Women wearing men's clothing or at least designs inspired by what guys have on is, as a Forbes.com article points out, "an enduring trend in fashion." Many of today's top women's brands including Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani began as male clothing lines.
Even Brooks Brothers with its masculine heritage now derives 20 percent of its sales revenue from women's clothing.
The trendy Thomas Pink brand has grown its business by essentially putting women in men's tailored shirts.
"When the brand first launched, it was aimed at the young working guy in London who wanted a really good Jermyn Street product but was looking for a place to buy it for a lesser price," Jonathan Heilbron, chief executive officer of Thomas Pink, told Forbes.com. "I think what happened at the time was these guys were wearing lovely colored shirts, and their girlfriends decided that they quite liked them and wanted to wear them too. Women gravitated toward this tailored product made of lovely fabrics. They thought, 'it's great wearing my boyfriend's shirt on the weekend, but I want something a little bit more structured to wear under a suit at work as well.'"
Discussion Questions: Why do you think men's clothing inspired fashions are in such demand by women today? Are there particular designers or retailers you think have been really effective of tapping into this demand? What are they doing in the way of presentation in store, advertising, etc. to reach their target shoppers?