Qwear | Fashion Blog

GabiFresh Swimsuits for All (Unless you're larger than size 24)

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:53:00 -0400

I’m enthralled by these new plus sized swimsuits by my new blog crush Gabifresh! I love the bright colors and the way they fit. I mean, damn. If I were a lady/wore lady clothes, I’d be rockin that day and night.

You can get them at swimsuitsforall.com for $68.

Queer processing time: how do you feel about the fact that the company only goes up to size 24? It seems a little hurtful to call the line “Swimsuits for All” but then not deliver what they promise. I know it costs more money to produce clothes with more fabric, but it seems to me that as size activists, they’d want to, well, be size activists. And not leave anyone out of the equation, or make anyone feel invisible for existing out of their size range.

But hey, there are hot fat people running around in galaxy suits now. And that’s fucking awesome. Maybe they could just change their name so they don’t claim to represent everyone.

Interested in your thoughts. Comment in the comments.

- Sonny

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Thanks to you guys I found out how awful Urban Outfitters is. I had actually recently ordered black pants from them because I needed work pants. But then my conscience got to me and I sent them back and wrote as my return reason: "your company donates to anti equality campaigns. I will know longer support you because you do not support me." I know I can't afford to be the perfect consumer, but it's good to know some basic ways I can make a difference.

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:19:00 -0400

Yesss! Good for you!

14% Off Vests At Fourteen Through May 24

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:01:11 -0400

Oh hay queers. Remember how Fourteen sells 8 danderific vests with a variety of fits and styles just for the homie homos? They’re offering 14% off through May 24. Just enter the code 539567 at checkout, and you could have the perfect dandy addition to your next formal event this summer.

You can see me wearing their Silk Vest with Charmeuse Lapel here. Sign up for their mailing list for more deals!

I work for Fourteen. It’s like, a thing.

Follow Fourteen on Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Tumblr

I'm a cross dresser and I work at American Eagle. Let me just say that while I'm sure AE has its faults, I have never once been made to feel uncomfortable about my gender presentation by my managers, other employees or even the customers, and I live in a very conservative area so I feel like that's pretty awesome. There's a level of diversity in our store that is really inspiring to me, and something that I haven't seen in stores like A&E or Hollister (which is right next door to us actually)

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:13:00 -0400

This is amazing. I had a really great experience at American Eagle Kids too. (Keep in mind that I am no longer dyke-identified, like I was when I wrote that post a year ago. But the rest still applies!) Glad to hear you’ve had great experiences with them as well. Exciting that such a mainstream store can be a safe place for us. - Sonny

Qwear Is Boycotting Abercrombie & Fitch and Their Friends For Being Douches

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:35:00 -0400

Let’s be real: I care about dressing well, I care about other queers dressing well and feeling good. And that’s why I have this blog. If I wanted to have a blog about only supporting companies with good practices, well, that would be a different blog. We could call it “Fair Trade Queer.” Or something. Spinoffs welcome.

The only brands I’ve been boycotting on Qwear are Urban Outfitters and their affiliate Anthropologie. (Which you can read about here.) If I boycotted every brand that had bad practices, I’d be pretty limited in the Looking Pretty Pepartment.

But I’m now adding Abercrombie & Fitch and their affiliates (Hollister, and some other brand I haven’t heard of called Gilly Hicks) to the list of brands I will no longer promote in this lifetime. Because of this:

UPDATE 5/16: While the following video does a great job out outlying the issues with A&F, a few folks alerted me that it’s problematic. I completely agree with that article, and considered deleting the video altogether from this post. I decided to leave it here for discussion, but would discourage anyone from actually joining his campaign.

You can still model them in your submissions, but I won’t link to them. I will also include a disclaimer: “Abercrombie & Fitch actively discriminates based on class, size, and appearance. For similar brands, try Aéropostale and American Eagle Outfitters.” Thoughts? Proposed edits? Contact me.

For a long time I was promoting A&F because I loved their jeans. But the zipper recently broke on them anyway. Along with all my trust. *wipes tear.*

- Sonny

Look at Blake! Everything thrifted except tie clip, pants, and...

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:23:00 -0400

Look at Blake!

Everything thrifted except tie clip, pants, and shoes
Blazer: Brooks Brothers, $8
French Cuff Shirt: Brooks Brothers, $3.75
Vest: From the Young Men’s shop in town, thrifted for $4
Tie: $1
Tie clip: Her professor made it for her!
Pocket square (it has shoes on it!): 25 cents
Chinos: Tommy Hilfiger, $32ish
Shoes: ALDO, $110

Submit to Qwear

Jack Tar Happy Hour, Tuesday May 21 5-7 PM in Portland!

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:35:00 -0400

Come join me to celebrate my new nickname at Jack Tar’s happy hour at Sonny’s in Portland, Maine! Meet the crew + models. Tuesday May 21, 5-7pm. Tees and swag!

Can’t waiiitt. For more Jack Tar, find them on The Facebook.

- Sonny

London Style: Now We Know Where Hipsters Get Their Clothes

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:14:00 -0400

Photo cred: Caroline Wood

By guest blogger, Courtney

Hey Qwearlings! I got back from London after spending January there for a Theatre course (liberal arts, y’all). London street fashion seems like the origination of certain hipster styles in the US. Going into most London stores, I found myself drooling over almost every item of hipster-tastic duds, and found myself back in America at the end of the month with a significantly heavier suitcase and significantly lighter wallet.

I asked a few of my friends who came on my trip to represent some of the awesome fashion we saw there.

Photo cred: Caroline Wood

For starters: TOP-BUTTON SWAG. Literally everywhere. You’ll notice that we are all apparently wearing the same shirt. This is because we are, in fact, wearing the same shirt. We found an amazing store called Primark, which is apparently something like the British Walmart meets Forever 21. There were so many of these short sleeve printed beauties that we, plus two more of our friends, each own two, and none of them are the same. Printed shirts seem to be pretty big, but less plaid (like in the US) and more different prints like the fleur de lis, dots, and birds.

Photo cred: Caroline Wood

Becca (Left)
Shirt: Primark
Pants: H&M
Belt: Urban Outfitters*
Socks: Target
Shoes: Marshall’s

Courtney (Middle)
Shirt: Primark
Pants: Primark
Sweater: H&M
Blazer: Zara
Pocket Square: The Tie Bar
Belt: Lee River
Boots: Aldo

Andy (Right)
Shirt: Primark
Pants: Primark
Belt: H&M
Boots: All Saints

Something else the British seem to love is colored trousers. Andy and I are both wearing pants from— wait for it— Primark! And in the store there were stacks on stacks of colored pants in various fabrics and fits. Most pants on the street, however, are very much slim fit. In fact, I would say most of the London street style I observed was slim fit.

Other things I saw: crew neck sweaters and sweatshirts, beanies, black boots (like mine and Andy’s), black jeans. And blazers. Going to a club in London, I asked my English friend what guys usually wore when going out. The reply was, “Suits.” And it was true. Tons of slim cut slim lapelled suits, or blazers over tanks with slim cotton pants. Swoon! Check out Topman for more examples of this sort of style.

Courtney is our petite menswear consultant. If you have any questions for her about menswear fit, style in general, or being a rockin badass, send your qwearies here.

*Urban Outfitters donates money to anti-gay campaigns. Learn more about their actions here. Buffalo Exchange and Ragstock are great hipster alternatives

In case you want cutie Andy as a friend on Facebook

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A Dapper and Her Bike Shirt: Goodwill...

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:40:00 -0400

A Dapper and Her Bike

Shirt: Goodwill (Chaps)
Pants: Hot Topic
Socks: Paisley Sockwear
Shoes: DSW Shoes (Franco Sarto)
Bike: Bicycle Depot (Daleville, IN)

Brought to you by: I Dream of Dapper

What will you be rolling around on this summer? Submit your photos!

Also, I highly recommend following Dykes On Pedal Bikes. You won’t regret it.

Qwear Salon Picks!

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:44:00 -0400

What can I say? Raimi and Lee cut hair for 4.5 hours straight. Queers flooded in to shave off their locks. So many people got transformed and cheered on today! R&L are officially stylists/magicians/artists.

Surprise! At the end, Lee gave me a pomp:

I had an amazing time, and look at my new did!!

Thanks to all who came.

- Sonny (My new nickname)

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Cislady binding

Sun, 05 May 2013 06:38:00 -0400

Anonymous asked: I have been thinking that I might want to experiment with binding, but I’m feeling really confused and new about it. I am a cislady and I dress fairly femme, and I’m not sure how reducing my books would affect the fit/look of my clothes. I also have ABSOLUTELY no idea where to start/how to go about it. And I don’t know how to respond to people asking me about it. basically I just feel really lost.

Can I just say that I <3 you? You summed up the human experience so beautifully in this question.

Fit of your clothes: If you are wearing cislady clothes, there may be some extra room in the chest area. Some lady clothes are built for larger racks, or meant to enhance the look of them knockers. For others, it doesn’t really matter what your blinkers look like, because it will just hang.

(from: shopbop.com)

This top is totally cute and femme, and would look great on a variety of chest sizes.

Modcloth may as well have called it the “Look at my boobs dress.” Aside from the fact that part of it is see-through, you might be left with some unfilled cups.

I’ve become more comfortable with the idea of wearing lady tops once I started binding, because they now fit in a way I’m comfortable with. I’m less concerned with only buying shirts that hide my chest. I’m confident you will find things that look great if your current collection doesn’t work for you.

Brands and binding safety: I’ve tried a few different brands, and the Underworks Tri-top Chest Binder works the best for me. I’ve heard less awesome things about T-Kingdom, although one reader on Autostraddle wrote, “it was nice to have the velcro when i first started binding because it made it easy to put on and to adjust tightness while i was getting used to binding.” I also recently tried the Buckle Elastic Chest Breast Binder at sohoeva.com and it was kind of a joke. Did nothing for me.

Chestbinders.wordpress.com also has pages of comprehensive binder reviews.

Binders should feel a little too tight when you first try them, and then adjust over the next few days. But if you can’t breath it’s too tight! Ace bandages are dangerous, and you want to make sure to take your binder off at night to give those books some time to breath. If you live in an area where you can find a trans friendly health care provider, you should find one who you feel comfortable talking to about binding. Just google the name of your city + trans friendly health care provider. (You don’t have to be going through a transition to see these doctors. It is just the easiest wording to find what you are looking for on the web.)

Responding to people about it: Changing the subject, or “I don’t like talking about my undergarments,” seems good to me. But seriously you guise, you never have to say anything. People often think they have a right — especially with women and trans* folk — to talk about their bodies. As if your body is their’s to comment on and approve of. If you want to bind, that’s enough reason to bind. You need no other reason, and you never have to talk to anyone about it. If someone asks you where your headers went, you can tell that that’s an inappropriate question. Like, even if it’s your best friend.

People like to try to understand our gender choices, and their need to understand can make us feel like we shouldn’t do anything we can’t explain. Talking to people you trust is great, but people you trust will accept whatever explanation you want. “I’m binding because I want to,” should be all you have to say in order to get their support.

I’m really proud of you. Embarking on binding for the first time can be totally overwhelming, but just keep looking for ones that fit. Hopefully you have some queers in your community to talk to about it too. You’re gonna be great, kid!

- Sonia

—-

Hay Boston: hairdids and nails today! woooo!! If you still need the address, email me: sonia@qwearfashion.com.

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I'm sorry if this is answered elsewhere but where did you get the black and floral pattern hat in your recent post about everlane? It's really great! (I love Qwear so much, btw. Thank you so much!)

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:13:00 -0400

Yayyy. No worries— I got it at Forever 21 for 8 bucks! Love that thing. It’s shaped to fit on your head slightly off to the side. I don’t see it on their website, but I got it at their store on Newbury in Boston. Thanks for the love!

- Sonia

(Re: Everlane: Soft, Luxurious, and Easy on the Wallet)

Hairdids! Shaved hair, dreadlocks, afros, combed doos!

Thu, 02 May 2013 17:59:00 -0400

Remember that time you asked us questions about what to do with your hair, and Raimi and Lee helped? Remember that time you found our that they aren’t just the queer godesses hair in the sky, but Real Life Homo Stylists in Boston who will cut your hair?

YEAH IT’S TRUE BRUHS! Sunday, 12 to 4 in Somerville near Davis Sq. Email me for the address: sonia@qwearfashion.com and then invite all your friends on the Facebook!

Just think, after Sunday you could look like this:

(from: habermerkezi.se)

Orrrr

(from: salonerkekleri.wordpress.com)

Oh, wait, wait! THIS:

(from: verycynthia.com)

NO WAIT:

(from: mdvstyle.com/lost-in-white)

Nevermind, I mean:

(Kelly Palcy from: modelsofcolor.tumblr.com)

While we’re on the subject:

(from: manzardcafe.blog)

OR NO whattt??

heyoooo (from: austinqueerweddings.com)

(from: theblackworkshop.tumblr.com)

but wait, bro:

(from: dapperlou.com)

So yeah. I’ll be there with the snacks and things, and come hang out regardless of whether you’re getting your hair did, because QUEERS.

WAIT I’M NOT DONE!

(from: szczesliwapaulinka.bloog.pl)

Thanks to for the photos, internet.

See you Sunday - S

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First, I LOVE your blog. Second, my question (or should I say "qwestion?"): I have a pretty big chest (40D), and I'd like to find a bra that will "tone it down." Do you have recommendations? Thanks!

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:52:00 -0400

Thanksss! I did a flattening sports bra round-up last year that I think should help! Check out the comments too, as many folks had good additions (any hopefully more to come!)

- Sonia

Powerclashing @ The Dalloway Pics!

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:55:00 -0400

We had some Ahmazing outfits on Sunday at our Power Clashing Party at The Dalloway. Have I mentioned that I fucking love queers and watching them get dressed up?

Qwear looks gooood on stickers.

Roomie came all the way out to hang with me. Heyo!!

Guess who! Lexi Ritsch! Such a sweetie and great party co-host

NC (Genderqueer Fashionista) and N! Internet friends in real life: WHATUP!!

Only took a pic of this queer’s Bass Floral shoes. Which I need.

Me and GQF!

Don’t even know how this happened, but HQ be wearing my hat.

Gingham and stipes. Yeah yeah! I love these Gap blazers.

Thanks again to The Dalloway for hosting this event with me! Hope we can do another one sooon!

If you have any suggestions for meet-ups, either a city or activity, shoot me a message! - Sonia

———

Other upcoming events:

Qwear Salon with Raimi &Lee Sunday May 5th in Somerville, MA!

Jack Tar happy hour/cocktail party! Tuesday May 21, 5-7pm. Sonny’s in Portland. Save the date! I know I am! (Portland, ME)

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I'm on dapperQ's Round-up of the Best Style On Tumblr!

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:40:00 -0400

I'm on dapperQ's Round-up of the Best Style On Tumblr!:

dapperQ, I heart you. Really. I’m so thrilled to be pictured among these amazing fashionistos. - Sonia

Play Out Underwear... Let's Kickstart This Shit!

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:57:00 -0400

Hayy ya’ll! I had a blast in NYC and I’m going to post pics soon. But until then I wanted to give a shout-out about this new queer-owned underwear company called Play Out. I met one of their founders Abby at the Dalloway and she showed me a pair. Touching it felt like laying in a bed of kittens.

“You find a lot of underwear for men that they have a bunch of different colors, cuts, shapes; fun things to wear! But for women it’s either too girly… or boring.” You make a good point, Abby! GOOD POINT.

They need to raise $50,000 by May 8 to produce these things sooo if you go to Kickstarter you can support them! It’s like pre-ordering your future comfort and sexiness.

Mass production when done right is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

- Sonia

Play Out Underwear: Kickstarter | Facebook | Twitter

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Any blog recs for a curvy girl? I'm not overweight by any stretch of the imagination, but I definitely do have a fuller chest and booty, and so many tomboyish styles seem better suited to girls with a flatter figure. I'm not trying to hide my body or make it look different, I'm just looking for tomboy styles that might compliment me.

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:51:00 -0400

I often feel that there is not enough representation of people in the middle ground, including those who like tomboy styles but want to maintain their curvy physique. If you scroll through our “submission” tag, you may find styles you identity with. I really like I Dream Of Dapper’s style because she does menswear in a feminine way. She’s been taking some inspiration from Esther Quek lately; who wears suits closely tailored to her feminine frame. Also check out the Tomboy/Femme Tumblr and Genderqueer Fashionista. The company I work for, Fourteen, sells suits “standard” fits in addition to “boy” fits and you might enjoy checking out their stuff.

Any more ideas, friends?

In other news, I’m being super swank today and camping out in a hotel right by the Dalloway, counting the minutes until I get ready for tonight’s Power Clashing party! Did I mention Kim Stolz is coming??

- Sonia

Tonight is the night! (NYC)

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 07:33:00 -0400

The Dalloway NYC, 7pm until late. Power Clashing like nobody’s business. Still pulling your outfit together? (lezbereal) Check this out.

THE DALLOWAY AND QWEAR PRESENT:
Powerclashing Party (21+)
525 Broome Street New York, 10013
Sunday, April 28 at 7:00 PM
RSVP: clashing@thedallowaynyc.com
Facebook event

See you tonight homie homos!

Sonia

No questions here! Just wanted to say that I love love love Qwear! Also, Cotton On's men's clothes are great! And affordable! Oh! and SKINNYFATTIES is like THE coolest business ever! They tailor your lame-o wide neck ties into pretty, little, skinny ones. Mhmm. Yeah. Freakin' amazeballz! You're amazeballz, too! This blog is amazeballz!

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:55:00 -0400

NO YOU ARE!!! Thanks, anonboo. Here’s Cotton On. SKINNYFATTIES looks AWESOME. - Sonia