In the modern world there are many different concepts; some disappear as unnecessary, others arise. This article will be useful for those who want to understand a term such as unisex: what it is and what it applies to.
About translation
First of all, you need to translate this word. It came from English and means “one gender”. Having already figured this out, one can draw certain conclusions for oneself. Generally speaking, the unisex style is suitable for both men and women, while being completely universal. And this term appeared in the middle of the last century with the development of such subcultures and movements as hippies, punks and feminism. This practically became the impetus for the emergence of this trend in clothing. It may seem interesting that even in the fashion magazines of the Soviet Union in 1988 an explanation of this style was given, because in the late 80s, women of the Soviet Union could afford to wear not only what is beautiful and correct, but also what is very conveniently.
Feature
So unisex. What it is? As already mentioned, this is a style that suits both men and women. These are the things and aromas that are acceptable for use by both sexes. They seem to have erased certain frameworks, differences, those features that make a man a man and a woman a woman disappear.
Clothing in History
Understanding the concept of "unisex" (what it is and in what cases it is permissible to use it) is possible if you plunge a little into history. So, the emergence of this style is, most likely, a kind of reaction to the sexual revolution, as well as to the struggle of women for their rights. However, its foundations were laid much earlier. Recall, for example, Joan of Arc, who dressed like a man warrior without any problems. In the 18th century, in general, a men's suit was as close as possible to a female one: it was decorated with ruffles, frills, flounces. Carnival costumes of those times also played their role. Then men loved to dress up as women, and vice versa. And in the 19th century, girls “appropriated” such an element of wardrobe as a coat, which until then was considered exclusively male. As for the closer historical period, about 60-70 years of the last century, famous fashion designers decided to try to reflect the style of "street fashion" in their collections.
They did it well, because since that time women openly decided to wear men's trousers. Unisex clothing experienced its heyday around the 90s of the last century. This coincided with the period when the well-known Calvin Klein released a collection of clothes that was intended for both boys and girls. It will also be interesting that the face of this collection was actress Kate Moss, who for a long time was the muse and inspirer of the great designer.
Modernity and Unisex
What is it, we figured out a little. It is worth noting that this style at one time was widely used in our homeland and firmly settled here. All kinds of jeans, sweaters, pullovers, sneakers and oxfords - these things can be worn without problems by both women and men. This is facilitated not only by the style and color scheme of these types of clothes, but also by a more relaxed consciousness of people, allowing the lady to dress in camouflage and the guy to dress up in a pink shirt. And at the same time not only feel comfortable, but also look stylish. Today, shapeless clothes, inexpressive colors that are equally suitable for both floors are relevant. Second-hand also made a huge contribution to the development and dissemination of this style in our country. It is also important that, for example, the company of Jean-Paul Gaultier today prefers exclusively the unisex style in clothing, selling universal items for both sexes.
Erroneous opinions
Hearing the term "unisex", many people think that this is a kind of shapeless baggy clothing. However, this is a completely wrong opinion. Such things are not only convenient and practical, but also stylish, and sometimes even elegant. Clothing of this style is suitable not only for walking along the streets of the city, it is also appropriate in the office and at various celebrations.
Features
What attracts many people to unisex clothing? First of all, practicality and comfort. For women, they can thus also demonstrate equal rights with men. However, there are some general features of this style, which must be mentioned.
- Universality. Unisex-style wardrobe suits both men and women. It can be jeans, shirts, turtlenecks, t-shirts, voluminous knitted sweaters, denim overalls.
- Comfort. Such clothing should not interfere with a person, it is so comfortable that you can completely forget about it.
- "Feel your love." It just means that both a man and a woman can visit each other’s shoes, feel better about their partner, trying on some details of his clothes.
- Naturalness. This style also implies a minimal presence of cosmetics on the girl's face. She needs just enough to look well-groomed. So, ladies can be themselves without problems, while remaining naturally beautiful. It is also suitable for people who do not like to stand out from the crowd.
- The sameness. What does unisex mean? This is equality in everything. And this applies not only to clothing, but also accessories, and perfumes.
Nevertheless, the main difference between this style is that it is designed to make the life of each individual person as convenient as possible.
About smells
As mentioned above, the unisex style is not only equivalent clothing for both sexes, but also aromas. To follow the development of this trend, you also have to make an excursion into history. Such a style in smells existed for quite some time and survived two important periods: the first - ancient and middle ages, the second - the end of the twentieth century. As for antiquity, in those days the smells did not differ at all by gender. The important thing was just to smell good. However, this was the lot of gentlemen. As for ordinary people, they smelled more likely as their health required: a special smell at that time had various medicines for plague and scabies, ointments for insects. A little later, the French king Louis XIV introduced perfume into fashion (which, again, was not divided into female and male). However, here she also had a special goal: to hide unpleasant odors (it would not be news to anyone that gentlemen had a very rare bath in those days). An important step in the development of perfumery was made by Napoleon. He ordered all men to smell exclusively of soap. At this time, the perfume becomes predominantly feminine, and pleasant aromas are associated exclusively with the fair sex.
20th century and perfumes
In the 19th century, unisex aromas did not exist, women smelled pleasantly, and perfume manufacturers relied only on the fairer sex. Over the course of several centuries, craftsmanship and technology have developed that have been directed exclusively to beautiful ladies. However, it is not surprising, given the two difficult and lengthy wars of the twentieth century. The stronger sex simply had no time to think about "their" perfumes. However, after returning to a peaceful life, the demand for men's fragrances increased sharply, and there was simply nothing to offer manufacturers. And the emergency release of colognes for guys begins. And 1948 was marked by a new round in the perfume industry: products are beginning to be clearly divided into male and female. Unisex smells begin to appear at the same time as this clothing style: during the period of the sexual revolution. Women begin to rebel, adopt men's habits and fashion. At this time, such well-known brands as Dior and Chanel produce unisex fragrances that are equally suitable for both girls and boys. The most widespread such perfumery was in the late 90s, when active young people became interested in it. But even today, this trend has persisted: there are many fragrances that can be worn by both brave men and fragile women. Their most famous brands are issued, such as Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, etc.
Accessories
It’s worth a little understanding of the accessories, because they are also available in unisex style. A watch is what I want to talk about. After all, the image becomes complete only thanks to the details. At all times, the mentioned accessory for men looked very massive and even rude, for women it was sophisticated and as cute as possible. However, a unisex-style watch is a competent combination of beauty and functionality. Note that they can be suitable for almost any event, because they are modest and modest at the same time interesting. They are distinguished by restraint, which will appeal to boys and girls equally. Today it is one of the most fashionable trends, watches are experiencing their rebirth thanks to this style. Important is the fact that all self-respecting fashion houses have a unisex line of watches that will appeal to both sexes.
Accessories: bags
An important element of both male and female image is, of course, the bag. Unisex style in this case also implies amazing accessories for both sides. Today, both men and women can carry small handbags over their shoulders and large “ bags ” for convenience. Various portfolios for documentation generally have long lost their gender distinction. It is worth noting that even the colors no longer have a special meaning. Men carry brown, black and bright bags without any problems, without thinking about whether this is reasonable or not, right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable.
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Names
By the way, clothes are clothes, and there are also unisex names. Simplified versions of them, for example, Sasha or Zhenya, have long been accustomed to the inhabitants of our country. So you can call both a boy and a girl. You can figure out who you are talking about if you use full names, but you can get confused with abbreviations. By the way, those who want to find synonyms for such a term as “unisex” will turn out to be “offended”: they simply do not exist. It is necessary to select other expressions or phrases that most accurately characterize this concept.
"Pros and cons"
It is clear that the unisex style has both its supporters and opponents. How do both sides explain their points of view? Opponents insist that the girl should be feminine, radiate beauty and sexuality. This style completely excludes this. Unisex is also disgusting to those who consider patriarchal relations to be the norm, believing that such a direction can destroy the traditions of communication between men and women that have evolved over centuries. The second group - supporters - consider the convenience that this style gives to both sexes as the most important nuance. In addition, they argue that it is thanks to such clothes that one can discern the true essence of a person, not paying attention to his outer shell. There is also a third group of people who accept this style with some reservations, believing that a woman can introduce elements of sexuality into it.