Can men dress based on their style essences? Absolutely!

Learn how style essences manifest in men’s fashion, plus get many tips that apply to women’s fashion, too!

Natural, Gamine, Dramatic, and Classic fashion

If you have Natural, Gamine, Dramatic, or Classic, you can get tons of inspiration from men’s style.

This is because fashion for these essences is sometimes (though definitely not always) gender-neutral.

A Natural Classic Gamine outfit:

To recreate this look with womenswear, you just need a basic Classic black turtleneck and belt, Gamine high-top Converse, and loose Natural Gamine pants.

A Dramatic Classic Gamine outfit:

A Classic T-shirt and narrow Gamine jeans are pretty easy to find for everyone. Pairing these ones creates an intense Dramatic feel. Simple Classic boots complete the look.

And a purely Classic outfit:

As with women’s fashion, Classic men’s fashion consists of polished basics like crisp pinstripe blazers and dress shirts and pants. (The glasses add Ethereal, but we’ll get to that later!)

As seen above, many Natural, Dramatic, Gamine, and Classic style elements are somewhat gender-neutral.

Of course, there’s exceptions. The glaring one: all four essences get plenty of skirt and dress options in womenswear that aren’t typical for menswear.

But overall, if you understand women’s fashion for Natural, Dramatic, Gamine and Classic, you understand a lot about men’s fashion for those essences, too.

Where things get more complicated: Romantic, Ethereal, and Ingenue fashion

Iconic fashion for Romantics, Ethereals, and Ingenues tends to be highly feminine. There’s lots of dresses and skirts, which I’ll go out on a limb and say many guys with Romantic, Ethereal, and/or Ingenue may not want to wear.

So, what can these men wear?

A lot! Men’s fashion has many “yin” options, including necklaces, colors, silhouettes, prints, graphic tops, textures, glasses, and hairstyles:

1. Necklaces

Possibly the easiest way to add yin essence to an outfit: throw on a necklace.

Chain necklaces are popular in men’s fashion, and they’re also curving and shiny—two qualities that, especially when combined, tend to read as “yin.”

A generously rounded, Romantic chain:

And a narrow, elongated Ethereal version:

Wearing necklaces is a fantastic way for anyone to integrate the curving style essences into their look. Necklaces are especially great for expressing style essences, because what we wear near our faces has a big impact on how our faces are perceived.

A shorter chain could read as Ingenue, but what is reading as Ingenue here: the gentle pink color of the pullover.

2. Colors

Wearing iconic colors for the curving essences—like light pinks for Ingenue, deep reds and purples for Romantic, and icy blues and greens for Ethereal—is another easy way for anyone to express their curving essences.

So the above pullover-necklace combo has Ethereal (necklace) and Ingenue (light pink color), plus some Natural from the pullover’s loose silhouette and casual feel.

Here’s Romantic Ethereal top in a deep Romantic red:

The marbled texture also enhances the Romantic quality, creating a super soft, luxe effect.

3. Silhouettes

The above red top isn’t just Romantic—its narrow, long silhouette combined with the gentle fabric flatters Ethereal, too.

(Long, narrow silhouettes in a straighter, sharper fabric will read as Dramatic. Long, wide silhouettes in soft fabric often have Natural.)

So this top would be fantastic for someone with a lot of Romantic and Ethereal. The undershirt adds Gamine because of the high, pointed neckline but could be swapped for a more open neckline with a curving shape.

4. Florals

Hawaiian shirts might not widely be considered the pinnacle of fashion, but many have beautiful prints:

This shirt expresses Romantic with large stylized flowers, and Ingenue with the smaller floral clusters. The foliage, combined with the green tones and straight silhouette, also communicate Natural.

We also see a little Gamine from the high collar. You could omit Gamine by undoing a few buttons.

Another floral look:

Here a highly Classic suit pairs with an Ingenue floral tie.

The hairstyle’s neat, curving volume also works for Ingenue, plus Dramatic since it’s sleek and completely slicked-back.

5. Hair

Slicked-back hair can sometimes create “yin” curves, and curls or waves can also express yin essence. Specifically:

Small, tight, corkscrew curls feel Ingenue
Larger, fuller curls or waves feel Romantic
And long, narrow waves feel Ethereal

A Romantic hairstyle with long, full curls:

A highly Classic outfit. The gentle shimmer effect on the tie adds Ethereal.

Hair has a big impact on your look, especially because it’s so close to your face.

So men with wavy or curly hair might find that, even if their face has a lot “yin” essence, they can express that essence largely through their hairstyle. Then they can wear outfits that mostly reflect their other essences.

For example, a Romantic Classic Ethereal man might find that the above curly hair is pretty much all the Romantic he needs in his look, so his outfit can be primarily Classic, with a bit of Ethereal from the shimmery tie.

6. Graphic tops

Graphic Tees can be highly yin, especially if they happen to feature curvy red lips:

A largely Romantic graphic tee, plus Natural layered shirts, an Ethereal necklace, and wavy hair that flatters Ethereal, too.

This graphic Tee’s bright red curvy lips have a lot of Romantic. The shirt as a whole likely also has another essence or essences, though it’s hard to tell with the layers.

Band t-shirts or other graphic Tees can have any kind of design that evokes any style essence.

7. Prints

Tie-dye is iconically Ethereal—abstract and dreamy, with soft, diffuse-edged shapes:

This pullover also adds Natural because of the loose fit, but in a narrower cut, especially with a deeper curving neckline, it could be fully Ethereal. We also get an Ethereal chain necklace and hair with an Ethereal wave.

8. Glasses

The above round glasses also appear rather luxurious and of course are generously curving, so they work for Romantic. So does this pair:

These glasses have Romantic. More elongated, oval shapes can work for Ethereal.

9. Texture/fur

This outfit also features a Dramatic Natural jacket with dark leathery fabric and wide, slouchy silhouette. The soft fur lining adds Romantic.

We also have a Classic print scarf and what appears to be as a basic, casual Natural knit—a lot going on with this inventive look!

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This definitely isn’t an exhaustive list of menswear style elements that flatter Romantics, Ethereals, and Ingenues. Future posts may further explore men’s fashion!

Menswear and womenswear

Guidance for menswear applies to womenswear, too.

For instance, dreamy, curving tie-dye patterns will evoke the Ethereal essence in both men and women’s fashion.

And tiny flower clusters will tend to read as Ingenue, whether they’re on a tie or a dress, while larger curving florals are often Romantic.

The same is true for other style elements.

What do style essences look like on men’s faces?

Style essences also look (arguably) similar on women’s and men’s faces.

For instance, Romantic Ethereal Gamine Alexandra Daddario has an REG brother, Matthew Daddario.

Like Alexandra, Matthew has large, round-ish eyes; a short, small-ish nose; and fairly delicate bone structure with a rather narrow jaw and chin.

Interestingly, those features all sound pretty stereotypically feminine. Yet when I look at Matthew, my brain instantly recognizes him as male and masculine.

So in my view, style essences aren’t the main determinant of whether a face looks masculine or feminine.

Plenty of men with mostly “yin” features (large round eyes, small noses, plump lips) are instantly identifiable as male, and plenty of women who have highly “yang” features (smaller, narrower eyes, longer, larger noses, and thin lips) are instantly identifiable as female.

So the logical conclusion is that stereotypically feminine facial characteristics—like round eyes, small turned up noses, plump lips, small chins—are not the primary determinant of whether a face appears feminine.

To be clear, I don’t think that these factors have no influence on perceived masculinity/femininity—they obviously do.

It’s just that to me, the evidence suggests that these factors aren’t the main thing that influences judgments of male vs. female, feminine vs. masculine.

Matthew Daddario has rounder eyes, a softer, more turned up nose, fuller lips, and a more curving, narrow jawline than many women. He has way more “yin” essence (Romantic and Ethereal) than many women. But despite his highly “yin” facial features, he’s easily recognizable as male and masculine.

So, what’s the main thing that actually makes a face look masculine or feminine? I don’t know, but I’d guess it has to do with subtle differences in how facial features are positioned, sized, and shaped relative to one another—and I’d guess that we perceive these qualities mostly unconsciously.

Styling and context also has a big influence on whether a face appears masculine or feminine—haircut, presence or absence of facial hair, choices for clothes, jewelry, makeup, etc.

Ultimately, many people may disagree me on this, and that’s ok. I think people can find common ground in how I conceptualize the style essences even if they disagree with my observation that the “yin” and “yang” essences don’t map well onto facial femininity vs. masculinity.

Then why is yang fashion more “masculine”?

Again, I don’t think that the yin and yang essences have zero relationship to femininity and masculinity.

I just don’t think they’re the primary, most important thing that determines whether a face looks feminine or masculine.

The yin essences do get more stereotypically feminine clothing, and highly yin faces often do look more stereotypically feminine.

However, even more “gender-neutral” clothing items, like blazers and jeans, still tend to have some differences in their silhouette and overall appearance depending on whether they’re marketed as menswear or womenswear.

So it’s a big simplification—and pretty obviously false—to say that all Dramatic, Natural, and Gamine fashion is gender-neutral. There’s plenty of Dramatic, Natural, and Gamine dresses, for example, that read as obviously feminine in the context of modern fashion.

Why menswear isn’t inherently “yang”

Modern Western clothing in general seems to skew “yang”, in both womenswear and in menswear. In other cultures and time periods, menswear had more prevalent yin options (like velvet, silk, ruffles, frills, cloaks, and even skirts and dresses).

So it’s not true that women’s fashion is inherently mostly yin and men’s is inherently mostly yang. The truth is that both men and women can wear and look harmonious in highly yin and highly yang fashion.

It’s just that currently we have a cultural bias to don clothing that skews “yang” in general, especially for everyday wear.

Style analysis is for everyone

I write mostly about womenswear, because that caters to style analysis’s biggest audience.

But style analysis isn’t just for women—it’s for anyone who wants to enhance their unique beauty by dressing to flatter their face.

So if you (or your significant other or someone else in your life) are seeking advice about men’s fashion, you can get absolutely get that advice from a Style Analysis.

Summary

Modern Dramatic, Natural, Gamine, and Classic fashion can be somewhat gender-neutral: highly similar across menswear and womenswear
Many modern fashion elements for Romantic, Ethereal, and Ingenue don’t translate as easily into menswear
But menswear still has lots of Romantic, Ethereal, and Ingenue options, including chain necklaces, prints like tie-dye and florals, soft textures, and much more

Style Essences in Menswear

Natural, Gamine, Dramatic, and Classic fashion