GO: I think I’d be more preppy than you, like I’d 100% wear a blazer all the time. Also freaking out just thinking about my possible shoe collection.
ET: You can finally get your dream red suede loafers! I’d be more of a sneaker and t-shirt guy but I’d still look put together, not lazy. I feel like my male alter-ego would be a bit edgier than I am and have a tattoo peeping out of his John Varvatos t-shirt.
GO: I would also have a great pair of dusty blue desert boots that would be part of my daily uniform of khakis, slouchy colorful sweater and navy blazer. Is it sad that male version of Greta (naming him Gus) is a little bit boring?
ET: Greta — everyone would know you would have crazy, ironic facial hair. I would surprise people when I dressed up. I’d finally shave my perpetual scruff and skillfully clash a skinny tie with a patterned dress shirt under a fitted, sharp suit.
GO: I think I would utilize accessories, like I would have Warby Parker glasses for sure.
ET: I wonder what boys would want to wear if they were girls. Dresses, leggings, sparkles?
Eleni decided to approach a group of real males that live across the street from us:
ET: What would you wear to a Young Thug concert?
Boy #1: Booty shorts.
Boy #2: Booty shorts and a crop top.
ET: What would you wear to class?
Boy #1: Yoga pants.
Boy #2: Leggings.
One male gave a little bit more of a descriptive answer:
ET: What would you wear if you were running errands?
Male #3: Athleisure. See I’m in a long distance relationship so I feel like I would want something easy and comfortable, but that feels nice. I’d be all about that Lululemon. (Good news, Lululemon has a men’s line!)
These weren’t exactly the creative answers we were hoping for, but we really can’t judge because both of us happened to be wearing Lululemon at that moment. Perhaps we were thinking about this question too much in black and white terms? Why can’t Eleni wear a skinny tie with a patterned dress shirt under a fitted, sharp suit? Why can’t a boy who lives across the street wear a crop top? There’s no reason a garment should be confined to one gender or person.
GO: I can’t say I totally believe everything can be gender neutral. Somethings are just naturally more feminine and others masculine, but I don’t think that means they can’t be worn by anyone and everyone. I recently declared my style to be a sort of provocative Diane Keaton. And she’s one of the original women to rock menswear — ugh Annie Hall!
ET: Let’s not forget about David Bowie and Marc Jacobs, who have both famously sported dresses!
GO: We should totally be more open to blending womenswear and menswear. It’s opens up new spaces for innovation and I think it would be a lot more fun for all genders.
Round of applause for Gucci deciding to to combine both its men’s and women’s collections for 2017. Seriously if you weren’t already a fan of Alessandro Michele as creative director, now you should be.
We share a major, we share a house, we share clothes. So why not share a column? Eleni Toubanos and Greta Ohaus are both Fiber Science & Apparel Design majors in the College of Human Ecology. Their column is intended to be a conversation between their two unique perspectives as a designer and fiber scientist. They can be found lounging around campus, on their porch sharing a bottle of wine or at [email protected] and [email protected] Talk is Chic appears on alternate Tuesdays this semester.