9 Gender-Bending Fashion Brands for Professionals

9 Gender-Bending Fashion Brands for Professionals Our clothes are extensions of ourselves theyre choices that reflect our character, and a wealth of research shows that peoples perceptions of and responses to us are largely based on how we choose to dress (and, of course, carry) ourselves.For a lot of people, however, those choices have long been limited. Until recently. Androgynous, agender and gender-nonconforming people of all identities are gaining access to an evermora expansive work wardrobe as fashion designers are opening their eyes to the nonbinary spectrum that is gender. Brands are increasingly boasting unisex and gender-neutral clothing for anyone and everyone, which means that getting dressed for work is becoming a whole lot easier.These nine brands are paving the way.1. 69 WorldAn LA-based brand, 69 World defines itself as a non-gender, non-demographic clothing line. While the line is limited (and leid all work appropriate, depending on how your office culture defines that), you can find collared button-downs and a whole lot of denim.2. ToogoodFaye Toogood, a British interior designer, and her sister Erica, a fashion designer, joined forces to launch Toogood, a unisex outerwear line. But Toogood is more than a clothing line its a movement. The trousers, collared shirts, jackets and more are fashioned by industry not the fashion industry, and theyre available only on select websites like NotEqualJoshua Resnick/AdobeStockNotEqual focuses on genderless form and individuality and offers an array of artisanal drape tunics, wrap pants skirts, pleated tees and tanks, boleros and more. Fabio Costa, runner-up on Project Runway Season 10, founded the brand that proves that fashion is art. Hes even been featured in the Folk Couture Fashion and Folk Art at the American Folk Art Museum.4. One DNASometimes your work wardrobe just needs more basics. Enter One DNA, a unisex brand offering just that, from cashmere cowl neck sweaters to versatile tunics. These Ne w York-made pieces are designed to be worn all year by all genders, ages and races, and they rotate on the site rather often.5. Sharpe SuitingMaybe your office has a suit-and-tie kind of culture. Sharpe Suiting is a queer-owned company that just opened its doors five years ago. It identifies as a place where anyone, of any gender identity, could create a suit that not only fit them, but really showcased who they were, and where everyone would be treated with respect no sidelong glances, or sputtering over what pronoun to use, or uncomfortable feelings on either end. The brand developed its own patented Andropometrics system, a trademarked formula for androgenizing, masculinizing or feminizing the fit to better match the individual identity of each client.6. WildfangAntonioDiaz/AdobeStockWere here to liberate menswear one bowtie at a time and were doing it ourselves because we want it done right, reads the website. Wildfang, which translates to tomboy in German, stands to liberate m enswear by offering a wealth of button-downs, blazers, trousers and more.7. VEEAVEEA is high-end menswear fashion made to fit women because whos to say that menswear is mens wear? The brand has an array of high-quality dress shirts in both loose and tailored fits. No darts for shaping curves and bust , no cleavage, no weird tapering and no fake pockets. Whoever came up with the fake pocket thing anyway?8. Rad HouraniAlexander/AdobeStockCanadian designer Rad Hourani says that the first five years of designing were quite difficult, as there was a clear distinction between mens and womens clothing and no notion of unisex in terms of design and construction. So he spent two years studying the human anatomy before perfecting his gender-neutral canvas and, now, his neutral line (which is also made up of mostly neutral colors) is refined and wearable for everyone.9. Gender Free WorldThe UK-based label was just born in 2015 with a mission to fit bodies in a way that high-street clothing doe s not. For example, the shirts, which the company prides itself on, are designed with a gender neutral sensibility to fit body shape, which means that theyve got a looser cut with left-over-right buttoning and a hidden bust button to avoid gaping in the chest area. In short Its smart fashion.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a multimedia journalist and an adventure aficionado with a keen cultural curiosity and an affinity for solo travel. Shes an editor by day and a travel blogger at HerReport.org by night.