On November 13, 2020, Harry Styles from the late band “One Direction” made Vogue history in the sneak peek of Vogue’s December 2020 issue. Styles wore pieces ranging from a baby blue dress to custom mustard yellow pants with his tattoos embellished on them. Harry Styles is the first solo male to ever be on the cover of Vogue. Recently, men have been attempting to beat the stigma of toxic masculinity, which involves cultural pressures for men to behave in a certain way. In the article written by Hamish Bowles, Styles says, “I find myself looking at women’s clothes, thinking they’re amazing.”

Ever since Style’s first solo album “HS1,” he hasn’t been dressing the same way he did while in “One Direction”. While in the band, his wardrobe consisted of black skinny jeans, band t-shirts, floral button downs and close fitting ankle high Chelsea boots, but now his closet is filled with custom Gucci pieces, wide-leg pants, shimmery tops and jumpsuits. His style has completely flipped, and everyone loves his new look! 

In the article Harry comments: “There’s so much joy to be had in playing with clothes. I’ve never thought too much about what it means—it just becomes this extended part of creating something.” He likes putting together outfits that he likes, not what other people like. Styles dresses for himself, not the public eye.

This Vogue cover is very impactful towards Harry’s brand, as he has gotten criticism about his ball gown in the cover. Some critics even went so far as to say, “bring back manly men.” However, Styles mocked the quote in his recent Instagram post. Styles defended his choice: “to not wear (something) because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes.”

In the past, the public has been more accepting when women wore masculine articles of clothing, yet when a male wears something feminine, it can be met with harsher criticism. Today, people are becoming more tolerant about the stylistic choices celebrities make and even celebrating those with unique styles. In the Vogue article, Style’s explains, “I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”

With Harry Styles’ big following, the Vogue cover was definitely a great idea for him. The article demonstrates to his fans that it’s okay to dress however you want and celebrates being comfortable in your own skin.