WHY WE STOPPED ASKING "MEN'S OR WOMEN'S?"

It Started With a Borrowed Hoodie

Almost every great wardrobe story begins the same way: someone borrows something. A sibling's oversized hoodie. A friend's well-worn denim jacket. A partner's favourite tee that somehow never gets returned.

Those borrowed pieces tend to become our favourites. They're softer, roomier, and more relaxed than the clothes we bought for ourselves. And they carry a quiet question: if this fits so well, why was it ever placed in a section with someone else's name on it?

That question is where Cloy's thinking about unisex clothing begins. Not as a marketing category, but as an everyday observation. Good clothes are good clothes, whoever is wearing them.

“The best compliment a piece of clothing can receive isn't 'that suits your gender.' It's 'that suits you.'”

The Problem With the Sign Above the Rack

Walk into a typical store and the first decision is made for you. Left side or right side. Blue tags or pink tags. Before you've touched a single fabric, you've been sorted.

For plenty of people that's an inconvenience. For others it's a real barrier: the friend who loves a boxy fit but feels awkward browsing the "wrong" aisle, the teenager who wants to dress for comfort without commentary, the shopper who is simply tired of hunting through two floors for one good shirt.

Clothing is meant to make life easier. When it adds hesitation, something has gone wrong in the design of the shopping experience, not in the person.

What Unisex Actually Means (And What It Doesn't)

Unisex is often misunderstood as "shapeless" or "one size, fits nobody." Done well, it's the opposite. It means designing around the body and the occasion rather than around a stereotype.

How We Think About Design at Cloy

Every piece starts with four grounding questions:

Three Everyday Wardrobe Moments

The Weekday: An oversized tee, straight-fit trousers and clean sneakers. It's effortless enough for a college lecture or a casual office, and sharp enough for a coffee with someone you want to impress.

The Weekend: A relaxed hoodie, joggers and a cap. This is the uniform of the long walk, the café afternoon and the unplanned road trip—and it's the outfit most likely to get borrowed.

The Night Out: A crisp overshirt over a plain tee, dark bottoms, one statement accessory. Minimal, confident, and easy to swap between friends.

How to Build a Unisex Wardrobe From Scratch

1. Start with five basics: Two plain tees, one hoodie, one pair of straight trousers and one jacket.
2. Choose a palette: Pick three or four colours that suit you so everything works together effortlessly.
3. Play with proportion: Pair something oversized with something fitted to keep outfits balanced.
4. Layer deliberately: Overshirts, tanks and light jackets add depth without extra effort.
5. Add one personal detail: A cap, a bag, a chain. That's where your personality shows.

Less Clutter, More Wear

There's a practical side too. When pieces aren't tied to one category, you buy fewer and wear more. Shared wardrobes between friends, siblings or partners stretch every purchase further, and a smaller, smarter closet is better for your budget and for the planet.

At its heart, unisex fashion isn't about erasing difference. It's about removing the unnecessary rules so that difference can show up on its own terms.

PLATE 05 · TAILORED FREEDOM

"Wear what feels like you."