As a society, we’re all striving for equality. We all want the same rights and equal opportunities. We hear and see a lot of steps being taken in the right direction, but weirdly enough the world of fashion seems to be lagging behind. Why do we still have men’s and women’s sides of the store? Why are clothing items gendered at all? How come there are still separate menswear runway shows? And how come androgyny is generally perceived as women going for a slightly more masculine look. If you think about it we see women wear all sorts of clothing, we’ve adopted trousers, jackets, button-downs and full-on suits, but you rarely see a man wearing a dress or a skirt unless it’s a hugely controversial statement. It’s time for that to change. Fashion should be genderless, and it won’t happen until men wear skirts. So here are some awesome examples for you to get inspired.
Billy Porter
1. Everyone remembered the glorious dress Billy wore to the Oscars. It’s the epitome of class and honestly, it fits in perfectly among all the men in suits. See how easy it is to wear a dress but still look classy as hell? Billy knows how it’s done.
2. This gold ensemble for the Golden Globes. I mean, it’s in the name, so it makes sense to wear something gold or at least yellow. And this look is actually quite low key but stands out ‘cause we don’t see enough men in skirts.
3. But even someone as fabulous and fierce as Billy Porter has revealed that finding awesome gowns to wear to events isn’t something that’s easy, because designers and fashion houses aren’t on board with this idea yet, so they’ll invite you to their fashion show but they won’t send you clothes for events.
4. The pride parade is as good a day as any to try something new and riskier, and this Christian Siriano rainbow tulle dress was what Billy chose.
5. This incredible look that Billy presented us with at the Tony awards was so freaking beautiful we truly wish more men would dare to be braver with what they were. Imagine how great it would be to see less of those boring penguin suits and more fun looks like this.
6. And finally the Celestino Couture look Billy wore to the Peabody awards was possibly the most daring one he’s worn yet, and we absolutely loved it. This gown with a half bodysuit with pink embroidery and multiple sheer pink layers of tulle – absolute fire.
Brad Pitt
7. Even Brad Pitt tried to push the envelope when it comes to fashion and men wearing skirts and dresses back in 1999. These are photos from his Rolling Stones photo shoot.
8. And you’ve got to admit that while he’s flexing super manly muscles he also looks really cool in those minidresses.
Ezra Miller
9. Ezra is also well known for not caring about gender stereotypes. He wears what he wants and his outfits range from incredibly stunning to outrageously unique. This dusty pink dress he wore is the ultimate #goals for both men and women.
10. While we see how this puffer coat Ezra wore is kind of giving off Dalek vibes to Whovians, you can’t deny that it’s something you’ve never seen before. This is the outrageously unique side of Ezra we all love.
11. Ezra is also the face of Urban Decay cosmetics these days, and while on a promotion trip in Korea he wore this incredible minidress that all our spring fashion dreams are made of. That light and flowy dress with those boots – perfection.
12. Here’s another unique look that’s as far away from gender stereotypes as you can get. We’re pretty convinced that Ezra wasn’t thinking of male of female fashion when he wore this outfit to Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them premiere. He was probably more inspired by Hedwig the owl.
Jaden Smith
13. Jaden Smith has spoken out about his views on fashion a few times as well. He’s been seen wearing skirts and dresses. He’s posted on Twitter and Instagram talking about how he’s “going shopping for girl’s clothes, I mean clothes”.
14. And he’s got a point. Why is there a distinction between girl and boy clothes? It’s just clothes. If you’re a guy and want to rock a dress it shouldn’t be a big deal at all.
15. But at the same time, Jared realises that the world isn’t on the same page with him yet, so he’s doing his best to change that. He’s been in fashion campaigns wearing skirts and he’s talked about how he wears skirts to combat bullying.