Skip to main content

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. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Gauntlet That Was October

I had a lot of things happen in October. I watched Frankenstein in the cemetery with friends. I had tea with a friend. I started a new sport: curling. This is really fun and I'm enjoying the level of activity it provides and all the strategic elements. I'll do a separate post on it soon. Unfortunately, soon after my first game, I came down with Covid and so did the friend who I had tea with, so I think we both caught it at the place we went to. That wasn't fun. I already posted about that. I was fortunate to be free of it in time to attend Can-Con where I took in lots of panels, saw some of the wonderful writer community, bought many new books, and volunteered to help out in the rooms. The following weekend, I went to the livestream for Danielle Allard's new album release, followed by the in person release. As part of this, she has a 6 video series that releases every Sunday on her YouTube at 1:15 PM EDT. Video number 2, Falling Into Place, is one that I feel fortunate

Under Siege

My city is under attack. I wish I was being facetious.  The so-called "freedom" convoy is here and so far this is what has transpired: 1. They parked on the war memorial. These people who call themselves patriots. This is where the Unknown Soldier rests. This is where Corporal Nathan Cirullo lost his life in October of 2014. The cars were towed, but who knows what actual repercussions they will face. 2. Later, when asked to move away from memorial, one stood and jumped on the tomb itself while others cheered.  3. Despite having port-a-potties provided for by the mayor, they've been defecating on Parliament Hill, in snowbanks, and on streets nearby.  4. Flags being flown include the Confederate flag of the United States, Trump flags, the Quebec equivalent to the Confederate flag, upside down Canada flags, regular Canada flags, Fuck Trudeau flags, libertarian flags, and ones adorned with swastikas. Yeah, this is totally about freedom rather than racism, white su

December 2023 Holidays

The drive to North Bay was pretty smooth until I was 30 minutes away and ran out of windshield washer fluid. That was the first time that ever happened to me. Luckily, about 10-15 minutes later, there was one last gas station where I could fix that. Since it's my busy season, I worked the mornings and took the afternoons and evenings to spend with family and friends. My brother stopped by with a special gift, a new ornament for the tree. My mom loved ceramic Christmas trees, so it's a perfect way to keep her with us at Christmas. His friend, Fawn, helped him get it made. She has a YouTube channel you can check out here: https://youtube.com/@thethriftyfawn After that, I visited friends in the slightly rural part of Callander, Ontario. We were having a lovely time catching up and then the evening had a surprise in store. Someone in the area had hit a small deer with their vehicle. My friend's dad skinned and gutted it in around -20C (due to the windchill) weather.