Girls Will Be Boys

A love for fashion is no longer considered an effeminate personality trait. Gone are the days of the K.D. Lang archetype—today, butch women are embracing their personal style with the same enthusiasm and aplomb as femmes or heterosexuals. And the lesbian-chic look is attracting more than just androgynous types this time around—it's spilling over right into indie fashion proper.

Girls—even straight girls—want to wear boy's clothes. For proof of the broader penetration of this tomboy take on fashion, you need look no further than the brisk sales of Rachel Comey's wingtips, or the prevalence of shrunken blazers paired with cropped chinos on the streets. There's a reason why Lou Doillon cites the Artful Dodger, and not her mother, Jane Birkin, as her main source of fashion inspiration.

As curvy, corseted jeans and pregnancy dresses start to seem overly feminine, we're looking for loose-fitting trousers, ankle-rolled denim in distressed and flat washes, as well as white button-ups strategically buttoned all the way up. These are looks designed specifically for women but without the requisite nipped in seams and behind-enhancing pockets. The results are simple styles that could work on men, if indeed they were lucky enough to be as small-boned as the fairer sex.

Maybe it's a subconscious rebellion from the dresses that have filled most women's closets for a number of seasons now, or the floral liberty prints blooming across the pages of the glossies. Regardless, this newfound love of Steven Alan's plaid button downs; Topsiders, lace-up loafers and leather brogues; and anything that's cut for a hip-less, breast-less body isn't dissipating.

Even above the shoulders, a more masculine look has taken hold. Model and It-girl Agyness Deyn throws on dropped-crotch trousers with suspenders, only to top her ensemble off with a bleached-blond, cropped mop and a newsboy cap. And, in the wake of the fedora craze, trilbies, pork pies and even bowler hats are turning up on ladies from London to New York. Also popular with the fashion pack is the reverse mullet—long, sweeping bangs in the front and a close crop in back—à la Elle editor Kate Lanphear or Swedish pop sensation Robyn.

And finally, high fashion has followed in the footsteps of the high street. American designer Chris Benz featured loose-fitting pantsuits in his Fall 2008 collection, and Antwerp's Bruno Pieters trumpeted the look with skinny black ties, cropped tuxedo jackets and a commanding camel overcoat. Finally, butches get their moment in the sun.

—Jessica Arthur