As contradicting as it may sound, boys’ clothes and girls’ clothes are actually a match made in sartorial heaven. Think about it: the aesthetics of so many brands we love, like J.Crew or Stella McCartney, rely heavily on their mix of soft, feminine designs and menswear-inspired silhouettes. And while several brands have made this idea their permanent mantra, few blend menswear and womenswear together as well as Band of Outsiders does. Band of Outsiders, which originally started out as a menswear-only label, is consistently regarded as one of the coolest brands out there today. There’s something so effortlessly chic about their ability to mix the hard with the soft, which is why I decided to bring their spring 2015 collection to my own campus.
After looking it over a billion times (and consequently drooling over every single piece a billion times), I realized that there is nothing to not love about this collection. From the oversized straw hats to the easygoing silhouettes to the boyish loafers, it was the epitome of a perfect feminine and masculine mix. While floral pink frocks are pretty and lovely on their own, they automatically become the stuff of the cool girls’ dreams when worn with menswear-inspired accessories. The juxtaposition of the two design ideas made the collection wonderfully wearable.
I also noted that there were a few aspects of it I would have to perfect in order to make it campus appropriate. First of all, I needed to get the color palette just right. My favorite look of the collection, look 15, included a cream dress with a pink floral pattern. We’re only in the beginning phases of spring here in Ohio, so I stayed true to the look’s colors by layering a light pink cropped sweater over a cream colored dress. Next, I used an oversized fedora in place of Band of Outsider’s black straw hats. I finished off the look with a pair of black loafers to give it the extra dose of masculinity that’s woven throughout the entire spring 2015 collection.
It’s incredibly easy to be inspired by Band of Outsider’s crazy cool creations. So if you’ve been searching for ways to borrow from the boys for when the warmer weather officially rolls around, do as I did and take a gander at their spring collection.
Get My Look: 1. A powder pink sweater. 2. An oversized fedora. 3. A classic pair of loafers.
