On Clothing

Some people wonder why LGBTQ+ folks change the way they dress after coming out. Part of it is because we still don't feel fully like ourselves. It's like we can't truly express who we are in the wrong clothing. It's that old saying, "The clothing makes the man."

I'm personally rejecting most feminine clothing these days for many reasons.

1. Who I am.

I lean towards the masculine side of life. I was always a bit sporty prior to high school and after university. In high school, I was a tomboy goth. When I first started working office jobs, I loved wearing blazers or vests and dress pants. Now, I'm somewhere around a futch. What's that mean aesthetically? Think blazers, turtlenecks, Henley shirts, skate shoes, t-shirts, jeans, cargos, hoodies, and dress shoes. But I don't mind adding in some girlish elements here and there like earrings, a pixie haircut, and dark nail polish. This all lets me play with gender in my outfits.

2. Durability and sustainability.

It's more common to find clothing that lasts in the men's section. It's like they realize that men don't want to constantly shop. Neither do I. It's as if they want to force women to constantly be replacing their things or to constantly be shopping. Aside from the annoyance and inconvenience of that, it isn't good for the planet and I care about reducing my carbon footprint where it makes sense to.

3. Pockets.

Men's clothing items, especially pants, have pockets. Not just pockets, but ones that hold more than a fucking lip gloss. 

4. Comfort and functionality.

I have never enjoyed womens shoes. I rarely want to wear dresses, skirts, or leggings. Pretty much a summer wedding when it's too hot to have a lot of layers on is when I might choose a dress. There is almost nothing I can't do in pants. I'm far more ready for running in skate or dress shoes.

5. Sizing insanity.

It's not uncommon for men's clothing to be sized as the literal number of inches your waist or neck is. With women's clothing, good fucking luck. Many products are sized to avoid hurting a woman's feelings, so a 10 in one brand is not a 10 in another. You have to try everything on to figure out if it fits you and hangs nicely on your particularly body. There's a lot less of that in clothing that doesn't need to hug every curve you have.

6. Confidence.

I've always felt more myself and more confident in comfortable clothing that fits my needs. Suits definitely boost the confidence.

7. Features.

Way more men's items come in wrinkle free fabric. I'm a busy person and having less to do in order to look good is an excellent feature of menswear. Have you see how cool men's designer jeans are?

8. Less.

I've never been that into makeup. Now, I can be as minimal as possible in this area and just throw on some goth guyliner when I feel like it. Usually I do a bit more than that, but it no longer feels like I need to in order to be accepted as a professional in society.

9. Black.

As a goth, I love how easy it is to find black clothing items. The colours change more frequently in women's clothing. Often I ended up having to choose from some ugly options.

10. Less decision making is needed.

I can spend less time figuring out what I'm going to wear since more of my wardrobe will match. I can just choose the vibe I want or base it on specific needs of the day. Maybe it's a chill hoodie and jeans day or maybe the day calls for something dapper.

11. Weight fluctuations

It's easier to find clothing that won't become unwearable with the slightest increase or decrease in weight.