Jump to content

The Androgynous Look


Sammie

Recommended Posts

So apparently, AVEN's like the Androgynous look. --> (AVENites and Their Favorite Things).

So... how comes there aren't some more topics about it?

For example: a picture topic! Show my your photo's, drawings, and other people's stuff that you found online.

Pictures that are not androgynous, but play with gender in a different way. Maybe you've got some very cool cross-dressing pictures? show show show.

Also, while we're on the topic, give me some fashion-advice:

I've lately become fascinated with the androgynous look and the possibility of looking like something other then your own biological sex. I bought a really cool boyish hat and when I looked in the mirror and saw this boyish face I thought 'hey, that looks very much like who I am'. So, I want to see what its like to look more boyish, less female. I think it would fit my personality better. However... I don't have the body for it. I can make my face look boyish but nature happened to have given me quite a bit of feminine forms, which I'm perfectly okay with. It makes looking boyish hard though: its impossible to hide the fact that my body is feminine.

So... any dress-advice on how to overcome that difficulty in looking more boyish? Wide clothes sort of do the trick, but not quite.

btw, while I don't have a picture of me, this is why girls should wear cool hats: (the person on the right of course!)

xenascrolls.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

woots

David Bowie David%20Bowie.jpg

Tilda Swinton Tilda_Swinton.jpg

Myself *hides* ;)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I never thought of myself as Androgynous until not too long ago but it's definetly me. Usually I'll just wear whatever's comfortable and whatever style I like, usually just means it's a colour I like, something that hasn't got annoying extra flowing bits to it or a design on a T-shirt that appeals to me.

Usually when I go shopping for clothes I tend to drift into the men's section more. Women's clothes just aren't comfortable and Men's ones have all the good styles and colours, the blacks blues and reds I like, not like the watered down, pastel colours Women's clothes have.

The only problem is men's sizes, I don't have the shoulder width and most are too baggy. The clothing designs I like best tend to be the ones made for 12 year old boys... If I was bigger, teenage sizes for boys would do.

So usually I just wear jeans and a T Shirt with zip-up tops or casual shirts and my flat sole skate shoes. Luckily I can wear this to work. When it's a business dress day, I just wear a normal shirt with black trousers and flat shoes.

Sometimes I'll wear different stuff that looks a little like something out of a video game. This is the only picture I have that shoes that, hopefully it's not too covered with Photoshop effects:

MeFeathers2.jpg

Myself *hides* ;)

Guilty of this myself.

I'm exceedingly androgynous in both personality and looks, and have always been as far back as I can remember. If I like a piece of clothing, I'll wear it, regardless if it's designed for men or women. Thus I often end up being a mix of the two, although I prefer mens clothing in general to womens as it's a lot more comfortable. To create a medium, I tend to wear fitted tshirts (either mens or womens) with combats/jeans, and trainers or boots. I also wear my hair a shortish medium length, a midway between women's long hair and men's short hair. I often get mistook for the opposite sex, having a very slender, androgynous form and ambiguous facial features. Though mostly, I just get asked "are you a guy or a girl?" which is exactly where I want to be...neither one nor the other.

Well I can relate to a lot of this, especially the last part, I'd rather just be seen as a person not male or female.

It really depends to what extents and in what ways your body is overly feminine to determine what you can do to androgynize it, though. I'm lucky in that I have a body where I can pass for one or the other at my leisure, depending on choice of clothing. But theres always ways around it for people who aren't so naturally gender neutral.

To be honest I never really thought of that considering I can get away with both.

I get comments from people saying how I could be 'so beautiful in a dress' and that I'm wasting how I look but I wouldn't be happy doing that.

Midge, I like your style - that top looks like it fits really well. Half of my shirts don't but that shape looks comfortable, sleeves not too long etc.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sammie, it sounds like we have similar body types. (I'll pass on the photograph; I'm paranoid about posting pictures of myself on the Internet.) One thing that works well for me is women's suits: you can tell that I'm female in them, but I look butch, and I can live with butch. Besides, it's nice to have clothes that actually fit, and I can't get such clothes by shopping in the men's section.

There's a lot you can do with fabrics and accessories. I'm a fan of corduroy, both for pants and for jackets. I agree with you that a good hat can work wonders. A good pair of men's dress shoes is a beautiful thing. You can play with haircuts no matter what your body shape; everybody probably has at least one androgynous haircut that flatters them.

Midge, that is a gorgeous photo. What's the thing behind you?

Link to post
Share on other sites
I'm exceedingly androgynous in both personality and looks, and have always been as far back as I can remember. If I like a piece of clothing, I'll wear it, regardless if it's designed for men or women. Thus I often end up being a mix of the two, although I prefer mens clothing in general to womens as it's a lot more comfortable. To create a medium, I tend to wear fitted tshirts (either mens or womens) with combats/jeans, and trainers or boots. I also wear my hair a shortish medium length, a midway between women's long hair and men's short hair. I often get mistook for the opposite sex, having a very slender, androgynous form and ambiguous facial features. Though mostly, I just get asked "are you a guy or a girl?" which is exactly where I want to be...neither one nor the other.

It really depends to what extents and in what ways your body is overly feminine to determine what you can do to androgynize it, though. I'm lucky in that I have a body where I can pass for one or the other at my leisure, depending on choice of clothing. But theres always ways around it for people who aren't so naturally gender neutral.

As someone who identifies as Neutrois (leaning towards male) I'm damn jealous of you.

Anyway did a google search for androgynous people but didn't find much; apparently "androgynous" means "woman in a woman's suit with short hair" and is a "Hot new fashion" ... But here's the best I could find.

Image_24.jpgjunii.jpgIMG_6130.jpgpjlhaynes2.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

I like that picture of Tilda Swinton. That's how I dress a lot, except with more boyish hair and darker/brown colours. I found that those 'indiana jones' jackets, you know: the ones with 12 pockets, do a lot to cover up female forms, and are just soooo handy.

Midge, love the photo! I dress like that a lot. Jet people never ask me if I'm a boy or a girl, cause that's just to obvious.

Allycat, I'm afraid suits are to posh for me, but you've given me some great ideas for formal occasions.

tfp: awesome signature!!!

Suddenly I think how cool a 'I don't give a f**k' t-shirt would be.

I wish I had a photo of me to show you all the androgynous new haircut I got recently. I'm go happy with it. I went looking for something similar on the net and the best resemblance is this one: :D

99999.jpg

Without the sideburns, of course. lol. I'm so happy with it! I had to resist hugging the first person who told me 'hey, your hair looks like David Tennants!'.

Link to post
Share on other sites
As someone who identifies as Neutrois (leaning towards male) I'm damn jealous of you.

Anyway did a google search for androgynous people but didn't find much; apparently "androgynous" means "woman in a woman's suit with short hair" ...

That's what I tended to find in searches, perhaps that's what Androgynous fashion actually stands for.

I like that picture of Tilda Swinton. That's how I dress a lot, except with more boyish hair and darker/brown colours. I found that those 'indiana jones' jackets, you know: the ones with 12 pockets, do a lot to cover up female forms, and are just soooo handy.

I like those too because it means I don't have to carry a bag around.

I wish I had a photo of me to show you all the androgynous new haircut I got recently. I'm go happy with it. I went looking for something similar on the net and the best resemblance is this one: :D

...

Without the sideburns, of course. lol. I'm so happy with it! I had to resist hugging the first person who told me 'hey, your hair looks like David Tennants!'.

I've always wanted hair like that but it doesn't really work on me. My hair is too thin and it takes many hair products daily to get it to do anything. Congrats on your new hair though!

Nice to see a thread on Androgynous looks has this many replies so far~

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wear andogynous clothes most of the time. However, I've rather gone off "baggy" clothes, so now I don't really get the "are you a boy or a girl" question anymore... I miss it though. I should cut my hair short or something.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am very androgynous mentally but this confounded body is determined to look female-ish no matter what I do. Despite that, I wear whatever I want, which is usually jeans with a pullover shirt - either a T-shirt, a sweatshirt, or both, depending on the weather. When I wear shoes they are usually gender-neutral sneakers of some sort, like Earth Shoes. No makeup.

I wear my hair long but not styled. I have always liked natural long hair on guys and that is the way that I choose to wear mine as well. I know that a lot of guys spend considerable amounts of time keeping their hair cut and arranged "just so" but I have always felt that getting my hair styled felt WAAAY to feminine to me, so I have avoided doing it. It is allowed to do whatever it wants to do except that I will trim the split ends and cut my bangs to keep them from getting plucked out by my glasses. (I HATE that!)

I think the end result is that I look like an aging woman who no longer cares about her appearance. Aside from the fact that I have always been this way, that assessment is pretty accurate. Other than wanting to be clean, I really DON'T care what I look like. (And how anti-feminine is THAT attitude!? ;) )

-GB

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm one of the people that went through puberty and came out looking like I hadn't. So I am androgynous and look young, and the doctor and the casting agent have told me I'll look this way for a while. People have actually asked me which gender I am. I find it funny and I don't care. it's not offensive to me and I kind of like the confusion. Except when having to go to the bathroom in public. I hate it when people assume I'm transgendered, tho. If I was, you would know which gender I was trying to be.

But I just do whatever's comfortable. I like baggier things and I'm very hard on my clothes, so I don't buy expensive stuff.

When I had long hair, next to my sister and brother so you can see the comparison.

leggo.jpg

My headshot for the part of Puck in Midsummer Night's High School (shakespeare's play set in a high school, I got to wear a big set of green wings underneath a ragged green hoodie and cut off jeans) coltkun.jpg

And the most recent picture: bored.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites
"People have actually asked me which gender I am. I find it funny and I don't care. it's not offensive to me and I kind of like the confusion. Except when having to go to the bathroom in public."

I'm the same :P My friends dont understand why I'm not offended, but whats offensive about being indefinable?

Indeed. I'm more offended when I'm talking with a group of male friends and be defined by people as 'the girl' as if that makes me different!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Charlotte_uk

536324523_e8c34ba44a_o.jpg

The sexy Shane from the L Word! How could you guys have missed this lady out!?

Link to post
Share on other sites

How indeed could I not have been aware of her existence? she looks androgyntastic!

KateMoennig-1.jpgshane.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites
I should cut my hair short or something.

The gales we had in the UK last weekend seriously made me consider cutting my hair short again like I had it at college.

I'm one of the people that went through puberty and came out looking like I hadn't.

Same. The other day I couldn't buy a an 18 DVD in Woolworths without ID (I'm 21) yet in HMV the guy didn't care.

The background in that picture was used from a promo picture for Final Fantasy XIII - btw, if you want to see some really cool androgynous looking people/styles, dig into some final fantasy pics :P it may be CGI but in honesty it's what I aim for in terms of clothing, off both the male and female characters.

I would have said it was from WoW but the graphics are probably a little too good for that lol

If I didn't get enough comments over what I wear I'd do most of my shopping at online cosplay stores. I always wanted Cloud's sleeveless black top. It looks great for between-season wear.

"I'm the same :P My friends dont understand why I'm not offended, but whats offensive about being indefinable? Being unique so to say. I find it liberating to rise above social norms and simply be myself. It's almost ironic, I usually end up having more self esteem than my other friends who are extremely gender conformative and fashion concious. But hey, life's just one big paradox."

Liberating is a good way to describe how I see it. I mean I can't help that I want to be something that isn't considered 'correct'.

If I lived in an earlier time in history though it would have been way worse. Say Victorian time, I reckon I would have tried to pass myself as a boy and it probably would have worked for long enough, then I'd just try to live as a 'spinster'.

I think too many people are trapped within the walls of social norm rules. Maybe we'd see more of an Androgynous culture if it weren't like how it is. Unless we're just rare?

"I did however get a little embarrased after getting mistaken for a guy in perhaps the worst situation possible - an STD lecture :S"

How did that happen? were they picking volunteers? (wait, if so, for what...)

At Highschool once a teacher walked by me and almost screamed, she said she was sure I was a little boy... Reactions like that make me a little uncomfortable sometimes. It happens occasionally.

---

Does anyone get stared at in public because of how they look...?

I do. I always have done. But I don't really understand it, I don't look that different, but they, especially children, stare at me like I'm a monster or something. Worst thing is, I look around and no one seems to stare at anyone else.

It's not like I wear clothes with swear words stitched on. I have a common height for where I am. I have 2 eyes, 1 nose and 1 mouth, so what else is left. I had to factor it down to Androgyny. Eh, people don't like what's a little different. I almost pride being different myself though. I'll be the variety in life. :P

Link to post
Share on other sites

Reading stories like that, I wish I could just dress differently and really not look like a woman. It sounds so liberating. People will always know my sex no matter how I dress.

Link to post
Share on other sites

97882705_a0126aa0db.jpg

I don't think it counts as he's a guy but in the TV Series (The Mighty Boosh) Vince Noir (Played by Noel Fieldling) is regularly assumed a girl, though it's more an in joke. Plus all his hair and accessories comments.

Yes I'm a boosh fan

Link to post
Share on other sites
spoonsfromdenmark

These are some of my favorite androgyny icons (at least ones that haven't been mentioned already):

Patti Smith:

_horses.jpg

Ellen Page

n831155260_1304661_1310.jpg

Sara Quin:

n503046297_100717_7066.jpg

Katie Sketch:

042606-organ.jpg

Stuart Sutcliffe:

stuartidcard.jpg

Jean Seberg:

jean_seberg_gallery_19.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Davey Havok is another gorgeous androgyne. Particularly his look from a few years back:

4zk6seq.jpg

EDIT: Ah ha! Better version of the same pic.

And I'm another one of the 'my genetic gender is obvious' crew.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have pics of me in my attempt-to-look-androgynous but I posted them in AVENite photos 2008 and I don't want to clutter anything but..as far as other people who look androgynous I can't really think of anybody except video game characters.

Link to post
Share on other sites
ratatosk_lemur

I identify as neutrois and wish that I could appear more androgynous, but my body tries very hard to seem male, and my parents insist that I get a short haircut whenever I come home for break.

Link to post
Share on other sites

ooo... quite a collection.

I love those pictures of Brain Molko and Sara Quin and Jean Seberg.

Brain Molko sure proves that you don't have to be a female to make the androgynous look look REAL good.

extra:

slightly off-topic, but has any of you seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch?

I just saw the movie and it totally blew me away. wow. just wow. so great.

Link to post
Share on other sites
slightly off-topic, but has any of you seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch?

I just saw the movie and it totally blew me away. wow. just wow. so great.

Way cool. 8)

And in the movie, Hedwig's sidekick Yitzhak: yitzhak.jpg

Is played by Miriam Shor: miriam-shor.thumbnail.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites
ThePieMaker
slightly off-topic, but has any of you seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch?

I just saw the movie and it totally blew me away. wow. just wow. so great.

Oooo, I love the song "Origin of Love" from it. Makes me cry sometimes.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...