Monday, October 13, 2008

Boys Like Girls

*was published in Edge

Trends have always amused me. Trends have the power to change the mindset of an individual and in fact, redirect his goals/priorities. There are trends which I’ve embraced (e.g. the pixie haircut, skinny jeans, bangs) and trends which I resist no matter how strong their influences are (e.g. one-length bangs, ipod video, emo). Basically, when I evaluate a trend, it’s goes beyond LOOKING GOOD ON ME but its impact on how I feel, and how I behave in light of that trend. Hair straightening is by far the strongest trend I’ve resisted. My hair is unruly at times and I hate it when it flies away (wow, fly-away is a verb?). However, I didn’t want to erase the “life” it has on days when it curls inward..and it’s really adorable.

But I gave in, eventually.

Okay, I’m losing myself in this hair discussion. Let’s get back to trends. In this post, I will be discussing AND EVALUATING fashion trends which are shared by both sexes. So let’s start.

CHECKERED/PLAID SHORTS

These shorts usually look good on women, especially those which are designed like Bermuda shorts or those which are uber short, they ought to consider exposing your, um, Bermuda Triangle. Women who wear these shorts are tagged as cool or chic. Men, on the other hand, when they wear this trend, they are automatically tagged as metrosexual (or approaching queer radius). Sad. I know a lot of guys, usually mocha-skinned, who look good enough to eat when wearing plaid.

CHUCK TAYLORS

Or also widely held as “Chucks”. Hands down to this trend. This is, by far, the most timeless trend that boys and girls should embrace alike. In fact, if you look at your pictures growing up, you would see yourself somewhere fun and wearing Chucks. It’s simple, classic and most of all, versatile. You can wear it with shorts, skirts, jeans, cropped pants and even dresses!

BRIGHT-COLORED JEANS

If you’re born with the XY chromosome, steer clear from this trend if you don’t wanna be called GAY. I’ve always regarded bright-colored jeans as eyesores. Primarily because when a group of girls wear bright –colored jeans and huddle together, they look like a bilao of Good-Morning kakanin. BCJ(bright-colored jeans) look good on women, especially those with fair complexion, but they shouldn’t be overdone by wearing equally bright tops. (Ever heard of early warning devices?) Regarding men wearing bright-colored jeans, this trend is too delicate that men who want to wear this must really be widely known as straight. (You know what I mean.) It sucks right? However, there’s a proper way of wearing this trend. Pair it with a neutral-colored shirt and accessories. This way, you look more like a person, not like Christmas gone wrong.

PINK!

I’m so glad that men who wear pink nowadays are not anymore regarded as gay. I’ve read somewhere that before the 1940s, pink was a really “manly” color until capitalism struck. Pink and baby blue was hailed by media as the official his-and-hers baby colors, thereby imposing gender-exclusive expectations on colors. Until now, pink and baby blue are still his-and-hers colors; however, pink has become more dynamic. I remember when pink was so cool because it was so girly. That, guys who don’t usually wear pink challenge their machismo by wearing pink. And when they do wear pink and still maintain their usual “manly” selves, it was a form of achievement. Amen!

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