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Women Fashion Biography

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during New York fashion week, boutique owner Laure Heriard Dubreuil was at the opening of an exhibition of fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh's work. As she toured the show, she noticed that she and her companions—blogger Garance Doré and jewelry designer Aurélie Bidermann—all had something in common with his images. "We were looking at his photos from the '90s of supermodels wearing nothing but men's shirting," said Ms. Heriard Dubreuil, whose Miami store is called the Webster, "and the three of us looked at each other and laughed when we realized we were all wearing white men's shirts too." Ms. Heriard Dubreuil added, "During fashion week, everyone looks like a peacock. And there we were wanting something so basic."

Interactive: Shop Like a Man

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Mackenzie Stroh for The Wall Street Journal; Styling by Paula Knight; Hair & Makeup by Hazuki Matsushita for ArtMix Beauty; Model: Tabea Koebach/IMG Models

Shown Above:

Dries Van Noten Mustard Redcliff Men's Coat, $1,500, Barneys, 212-826-8900; Bespoke Men's Shirt, starting at $405, Turnbull & Asser, 212-752-5700; High Waist Double Face Cashmere Women's Pants, $3,750, Hermès, 800-441-4488; T-Slick Heels, $795, Christian Louboutin, 212-396-1884; 14K Yellow Gold Nine Circles Necklace, $374, zoechicco.com; Single Stacked Bands with Diamonds, $560 each, and Single Stacked Bands, $460 each, socialanarchydesigns.com; Lana Oval Signet Ring, $108, sarahchloe.com; Restoration Hardware Professor's Leather Chair, $995, rh.com; Rug, $1,625, John Derian, 212-677-8408. Photographed at Billy Reid boutique in New York.

Borrowing from the boys—and men—is a time-honored tradition in which some of history's most alluring women have partaken. Katharine Hepburn wore Brooks Brothers' cashmere turtleneck sweaters for most of her life. Marlene Dietrich was fond of slinking around in the same company's silk dressing gowns. Brooks Brothers was also popular (and still is) with the East Coast boarding school set. Its double-breasted boys camel coat gained a strong following with private-school girls after it first launched in 1910. It even became part of the unofficial uniform of Miss Porter's in Connecticut, the alma mater of glamorously sporty girls like Jackie Kennedy and Gloria Vanderbilt. And Coco Chanel built an entire brand by raiding her male companions' closets, nicking hunting tweeds and cardigans, which became the foundation of her singular designs.

The tradition continues today with women, like Ms. Heriard Dubreuil, who love feminine and fashion-forward looks from their favorite women's designers, but are savvy enough to source their classics—tweed coats, crew neck sweaters and button-down shirts—wherever they find the best ones, both in terms of quality and price. That is often the men's department.

Women who love fashion-forward looks, but are savvy enough to source their classics, are finding the best fit and price is often the men's department. Meenal Mistry joins the Lunch Break with a look at how to borrow from the boys. Photo: Getty Images

Ms. Heriard Dubreuil's menswear favorites include shirts and sweaters from Dries Van Noten and jeans from A.P.C. Ms. Bidermann likes Charvet shirts, Ralph Lauren jackets and Church's shoes. London-based stylist Caroline Sieber buys her cashmere sweaters from Loro Piana's men's collection. "The fit is better and I like the round neck and loosefitting shape," she said. Ms. Sieber would also rather steal her husband's Charvet shirts than buy the French shirt brand's women's pieces, which are darted to create a trimmer shape. She recently ordered her second bespoke suit from Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard, this time in tweed, for shooting weekends in the country. She calls the first one "the chicest thing she owns," which is high praise from a woman whose wedding dress was Chanel haute couture.

WHAT HE'S HAVING | Coco Chanel, in 1937, looking elegant in nearly the same clothes as her male friend, ballet dancer Serge Lifar. Jean Moral/ ©Brigitte Moral

While trespassing into the men's department is something canny shoppers do covertly, some retailers have recently acknowledged a demand for guys' items among female customers. Barneys New York fashion director Tomoko Ogura said she regularly singles out men's items from brands like the Elder Statesman, Lucien Pellat-Finet and Fioroni that she knows will resonate with female customers and asks the brands to cut some smaller sizes. She said the open architecture of the redesigned men's department at the Madison Avenue flagship is meant to encourage shopping with fewer perceived gender barriers.

Last fall, Tokyo department store Isetan began selling women shirts from London-based menswear label E. Tautz, whose designer Patrick Grant does double duty for 192-year-old Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons. "The collection sells brilliantly," said Mr. Grant. "It's funny because it's the easiest thing we do. We make the [women's] shirts exactly the same way we make our men's—with the same fabric and cut—except for a slightly softer collar because we don't expect women to wear ties."

At J.Crew, president and creative director Jenna Lyons said the men's cashmere sweaters are a big hit with female customers, so she often requests them in brighter colors. Two years ago, Ms. Lyons introduced a women's version of the company's popular men's Ludlow jacket. The blurred gender lines are a part of the brand's DNA, Ms. Lyons explained, recalling that, when the company was run by Emily Woods (daughter of founder Arthur Cinader ) in the 1990s, it offered unisex sizing. "Emily did this because she liked to wear men's clothing herself," said Ms. Lyons. That's also true of Ms. Lyons, a willowy 6-footer who has bought menswear all her life. "I went to the Saint Laurent store recently and found myself shopping off a men's rack because there were more sizes and everything was so classic," she said. "In my opinion, women should walk across the floor to men's if they want."