I was helping a male client with his wardrobe edit the other day; what to keep, amend, archive or recycle. He was convinced his old DJ had seen its day and needed discarding when suddenly his wife inquired if it could be amended for her. But of course!
It’s a great look when women wear mens clothing - sometimes considered more fashionable than the most feminine ensembles. For me, the iconic image of the tuxedo’d Marlene Dietrich immediately comes to mind. In the 70’s it was Diane Keaton in “Annie Hall” and more recently - the casual chic of talk show host Ellen Degeneres.
“Boyfriend” styled clothing that is seen everywhere is not really all that new. A long time ago I made a shirt for the artist Tracey Emin, who asked specifically for a tailored shirt that would look like a garment borrowed from her beau.
The look is now familiar everywhere and more in the news, sometimes with expanded social implications, as in this interesting piece from Lisa Honan (Co-founder and Director of Gender Free World) earlier this year,
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lisa-honan/7-things-that-change-when_b_14926036.html
But for now, back to my commission: a born again, single-breasted Dinner jacket with peaked lapels, straight pockets and plain back (no vents); sleeves slimmed, centre back taken in (requires half of the collar to come off first) and subtly shaped at the waist - for her!
