One thing that stands out about Harry Styles, even if someone did not know he was a singer, is his fashion sense. Styles likes to experiment with his style by wearing non-traditional clothing. For example, in his photo shoot for his latest album Fine Line, Harry Styles wore a pink chiffon top with high waisted button-up, bell-bottom pants. This fashion choice was not heavily criticized because it was still viewed as a masculine outfit. On the other hand, Harry Styles’ eccentric fashion style always has mixed reviews when it comes to the media.
This year, Styles did a photoshoot for Vogue’s December cover. He wore many outfits for the photoshoot, like an outfit where he is topless wearing slacks that were drawn on and another where he is wearing a plaid muscle shirt paired with a kilt and combat boots. However, the outfit that caused the most controversy was Styles wearing a long flowy, grey dress paired with a black blazer (he is blowing up a grey balloon).
American author, commentator, and political activist Candace Owens, took to social media to state her opinions about Harry Styles Vogue cover. She stated how she was disgusted by Vogue’s choice of styling Harry Styles with a dress, and even commented how she wants to “bring back manly men.” Owens’ beliefs are very conservative, and she prides herself for being a hard core Republican.
Owens recieved major backlash from her social media post. Harry Styles’ fans from all over the internet were commenting on how disrespectful Owens was towards him, and how she should think before she posts something criticizing Harry Styles.
Harry Styles did not comment about the situation until December 2, when he posted an Instagram photo of himself dressed in a pale blue flowy suit, eating a banana with the caption “Bring back manly men.” This subtle post was the best way Harry Styles was able to comment about the situation without making the entire internet flip.
This criticism is not something new in the fashion world when it comes to male models. For example, 70s and 80s musicians like Prince, Freddy Mercury, Elton John, and David Bowie were constantly criticized for their feminine fashion. Thankfully, the criticism Harry Styles received by Candace Owens did not affect him. He still wears whatever he wants, no matter what the media says.
I feel like this relates back to when it was socially unacceptable for women to wear pants instead of dresses and skirts. Clothes are just clothes! And for people saying it's "Not Manly" for men to wear dresses, they should remember that in some cultures, men wear skirt/dress like outfits and it has nothing to do with how manly you are.
I find Harry cute but I dont know if he looks good in that fit.
I don't understand why people got so angry about this photo, I don't see how someone wearing a dress affects anyone else.
Harry looks good with the dress ! It is not gay or anything, it should be normal for men to wear what they want.
Honestly, why does it matter if a man wears a dress? Society's ideals change all the time, why is it so hard for people to comprehend that clothes don't have a gender. Harry looks stunning, Candice is simply just jealous of the fact that she looks horrendous compared to Grammy Nominated, Harry Styles.