In a world where social perceptions severely limit what we constitutes men’s fashion, Danny shows us one man who has become a saboteur.
I’m all for folks that want to build their own masculinity/manhood as they see fit. And I am especially for it when one is building their masculinity/manhoood in ways that go against what is generally “accepted” as being masculine/manly. Which is why I’m really liking His Black Dress*.
Enter Michael Spookshow. Michael describes himself as a “spooky boy in a skirt that loves alt fashion”. Last year Mr. Spookshow started his blog for the purpose of promoting men’s freestyle fashion. What is freestyle fashion you ask? Let us see what Michael had to say on that in his introduction post from last August:
The purpose of this blog is to promote men’s freestyle fashion. This means men wearing skirts, dresses, heels, & other items currently viewed as acceptable everyday fashions for women only. This is not about crossdressing, any more than the modern woman crossdresses when she wears jeans & a t-shirt. It’s about style without arbitrary boundaries based on gender alone, and about men having freedom of expression in fashion.
Considering how men are limited in terms of what we are allowed to wear and still be acceptable I like this idea of freestyle fashion. At a quick glance most people would probably just presume that Mr. Spookshow was taking a walk on the “other side” by wearing clothes that have been traditionally been women’s only territory. But if you look closer I think you’ll see that he is trying to say that when it comes to fashion and gender there should be no “sides” in the first place.
*I want to take a moment and tip my afro to Clarissa for pointing me in the direction of this interesting site.
This post originally appeared at Danny’s Corner
Photo courtesy of Ollie Crafoord