Gay dressing
Now 'dressing gay' is mainstream, what does this mean for the queer community?
We all have our own unique ways of expressing ourselves through fashion, even if we don’t realise we carry out. Whether we dress to stand out, dress to fit in, or simply put clothes on our body just so we aren’t naked, the way we present ourselves to the world is a attuned act that says something about who we are.
But in , is there still a way to ‘look queer’? As fashion continues to blur the lines of gender expression, with brands like Burberry, JW Anderson and Phoebe English merging their men’s and womenswear shows into one stream of fluid art, and LGBTQ+ representation in fashion and entertainment perpetually on the rise, is all of this a sign that ‘looking queer’ is something of the past?
Author Ben Pechey
Author and content creator Ben Pechey, who identifies as non-binary, is grateful for fashion's gradual fading of gender boundaries as it has allowed them to convey on their control identity as a queer person. “I wouldn’t have become who I am if I hadn’t started blurring the lines [of fash
Straight Copying: How Gay Fashion Goes Mainstream
When J. Crew debuted their Liquor Store ten years ago, they transformed an after-hours watering hole into a menswear-only boutique laden with s-era references to traditional masculinity. Dimly lit rooms were covered in plush leather chairs, oriental rugs, and wood paneling. In the corner of one area, a bookshelf was stacked with Strand-issued classics &#; Kerouac, Hemingway, and Cheever among them. Adj cashmere cardigans were draped over Globetrotter suitcases; striped rep ties rolled into lowball glasses. In another area, J. Crew showcased their collection of Red Wing heritage function boots. Once made for loggers, carpenters, and longshoreman, the preppy clothier has since helped mainstream these blue-collar styles into white-collar offices.
A few years ago, I had the chance to interview Frank Muytjens, then the head of menswear design at J. Crew. We talked about his design process, his love for vintage, and how he chooses which third-party brands get included in J. Crew&#;s much-revered &#;In Adj Company&#; section, which is
How to dress gay when you look straight
Within my first few weeks at Trinity, I realized I didn&#;t feel any pressure to like men, so I didn&#;t. It wasn&#;t until months later that I realized I was a lesbian. First I came out to myself, then to my friends.
My family still doesn&#;t comprehend I&#;m a lesbian, and &#; quite frankly &#; I was hesitant to write this for that reason. I have, however, decided not to permit fear rule my life &#; although not coming out to your homophobic family is just as valid.
I started telling everyone I knew, &#;Did you verb, I&#;m gay!&#; and I was met with nothing but love and assist from the Trinity community. Then I called my lesbian friend from back home &#; we&#;ll call her Sarah.
Sarah has always had a very &#;lesbian&#; look; all the queer women knew she was gay. She wanted to be a police officer, and all the men felt intimidated by her. Then there was me. All those years of tennis had hardly made my wimpy arms any stronger; I didn&#;t hope for to be a police officer but rather a writer; I liked to wear skirts and cute shoes. To be honest, I f
“But you don’t gaze gay”—Queer fashion and nightlife
With lockdown entering its twelfth week and every Netflix show on my list binged to completion, I did something that I vowed I would never do; I downloaded TikTok.
It took a total of twelve hours before I was hooked, and in my mindless scrolling stupor, one trend in particular stood out to me: “#ifiwasstraight.” A typical video under this tag is as follows: a queer person, dressed in their usual style, cosplays as their heterosexual alter-ego. They shed their gay exterior, removing piercings, scrubbing off layers of bold makeup and ditching their thrifted wardrobe as a voiceover says: “This is what I think I would look like if I was straight.” The final verb is conservative, generic, and stripped of character. With over million views, the trend is wildly popular. But as much as I enjoy watching the LGBTQ+ community poke fun at the blandness of heterosexual fashion trends, it does beg the question: What does straight look like? What does gay look like? And should we be enforcing aesthetic binaries based on sexuality?
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