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"  Dear FKIA, I&amp;#039;m loving this &amp;#039;80s gender-bender revival, but how do I go about it with some feminine finesse?   When I moved to New York in the mid-&amp;#039;80s, my hair was down to my elbows, Japanese hairstylist Yusuke Suga had just opened his salon on East 57th Street, and Stray Cat Brian Setzer&amp;#039;s rockabilly look (rolled-hem pants, camp shirts, pointy oxfords, and long jackets) was the fashion rage. Suga, known for creating that &amp;#039;70s ubiquity, the Dorothy Hamill wedge, quickly worked Setzer&amp;#039;s signature white locks, side-buzz pompadour into his repertoire. And it didn&amp;#039;t take much prodding from my cousin Carla, who took me to all the &amp;quot;best&amp;quot; parties, clubs, and restaurants, to persuade me to spring for the $200 shearing. The cut left me with 20 bucks to cover the month&amp;#039;s bills, but it earned me entr\u00E9e all around town. I learned then and there: You don&amp;#039;t get turned away if you have the right style.  Androgyny is right once more, with menswear-inspired separates that are supereasy to wear and instantly update your wardrobe with their box-cutter precision. Plus, designers have added ironic touches\u2014op-art seaming, positive-negative layering, sheer underpinnings\u2014that lend a flirty edge. Nicolas Ghesqui\u00E8re for Balenciaga&amp;#039;s boy-toy uniform comes closest to perfecting the idea. His butter-leather tan-and-black jackets over white polka-dot shirts, paired with ankle-grazing baggy pants, pay homage to Rei Kawakubo&amp;#039;s gender-bending obsession. Speaking of whom, Kawakubo, for Comme des Gar\u00E7ons, used hard-core leathers this spring to accent the female in the male form, while Ann Demeulemeester, who&amp;#039;s never veered from her commitment to menswear, lent her tailored shapes zigzag graphics. And Givenchy&amp;#039;s Riccardo Tisci and Ohne Titel designers Flora Gill and Alexa Adams worked less formal versions of the look, with loose-fitting vests and tuniclike pieces as alternatives to jackets.  Thankfully, I held on to my pointy men&amp;#039;s oxfords and my platypus backless lace-ups from Ann Demeulemeester, so all I&amp;#039;ll need to buy is a pair of black socks. And the clothes, of course. If you can&amp;#039;t afford the whole shebang, go for the baggy pants and oxfords. And don&amp;#039;t forget that Stray Cat strut. \u2014submitted by Lainey, Wichita, KS "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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