If you’re a woman like me, you know that buying and wearing women’s clothing comes with a large number of issues. Clothing that is marketed and given to us is rarely comfortable, functional, or within a good price range.
Finding anything that fits is hard enough, let alone finding something that you could actually go outside in and comfortable in.
I know more than a couple women who’ve begun to buy clothing from the men’s side of the store, and I’ve started to do that too. If you’ve never shopped in the men’s section I would say definitely check it out.
While men’s fashion sometimes lacks the style and shape of women’s clothes, it makes up for it in more practical and personal factors. I buy my flannel there because it’s thicker, bought my watch there so it's larger, and I’ve even bought my messenger bag there so I don’t have to shop around purses.
The only problem with this plan is that men’s clothing is made to fit, well, men. Jeans sometimes don’t have enough room in the butt, shirts might not have enough room in the chest, certain types of clothes might be way too long, etc.
So here are 8 types of clothing you can find in the men’s section that should be made for women as well.
1. Thick flannel
Like I mentioned earlier, I buy my flannel from the men’s section. When women like myself go out to buy flannel, we’re looking for a nice pattern, sure, but we also need warmth. Flannel is supposed to be thick to keep us warm in the colder times.
The flannel in the women’s section is paper thin. Not to mention I’ve seen cropped flannel, largely embroidered flannel, and stylized flannel in the women’s section. Women want the kind of flannel that the men are getting. Thick, functional, really nice flannel.
2. Loose t-shirts
There’s a significant difference between the style of t-shirts seen in the men’s section versus the women’s. While men’s t-shirts are loose and casual, women’s t-shirts are tight and clinging, sometimes even with deep v-necks for added effect. We don’t want to make t-shirts look like a runway, we just want to be comfortable in a Superman t-shirt. Men’s t-shirts are baggier and give us more room to breathe, and a chance to take out bras off. There could be a whole marketing campaign here.
3. Boxers
Men’s underwear looks so much more practical than women’s. Boxer shorts and briefs go down to mid-thigh for security and comfort, while the typical women’s panties barely cover anything.
The closest thing women’s fashion has to boxers are boyshorts, which leaves half of your butt hanging out and gives you a killer wedgie.
I won’t even bring up thongs, which have barely enough material to count as underwear. Think about periods. Think about how much easier they would be with the extra material from boxers. I can’t think of a single reason why this shouldn’t exist already.
4. Comfortable shoes
When men and women are getting ready for a date, or an important conference, they each have the clothes they typically wear. But there’s one detail that makes the world of difference between the comfort level of both these people. Their shoes.
Dress shoes for men are typically a little rough on the feet, but they’re usually pretty flat, and you could make it through the day on them. Women have heels. By and large, this is typically the only option of shoes for women who are trying to dress up. The only flat dress shoes that exist are ballet flats, which are rarely practical, and tend not to look very good.
Women need to have more practical comfortable shoes, especially dress shoes. If we’re going to be on our feet all day, we need to make sure our feet are there at the end of the day.
5. Comfortable outfits
Stepping aside from shoes for a moment, we should make all clothes more comfortable for women. Men’s clothing is practical, has different styles and aesthetics, but is almost always something that men can work in. Women are almost always uncomfortable. Bras kill my back, pantyhose leaves marks on my stomach, jeans are too tight, I could go on. We need to be able to work and spend the day in these clothes.
6. Functional clothes, not fashion
One of the biggest issues I have with women’s fashion is that it is just impractical. The clothes have a function they need to serve and if they don’t, then why is this being made? In the women’s section, I’ve seen jackets that are barely thick enough to count as a jacket, blazers that don’t go all the way down to the hips, sweaters that wind cuts right through, and so much more.
In the men’s section, everything fits the purpose it was made for. If it’s a jacket, then it’s gonna work as a jacket. If it’s a sweater, it’ll keep you warm like a sweater. Why can’t we start doing this with the clothes we’re marketing to women as well? Why can’t women be getting clothing that will fit its purpose?
7. Coverage
Women’s clothing has a bad habit of not covering the body enough. Whether this is a stylistic choice or just some type of trend, I hate it. In my opinion, you should never have to buy a shirt where you have to wear a second shirt underneath. Stores sell shirts that are completely see-through, shirts that have no back, shirts with a way too big cleavage dip, shorts that ride up too short, and bras that barely hold everything in.
If I’m going out to get clothes, I want them to cover my body. Maybe sometimes I’ll want to wear a crop top, but give me more options. You’d never walk into the men’s section and see three-quarters of the department are shirts that you can completely see through. Their clothing works for the seasons and is practical, and I think we need to translate that to the women’s section.
8. POCKETS!
Last but certainly not least, give us pockets! Men’s pants have so much room in the pockets, it’s actually incredible. I can barely hold my phone in my jeans. Women want larger pockets. We want to be able to hold things. We don’t want to have to bring purses. We want to be able to carry our phones, wallets, headphones, tampons, and everything that we need in our pants. The men’s department has jeans with huge pockets, why can’t we get that in women’s jeans too? We don’t care about the style. Just for the love of god, please let us have pockets in our pants.
Women’s clothing is rarely practical, and should be held to the same level and standards as men’s clothing. We don’t need wild weird fashion. We just need clothes that work.
