In Defense of an Oversized Aesthetic

So much of womenswear is built around looking “attractive” to the opposite sex, often to the point that the clothes are no longer comfortable and/or practical. While I understand that body conscious pieces have their place, I also love to be comfortable, and ideally warm. Perhaps that’s why I have an ongoing love affair with an oversized aesthetic. As the years have gone by I’ve become more and more attached to wearing oversized clothes, sometimes even going so far as to shop in the men’s department. And honestly, aesthetically speaking, I don’t think my style has suffered as a result of my oversized tendencies.

There’s a crispness to menswear, a sharpness, a polished edge that can sometimes be lacking in womenswear, just by virtue of the innate softness that often denotes traditional femininity, but I’m really drawn to the juxtaposition of these two things. I think this is where my love for oversized things began. By taking a classic menswear item like a crisp shirt and wearing it super oversized with something extra feminine like a miniskirt, an outfit can create a pleasing masculine-feminine juxtaposition.

And that’s all without even touching on the comfort level of oversized clothing. Obviously it’s super comfortable and all that extra fabric serves a security blanket of sorts keeping me warm and cozy all day long. It’s quite literally the ideal fashion solution, simultaneously cool and comfortable.

Critics will say it looks sloppy, but I beg to differ. If done with care an oversized aesthetic is uniquely purposeful. No one accidentally buys something too big and then proceeds to wear it as though it fits them properly. The choice to dress in oversized pieces is just that, a choice, one that requires careful thought and an eye for balance and proportion when crafting an outfit.

An oversized aesthetic really is the ultimate in effortlessness. Despite the care and effort put into wearing oversized clothing, it creates a sense of ease that fitted clothing simply can’t. And dare I say, it can also be pretty damn cool. In recent years the oversized look has, at long last, come into fashion. I’m talking drop crotch pants, dolman sweaters and other all around voluminous pieces. I, for one, am wholeheartedly on board. After all, sometimes bigger really is better.