Gender Blender

Fashion Beyond Gender

Author: Michaela Černá

  • Tip No. 2 – Dress for the Occasion!

    Tip No. 2 – Dress for the Occasion!

    Let me as a woman dive little deeper with the second tip mentioned in the post What the girls know, but no one told the boys. 🙂 So, what’s today’s topic? Do you think everyone can dress for the occasion? But is it really that simple?

    When I got into the world of “Men in Dresses” thanks to Vlasta, I noticed one mistake guys sometimes make. They don’t consider the occasion and, in their excitement to wear what they want, they end up wearing everything they like, even if it’s not suitable for the occasion. You wouldn’t wear the same thing for a mountain trek as you would for brunch with friends, right? You wear different clothes to the theater and different ones for a trip and different ones for a rock concert. For official & business events, there’s usually a dress code you can easily find online, which makes it easier to decide what to wear, but what about other situations?

    To explain, I’ll use specific example.

    You’re going for a walk in the city on a beautiful autumn day. You put on heels, a short skirt, fishnet stockings, and a silk blouse. You might think, what’s wrong with that? Essentially, nothing—it’s nice clothing. But it’s not ideal for a walk. And how does it end? Your feet are burning from rubbing against the fishnets, your calves are cramping, and your blouse is sweaty. Basically, a disaster and your confidence is shot.

    My advice? Save this outfit for an informal dinner, drinks with friends, or brunch. You’ll look great and stay elegant the whole time. Well, depending on how many drinks you have, but that’s another story, right?

    And for a walk? Choose comfortable shoes with a smaller heel that you’ve already tried out. If you want to wear fishnet stockings, go ahead, but choose a skirt that reaches your knees or mid-calves. An elegant top or bodysuit will look great and you won’t have sweat stains under your arms.

    So let’s look at a few examples

    Nice comfortable flats & dress for a long walk in the park
    Comfortable clothes for walking around Vienna
    Sailing time in Croatia
    Party wear for the Carmen opera at the Arena di Verona
    Let’s rock out to a punk concert
    Vernissage of young artists in Prague

    And my summary at the end

    I hope we’ve conveyed our idea how to Dress for the Occasion to you. Even though it’s not entirely simple, fashion and clothing are about each person’s individuality. Remember, less is sometimes more, and every outfit has its occasion. You have it tougher than women, but it’s not impossible.

    Here’s a tip to help you navigate this better. Always imagine what you would choose from a men’s wardrobe and what the woman by your side would usually wear.

    Hope it helps and feel free to express your thoughts in comments bellow.

    Good luck and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already done so, so you don’t miss our articles!

  • Tip No. 1 – Dress according to your age

    Tip No. 1 – Dress according to your age

    So let me as a woman dive little deeper with the first tip mentioned in previous post What the girls know, but no one told the boys. 🙂

    I’m sure we all know that. We look at a photo of a beautiful model in a perfect outfit, and we long to look the same. We browse e-shops, we will find the same or similar clothes that we buy and wait impatiently for the package to arrive. And here it is. We eagerly open it, dress new pieces and … that’s not it. What happened? There may be several reasons, but the most common reason is that the model on photo was young, slim, tall, with ideal female proportions. And lets face it, even most of us women doesn’t look like her. It’s called marketing. But anything she puts on would suit her, even a bag from potatoes.

    We all grow old, we all change, we all know it. In the first third of life, we look forward every day to being older, taller, more mature. Then, unnoticed, the time comes when we look in the mirror every birthday and slowly come to realize that we are no longer teenagers. Our body is changing. Everyone changes differently, it depends on how we care about ourselves, what genetic predispositions we have, what health shape we are in.

    We must learn not only to live with our wrinkles, degrading skin and hair, altered proportions, but also with the fact that we can no longer wear everything that comes to our mind. But I think that by following a few simple guidelines, we can enjoy fashion at any age. But don’t get me wrong, if I am talking about age, it means how you look and feel, not exact biological number.

    Couple of guidelines for you to help

    • Be careful with miniskirts. We all enjoy miniskirts, it’s a bit of a symbol of femininity and every boy who wants to wear a skirt wants to have it. BUT…. The miniskirt is tolerable even at a later age, if you have nice legs, but it must be combined with higher boots, nylons and ideally the upper part of the clothing should cover the maximum. It always looks more elegant when only one half of the body is exposed. For example, when I show my legs in a short skirt, I wear a turtleneck, and vice versa, when I wear a long skirt, I can have a neckline or short sleeve. In short, we must leave something of the body covered, so that there is room for imagination.
    • Bare arms and shoulders until 25, then I’d rather not. Of course, there are exceptions, as always. But spaghetti straps or a sleeveless outfit is nice when you have bony shoulders. If you like this piece of clothing, try throwing a light sweater over your shoulders. Pay attention to the quality of the skin, if you suffer from acne or do not want to shave, forget about this part of clothing. It will never look nice.
    • Easy with neon colors. Enjoy neon colors on your nails and in summer. It looks a bit “fiercely young” on clothes from a certain age.
    • You will look younger in lighter colors. Pastel tones are cool, and will do the trick.
    • Leave the pictures on the T-shirts to the young generation. If you can’t do without it, go jogging in it, or do housework. 😊
    • Avoid wearing scarfs or shawls. Even if you feel that the scarf or shawl is nice accessory or hides something, usually it is not so. Boys have a shorter neck than girls and a scarf will shorten it even more. A shirt or a T-shirt with a collar will do you a better service.
    • Try a hat, straw hat or panama hat. But beware, not everyone is a hat type. For example, Vlasta does not look good in any type of hat. Just don’t overdo it with the size of the crimp. The smaller the figure, the smaller the crimp.
    • Look for inspiration from celebrities. You can take advantage from celebtrities fasion. But whenever you are looking for inspiration from the stars on a silver screen, look at women your age and similiar figure.
    • Don’t wear poor quality clothing. I prefer less clothes, but quality. Clothes from the Asian markets or e-shops like AliExpress are not expensive, but the quality of the fabric, workmanship and cuts is usually not very good, to put it mildly. And it’s recognizable at the first sight! As we age, we are expected to advance to some level of society, including better clothing. Most of you definitely have expensive and quality suits in your wardrobes, so why should you suddenly wear a lower quality dress or skirts?
    • Don’t lean forward, smile. The older we get, the more we tend to hunch over. When you straighten up and smile, you immediately look younger. We have such a trick. Imagine that you have a string on the top of your head and someone is still pulling you up. Just focus on that, when you are walking on street. You will see what immediate effect this has. You radiate confidence and pride, look younger, surprise your surroundings and feel amazing. And it often discourages unbalanced individuals from making silly remarks to your address. So you achieve several goals at once. Isn’t it great?

    So let’s look at a few examples

    • Skirt is too short, and the shirt with bare shoulders is too much for Vlasta’s age.
    • For the red pumps is much better to wear longer skirt and T-shirt. Because of the longer skirt, he can have short sleeves.
    • Skirt with over the knee boots looks much better, but the shoulders are still too much.
    • That’s how it suits Vlasta best. With short skirt over the knee boots, and a light sweater with long sleeves at the top. And voila! He doesn’t look like a cheerful schoolgirl.

    And my summary at the end 🙂

    Don’t think of this article as a dogma, but rather as a few tips that could help you better orient yourself in the world of women’s fashion. Nor does it mean that with age, your style must look like an old aunt. Not at all. I was just trying to say that it’s good to think about whether your outfit is more for someone younger or for someone much older.

    I wish everyone a lot of courage and freedom in fashion and fun and joy it brings to your life. It’s a feeling that as a girl, who can wear whatever she likes, I can’t fully and trully experience, and you have my admiration for it.

    Hope it helps and feel free to express your thougts in comments bellow.

  • What the girls know, but no one told the boys

    What the girls know, but no one told the boys

    Looking at the picture above, you will immediately realize how different and diverse women’s fashion is compared to men’s fashion. And this picture does not cover all areas of women’s fashion at all, but only serves as an illustration of how different these two worlds are.

    When Vlasta and I met, we realized that there are things that girls know and do subconsciously and automatically, but they are a big surprise to men. For men who like women’s clothes and struggle with shyness, it is difficult to ask anyone for advice. After all, it is a hot topic, and these things are hard to discuss with the boys having a beer, don’t they? They sometimes have a natural shyness to their loved ones, and if you do not have a girlfriend to help you, it is hard. That is why we thought we might try to help this community.

    So what are we coming up with?

    We can offer something like a fashion consultancy for men who would be interested in it. We assume that it is much more difficult for most men to orientate themselves in women’s fashion, and therefore they will make mistakes that are much easier to avoid, if they follow the basic rules. You must have read and heard about these rules long before our article, and they are not a major discovery, and are valid for both sexes. However, men’s fashion is much simpler, and more forgiving of minor fashion transgressions.

    We are mainly based on our experience and a lot of combinations that we tried on Vlasta. At the same time, we respect that each of us likes something different, but the final impression should still be flattering and nice.

    And just like in photography, it is true in fashion that by following a few simple guidelines, you can very quickly improve your style and appearance.

    And what guidelines do we consider important?

    1. Dress according to your age
    2. Dress for the occasion
    3. Dress the right size
    4. Dress according to the type and proportions of your figure
    5. Focus on posture
    6. Less is sometimes more
    7. Use the correct color combinations
    8. Wear the right accessories
    9. If you go with a partner, “get along”
    10. Pay attention to personal hygiene (trimmed nails, shaved legs, regular visit to the hairdresser)

    This is not complete list at all, but we think these rules are particularly important for most important reason: self-esteem.

    If men want to wear clothes according to what they like, and not to what social conventions expect from them, several things must come together to create the desired result. Because how these men look is subject to a much greater critical view than in women. At the same time, depending on how you look, you also feel. If you don’t feel well, your self-esteem will drop, your surroundings will notice, and you feel embarrassed. And you are in a vicious circle.

    Sometimes we say “it’s quite nice, but it’s a shame that…” about the photos that men share on the Internet. So we said to ourselves that we would like to offer those who would be interested to “evaluate” their outfit with possible advice on how to improve it. The only condition is that they will agree that it will be public. But we say that going public in such an outfit requires a lot more courage.

    We have also decided to address each of the above points in more detail in future contributions. Also add some advice on how and where to shop, and possibly where and what not to buy.

    Subscribe to our blog, if you would like to stay informed. 🙂

    Please give us your thoughts here in our poll

  • Lets have the pink dress and beer in the harbor

    Lets have the pink dress and beer in the harbor

    It’s finally here, there are open beer gardens in the Czech Republic and we can have a beer. We choose summer clothes, I ignore Vlasta’s remarks that 14 degrees is not enough for a beer outside, that it’s cold. In the end, my enthusiasm wins, we add pantyhose and we are standing in front of the house and it is… COLD. We’re taking the car, so what, a non-alcoholic beer is fine too. A little blueish, but determined. In the half-empty garden we look exotic, not only because of Vlasta’s dress, but because the people around us have winter jackets… 😀

    I capitulate soon. I order mulled wine for me, Vlasta quickly “kicks in” a non-alcoholic beer and we disappear in the car where we get warm. In the end, it’s good at home on Friday too, and we’ve been to the garden before. Hopefully it’s going to be warmer tomorrow, because we would like to go sailing.

  • Unexpected shift – I’m invisible!!!

    Unexpected shift – I’m invisible!!!

    When I’ve met Vlasta I noticed that women’s dresses on him cause a stir everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. People were staring at us, taking photos, commenting. And than I suddenly realized:

    I’m invisible!!! 😀 It was a whole new feeling.

    As a girls we’re used to attention. From an early age, the surroundings evaluate us (nice dresses, shoes, hair). But not for boys. They are measured by their actions. He broke it, arranged it, repaired it, invented it. And suddenly it’s different. There is a lot of attention around us, but not on me, on Vlasta! I’ve became used to it. But it’s a completely new experience.

    One story for all. It’s a February night and we’re leaving the dance ball. We’ve decided to walk because we don’t live too far. We both have dresses. It’s three o’clock in the morning, at the National Theater we pass a couple of young and handsome people (boy and girl). The boy suddenly stops and says:

    – “Excuse me, weren’t you at the National Theater at the Ballet Bridges in November?“

    We’re both a little surprised, but we answered unanimously yes. The boy smiled, looked at Vlasta and said:

    – “Blue cocktail dress and brown pumps! Am I right?“

    He was. But no one remembered what I was wearing. We all started laughing and a couple disappeared into the darkness.

    P.S.

    Once, in the morning, we went to work together. Vlasta was exceptionally wearing pants. He looked at me and conspiratorially said:

    – “Now, if they’re staring at us, they’re staring at you“. 😀

    And he was right. I had my attention again. Even though it was so little compared to him wearing dress.

  • How do you meet guy like this?

    How do you meet guy like this?

    I.

    Vlasta and I met on a dating site. He was funny, prompt and he hasn’t been “too pushy”, so I wasn’t quite sure of his interest in me. I was more surprised when he invited me to breakfast. He picked my favorite chain of cafes in Prague and left on me the decision to which one I would like to go. It was nice and gallant. At the end of the invitation, he texted me “And don’t forget, I’m little crazy”. I thought it was clear from our conversation, and I was looking forward to the breakfast.

    I arrived a few minutes later, I’m really trying to get on time, but…. You know that. Vlasta was already sitting at the table. I really liked him, tall slim and ….. for God’s sake he’s GOT HIS NAILS PAINTED, neon pink… so, it was a shock. I started looking for a hidden camera in conspicuously. I was wondering if I should leave. In the end, I fell on a chairing fainting, after all, his nails will not spoil my favorite eggs Benedict. And all I was able to do, was to ask “Why?” Vlasta smiled and said to me “Because I like it. And I don’t eat kids”. I didn’t understand how it is related to children and cannibalism. Anyway, I don’t have to understand everything right away, do I? Breakfast was very good. Vlasta was attentive, (brought me glass of water when I started choking on the sandwich) unforced and funny. I think he’s had a good time all along with my “derail”. It was a very nice breakfast … Except for the nails, I’ve never seen a guy wear painted nails, liked it, and wanted to meet a woman. And even though I was in shock, it was clear to me that this guy was really “crazy” and that the nails were just the tip of the iceberg which I could see. When we said good-bye, except that I called all my girlfriends about what kind of crazy guy I met, and it was clear to me, we’re not going to meet again…. Too bad, finally a smart guy who made me laugh. But the NAILS and everything we didn’t talk about…. No, it wasn’t sexy to me.

    II.

    I’m in my car driving to the beach volleyball… late again. My iPhone rings, for me, from incomprehensible reasons I don’t see who’s calling. I was thinking that the guys from beach are nervous where I am – you know they can’t play it in threes. I picked it up and I’m trying to calm the situation down. “Oh, I’m already around the corner”. Silence. And then Vlasta “Hey, I was going to ask you if you would like to go out for a beer, but if you’re around the corner than it’s cool”. He laughed at me. And I figured it out, nails aren’t sexy, but funny guys are. We didn’t go for a beer; I had a beach.

    III.

    I was the one who wrote him. There was an exhibition of Kupka in Prague, it was the event of the year. I really wanted to see it. My kids had a weekend with their father. And somewhere in the back of my head, I felt that see it with Vlasta could be a great experience. He didn’t have time. He had a weekend with the kids. I mean, after all, just with his son, but Vlasta said if I don’t mind, all three of us can have a dinner. I decided to go. Vlasta has great taste in restaurants. I almost late again, because he kept writing what I was going to wear. I’ve never been asked by a guy before a date what I’m going to wear. 😊. Even I have no idea what I’m going to wear, and I change my mind several times. “I am decided” I wrote him “I’ve got it, I’m going to wear pants, feel free to wear a skirt”. And I had no doubt he’d wear it. He did. We went to the exhibition the next day with his son.

    We were circling around each other in next months, and I had a lot of questions and a lot of doubts. And I’m sure Vlasta too. But we never stopped laughing together since that date, and I’ve never regretted it.

    Vlasta and Michaela