Caner Daywood is a 28-year-old guy who lives and works in London; and he dresses better than me, and probably better than you, and definitely better than most of those ‘influencers’ you follow on Instagram.
I sat down with him to find out exactly why he prefers women’s clothes, what he loves about makeup and why you’re wrong when you call what he does drag...
Every day you’ll challenge what masculinity means
‘I’ve always wanted to do more. I come from a fashion and styling background and that’s always about evolution and changing it up. I started to wear concealer, a little bit of tinted moisturiser and a little bit of foundation and I thought okay, that’s sweet, it’s simple. And then I started to wear mascara, and then I thought ‘fuck it!’
People think dressing masculine is football and guys with no style, looking normcore with shitty trainers and shitty shoes, a quilted jacket and OMG it’s so dry! Masculine is owning your shit, being strong, being a leader being all those things we are as people! It’s the same with feminism.
Even in creative industries dressing differently will still make you stand out massively
I’ve always felt really comfortable because I’m not like shocking shocking - I’m just different. And the advertising agency where I work is very relaxed, but having said that it amazes me how normcore everyone is despite it being such a creative place.
For me, style has always been a release, and I love the glam. I love that vibe. I don’t look like this when I wake up! And I love that. It does take me about an hour and a half, sometimes a bit longer. On a busier week if I have shit planned every single day then I’ll plan my outfits in advance.
Getting dressed is a lot more interesting than when you just wear men’s clothes
I’ve always loved dressing up and I loved that glam vibe. I’m also really into reading up about different designers. Last week I had a whole texture clash week, I really fancied wearing loads of furs and like sequins and leather and velvet. I think it’s because the seasons are changing. I Like winter is epitomised, for me, in terms of sequins, velvet and fur. That’s it. That’s all you need to do in some capacity.
You’ll really notice how normcore most of the population dress
I’m always astounded by gorgeous people that just don’t go that extra mile. I’ve always been pretty, always had pretty skin, big lips, big eyes – you know what I mean? But, I accentuate that more, I love being ultra-pretty, the ultra! So many people are gorgeous but they don’t really make an effort or don’t push it further.
You can’t think about what other people think of you, or how society expects you to dress
I’ve never listened to society. I went past a Zara window yesterday and it is literally the epitome of normcore. A hoody, a fucking camel trench coat, a T shirt, jeans and boots. I was literally going to take a picture and be like: normcore personified. Who said you have to dress this way?
You’ll miss the old days when people were more experimental and had more fun with fashion
I love the 80s, I loved that aesthetic, like David Bowie was so revolutionary, always wearing sequins. And he didn’t give a fuck about rules! I think when you start to care about that and you have that internal dialogue saying ‘I should dress like this because everyone is wearing this’ that’s bad!
People will label what you’re doing drag, even if you just see it as wearing the clothes you like
I’ve never ever corrected someone when they say I do drag. I love the drag aesthetic, on a personal level and I think drag does so much. But I’m a boy, I’m a dude you know? I’m very broad shouldered, I’ve always had that dude aesthetic - I’ll never be like a pretty boy that can pass as a girl. So for me it’s more of a statement on how shitty other men dress. Who’s telling you to be shackled to that? You know? I’ve always been a bit anarchistic.
And you’ll be free from just buying ‘men’s’ clothes - aka have double the clothes to choose from
Feeling shackled by that ‘I’m a man, I’ve got to shop in men’s fashion’ is so backwards! Women’s fashion is always two seasons ahead of men. We always get the trends that you guys have, two seasons later. So I’ve always wanted to be ahead - I have really big FOMO. Also, women’s clothes are just more playful.
Girls complaining they don’t know what to wear may irritate you a bit
That’s what used to irritate me so much when I was styling. Women would say “I don’t know what to wear” - you can wear fucking everything! Honestly you have so much of a selection, men have nothing. And also being practical, women’s fashion is half the price of men’s!
Suddenly dressing to impress brings on whole new meanings
If I’m going to a client meeting I will wear like a nice pair of heels, nice trousers and a nice shirt – I love dressing up and it totally gives you that power. It all stems from that if you feel comfortable in your skin and you feel comfortable with what you’re wearing; you will exude that. I’ve always felt that way. If you feel a bit drab and you look a bit drab, you are drab. It’s totally the connotations of what you wear.
Drag or ‘cross dressing’ is just an extension of wearing clothes to put on a character - which in a way, everyone does
Drag is an escapism and it’s all about imagination, putting on a character. I think that’s a huge part of the way I dress, I think it’s kind of why I never correct people when I say drag because I always dress in like a theme.
And you’ll spend your life explaining what drag is to people
I think the LGBT community is working to break it down and disseminate what it really means. It’s just drag, that’s it. But drag can mean so many different things. There’s pageant drag which is overly flamboyant, very Miss World kind of drag. There’s performance drag which is hair armpits and moustaches and glitter beards. There’s fem drag, there’s cross dressing, there’s loads of different types. I think it’s more about dressing with imagination maybe? Dressing with creativity and character.’
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Follow Tabi on Twitter @tabijgee
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.