Male influences on your fashion?

April's thread about ultra-casual clothing had me thinking about the influence of male fashion (or SO fashion) on women's fashion on the street, and whether casual male dress influences the degree to which women dress casually or dressily. For instance, in academia, I've seen male professors wear blue jeans (not the dressy kind), with t-shirts, or blazers and jeans. To my eye, it looks extremely unprofessional, but it also has the effect of making 'dressy' outfits appear even more dressy. When you're surrounded with casual male dress at work and at home (especially if your SO prefers t-shirts and jogging pants), does that influence your own sartorial choices and if so, how?

11 years ago

Dressing

8 replies

Latest reply was from Susie

carter

Veteran

Nope. Unless we're going to Home Depot, I make him dress to my level for leaving the house when he's with me!

11 years ago

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Grandfashionista- I have worked around men my whole career very few women in the I.T. sector. I also currently work in the I.T./Academia field. And what they wear does not influence me in the least. First half of my work career I was in the Army so it was Battle Dress Uniforms B.D.U.'s and In the past I wanted to fit in because I was new at I.T./Academia. Now 12 years later I accommodate work to fit my style. I have to wear logo button ups and/or polo but I modify them to meat my needs. And I am kind of careful to ensure I wear small earnings or nice vest or cute suspenders to help me feel more like me. I have carried some of the menswear influence into my personal style. That is because I feel more comfortable in some mens clothing. Great question.

11 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

My husband has always looked good in his casual clothes. I suspect it is because of his European background. He likes to wear his jeans with a soft cotton, long-sleeved shirt, with rolled up sleeves. He wears leather shoes instead of sneakers and often throws on a tweed or linen jacket. Even his shorts have belt loops instead of elastic and he'll top them with a polo knit instead of a T. My problem is dressing to his level when we run out to Home Depot. Come to think of it, maybe that's why I've never adopted the RATE or distressed look; next to my husband, I'd look more like a street person than a fashion insider!

11 years ago

Gracie

Veteran

High five, Carter! My SO usually peeks to see what I'm going to wear before we go out together, and then makes his choice so that he's at the same level of dressiness (he's always happy when I decide to wear jeans!). I'm not influenced by the men I come in contact with (family, friends, customers), I keep to my own standards of appropriateness and style.

11 years ago

Anonymous

What Carter said! I have him so well trained that I actually had to convince him to dress down a little more when we went to a casual concert last week

11 years ago

celia

Veteran

Very thought provoking subject.
The men in my family, from my grandparents to my husband,like to dress nicely, always appropriate for the occasion but nicely. Thinking about it I never saw my grandparents wearing a t-shirt, the less they wore was a polo shirt.
Also, and this might be cultural, if any 'fancy ' occasion arrived the whole family would work together to reach the appropriate dress code for all of us.
So in my private life there aren't really occasions in which one person dresses better/worse than the other.
In the profession side it is a bit different.
I started by being in an Engineering field in which women who dressed overtly feminine (or even dressed up) were viewed as not very committed to the work. The sad thing was this kind of comments would even come from other women. And then I would dress more in jeans and more androgynous silhouettes that were not very complementing to my curves.
Then I changed jobs and I had to wear an uniform, which wasn't flattering at all but at least it took the headache of choosing what to wear.
Now , in yet another profession keeping my level of dressiness is on it's own a means of self-preservation. I dress up more and it is totally ok to be feminine. So regarding your question, yes men around me influence the way I dress.

11 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

All the men around me dress like Gaylene's husband. I don't think I talk to men who wear anything else... what a thought!

11 years ago

Susie

Veteran

My DH is a more conservative dresser than me, but we do tend to coordinate our level of dressiness when going out together. But our colors aren't always coordinated as he frequently wears khaki (never for me) while I often wear black (only occasionally for him.)

I do think it's odd when I see couples (mostly young) with a lot of disparity in their outfits- like she is wearing a dress and heels and he is in jeans and a tee.

Now that I think about it, the men I interact with most frequently at work are the CEO (my boss) and the CFO. We all wear a mix of jeans and more professional attire, depeding on the day and what's on our schedule. Though the CFO tends to wear jeans only on Fridays but in a more casual way- like Levi's with a tee shirt and sneakers.The CFO will wear jeans often but with a more polished look. Mine are always worn more 'dressed up'. I never wear mine super casually.

11 years ago

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