A man’s white button up shirt on a woman, or a gal wearing ‘boyfriend’ jeans –male-inspired women’s wear – isn’t a new thing, but a couple of 20-something Edmontonians (and self-proclaimed tomboys) are creating a social media buzz with their fashion posts that are all about guys looks for gals.
“The dresses and heels in a lot of women’s fashion blogs didn’t do anything for us, and for a lot of other women too,” said Meagan Henderson, a NAIT videographer who started Flannel Foxes with longtime friend Brittni Goshulak, a Whyte Avenue barber, more than a year ago.
In fact Goshulak left a women’s hair-styling salon to take on full-time duties at a men’s barber shop as part of her interest in a simpler, more stream-lined lifestyle.
“I do think we’re doing something that is exclusive and unique. Many women tell us they want the simple, minimalist look that is more typical of men’s wear. It can be layered, casual, street-wear with Converse, jean jacket and toque – or something made into 20 different looks.”
While Flannel Foxes now has some 5,500 Instagram followers, a website and blog, and a burgeoning clothing line (T-shirts toques and ball caps, so far), the accidental bloggers and now fashion experts say it was a whim while browsing the men’s fashions on Pinterest one day that sent them along this new road.
“We thought we’d recreate a man’s look – matching the clothing, background and pose and posting the comparative shots to Instagram,” Henderson said. “Within a few weeks, Buzzfeed in the U.S. named us one of the top tomboy bloggers, and our followers jumped by a thousand in one day.”
At north of six-feet tall, Goshulak said it was partly necessity that led her to the man’s department growing up – a place where shirt sleeves and inseams were longer and choices were more plentiful, but still simpler.
“It was a hobby for us at first, but now we see the potential for more – adding a lifestyle and home component to the blog,” she said. “This is just who we are, but it’s meeting a need for something other than the very feminine fashion blogs for women. We say it’s ‘man-inspired, but woman-perfected.’”
Janis Galloway, an Edmonton-based blogger (Dress Me Dearly) and agency director at The Publicity Room, said that while women have borrowed fashion from men for a long time, Flannel Foxes is doing something unique among the thousands of fashion blogs around the world.
“It is trendy – this move toward androgynous, genderless fashion, and Flannel Foxes uses social media to show how appealing, enticing and yet easy-to-recreate the look can be,” said Galloway. “The styles are cool and edgy, answering the question, ‘why can’t I dress this way? Underneath there’s still a feminine silhouette. It has great appeal, especially in a climate such as ours.”
As tomboy fashion grows in popularity, Flannel Foxes partners more regularly with local stores and media for fashion events showcasing men’s looks for women. But Henderson and Goshulak still take great time and care with their blog and website, a priority as each juggles their full-time day jobs. For now, each spends a couple of days a week writing a blog and doing a photo recreation – they’ve done about 150 to date. Their boyfriends act as photographers and local businesses – Kit and Ace, Poppy Barley and Simons, among them – borrow or donate clothes and gear for the photo shoots.
Caroline Gault, community manager at Poppy Barley, said supporting fellow local brands and even promoting each other on social media is important to Poppy Barley, and is one aspect of what makes the relationship with Flannel Foxes a win-win. Poppy Barley is a popular footwear startup company whose owners, Kendall and Justine Barber, are St. Albert natives.
“They are in the spotlight – they hit a niche – and while it’s their own, natural style, it’s right on trend with the ‘men’s wear for women’ looks,” said Gault. “Poppy Barley’s man-inspired oxfords are part of that same trend.”
Henderson describes each day as something new with the burgeoning company – days that the pair of longtime friends spend thinking about, recreating, and scouting locations and clothing for the shoot each week. They’ve recently started a “Follower Fridays” segment on the website too, encouraging girls to do their own photo recreations inspired by found menswear looks and posted to share with others.
“We’ve also written about establishing a capsule wardrobe – keeping a core of very few quality basics in the closet, that women can layer in multi-purpose ways,” said Henderson. “Look at a man’s closet – they don’t own a ton of clothes: it’s a couple pair of jeans, boots, sneakers and a few shirts.”
Goshulak agrees, saying she has a bigger wardrobe than a man might, but she still only wears about 20 per cent of what’s in her closet.
“That’s why I love the male fashions, just add a different statement piece – hat or boots – and you can make so many different outfits.”
Find Flannel foxes on flannelfoxes.com or via Instagram @flannelfoxes
