Man, I feel like a Woman

A lot of people were sniggering as they passed this cover of the latest Purple Fashion magazine with the multi-talented  Vincent Gallo on the cover, photographed by Terry Richardson in a Balenciaga outfit from the A/W06 collection. 

The series of photographs inside all subvert the ideas of masculinity and feminity and it made me think a little harder.  At first, perhaps you may laugh a little and think it a little ridiculous.  But when I think about the trend for severe masculinity in women's fashion, or what the fashion world like to term 'adrogynous' it baffles me a little as to why men wearing women's fashion is not accepted in the same mainstream way.  If a woman takes all those very traditionally masculine clothing trademarks like ties, brogues, braces and tuxedos and wears them, they are deemed stylish and cutting edge.  Somehow the woman's sex appeal is raised.  However, on the flipside, when a man dons a dress, the labels 'drag' and 'cross dresser' get bandied about.  I'm not saying all men should suddenly start buying up frocks but where does male equivalent of female 'androgynous' dressing lie?  Does it even exist?  If you look at these pictures here, silly expressions aside, Vincent Gallo doesn't look completely ridiculous to me.  In fact, there's an ease about him wearing that Giles Deacon dress or jumping in Lanvin.  The picture of Gallo wearing heels doesn't really strike me as absurd or shocking.  It's almost as if it's very natural for him to be wearing those platform shoes.  Perhaps what starts as a photoshoot in jest and mockery will lead to somewhat of a turning point in men's fashion.

Comments

[Essence Aliece]

He does wear those pumps better than some girls I know. But really, I don't think the male androgynous exists. It's "separation of the sexes" ???

[Mia]

Just so you know there is a male androgynous dressing. I mean just look at the style of the new york dolls. If you are not amiliar with them they are a punk band from the 70s and they have an androgynous feel to their dressing.

Vincent Gallo is a lackluster hack (and I don't use that nasty word lightly). He's racist and sexist to boot (sells his semen on e-bay, but not to "black people." A cheeky joke? Sure in bad taste, though.) No wonder he looks so ridiculous in women's clothes! He IS ridiculous. Drag queens do one extreme so gorgeously and slender rock boys in girl's jeans and sweaters (and the occassional dress a'la Kurt Cobain or Fat Bob) do the other. Gallo probably wouldn't wear any of those ensembles on the street, but I do give him props for making such a fabulous ass of himself with such astounding regularity: he always delivers the trash and may as well teeter on pumps while doing so.

[Eunice]

I actually think he looks really good in those white pumps.

I wouldn't be surprised if men started wearing heels. They've all already got those joker's shoes, with brightly-coloured snakeskin and elongated square toe. But I really think men are becoming extremely adventurous in fashion. Even seemingly simple (and ugly) trends, like one a while ago when every men's shirt was either pink or lilac, with white flowery graphics all over it, are actually quite feminine. Now men are wearing tight pants (I know some young boys who admit to buying girls jeans), groomed hair, frilly collars, heeled boots, make-up, tights, and all manner of things. Male androgony is alive and well, I believe!

[caroline]

i may not care for vincent gallo, but i love the pairing of the white pumps and pants on him. i wouldnt sneer at a boy dressing like that. and on a side note, i always thought david bowie looked lovely in dresses. :)

there's nothing wrong with androgyny and bending the gender lines a little, but men are sometimes so ridiculous about it, they think that anything a little feminine takes away their "masculine right to power" or something like that.

but aparently Gallo doesn't think so!

[meg]

ahaha I so agree with whoever called Gallo a talentless hack, because that is what he is. A contrived LA boy. The ideas are interesting, though not new, it's a shame they used Gallo though.

[sara]

He's not the first one to do this. Santino from project runway used stilettos a lot.

[Sullen Girl]

I'm all about clothing being for either gender to wear. Lord knows I convince my boyfriend to buy stuff all the time so I can borrow it, and he wears my shirts and sweaters all the time, too.

Oh, and Vincent Gallo is a genious. He's my hero!

[victimedelamode]

I really find the topic interesting! The fact that men dressing feminine is often frowned upon is probably because it confuses people, at least when women dress manly people sort of get it. the traditionally "manly" characteristics like power and self sufficiency are the ideal and people therefor understand why a women would like to dress up like a man, but get confused the other way around.

[Bianka]

You seriously want guys to dress like that? I see no point in guys wearing pumps. He looks terrible in it.

[S]

Funny, I've actually always found the exact opposite. When I sniff around the men's section of stores I get strange looks and salespeople asking me who I'm shopping for. When my male friends go into dressing rooms with stacks of girls jeans and sweaters, not a single eyebrow is raised.

[themoldydoily]

I like this photo shoot...especially the last one. I think Vincent is pretty good at getting people talking about him. That bed one actually reminds me of that PURPLE Chloe Sevigny fashion story where she keeps putting on more and more clothes and looks like a pile of stuff.

[V]

I live in NYC, so I see men in heels (among other things) from time to time
I once saw this amazing bald-headed black man in earrings, mascara, a well-tailored white suit and white high-heeled peeptoes! he looked amazing. And look at Rick Owens, too!

[Jessica]

It is funny. he is such an meglomaniac I am not surprised by these pictures. You know he only poses in a magazine if he is on the cover, even if it is a small interview.

[berlinrocks]

i wonder the same (about boy wearing female basic outfits) everytime i go out with a pochette, woman bag or wearing #5 Chanel or L'Heure Bleue de Guerlain...there're things I love in women wardrobe but I'm not a dragfaggotqueen...so what the fuck with you str8 men shit!
stand up guys and wear women outfits!
(but honestly everytime I see a guy wearing 12cm high heels, i can't resist but laugh!)

[Ayabie]

In Japanese Visual Kei music, you'll find that many guys do, in fact wear dresses and heels. Mana of Malice Mizer wears dresses all the time. In fact, he started his own clothing line, Moi Memme Moites, and he basically created Lolita fashion [no, nothing sexual]. Mana is an example of very elegant cross dressing. The same goes for Bou of Antic Cafe. I guess J-rockers have less inhibitions about experimental dressing.

[pashmina]

Yes, I know there are some men as this, It is not bad, that is god's creation, Let them to be as they are, Also, In case of dressing I want to share a sweet experience of mine on selection of my dress for my 25th wedding anniversary, Ya I too was recently looking for a Pashmin Sahawl and went to a few stores to see what they had,
and got nothing but imitations. Then i came across an online site
http://www.pashminainternational.com where i got the real stuff and at excellent deals.
See for yourself . They have an excellent selection. Enjoy your winters with Pashmina !

[Jeffrey]

I love the shop for womens clothes, salesgirls often take it as a pleasure to help you find an outfit, most women like men in female clothes and don,t see anything wrong with them in heels, one time in a bar a girl got rather fresh, I loved it and it amplified the urge to wear skirts

[Scott]

Really interesting piece.
I, now, regularly wear 4" stilettos out to clubs, resteraunts, and the like, and as long as I match them with decent clothing (men's suits, etc), I think I look very nice.
BTW, I am straight, very masculine. The "problem" with that is having to spend lots of time with feminine grooming and undergarments, which I am not used to. It's worth it, though, to look good out!

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