H&M: Tomboy Chic

I recently came across a copy of the H&M Magazine (h/t to Tanya), and on the cover was the title Hype: Unisex. Get the Boyfriend Look! The article is here.
The basic premise is this “the metrosexual man is old news, and now it’s the women’s turn–the tomboy has come to stay.” The feature does a good job of talking about the history of women’s fashion and the moments when women (like Coco Chanel) subverted norms by introducing traditionally masculine items of clothing into her designs. But the first subhead for the article tells the whole story: Straight from your boyfriend’s closet.
This is about using masculine fashion elements in a normative way–just make sure you look like you borrowed your boyfriend’s jeans sweetie! They also mentioned a few queer women (like Samantha Ronson, Lindsay Lohan’s infamous girlfriend and DJ) without talking about how these trends might connect to being queer. This is about fashion, after all.
It’s not surprising to see a fashion magazine dealing with the gender categories and even fashion gender bending in such a normative way. This also gets at a discussion that occurred in the comments of Professor Foxy’s column this weekend about the acceptability of cross dressing in women versus men.
At least when it comes to fashion, it is definitely more acceptable for women to appropriate elements of men’s fashion. Pants for example, suits, baseball caps and even ties. But there is a moment when this crosses an unspoken line from acceptable to transgressive. I think it’s the moment when any hint of boyfriend leaves the picture. H&M tell us “Don’t forget to add your own special feminine touch.” What happens when there is no feminine touch?
As someone who wears mostly men’s clothing, I can tell when I’ve crossed the line. It can create some not so safe or pleasant situations. It’s a similar situation for men, although I think the line is closer and better policed. Pink may be the new black, but don’t even think about wearing a skirt. Even these moments of gender fluidity still fundamentally reinforce heteronormativity and the gender binary.