Obviously, men and women dress differently. OBVIOUSLY. But, wait…why? We have very ingrained ideas of what masculinity looks like, sounds like, and acts like. And a lot of these ideas need to change:
One of the ways we can do this is to investigate where some of these out-dated ideas came from. One thing that we do know is that men – men in power, rich men, influential men, men of status and consequence – used to wear embroidered silk jackets, lace neckscarves, stockings and heeled shoes. So our ideas of what masculinity are not OBVIOUSLY inherent – they are learned. They change over time. They respond to changing needs of economics, international policy, and social dynamics. Instead of being ruled by the fashion system, I want to dismantle our archaic ideas of a binary gender system, whether we’re talking about “manning up” and not letting anybody see you cry, or the things you have in your closet.
What do you think “masculinity” will look like in 5 years? Or 25 years?
The Anatomy of a Suit exhibition at the Museum of London (20 December 2013 – 1 June 2014): hmmm, maybe a trip to London is something to look into? “A soldier is a soldier is a soldier” exhibition at the Army Museum, (17 June 2008 – 31 Dec 2008). Can a real military man be gay? Can women be good soldiers? Is it the uniform that makes the man, … Continue reading Modelejon: manligt mode exhibition at The Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren), Stockholm, 2002-3. (Lions of fashion: male fashion of the 16th, 17th, 18th centuries) I discovered this book when I was in graduate school at Yale. Incredible! So many real garments from … Continue reading
Anatomy of a Suit
A soldier is a soldier is a soldier
Modelejon: manligt mode
