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

(photo credit: Boogie)

Blazer: Burlington Coat Factory
Floral shirt: Target
Paisley tie: Goodwill
Waistcoat: H&M
Jeans: Express
Shoes: Goodwill (Outdoorables by Daniel Green)

More I Dream Of Dapper on Qwear: I Dream Of Dapper (In The Library) | Pattern Mixing Guide with I Dream of Dapper, The Queer Pomp in 3 Steps With I Dream of Dapper | Follow I Dream Of Dapper

Plaid shirt: Polo, bought at Macy’s
Jeans: American Eagle
Gray Sweater: Merona/Target, Thrifted
Loafers: Bass, Thrfited

Follow Melina: merlinaaaaaa.tumblr.com

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Lots of folks have been asking about the perfect saggy jean. Though Kayla’s body type lends itself more willingly to this look, Pacsun’s men’s jeans have now been recommended several times by people of varying shapes. Pacsun jeans seems to be a favorite among the queers.

And, I love that backpack. For a non-backstabbing brand with a similar look, try Everlane!

Bag: Urban Outfitters*
Sweater Pullover: Urban Outfitters*
Jeans: Pacsun
Belt: Arizona clothing
Moccasins: Target
Glasses: Ray-ban

Kayla’s Tumblr: stellarhypnosis

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

Anonymous asked: I love my boobs, and they’re only a 36B, but I feel like in menswear they look HUGE! I’ve never had that problem before! I was thinking of switching to sports bras, but they tend not to be cute, and I like my bras to at least be pink or something (no frills, just pink haha). Maybe I’ll just get white sports bras and color on them?

I agree that cute sports bras are a good way to go if you want to not feel like you’re popping out of your menswear. A while ago we got some answers from readers about where they find cute sportsbras. Here’s what they said:

Forever 21

Ribbed Metallic Sports Bra, available at Forever 21 for $10.80

“forever 21 makes a wondefully comfy yet sporty yet dykey yet chill bra for $3.80 that comes in many many colors.  i hate that store, but love that bra!” - Queerlady

Target

C9 by Champion® Womens Racer Back Cotton Bra, available at Target for $9.08
“Um: Target. Has uber-neon and occasionally oddly-pattered sports bras that are also (relatively cheap).” - Becky

“seriously.. the sports bras from target are really affordable.. and i’ve got one on now.. neon green makes me happy. ;)” - Candace

Champion

Champion Women’s Shape T-Back Sports Bra, available at Champion for $31.99

“The “Champion Women’s Shape T-Back Sports Bra” is good and comes in some nice colors - different shades of blue, purple, yellow, green, grey, pink, black and white. ” - Lezsquire

Jockey

Medium Impact Wicking Seamless Bra, available at Jockey for $19.99

“Jockey has some reasonably priced and simple sports bras in like 20 colors.” - Masha

Aerie

Aerie Fit Cross-Back Bra, available at Aerie for $29.95

”Aerie has lots and lots of plainly shaped basic bras in really fun colors - heathered tomboy shades, some funky oranges and other bright Spring colors, etc.” - Fit for a Femme

Nike

Nike Elastica Sports Bra, available at Nike for $35. Recommended by Candace

LuLu Lemon

Free To Be Bra, available at LuLu Lemon for $42. Recommended by Vas-y-mollo

Autostraddle also did a sports bra roundup  a while back, and some of their choices have fun colors: Bra-Buying Tips for Masculine Ladies

More posts about undergarments for your chest: Flattening Sports Bras, Binding Qweary. Next we need a femmey femster bra roundup! Any takers? Drop me a line at oram.sonia@gmail.com.

Quotes from the comments in this non-feminine bra qweary.

kieranthehuman asked: I’m sure you get this a lot, but what about for those of us who can’t afford to spend a lot of money clothes. I have the worst time passing as androgynous because I have a very curvy body. I am always looking for different clothes or men’s shirts that actually fit me. Any sites that advertise queer clothes are usually so expensive. Where can I find other options besides scrounging and hoping at the thrift store?

Well kieranthehuman, there’s no easy answer. There’s no one stop solution. Il y a non pas de problème. 

But here are some ideas and tips:

1. Shop the right kind of cheap. Gap, Old Navy, ASOS, outlet stores, H&M’s clothes (but NOT accessories), department store sale racks, all good. But don’t shop at places that are too cheap, because then you’ll just end up spending more money to replace crappy items. I generally avoid Forever 21 and Merona at Target for that reason. If the full retail price seems too good to be true, it’s probably going to fall apart. I bought some galoshes from Target a few years ago for $20 and they didn’t last 3 months. So go cheap, but not too cheap.

2. Thrift Thrift Thrift! Check out the thrift stores tag for inspiration on how many amazing things you can thrift. For more tips, Putthison has a great article on successful menswear thrifting. The most important thing I took away from it was to not look for anything specific.

(source: locallily.com)

3. Take things from you friends and grandparents. You never know what amazing vintage ties your grandfather has that he doesn’t wear anymore, or what delicious lacy tights your ex boyfriend needs to give away. If you go to school, check out whatever your school has for free boxes. Oberlin had a big “free store” at the end of the year where some of my friends used to get their entire wardrobe. Also look at the www.freecycle.org list for your town. (If you are under 18, talk to your parents or guardians about how to make a freecycle exchange safely.)

4. TAILOR! For curvier people looking at menswear, tailoring is key. Find a shirt that fits in the shoulders, arm length, chest, and hips, and then adjust the torso length, torso width, or arm width as necessary. I’ve gotten amazing button-ups at Goodwill for $5 and then tailored them for $10. $15 for a really nice fitted shirt to me is a good deal. Some people with wide hips who want a more fitted look will prefer bringing the sides of the shirt in at the waist and back out at the hips. A lot of the queer clothing designers do this. See this post for more info on that particular type of tailoring.

More tailoring help:

Equally Wed’s Dress Shirt Guide: Measurements (by Yours Truly)
Pants: Creating a Slim Look in a Plus Size
Tailoring Men’s Button-ups for Larger Chests

5. Become friends with the people who work at Gap, and then use their employee discount.

(source: massgames.tumblr.com)

6. Make a shopping list. Write down what you need, and then strategize when you will be able to afford each thing. I don’t do this, and look what happened to me. Every time I walk down Boylston street, I leave with a new pair of shoes.

7. Splurging can be a good thing. Sometimes you may fall in love with something that you weren’t intending on getting. If it goes with your wardrobe, GET IT. I can’t even tell you how many impulse buys of mine turned out to be my favorite things to wear. The key is to have LESS CLOTHES but ones that you love. So don’t be afraid to go with your gut instinct. On the other end, don’t buy things you don’t love just because they are cheap. You think you’re saving money, but you’re really just throwing it away on something you aren’t really going to wear.

8. Browse. Especially if you enjoy shopping anyway, browsing can be great for finding unexpected amazing things on sale, getting to know the market better, and brainstorming about what you want to add to your wardrobe in the future. I spend about 90% of my shopping time browsing without anything particular in mind. But then again, I’m a shopaholic:

(source: hellogiggles.com)

9. Know when the sales happen. If you try something in stores, check the online site to see deals. Sign up for your favorite stores’ mailing lists for insider coupon info. Shop on the off season if you’re confident you’ll still love that item in a few months. Kinowear recommends googling “name of online store” + coupon code before buying anything online. They say that a great promo / coupon code site is: www.retailmenot.com

10. Clear out your closet/ Sell things you don’t wear anymore. Ebay, Craigslist, Buffalo Exchange, Second Time Around. Or even just posting things on your blog for sale. Clearing out your closet is also a good way to remind yourself of what you have that you DO wear, and you’ll have an easier time filling in the gaps.

Thomas’ closet floor, Indiana, 2010

Related Posts: Shopping on a Budget: Plus-Sized Masculine Work Clothes

Anonymous asked: hey i'm in the market for some tank tops. any recommendations?

The list has grown since I last posted about tanks:

Mens/boys: Aeropostale, American Apparel, American Eagle mens and boys, ASOS, Epic Threads boys’ (Macy’s), Hanes A-shirts (available at Target) in boys, H&M Boys, Obey, Old Navy Boys, PacSun, Vans

Womens: Gap, Old Navy, Modcloth

Any other recommendations?

Anonymous asked: I absolutely love the stuff you post. However, I'm in college & on a budget, so $200 for a pair of jeans.. for anything other than a textbook.. is just not going to fly. Do you have any recommendations for stores to shop at if you are on a budget? Thanks!

Thrift stores, your school’s clothing swap, Etsy, H&M, Forever 21, Old Navy, Target, Macy’s, other department stores, DSW, Outlet stores, your brother’s closet. Also, only buy things with at least few outfits in mind. No matter how good a deal is, don’t buy it unless you love it. Know your sizes in your favorite stores so you can snag the sales when they come along, and keep checking for your sizes on Ebay!

But I got to them with my camera before anything debaucherous happened.

• Missy:
• Shirt: Tommy Hilfiger
• V-neck: American Apparel
• Pants: Thrifted, Gap
• Flats: American Eagle