Yeaaahhhh! Go girls! I knew it was a good idea posting this thread!
Haha, yes most people don't notice the reversed buttons, especially with double-breasted coats. When they do though, you can see the lights spring-on in their brains, and the cogs start turning. Its funny.
What's really hilarious, is back in the 1800s - men's silhouettes were very similar to female silhouettes, as they recognised elegance as being essentially a genderless concept. However, nowdays, exuding femininity &/or elegance is reserved for sexual purposes. Also, some elements of clothing which are completely genderless...are now solely for females.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Mens_fashion_plate_1826_2.jpg - a fashion plate of a typical well-to-do man from 1826. Stylised of course, but this was the fashion for men back then. And these men weren't all transgender or homosexual. And these were the days of no modern police-force either. So they could probably fight as well. And in those clothes. Modern masculinity and masculine presentation and acting aspirations are largely all irrelevant bullsh*t, sadly. Blame the Victorians and the "masculine renunciation" movement. It still goes on to this day.
http://historicalsewing.com/wp-content/uploads/084A-1825-30.jpgAnd look! Friggin' ballet pumps with bows on!!! Imagine wearing those now, even if you are an openly gay male playwright on Broadway.
Also, take puff sleeves - they simply used to be how coats and jackets were made, right up until the early 20th century. Nowdays though, the one coat that retrieves me the most odd glances is the coat with very subtle puff sleeves. Its one of the top 5 things that people look quizzically at me about, (another is the use of bobby-pins for hair, but that's another story).
I wear what I wear for three reasons - its elegant, it makes me feel more feminine due to the fact our era associates certain items with femininity, and thirdly - I like to wear stuff that was once undeniably masculine, to remind people that cultured men once-upon-a-time had a proper place in this world, and the freedom to be both masculine and feminine at the same time.
Go for it
Sandra! Just but a very subtly waisted one. And unbutton it when you don't want to show how waisted it is. That's what I o. If I'm passing some potentially hostile people, I'll make the coat look more square and blocky by putting hands in pockets, and un-buttoning the coat.
http://www.clobbaonline.com/web_images/rose_melody_lady_crown_embroidery_coat.jpgBuying one of these soon, for when I sightsee in London and wan to feel properly feminine. That coat is most definitely not masculine, its a bow and an ornament too far :p Its so beautiful and decadent!
