Larger sizes, greater use of natural fibers and greater functionality of pockets are some of the factors that are leading Chinese women to prefer buying men’s clothing.
As summer approached, Kexin noticed a change when organizing her wardrobe: quantity of men’s clothing exceeded that of women’s clothing. The shirts, sweaters and shorts had not been bought for her boyfriend or her father, but for herself.
Kexin, who preferred not to reveal her last name, is not the only one to notice this change.
A growing number of young Chinese women, both in their social circles and in various social media posts, claim to have started wearing men’s clothes for similar reasons: better quality, lower prices, greater comfort and less pressure related to physical appearance. But what is driving this trend?
On the popular Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, the hashtag “women wearing men’s clothes” has already accumulated more than 82 million viewswhile the hashtag “gender neutral fashion” surpassed 90 million.
Discussions on the topic have multiplied, often highlighting the advantages of men’s clothing, such as greater use of cotton and linenmore refined modeling, larger pockets, smoother seams, better finishing and lower prices.
Kexin remembers that the change in his way of dressing began in 2023, when, on his Douyin account (the Chinese version of TikTok), he began to receive men’s sweater sales videos.
At first, he found it strange. She had never bought clothes online for her father or a boyfriend, so why was the algorithm recommending that type of content?
Kexin thought it was a mistake, until one day he let an ad for clothes play on his cell phone while he was in the bathroom.
“Girls can buy this item in a smaller size and use it”, he says. “It’s unisex, women can also use.”
These phrases were repeated continuously over a few minutes.
Compared to content aimed at women, which tend to emphasize weight loss, hide supposed imperfections or project a delicate and feminine ideal, that ad focused on the quality of fabric and materials.
“That caught my attention,” he says. “I never understood why women’s clothes focus so much on traditional beauty standardsespecially when the models are often so uncomfortable.”
O price was also an attraction: most shirts cost around 100 yuan (12.92 euros). Even if I had to return them later, the risk seemed small.
She bought her first “men’s” sweater and was surprised. The piece was more comfortable, fuller-bodied and more breathable than the women’s clothing I had previously purchased for prices up to three times higher.
It wasn’t long before she started buying more men’s clothes, and the shame she thought she would feel wearing them never materialized.
Over time, these pieces gradually took over his wardrobe, “like an invasive species pushing out the native one“, he describes.
spend less
This trend also occurs in a context of weakening consumption in China since the end of Covid-related restrictions in 2022.
For workers like Kexin, who follows the demanding journey known as “996” (9am to 9pm, six days a week), financial caution has become the rule.
She is less willing to change jobs and more reluctant to spend a lot even on essential items like clothes.
In this scenario, some consumers began to adopt “reverse consumption” trends, prioritizing value and durability over fast fashion.
“If a piece doesn’t look good, It’s easy to return“, says Kexin. “I no longer see the point in spending a lot of money on clothes. One way or another, I almost never wear a piece for more than one season.”
Problems with sizes
For many of them, the change is less about demonstrating a position on gender and more about functionality. Size is one of the most criticized aspects of women’s clothing in China.
On social networks like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, influencers show how larger sizes often do not suit themwith pieces classified as XL (extra large) that are excessively tight in the thigh area.
In a viral video, a blogger puts an oversized shirt on her poodle and she is very tight.
Li, a lawyer living in Shanghai who asked to be identified only by her last name, says she started wearing men’s clothes because women’s clothes almost never fit her. She he measures 1.70 m and has broad shoulders. It was only when he studied in Europe that he realized that the standard size M (medium) fit him well.
“It seems like the women’s clothes here weren’t made for people with my body type,” he says.
She also highlights that men’s clothing is more functional: a pair of men’s size M pants can accommodate a 28 cm tablet and a book in the pockets without compromising the fit.
“What women’s clothing can do that?” he asks. “Even a lipstick in your pocket results in a noticeable volume in your pants.”
Industry pressures
According to Wang, a designer at a mid-sized fashion brand, both sizing and quality issues are reflections of pressures in the industry.
The apparel sector in China has shrunk significantly since the pandemic, with production and exports falling. Retail growth slowed sharply, rising just 0.1% in 2024, compared to almost 15% in 2023.
Companies now produce fewer new modelsand consumers — who already own enough clothes — are reducing their purchases.
To reduce costs, some brands started to buy ready-made models from Southeast Asia instead of developing your own designs.
But these models do not always adapt to Chinese body shapes, which contributes to poor fit and increase in so-called “child numeracy” in women’s clothing.
The variety of models is also guided by economics. According to Wang, clothes aimed at thinner bodies are cheaper and easier to producewhile larger sizes require more complex modeling and higher costs.
“If selling 20 large pieces costs the same as 200 medium ones, companies simply will abandon the larger sizes“, affirmed Wang.
With the cost of fabric rising sharply, producers face new pressures, the designer adds, and warns that the result will likely be even tighter-fitting clothes next year.
For consumers like Kexin, this will only accelerate the change that’s already happening to her wardrobe.
