BACK OFF, LADIES!

From the very beginning, we carried the men’s collection in the boutique. I figured that I can’t be the only woman in the world that likes wearing men’s clothes, and with the Italian men fashion, you can’t tell anyway, it’s way too stylish. Men clothing are not trying to be “cute”, the cut is never too tight but still attractive, the masculine jackets are sooooo sexy. Many reasons. And you proved me right, we have been selling it very well to women. But last year, a light bulb came on: We already have the men’s collection, let’s bring in the men. For many reasons ;). We bought a very muscly male mannequin, had figured out where all the extra parts go, dressed him up and put him in the window.

The first man came in. He was so excited to discover a men’s boutique in Washington DC, he was in heaven. After looking around he ended up buying the coolest pair of women’s pants, but hey, he looked amazing in them, and the mannequin was doing its job, no complaints. A year later, this is our new normal, men are coming in every day and the first reaction is always a shock that someone actually thought that they deserve to shop in a boutique, just like in Europe. We are always amazed by how most men are shopping without trying anything on (less fun for us for sure!). We already have our regular male shoppers and we feel like we are making a small contribution to a more stylish DC.

But life is puzzling. never in my dreams would I think that a woman would yell at me for “making her man” too urban looking. He is not urban. He is a man. They live in the suburbs, and I need to stop selling him these clothes. I asked if she meant the clothes were “feminine” and she said, yes, exactly, she needs her man to be a manly man! I told her he bought items from the Italian men collection, and she said he was banned from LiLi The First. While we were handling the whole situation lightly and jokingly, I knew she was not kidding, and she knew I knew she was not kidding!!

Another time, a couple came in to look at the Premiata sneakers. The guy was IN-LOVE with them, I kid you not. He knew Premiata from before, he liked the style, the comfort, and most importantly, he felt good in them! But his girlfriend kept saying she didn’t like them. Now we do have some wild Premiata sneakers, but the men sneakers are “normal”, nothing too extreme about them, 100% not feminine! But it didn’t matter how much he admired them, building outfits, how he felt cool with them, giving her the cutest puppy look, she just kept saying “you can’t make me love them”, like he was about to buy a %$#@ yacht!!!! Would it kill you to tell your boyfriend “Listen, these are not my favorite’s sneakers of all times, but I can see they make you happy, just go for it!”.

One of our guys told me he prefers to come without his wife because it’s easier. She didn’t think men should spend on clothes as much money as women do. REALLY??? Do I sense a pinch, maybe a tiny bit, just a smidge of, dare I say,  jealousy, ladies??? I wish we could just let them enjoy fashion as much as we do without thinking it’s too girly or they should man up. Just let them be.

Coat - Sandrine Philippe | Paris, France | Fall Winter 2024-25

Unisex Cuff Bracelet - Jill Herlands | NY, USA | One of a kind

Silver Backpack - Yohji Yamamoto | Tokyo, Japan