Borrowing from the Boys

There is something effortlessly chic and mysteriously enchanting about menswear for women. I have yet to see an image of a girl sporting her best masculine pieces looking anything other than dapper. (My personal favorite from my ample collection of preppy, menswear-esqe pieces is a pair of black and white lace-up oxfords. No matter what I pair them with, I feel instantly cooler with them on my feet, until I trip on perfectly even cement and lose that fleeting illusion of composure).

Elle's creative director, Joe Zee, showed several young woman how to borrow their boyfriend's various wardrobing items for inspiring and fresh updates to what already hung in their closets, without having to leave their homes. Though I loved this idea, I tried to put his suggestions to work in my hubby's closet (cramped with Brooks Brothers gingham and J.Crew tweed) and managed to create looks more akin to homeless hobo than chic bohemian. What Mr. Zee fails to mention is that literal 'borrowing' from your male companion only works if he, like you, is 5'4 and weighs 108 pounds. Though I tower over my husband in a pair of Weitzman heels, he is still taller than my 64 inches, and his waist (happily) outsizes mine. When I draped his gray cashmere button front cardigan vest excitedly over a slim white button down and eagerly hopped to the mirror for a glimpse, my enthusiasm wilted like overcooked basil. I could have been a prepubescent playing dress up, but not a working girl coyly borrowing her husband's stylish clothing.

I appreciate the effort to make menswear accessible, but I'd stick to women's cut flannels and 'boyfriend' style women's jeans from the Loft.