If I Were a Boy.....

Today I want to talk about an issue that I spend a disproportionate amount of time considering: what I would wear if I were a boy. I say disproportionate because the likelihood of me ever becoming a boy, or even being ask what I would wear if I was a boy, is so tiny in comparison to how much thought I’ve given this over the years.

Of course, how I’ve answered this has usually been in relation to which men in popular culture I fancied the most at the time. Subsquently my answers in the past would have included reference to Kurt Cobain, Beck, Daniel Johns, Q Tip, Lenny Kravitz, MCA and Ad Rock (sorry Mike D), to name but a tiny fraction. Equally unsurprisingly, how I imagine I would dress as guy has always been a kind of male version of the tip I’m on at that time in real life, eg, when I was rocking an eclectic charity shopped look, that’s how I imagined I would source my clothing as a guy, and when I was more into a hiphop influence and street ware, similarly I pictured myself as a little English Beastie.

Naturally, my answer to the question today will also reflect both the points made above. These days I’d like to think I can form an opinion on a guy’s style without being so hormone driven, but it’s interesting to me to find that many of my male celeb inspirations haven’t changed too much.

If I were a 31 year old boy (had my birthday last week, more relaxed and less hangover-inducing than last year’s) in 2010, I don’t know if I would be into sewing my own wardrobe (see?! All you needed to do was wait and I’d bring my blog back round to sewing eventually). Presumably, I’d be exposed to similar experiences and social factors in I was a guy to the ones I’ve experienced as a girl, plus I’d be subject to the same creative yet practical genetics passed on from my folks, but as many sociologists such as Beyonce have pointed out, life’s just not the same for a boy, so who can say? I would however, put money on ‘Boy-me’ giving a crap about what he wears, and if he wasn’t making his own stuff, he’d probably have a cool sewing mate whipping up stuff on his behalf. Let’s see what I’d make/get made if I were a boy:

Beck would still be one of my main boy-style role models. In each of his style manifestations from his Loser days to today, I’ve been behind him saying ‘Yes!’ and ‘Damn!’ where appropriate. Even after I found out he was a Scientologist. That’s how strong his style is. I’d probably get this kitsch-y western shirt (pattern recently acquired by myself from ebay) made up as an ‘ode’ to Beck (see what I did there?!):

Another, more recently acquired, style inspiration whom I’m sure would appreciate the western shirt above are the boys from Calexico:
It’s difficult not to let hormones to effect this study, but Tang! The latin-flavoured Americana they bring overlaps with another source of inspiration: QOTSA’s Josh Homme. He in turn brings a much needed dirty rockabilly element to this style stew.

To reflect that, I’d get a rockabilly shirt going on possibly based on this incredible pattern my boyfriend’s sister found me in a charity shop:

Do you see it?

I’d imagine I could achieve much of Michael Cera’s and Dave Grohl’s looks from charity shopping, but maybe I’d get some of the Burdastyle Jochen trousers made too:

These days, as a girl, I don’t rock as many streetwear elements as I used to, but a little piece of my heart will always be devoted to the Beastie Boys. For some casual comfort, I’d probably try and procure a zip through as awesome as this one (created by the deeply talented Burdastyle member fordelis):

And of course, let’s not forget how the Beastie’s rock a suit:

Not dissimilar to Mark Ronson’s sleek retro inspired vibe:

Or Jason Schwartzman’s:
Or even, to bring this full circle, to our beloved Beck’s. If I were a boy, I’d probably pick up an incredible vintage suit that would suffice for smart occasions, but I’d probably give it a twist with a club collar shirt like Peter’s.

So there you have it, more or less what I would wear if I were a boy. As this is unlikely to become a reality, I guess I'll live out these ideas by making them for my boyfriend. So, what would you wear if you were a boy (presuming you aren't one)? Whose style do you admire? Have you sewn much for guys? What inspired your creations?