What Is Feminine?

We grew up being told little girls are made of sugar, spice and all things nice. And from the day we are born we are wrapped in pink blankets, but why pink? What makes pink more feminine than blue? 

We’ve heard it a million times, how gender roles was created about society. But don’t worry, this post isn’t going to be me telling you why you shouldn’t let your daughter play with dolls. This blog post is going to be about what we consider feminine in fashion. It’s a common term used when describing a clothing line, an outfit or someone’s style; “it’s very feminine”. What I want to know is: feminine how? 

Lace, dresses, flowers, pastels, bows, etc. Are these feminine? Sure. What about fur, leather, black and suits? Absolutely! You may not think so at first, but if done right it can all be very feminine. Someone who perfects these type of femininity in their style without a doubt is the former editor of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld. We’ve been blogging her style lately and Carine has been inspiration for our vintage looks this week at the store. Her style is so beyond sophisticated and sexy, it takes the definition of feminine to a whole new level.

• Blacks, grays and neutral colors. 
• Blazers
• Suits/skirts/dresses
• Fur, leather and animal prints

These are all common fixtures in her style, and when going through that list the first thought to mind might not be the term “feminine”. Some may say Carine’s style may be inspired by men’s wear. But I don’t think so. I think these pieces which may typically associated with a more masculine feel have now become a staple in feminine style. Or maybe fashion is becoming more androgynous?

Lately there seems to be a slowly growing movement toward androgyny within fashion. Over the past several years we’ve seen companies promote “boyfriend jeans” to women. And it was a common practice amongst male hipsters to shop for skinny jeans in the female section in order to get that tight fit. Was that just the beginning? Now we have male models like Andrej Pejic walking the runway for women’s wear.

You may or may not have heard of Andrej, but he’s the fashion industry’s most famous androgynous model. And like everyone else in the fashion industry we are completely enthralled with Andrej. He’s walked the runway for both women’s wear and men’s wear for designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs. Dare I say he is the “it” model of the season? 

I’ve seen runway shots of Andrej wearing pant suits and I couldn’t even tell you if it was for a women’s or men’s wear. Is this the beginning of a new trend in fashion? Will we see more androgynous inspired looks? I think so, and I can’t wait to see where fashion will take us in the next couple years.

So, what is feminine? Is there a fine line between feminine fashion and androgyny? 

- Marina

Vintage looks all inspired by the one and only Carine Roitfeld!

simonpsaric:

What she does like is to “take an outfit in a very different direction from what it was supposed to be, say, to pair a transparent white shirt with a black bra. I like to take the classic bourgeois pieces and make them irreverent.”

MUST. HAVE. NOW.

fit to be tied.