Kelly Schiff is a blogger who writes at therealitycloset.blogspot.com. We wanted to see what her take was on men’s fashion and see how the booming men’s fashion world comes across to her. She discusses metrosexuality, the image-conscious society we live in and much more! Read her article on why “style is a right that belongs to everyone”.
Recapturing the Spirit of Mens’ Style
It’s hard to deny that today’s fashion world is primarily a feminine one. From the runways to the magazines to the stores and to the streets, fashion for women dominates, receiving the majority of attention and promotion while men remain in the background. It’s a highly unequal situation that’s reflected in the disparate attitudes of men and women toward not just fashion, but personal style.
From an early age, women face pressure to be seen as ”beautiful” in the eyes of an image-conscious society, and having good ”fashion sense” is one of the ways in which they are judged. Women who don’t dress well or don’t seem to care about style are often stereotyped as lazy, unambitious, even irresponsible. But men face their own set of stereotypes regarding their relationship to style. Straight men who put more thought and effort than average into their appearance and personal style are often categorized derogatorily as effeminate or homosexual. Even the recent term to describe such men, ”metrosexual,” has its own negative connotations.
It wasn’t always this way. As recently as a half-century ago, style was a much more important consideration in the life of the average man. The clothing men wore was often an indication of their wealth, occupation, and position in society; style was something to take pride in. What has occurred since is a phenomenon that can only be termed a devolution of mens’ style. With the rise of casual fashion and changing definitions of masculinity, mens’ style gradually morphed into an ”anti-style” of messy and poor-fitting looks, bottoming out in the grunge era of the 1990s.
Today, not much has changed. The anti-style still predominates, to the point where some men even feel the need to conceal a love of fashion for fear of being seen as less masculine. There are, however, some glimmers of hope that we are starting to climb up from this low point in mens’ style. Within the last decade, certain groups of men (hipsters being a notable example) have begun to deliberately utilize style as a means to express personality. And the rise of fashion blogging has given a new voice to mens’ style, with blogs like the Attire Club showing that it’s not only acceptable for men to enjoy style, but that it can play an important role in professional and personal development. Let’s hope we’ll continue to rise from this dark age, encouraging a new generation of men to embrace and develop their personal style. After all, style is a right that belongs to everyone.
Kelly Schiff
P.S. What do you think of Kelly’s thoughts? Share your thoughts below!
And also, thank you Kelly for flattering us so much:)!
8 replies on “Recapturing the Spirit of Mens’ Style”
Up until a moment ago, I never considered that being labled a metrosexual was a negative thing. But it makes total sense. Why lable a guy who cares about his clothing, his hair, the color if his shoes, belts and ties … His style? It should be every guys nature to do so. Does this mean that men that don’t possess this care for their image are … What would we call them?
It’s weird indeed that there’s a bad connotation to being a guy who is into style and appearance. Beauty and style are human needs that everyone has, regardless of their gender, but it has become a cultural thing that only women should be stylish. Putting shoulder to shoulder will make break these stereotypes! Thanks for your input!
There are many levels of menswear, from the hipster scene, to casual and business attire. Personally a well-groomed man makes me happy, but being groomed can have many connotations.
Haha, indeed, begin groomed can have different meaning!:)
As a hipster myself, I agree. We’re taking fashion for the men forward.
The stigma associated with being a metrosexual will always exist. But I guess self image matters too. The first thing people notice about you is your shoes. Images make or break it. It’s a pity people judge fashion loving men, else it would’ve been easier to step forth.
Well, it won’t be long until it will all become mainstream! Anyway, if not, there will always be Attire Club elegantologists who can meet around!
Great guest post, I guess it’s great that great menswear is coming back in style!
We agree, Kelly wrote a very nice piece!