Delicious Damir

I speak for both your Queens when I say that our collective knowledge of menswear is negligible to say the least. Whilst both of us know how we would like our menfolk to dress neither spend all that much time worrying about it if they don't.

My Prince dresses the way he's always done and if he's happy and doesn't look like a homeless guy, then I'm happy. I think if he started obsessing over the latest Dior Homme tie, or crying when Hedi Slimane left I'd want to give him a shake, a slap and tell him to pull himself together.  There's only room enough in this relationship for one of us to have fashion tantrums and, quite frankly, it's me. This is in part the reason we rarely feature menswear. Whenever we do it's because it's something we would wear. Selfish? Completely and utterly.

I do have a problem of getting menswear to fit me sadly, but if I could I would be all over the mens department in every shop in went in to. However much like Dior Homme, who do realise the clothes are as appealing to women as men, there are other mens' labels that cater for both without getting into the ubiquitous 'unisex' territory. One label which springs to mind is Damir Doma.

This Croation designer studied his art in Berlin and Munich before heading to Antwerp (of course!) to spend time under the guidence of Raf Simons and Dirk Schoenberger.

It doesn't take a genius to see Raf's infusion and influence. However Damir takes things off on a different tangent as his shapes and silhouettes are much softer and fluid with fabrics not often associated with menswear, such as chiffon.

The thing that appeals to me about Damir, in the context of wearing it myself, is that he likes to question how a garment can be interpreted and will quite happily turn shorts into a shawl or a t-shirt into trousers. It's almost as if he has an element of the DIY spirit in there, which I can really appreciate. He even has a video to teach people how to wear his clothes, so there is an intelligence there that means his designs and ideas shift dramatically within the realms of the reasonably tight boundaries of what's considered 'normal' or 'acceptable' menswear, especially as I can imagine men actually wearing them, or at least working elements into their existing wardrobes.

Damir says he wants his clothes to have serenity which in itself is rarely associated with the objectives of masculine dressing, but it's also what makes them deeply appealing to me as a woman.

I'm not sure if he's deliberately blurring the lines between male and female clothing, or whether he is just questioning why men have been forced down a specific route in how they dress and trying to re-route them, but whatever the reason he's doing it, it works. And it's doing it for me!

Queen Michelle

Comments

[Brigadeiro]

Wow! These pieces are stunning! Even though I can see myself wearing more of them my other half...

[Edith Purdy]

Menswear never used to hold any interest for me at all until I was forced to do a one off unit in it as part of my fashion design degree a few years ago. I then fell in love with it completely and specialized in it as a result. It's easy to become obsessed with the beautiful details that can be found in menswear (that are sometimes neglected in womenswear). A beautiful cuff, a clever zip, an unexpected pocket...

Bizarrely, despite the fact that my design heart still very much lives with menswear, most of my blog posts revolve around my thoughts on women's fashion. But I guess that's because it's what I wear on a daily basis and therefore where most of my fashion thoughts stem from.

I would like to cover more menswear in future, however, I feel that often it doesn't translate that well. A lot of great mens clothes can only be appreciated in person because its about the fabric, cut and surprising features.

Oh listen to me blathering! Great post, enjoyed reading it very much.

[Jane]

The clothes is stunning. I'll be checking it out further on my lunch break.

And to think, last night I almost bought a men's sweater.

[Cro girl]

the adjective is "Croatian" (not Croation). wow, this feels nice, you talking about a Croatian designer, makes me proud :)
ps love your style!

[Dave C.]

Thanks for introducing me to this wünderkind! His pieces demonstrate a rare and valuable approach to men's fashion which I heartily approve of. Even though some of his work seems to indicate the simple desire to put pretty boys in frocks (with toothpaste smeared on their faces?), I could easily see myself wearing a lot of the stuff from his last couple of collections.

I was seriously planning a visit to his London stockist next time I visit the smoke, but after I checked out some of the prices I decided to follow your queenly example and have a go at some DIY myself...

[Sal]

Generally both "unisex" and "ambiguous" turn me off, but I can totally see the appeal of these garments. They are simply elegant and spare ... without heavy feminine or masculine overtones. They're just good clothes. And anyone could wear them. How very, very unusual!

[enc]

I like these pieces, because they are open to interpretation. I like how they can be worn in different ways by different people. This kind of flexibility is really refreshing to me.

[moi]

There were initially production concerns with his inaugural collections, but I can safely say s/s 09 hits the nail on the head! Although I do hold reservations on a/w 09, taking nomadic aesthetic to the outer extremities! I wonder if he's a secret Paganist!