Styling Menhera more "Masculinely"
Recently I've seen more interest in how to wear menhera and related styles if you typically present more masculine, so I'd like to address that today. This post will sort of be a continuation of this ask, but instead of discussing particular brands we'll focus on how to style your coords to have a more masculine feel to them.
Firstly though, a disclaimer: this post is not a set of rules to be followed, nor a statement on what men/masc people should or shouldn't wear. It's simply a list of ideas that might help if you want to present more traditionally (?) masculine for whatever reason. I think part of the appeal of menhera is nonconformity and NOT trying to fit into what society expects, so please don't misinterpret this post as trying to tell you what to do!
With that out of the way, it's worth noting that the tops you wear will largely be the same. Of course, avoiding tops with a large amount of bows, frills, etc also helps, but other than that I believe that most tops can be styled in a masculine way. So like in any menhera coord you'll have a top wth vent art on it. Often it will be oversized, but a regular fit is also okay.
I would say the biggest difference between feminine menhera styling and masculine menhera styling is the bottoms (and the impact this has on the overall silhouette). Where a feminine silhouette often uses short shorts/skirts/bloomers with OTKs and/or legwarmers, you’ll have an easier time going for a masculine look with longer shorts, joggers, other comfortable straight leg pants, or even jeans.
The silhouette will change a lot depending on what type of bottom you choose. Experiment with whether you prefer an overall baggy look (baggy sweatpants with an oversize top) or a contrasting baggy top with a (comparatively) tighter straight leg bottom.
While it's not necessary, some brands also make menhera print joggers/sweatpants if you feel left out of extra prints via OTKs. The ones pictured below are by SoftNGloomStyle on etsy
here are a few more examples of different outfits using the same/similar tops.
You'll notice that I've mostly been using yamikawaii (dark color) examples. This is because it's a bit harder to make yumekawaii/pastels feel masculine. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try though!
Regardless of how you feel about Ezaki Bisuko, he provides us good examples of pastels in a masculine silhouette (I don't think I've ever seen anyone else do menhera polo shirts before? But this could be replicated with a button up!)
The pastels are more subtle on this one, but it still felt worth showing. Despite using a few more "feminine" accessories, this person balanced their outfit with the bottoms and layering for a more genderless feel.
Including this one to show something a little different: this features a male seifuku top! Just to remind you not to feel like you can't mix elements.
Finally, the last thing I'll talk about is accessories. Most menhera coords should only have a couple accessories and I would say this goes doubly so if you're trying to present masculinely. Keep accessories few and impactful.
One accessory I feel is overlooked in menhera is hats! If you're avoiding hair accessories and bows, hats are a good way to tie together an outfit as well.
hats should be a fairly accessible option as well because
redbubble semi recently started printing on hats, so many menhera designs can be put on them
they can be diy-ed by purchasing a fitting patch or pin and adding them on
you could go even further by making your own design with fabric marker/embroidery/etc. because of the size, hats are probably an easier project than making a shirt design this way
to briefly touch on other accessories: you can use most of them, but be cautious. Overall most masculine coords I have seen use much more simple types of jewelry on their necklaces/bracelets/chokers/etc such as leather, chord, and metal and don't often feature large or elaborate decorations. Still, feel free to experiment with what works!
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