What do you think is the most masculine t-shirt color?

[Kelly]

41 minutes ago, Starbogen said:

What about henley shirts? I feel like those have a pretty "male vibe". 

Sounds good.

 

Around here, though, Henleys are mainly worn by women.

 

[Dawning]

On 2/12/2020 at 10:37 AM, Alejandrogynous said:

 

I can't think of any color that would make me assume someone's gender just by having a shirt described to me. I see people of all genders wearing all sorts of colors. 

 

I think fit and design/pattern have much a bigger impact on appearing more masculine. If a shirt is a "mens cut" and you're wearing it in a masculine way (as in not in a 'wearing your boyfriend's clothes' kind of vibe), it's going to read more masculine regardless of color. Maybe if we're being heavy-handed here, avoid pink?

 

All that said, I second this. If you feel more confident in brown or olive, go with that.

If you saw someone in a PINK t-shirt, you'd think it equally likely that you were seeing a man or a woman? Life must be very different where you live! I've never even seen a man in a pink t-shirt.

 

You're totally right about the impact of fit, cut, and pattern! However, since I will never bind my large breasts, those little variances that can make or break the appearance of a transman or anyone trying for a male presentation won't have any effect on me... which is fine, because I'm not trying to look like or pass as a man, just to add a little hint of masculinity to my appearance.

 

Sadly, I wouldn't feel more confident in brown or olive, I would feel more confident in PINK, LOL! I need something that will make a little part of the brain of anyone who sees me think that there is more to me than the binary female I appear to be.

[Starbogen]

13 minutes ago, Kelly said:

Around here, though, Henleys are mainly worn by women.

Huh.. I mean I knew they must be worn by women too but for some reason I feel like whenever I've seen one it's been on a man. These almost look like a different kind of shirt even though it's the same. 

 

11 minutes ago, Dawning said:

I've never even seen a man in a pink t-shirt.

 

11 minutes ago, Dawning said:

Sadly, I wouldn't feel more confident in brown or olive, I would feel more confident in PINK, LOL! I need something that will make a little part of the brain of anyone who sees me think that there is more to me than the binary female I appear to be.

How about a pink flamingo-patterns button up shirt? I saw a guy wearing that one time and as far as I can recall I've only seen men wearing shirts with bold flamingo patterns. 

In fact I just googled simply "flamingo button up shirt" and there was one single pic of a woman among all the other results of men's clothes. 

[Dawning]

On 2/12/2020 at 10:44 AM, Moon Spirit ☽ said:

While it may(?) be true that more men wear brown t-shirts than women, I don't think I've noticed very many people in general wearing them. I guess brown can look good on someone with the right coloring for it, but personally I don't think I'd wear it too often because it's sort of a mundane color. If you're trying to appear more masculine I don't think it will make any difference whether you wear brown or other colors because men wear a lot of other colors as well, so you don't need to limit yourself so much. I think with fashion that everyone just needs to learn to be in touch with what they really like, if you know what you like then you'll express yourself accurately.

You're right that brown won't look "good" on many people, and it certainly is a mundane color… but for the purpose described in this thread, I'm not trying to look as pretty as possible, or as vibrant or exciting as possible, I'm trying to add some hint of maleness to my appearance.

 

I do know what I like… PINK… but unfortunately that does NOT express my gender accurately. If I wear a pink shirt, everyone will automatically see me as 100% female. To express any masculinity, I DO have to limit myself, to colors that men wear, but women do not (ignoring rare exceptions). So far, I've got brown, brownish red, and very dark red.

[Acing It]

30 minutes ago, Starbogen said:

In fact I just googled simply "flamingo button up shirt" and there was one single pic of a woman among all the other results of men's clothes. 

Could that be because for women you would enter 'top' or 'blouse' rather than shirt? I did that and there are still quite a few men's shirts popping up where I live. So at worst/best it's a mix.

 

edit: something like this maybe?

 

[Acing It]

TBH if a feminine body shape would like to express masculinity I think they would need to go a bit more masculine than expected. Pink shirt worn by feminine body shape = still women. Pink shirt worn by man is for judgemental people gay man but still man if that makes sense. Pink in western societies confirms femininity or womanhood almost automatically I feel. Especially in these pink toys for girls times. My opinion.

I always felt a dark blue (T) shirt could fit the bill. I've always found that a colour I associate more with masculinity. Again, just my opinion.

[Starbogen]

6 minutes ago, Acing It said:

Could that be because for women you would enter 'top' or 'blouse' rather than shirt? I did that and there are still quite a few men's shirts popping up where I live. So at worst/best it's a mix.

Ah I guess.. but still, a women's blouse is a totally different cut and style of shirt than a men's shirt. I think that conveys more masculinity than the color or print. 

I think with colors though the actual color doesn't matter as much as the darkness and saturation.. lighter, brighter colors tend to look more fem while the darker, more neutral versions of them tend to look more masc. So yeah dark red, dark blue, dark green, all of that works. 

[Alejandrogynous]

4 hours ago, Dawning said:

If you saw someone in a PINK t-shirt, you'd think it equally likely that you were seeing a man or a woman? Life must be very different where you live! I've never even seen a man in a pink t-shirt.

 

You're totally right about the impact of fit, cut, and pattern! However, since I will never bind my large breasts, those little variances that can make or break the appearance of a transman or anyone trying for a male presentation won't have any effect on me... which is fine, because I'm not trying to look like or pass as a man, just to add a little hint of masculinity to my appearance.

 

Sadly, I wouldn't feel more confident in brown or olive, I would feel more confident in PINK, LOL! I need something that will make a little part of the brain of anyone who sees me think that there is more to me than the binary female I appear to be.

If I saw someone who looked like a woman in a pink t-shirt, I'd read them as a woman. If I saw someone who looked like a man in a t-pink shirt, I'd read them as a man. Maybe gay, depending on the style/fit of the shirt, their body language, the rest of their appearance like hairstyle, etc., but all of those factors would matter equally if not moreso than the color itself in making that assumption.

 

I agree that if you're AFAB and are trying to add hints of masculinity, pink probably isn't the most effective choice, but there's no color that'll automatically make anyone who wears it suddenly more masculine. There are too many other factors that affect how people will see it. A mens style pink (or salmon, as they like to call it) shirt will almost always be more masculine than a tapered womans style shirt in blue.

 

What about a mens cut shortsleeved buttondown? I feel like something like that in any color is going to make a bigger difference than strictly only wearing certain colors in making that little part of peoples' brains pick up a masculine cue. Otherwise, I agree with what others said that darker/desaturated shades are probably better than bright ones, which will give you more options than just wearing brown because it's brown.

 

 

For what it's worth, I do understand the spirit of your struggle. I'm AFAB and I aim for an androgynous presentation but it has made me give up certain things I still like (skirts, certain boot styles, some jewelry) because, on me, they read more feminine than I'm comfortable with. For example, a male presenting person can wear a necklace and it wouldn't take away from their masculinity at all but if I wore that same necklace, it would only seem to affirm my femininity. I care less the older I get but it still sucks, so I do get it.

[Dawning]

On 2/12/2020 at 12:42 PM, Purple Wanderer said:

Anything stained red in the blood of your enemies

LOL! I don't think you were actually suggesting a color here, but if only accidentally, you made a good point that the really dark or brownish reds are more common on men, which gives me a little more to choose is from… And, you made me think about Christian t-shirts that are aimed at men, such as:

 

[Dawning]

On 2/12/2020 at 12:45 PM, Acing It said:

Apart from me not making sense of why you do this, why would you be disrespecting the armed forces by wearing green? Does that mean you would be disrespecting the air force or navy by wearing blue? Is this a US thing I don't understand?

Controversially and paradoxically I've heard people say a man wearing a pink shirt/t shirt is very masculine because it shows they are confident in who they are and their masculinity.

You're not making sense of... my wanting to try to dress to match my gender? Did you wander into this forum by accident, LOL?

 

I said that I'd be disrespecting the Armed Forces by wearing olive drab, not green which has infinite shades, because I live in a military town, where people wearing clothes that make it look like they're risking their lives in the military when they aren't is considered offensive. Navy blue, despite the name, isn't looked at the same way, because it has been the standard color to wear in the workplace for many decades, and so is actually worn far more in the civilian world than in the military one.

 

I personally agree that a man wearing a pink shirt would have to be secure in his masculinity... but that does NOT mean that a woman will look more masculine in pink! The first step in figuring out what T-shirt colors would be perceived as masculine on a woman is eliminating colors that are perceived as being feminine, whether a tiny % of men wear them or not: pink, pastels, and to a lesser extent brights... all the colors I like, LOL!

[Acing It]

3 hours ago, Dawning said:

You're not making sense of... my wanting to try to dress to match my gender? Did you wander into this forum by accident, LOL?

It does make sense now as the thread expanded. It didn't at first, linked to colour and gender in that I couldn't see a difference when wearing different colours to me, but it makes sense now.

 

3 hours ago, Dawning said:

I said that I'd be disrespecting the Armed Forces by wearing olive drab, not green which has infinite shades, because I live in a military town, where people wearing clothes that make it look like they're risking their lives in the military when they aren't is considered offensive. Navy blue, despite the name, isn't looked at the same way, because it has been the standard color to wear in the workplace for many decades, and so is actually worn far more in the civilian world than in the military one.

It seems to be a cultural thing then. It's very different here.

 

3 hours ago, Dawning said:

I personally agree that a man wearing a pink shirt would have to be secure in his masculinity... but that does NOT mean that a woman will look more masculine in pink! The first step in figuring out what T-shirt colors would be perceived as masculine on a woman is eliminating colors that are perceived as being feminine, whether a tiny % of men wear them or not: pink, pastels, and to a lesser extent brights... all the colors I like, LOL!

I agree - see my last message(s) before this one 🙂

[Dawning]

On 2/12/2020 at 1:09 PM, daveb said:

Green is my first choice if it's an option. I never thought of it as being the least bit gendered.  

 

While I do think it's silly to gender colors we all know some colors are generally seen as belonging more to one gender than another. Public perception is definitely a factor. In that sense I'd say earth tones/neutral colors (various shades of brown, gray, black, and white), blues and greens and "military" colors would fall more on the male/masculine side; while bright "flowery" colors (reds, purples) and pastels (pinks, pale blues, etc.) would fall more on the female/feminine side. At this point in history in the US at least. So, to answer your question about choices you could make to take advantage of those perceptions, I think you and some of the other suggestions are on the right track. As others said, the right cut/style would help, too - like men's t-shirts that are close enough to the right size for you so they don't look like you're wearing the shirt of a male friend/relative.

When we bought our clothing, most of us didn't think about what percentage of garments in that color are worn by different genders ... but just because we never thought about it before doesn't mean that society as a whole doesn't have perceptions about gender attached to colors. Since we're talking about public perception of a person's gender depending on what color they wear, the ONLY thing that matters is the public perception of each possible color.

 

So, you like green... do you wear a green suit to work? If you're in the USA, the answer is NO... but a woman could wear a green suit to work, or any other color, right? A man is limited to black, gray, blue, and brown suits; only those colors are seen as masculine enough. Before the sexual revolution, before women started flooding the workplace, wearing suits, fighting to be seen as the equals of men, to be taken seriously, any of those colors might have been enough; now, women wear those colors all the time, canceling out any masculinity from them… except for brown. Upon reflection, even though it doesn't qualify to be made into suits, I think that dark green appears far more often in men's t-shirts than women's as well, so that's very useful!

 

With my post-menopausal body, I don't have the luxury of t-shirts that curve or taper inwards; all of my t-shirts are the standard rectangles with sleeves... no subtleties of cut or style will help me there. And they're all the correct size... although the right size around large breasts doesn't create an aura of masculinity. This thread is really helping with some additional options for color!

[daveb]

1 hour ago, Dawning said:

A man is limited to black, gray, blue, and brown suits; only those colors are seen as masculine enough.

I never wore a suit to work, but your point is well-taken and very true. I remember when Obama got a lot of flack for wearing a lighter colored suit. Or when Jimmy Carter got a lot of flack for wearing a cardigan. There are a lot of dumb societal restrictions and perceptions will be based on those.

 

Good luck to you in finding what works for you!  (I mean it sincerely, not sarcastically)

[Rynn]

5 hours ago, daveb said:

I remember when Obama got a lot of flack for wearing a lighter colored suit. Or when Jimmy Carter got a lot of flack for wearing a cardigan.

Haha those were the days... if only that's what scandals were still like

 

*sorry off topic.

[Dawning]

On 2/12/2020 at 3:24 PM, Starbogen said:

Honestly I don't think color is that big of a factor when it comes to the perceived gender of clothes.. the style of the shirt is a lot more important. But to answer your question I guess I tend to see dark, neutral, and/or somewhat muted colors as more masculine. I personally wear mostly a lot of dark greys and black. I have a couple of sweaters that are dark green, dark red, and light grey. Some of my button down shirts are a lot more colorful but those have patterns so yeah for sweaters it's mostly grey and black. 

A color I really like though is teal. I don't associate it with any gender though, just think it's a pretty color. 

Style probably IS more important most of the time, although I maintain that there's no style of shirt that can make someone look more masculine if it's PINK. We're not having a debate of the importance of style vs color, though! Clearly, you see the importance of colors, or you wouldn't mostly wear some of the most masculine ones. And I find it very interesting that it has come out in this thread that dark green and dark red would also be considered masculine colors, and you're already wearing them!

 

I like teal too; it goes well with pink, LOL! I did a search, and it seems fairly equally split between male and female… although not a common color for either, not that any 2 websites can agree on exactly what teal IS.

 

Do you have an opinion on heathered shirts vs non-heathered shirts? Ringers versus non-ringers? Are they maybe both worn more by men?

[Starbogen]

9 minutes ago, Dawning said:

Clearly, you see the importance of colors, or you wouldn't mostly wear some of the most masculine ones.

Haha fair enough. But I wouldn't say I wear them because they're seen as more masculine, I just genuinely prefer dressing in those colors. Like before I knew I was trans on the rare occasion I had to dress in feminine stuff I always went for those same colors. 

 

12 minutes ago, Dawning said:

I like teal too; it goes well with pink, LOL! I did a search, and it seems fairly equally split between male and female… although not a common color for either, not that any 2 websites can agree on exactly what teal IS.

Well there are a couple different teals I like.. A brighter kind that I think looks good paired with navy blue (basically the color of Perry the platypus, this happened to be the color of my high school senior uniform shirt and I loved it), a somewhat desaturated medium to dark shade, and a darker one similar to navy blue but you know, half green. I think as long as it's a balanced blue-green it counts as teal. 

 

16 minutes ago, Dawning said:

Do you have an opinion on heathered shirts vs non-heathered shirts? Ringers versus non-ringers? Are they maybe both worn more by men?

Yeah I really like heathered shirts actually. More of a subtle texture than a very stark one though.. I have a hoodie that's partially like that, some joggers, and maybe a sweater or two. I do think it has a masculine vibe but idk how much women might wear it.. it does feel like I've seen it more on men though.

Not sure about ringers. I think those come across as more neutral to me. Maybe slightly more like something guys would wear, but as younger people/kids in particular. 

 

Oh but something I do think gives a very "this is a thing guys wear" vibe is maybe not having just a t-shirt by itself, ringer or no ringer, but wearing an opened button down shirt over it. 

[Dawning]

On 2/13/2020 at 7:07 AM, Albine said:

not sure if color is a big issues with men's shirts just basic colors brown, black dark blue, mostly darker colors would work, men tend to wear their shirt baggier too. hope that helps 

I don't think men in general make that big of a deal of the color of their shirts, they just buy what's available that other men are wearing… I remember a male comic saying that men love it when they look like other men, because it means they haven't made a mistake, LOL. But whether we're consciously aware of it or not, we have an idea in our subconscious minds about what colors are worn by which genders; I've been talking about this to anyone who would listen, and I've had people tell me that not only have they never seen a woman in a brown t-shirt, they can't even IMAGINE a woman in a brown t-shirt… and anything that is unimaginable for a woman to wear is first in line to be seen as masculine. 

 

That's a good point, that men tend to wear their shirts baggier. In my case, my boobs are way too big to ever have the same look, because they'll always hold the shirt out in front... I'd just look heavier.

[Dawning]

On 2/13/2020 at 7:17 AM, Starbogen said:

Well it's different for a baby though. Babies have no gendered defining features, not even a hairstyle if they're super young. All you could judge a baby's gender on would be clothes so yeah, that association with color does exist in current western society but a little factor like that is going to matter more for tiny humans with zero gender defining features than for anyone else. And even in the case of a baby you could express the gender a lot more with the style of the clothes than with the color. A onesie is the simplest and most neutral thing but if you put a baby in a blue dress people would think it was a girl and if you put a baby in a pink outfit that looked like one of those grown up suits but for babies a lot of people would think it was a boy in a pink suit. Style will always matter more than color.

 

Similarly if you take a t-shirt for an adult, sure you could make some associations based on color but there are so many other things that will make or break your look more than just the color.

 

I mean... Here's how I'd think of it, if it was me choosing what to wear. Which it has been since I'm a trans guy and I've been there. I would always go for any dark colors first not primarily because it's seen as more masculine, though that too, but because it would be more effective at hiding my chest. I'd wear more sweaters than t-shirts because they're usually thicker, fit better (which makes it look like you're not wearing something too baggy, which would make you appear smaller, but it's also not tight so it doesn't show off your figure like some t-shirts could), and the sleeves can also hide my noodle arms. 

 

As for the brown color, tbh I'd avoid it because just a plain brown t-shirt sounds pretty boring but at the same time it looks unusual. I don't think I've ever seen anyone wear a brown shirt like that. A darker and more desaturated shade would work better imo, but then you could just wear darker desaturated versions of any other color as well. That sort of brown color might make me look at someone for a second longer than I normally would if anything, because it seems so rare to see someone in just plain midium brown. I think it's a choice that could stand out as just odd instead of blend in as masculine. 

Babies are certainly an extreme case, but if there was no gender association whatsoever with pink, then people would have no guess at all as to what gender the baby in the pink onesie was, right?

 

Style of clothing probably IS more important in many ways, but that doesn't make color of ZERO importance, right, and in the case of a t-shirt, which is just a rectangle with sleeves, color is all we have to work with.

 

Your situation is more complicated than mine, because you're trying to disguise or change the perception of certain parts of your body, which I won't be doing. I recently thought that I'd have to wear a zoot suit to have something big enough to conceal my big curvy hips… and I thought that was pretty cool! I saw drag kings in zoot suits once, and it was the first time I noticed feeling drawn to women, in what I now recognize as alterous attraction. It's taken me so many years to put everything together!

 

I'm not interested in blending in as masculine; remember that I'm not a transman, so I'm not trying to pass. Just the fact that a color could be boring, and at the same time be so unusual that it would draw additional attention, but without SEEMING to be trying to draw attention, would make it worth wearing! I wouldn't want to go for a darker brown, because that would enter into poop brown territory… and, I'd like to stick as close to the color I dreamed of wearing as possible, with the idea that my subconscious knows what will work the best. I think this color could also make an interesting underlayer for a retro shirt in certain shades of brown, blue, or purple.

[DuranDuranfan]

I’m going to say anything blue. You just can’t go wrong with blue! 😃

[R_1]

On 2/13/2020 at 7:33 AM, Ms. Carolynne said:

I don't think color matters so much as design, although maybe tint / shade, and saturation might play a role.

Not to be technical, but I think you're looking for chroma according to LCH model which is modeled after XYZ colour space or vibrancy which is based on element on art. Saturation only exist in context of cylinderal interpolation of RGB colour space model, and RGB is not an actual thing in context of human vision or non-digital visual art.

 

Nitpick asides, colours are not gendered.

[ColeHW34]

None in my opinion.

[Dawning]

On 2/13/2020 at 3:07 PM, Alejandrogynous said:

That's true for babies because you usually can't tell the gender of most babies just by looking at them so we (in Western culture) established a color code to help people figure it out. Meanwhile, if you see an adult female person in a blue T-shirt, most people aren't going to jump to the conclusion that she's really a man just because her shirt's blue.

 

If you feel like wearing brown will help you give off a more masculine vibe then that's awesome, but I have male friends and coworkers that wear clothes in all colors of the rainbow and no one to my knowledge has ever questioned their manhood for it. Especially when those varied-colored clothes are all clearly styled for men. It really comes down to your comfort, though. It's your style, so you should wear the clothes (color/fit/design/pattern/etc.) that you feel the most comfortable and confident in.

I've never heard the theory that pink and blue are just color codes to identify the gender of babies, but if that were right, that would mean that we have the idea that color identifies gender in our brains… which is why we associate pink with women, not just with babies or children.

 

You're right, if you see someone identifiable as female, the color of her t-shirt won't make you change your mind about her gender, but this thread isn't about a color that will magically make someone ignore a person's body and face when deciding what their gender is, it's about which color of t-shirt would be seen as the most masculine.

 

I despise the idea of questioning a man's manhood, meaning questioning whether he might be gay, as if gay men were somehow less manly than straight men, which of course is totally ridiculous! What might cause ignorant cis-het people to question a man's orientation is beyond the boundaries of this thread as well.

 

I'd be interested in what ways one could "style" a basic t-shirt that would make it appear more male…?

 

Unfortunately, wearing what makes you feel comfortable or confident does NOT alter anyone's perception of your gender. You can't just wear any style you want and have it be perceived as any shade of gender you prefer. Gender perception exists in the mind of the public, and all I'm trying to do is understand enough of it to tweak my appearance just a little bit… :-)

[Dawning]

On 2/14/2020 at 9:46 AM, Starbogen said:

Ah sure I get that. Shorts do come across as more juvenile. 

I really like that shirt! Pretty sure my brother and I have shirts very very close to that one XD 

My favorite shirt is kinda like that but dark blue and teal and with leaf patterns instead of flowers. I have others with flower patterns though, one of them teal and with little pink flowers. 

It gets warm here, and I do see people of all ages with shorts, usually with a tan, but no one wants to see veins and cellulite on dead-white legs, so I wear jeans even if it's 100°, lol.

 

I guess my taste in shirts is pretty good, if men like them! Blue and teal is a good combo, and I'm all for pink, although if I get a Hawaiian shirt I'll go for monochrome blue with more palm trees and less flowers... if I can find one in my price range.

[Dawning]

On 2/14/2020 at 10:03 AM, Acing It said:

I think that would work with bigger boobs. It would break up the profile, which a plain T shirt wouldn't do. It will depend on whether it has a masculine print of course.

The idea of breaking up the profile is an interesting one! I can see how that could be useful to lots of people. I'm not trying to conceal or de-emphasize my boobs, though; there are benefits to them in a breast-obsessed culture that I don't want to give up. I agree about the masculine print... although of course 50 people will respond that there's no such thing, lol... so that I don't just look like a woman in a flowered shirt.

[Alejandrogynous]

1 hour ago, Dawning said:

Unfortunately, wearing what makes you feel comfortable or confident does NOT alter anyone's perception of your gender. You can't just wear any style you want and have it be perceived as any shade of gender you prefer.

You misunderstood me (actually I think you misunderstood almost everything I said which is fine, I wasn't actually trying to debate you, only offer advice), all I meant was it's your style so it's your choice. I don't think changing your t-shirt color is going to have the effect you want but if you think it will, that's all that matters. Wear what you feel is best.

 

I will say if the changes you're making are in a direction that makes you feel less comfortable and happy, you might want to rethink the way you're going about it. But again, your body, your clothes, your choice.  

[Dawning]

On 2/14/2020 at 11:05 AM, Starbogen said:

What about henley shirts? I feel like those have a pretty "male vibe". 

 

On 2/14/2020 at 11:48 AM, Kelly said:

Sounds good.

 

Around here, though, Henleys are mainly worn by women.

I think the Henley is a little more of a male thing, if it has the waffle texture... on women it's more likely to be smooth, and also patterned... so, once my hot flashes are gone, a dark, neutral Henley could be an option... maybe not brown, though, that would be a LOT of brown! Maybe a dark forest green?

[Dawning]

On 2/14/2020 at 12:07 PM, Starbogen said:

How about a pink flamingo-patterns button up shirt? I saw a guy wearing that one time and as far as I can recall I've only seen men wearing shirts with bold flamingo patterns. 

In fact I just googled simply "flamingo button up shirt" and there was one single pic of a woman among all the other results of men's clothes. 

Yes, I think that would have a male vibe… but what KIND of male? The average man doesn't wear that kind of pattern; to me, this feels like the kind of guy who is as loud as his shirts, and his social life circles around beer... somewhat of a jerk. The other option I can think of is someone who is just clueless about how a pattern like that is not seen as attractive by anyone; a man who thinks he's making a bold fashion or stylistic statement by wearing something no one else would wear. I'll keep this in mind, because there might be other patterns in this category, but it would have to be something a little more toned down for me to wear it… I'm already a loud person with a big personality.

[Dawning]

On 2/14/2020 at 12:36 PM, Acing It said:

TBH if a feminine body shape would like to express masculinity I think they would need to go a bit more masculine than expected. Pink shirt worn by feminine body shape = still women. Pink shirt worn by man is for judgemental people gay man but still man if that makes sense. Pink in western societies confirms femininity or womanhood almost automatically I feel. Especially in these pink toys for girls times. My opinion.

I always felt a dark blue (T) shirt could fit the bill. I've always found that a colour I associate more with masculinity. Again, just my opinion.

Navy blue is certainly not a feminine color like pink, but it's been worn by women as much as by men for so long that it doesn't actually feel masculine either... And with great timing, because you're in the UK, I recently got a message from another UK forum member, who hasn't been participating in this thread, listing t-shirt colors in order of frequency for both men and women… And he showed navy blue at exactly the same level for both genders. Interestingly, the colors that he showed as much more common on men than on women in the UK were beige and green. He didn't think to have brown on the list, but when asked, he agreed that that would be a more common color for men than for women as well.

 

The REALLY interesting thing in his lists, although outside the scope of this specific discussion, is that basically nobody in the UK wears purple! If I ever make it over there, I'll have to be sure to not wear any purple, so I don't stand out immediately as an ugly American.

[Starbogen]

2 hours ago, Dawning said:

to me, this feels like the kind of guy who is as loud as his shirts, and his social life circles around beer... somewhat of a jerk. The other option I can think of is someone who is just clueless about how a pattern like that is not seen as attractive by anyone; a man who thinks he's making a bold fashion or stylistic statement by wearing something no one else would wear.

Damn really?? X'D I don't get that vibe at all from flamingo patterned shirts.. I just think it's a cute and fun pattern in a nice color cause flamingos are cute and fun looking animals and pink is a nice color. 

I'd totally wear a flamingo shirt if I found one and I'm nothing like what you described there. The opposite really, I don't like alcohol at all, I'm quiet and shy, most of my fashion choices are very toned down and neutral with only the occasional hint of color. And those prints exist so clearly some people like them and would wear them, but it's a matter of personal taste.

Though tbh I think it might also have to do with where you're from. I live in a tropical island so men's shirts with colorful patterns are a lot more common here than in other places from what I've heard. 

 

But seriously I'll mention again that wearing an opened button down shirt over a tshirt looks very typically masculine, so that sounds like the kind of thing you're looking for. 

[Dawning]

On 2/14/2020 at 12:54 PM, Starbogen said:

Ah I guess.. but still, a women's blouse is a totally different cut and style of shirt than a men's shirt. I think that conveys more masculinity than the color or print. 

I think with colors though the actual color doesn't matter as much as the darkness and saturation.. lighter, brighter colors tend to look more fem while the darker, more neutral versions of them tend to look more masc. So yeah dark red, dark blue, dark green, all of that works. 

The differences in male and female cuts only contribute to a more masculine appearance if they work with the body that's wearing them. Because I have large hips and breasts, I have to wear a really big size, especially if I want to be able to button it up without gaping and pulling across the bust, and believe me, it doesn't give me a more masculine shape, it just makes it look like I'm wearing a really big shirt.

 

It's funny, but in a way it's harder to look a little more masculine than it is to look a LOT more masculine, because in the latter category, once the breasts are bound and the hair is cut off, even someone with the most feminine face can pick some well-chosen items from the men's department and at least look androgynous... halfway to looking male, or more. But how do you move just a LITTLE bit towards male appearance, in these days where there are women's clothes that are so little different than men's clothes, and women can wear menswear looks and boyfriend jeans and shirts without being thought even androgynous, much less male at all?

 

The ideal look I have in mind, for the life and bank account that I actually have, is a retro blue-collar male thing; retro button-down shirt open and over a white t-shirt, basic bluejeans folded up at the cuffs, white socks, Converse All-Stars… accented with a splash of Bay Rum, which is a deceptively masculine scent that also smells like the essential oils that some women wear instead of perfume these days, so it's not quite so obvious that I got a fragrance from the men's department. The problem with this look is that it's not going to be appropriate for all circumstances, for example not at any kind of church event, and will be too warm with my hot flashes much of the year (layers=heat), so I need something more subtle... and that's where t-shirts in colors not found on women come into it.

 

I'm thinking of accessorizing one with something else found overwhelmingly more on men than women… a bolo tie! I'm tall, with wide shoulders, and I think I can easily pull off one intended for a man, even one of the traditional rugged turquoise styles like this one:

 

What do you think of that?

 

I agree that darker colors are generally seen as more masculine, but I don't think that all dark colors are automatically seen as on the masculine end of the spectrum; dark pink is still feminine, although less so than cotton candy pink, my personal favorite. Dark blue is gender neutral; I think most shades of blue are, other than maybe some bright pastels. Dark green is certainly much more masculine than spring green, dark red is more masculine than bright red, and dark purple is infinitely more masculine than lavender, which some people say is actually the most feminine color, because even men that will wear a pale pink shirt to work won't wear a lavender one... the acceptable pastels in business shirts, and the acceptable brights in ties, are a whole other topic.