the woman," so that her true beauty can shine through.” On the heels of the figure-flaunting skinny jean craze, wide leg trousers are making a comeback.  This past summer, shirt-dresses were noticeable trend (for a more casual look, simply wear a long men’s shirt and belt it.  The key to looking put-together is finding one narrow enough so that it doesn’t look like a burlap sack).  In a similar vein, men’s cardigans can make the ideal wardrobe piece.  They can be worn over jeans or, if they cardigan is long enough, over tights or leggings for a minidress-inspired look. 

I’m learning to embrace menswear as a key aspect of my personal style, even when I feel self-conscious around girls who seem to wear ribbons and lace effortlessly.  In the end, isn’t wearing what we like – and what flatters our builds – what makes us stand out?