In today's world there are many different concepts; some disappear as unnecessary, others arise. This article will be useful for those who want to understand such a term 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 sex". Having already understood this, you can draw certain conclusions for yourself. Generally speaking, the unisex style suits 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 also seem interesting that even in the fashion magazines of the Soviet Union for 1988 an explanation of this style was given, because in the late 80s the women of the Land of the Soviets could afford to wear not only what was beautiful and correct, but also what was very convenient.
Feature
So, unisex. What it is? As mentioned, this is a style that suits both men and women. These are things and fragrances that are acceptable for use by both sexes. It is as if certain boundaries and differences have been erased in them, those features that make a man a man and a woman a woman disappear.
Clothes in history
You can understand the concept of "unisex" (what it is and in what cases it is permissible to use it) 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. Let us recall at least Joan of Arc, who dressed like a male warrior without any problems. In the 18th century, in general, the men's suit was as close as possible to the women's: it was decorated with ruffles, frills, and flounces. Played a role and carnival costumes of those times. Back then, men were very fond of dressing up as women, and vice versa. And in the 19th century, girls “appropriated” for themselves such an element of the wardrobe as a coat, which until then was considered exclusively masculine. As for a more recent historical period, around the 60-70s 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 have 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 collectionwas the actress Kate Moss, who for a long time was the muse and inspiration of the great designer.
Modern and unisex
What is it, we figured it out a little. It is worth noting that this style at one time became widespread in the territory of our homeland and firmly settled here. All kinds of jeans, sweaters, pullovers, sneakers and oxfords - these things can be worn by both women and men without any problems. This is facilitated not only by the style and color scheme of these types of clothing, but also by the more liberated consciousness of people, which allows 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, which are equally suitable for both sexes, are relevant. A huge contribution to the development and dissemination of this style in our country was made by second-hand. It is also important that, for example, Jean-Paul Gaultier's company today prefers exclusively unisex clothing, selling universal items for both sexes.
Misconceptions
Hearing the term "unisex", many people think that this is some kind of shapeless baggy clothing. However, this is a completely wrong opinion. Such things are not only comfortable 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 ceremonial events.
Features
What attracts so many people to unisex clothing? First of all, practicality and comfort. As for women, they can also demonstrate equal rights with men in this way. However, there are some common features of this style that must be mentioned.
- Versatility. The unisex style wardrobe is suitable for both men and women. It can be jeans, shirts, turtlenecks, T-shirts, voluminous knitted sweaters, denim overalls.
- Comfort. Such clothes should not interfere with a person, they are so comfortable that you can completely forget about them.
- "Feel your love." It just means that both a man and a woman can be in each other's shoes, better feel their partner, trying on some details of his clothes.
- Natural. This style also involves the minimum presence of cosmetics on the girl's face. It needs just enough to look well-groomed. So, ladies can be themselves without any problems, while remaining naturally beautiful. It is also suitable for people who do not like to stand out from the crowd.
- Sameness. What does unisex mean? It is equality in everything. And this applies not only to clothes, but also to accessories and perfumes.
And yet, the main difference of this style is that it is designed to make the life of each individual person as convenient as possible.
About scents
As mentioned above, unisex style is not only equal clothing for both sexes, but also fragrances. To trace the development of this trend, you will also have to make an excursion into history. This style of smell existed for quite a long time and survived two important periods: the first - the ancient and Middle Ages, the second - the end of the twentieth century. As for antiquity, in those days smells did not differ at all by gender. It was important to just smell good. However, this was the lot of the gentlemen. As for ordinary people, they smelled more like their he alth required: various medicines for plague and scabies, insect ointments had a special smell at that time. A little later, the French king Louis XIV introduced perfumery into fashion (which, again, was not divided into women's and men's). However, here, too, she had a special purpose: to hide unpleasant odors (it will not be news to anyone that the gentlemen in those days took a bath extremely rarely). Napoleon made an important step in the development of perfumery. He ordered all men to smell exclusively of soap. At this time, perfume becomes predominantly feminine, and pleasant aromas are associated exclusively with the fair sex.
20th century and perfumery
In the 19th century, unisex fragrances did not exist, only women smelled good, and perfume manufacturers relied only on the fairer sex. For several centuries, craftsmanship and technology have been formed, which were 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 own"perfumery. However, after the return to civilian life, the demand for men's fragrances increased dramatically, and the manufacturers simply had nothing to offer. And the special release of colognes for guys begins. And 1948 was marked by a new round in the perfume industry: products began to be clearly divided into male and female. Unisex fragrances begin to appear at the same time as this style of clothing: 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 release unisex fragrances that are equally suitable for both girls and boys. Such perfumery became most widespread in the late 90s, when active youth became interested in it. But even today this trend has been preserved: there are a lot of fragrances that can be worn by both brave men and fragile women. They produce their most famous brands, such as "Giorgio Armani", "Calvin Klein" and others.
Accessories
It's worth a little understanding of accessories, because they are also produced in unisex style. Watches - this is the subject 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, while for women it was refined and as cute as possible. However, a unisex watch is a smart combination of beauty and functionality. Note that they can be suitable for almost any event, because moderately modest and at the same time interesting. They are distinguishedrestraint that will appeal to guys and girls equally. Today it is one of the most fashionable trends, watches are experiencing their rebirth thanks to this style. It will be important that all self-respecting fashion houses have a line of unisex watches in stock that will appeal to both sexes.
Accessories: bags
An important element of both male and female image is, of course, a bag. The unisex style in this case also suggests amazing accessories for both sides. Today, both men and women can carry small shoulder bags and large bags for convenience. Various briefcases for documentation have long lost their gender distinction. It is worth noting that even the colors no longer have much meaning. Men have no problem wearing brown, black and bright bags, completely without thinking about whether it is reasonable or not, right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable.
Names
By the way, clothes are clothes, but there are also unisex names. For the inhabitants of our country, their simplified versions have long been familiar, for example, Sasha or Zhenya. So you can call both a boy and a girl. You can figure out who we are talking about if you use full names, but you can get confused with abbreviated ones. By the way, those who want to find synonyms for such a term as "unisex" will be "offended": they simply do not exist. It is necessary to select other expressions or phrases that characterize this concept as accurately as possible.
For and Against
It is quite clear thatunisex 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 eliminates this. Unisex is also disgusting to those who consider patriarchal relationships to be the norm, believing that such a direction can destroy the traditions of communication between men and women that have developed over the 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 see 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 bring elements of sexuality into it.
