Sunday, March 15, 2009

How to look androgynous?

Wow. Here's a conversation between a group of androgynous females. They are instructing each other on how to dress it up and dress it down. I stumbled upon this conversation on the Yahoo Answers message board:

Well, you're a girl right?
(I just need to know so I can give specific advice on what things to hide and what to play up)

OK, the first thing you need to do think of things that are typically associated with femininity, for instance: makeup, long hair, girlie clothing, curves etc. These are the thing you want to MINIMIZE, but not completely do away with. For instance, if you want to appear androgynous, you might want to wear only minimal makeup, but preferably none. You also might want to style your hair in a somewhat gender-neutral way. There is a fine line with androgyny: you want to appear ambiguous and undefined. You will have to merge both male and female qualities. You have to be careful to minimize your femininity, but not appear too masculine because that would no longer be androgynous.

CLOTHES:
Clothing is key to androgyny. I would suggest, if you are on the thinner side, choose some baggier (but not too baggy) jeans, to hide any curves you might have. You can find some in the womens' department, or you could even buy in the men's if you'd like. As far as shirts, buy simple t-shirts, I'm talking about the ones you buy in a pack of 5 at Wal*Mart...just simple, simple. If you have boobs, you might want to wear a sports bra that is a couple sizes too small to flatten out your chest, or just wear a jacket with some structure to even it out. That will once again reinforce your frame.

HAIR:
Pick gender-neutral styles. If you're familiar with Shane from the L Word- her hair is an excellent example of gender neutral, yet still slightly feminine.

MAKEUP:
Keep it to a minimum if you must incorporate it. No more than just a little eyeliner now and then, or some nude lipgloss. If you overdo it, you will appear too feminine.

OVERALL:
Being androgynous is a lot about how you carry yourself. Confidence is key. Don't swagger like a man, but don't swing your hips like Beyonce either! Just do what feels natural to you.

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