Are you wise with the words/ the owner of too many shoes/ great at stalking queer celebrities? Guest blogging for Qwear might be for you!

(Thanks, fotorama.com.ua)

You could be the new gay expert on topics such as:

Cultural appropriation in fashion: We need someone to discuss this humorously and with examples so that everyone can know which patterns and styles are best avoided in mainstream stores.

Transfeminine dyke style suggestions and tips, in particular for those with larger builds.

Femme shoes and levels of formality! Annnnnd go

(View full list)

Email proposals for these topics or ideas of your own to me (Sonia) at sonia@qwearfashion.com. Wheee!

Anonymous asked: As a heterosexual woman who loves menswear and feels utterly gorgeous in a suit and bowtie, is it okay for me to be taking inspiration from your blog? I only ask because I was raised in a kind of homophobic environment and I've only recently gotten to a place where I can ask questions and try to learn and be accepting without feeling guilty, and I really don't want to be disrespectful of queer culture in any way. But. The outfits. I LOVE THEM.

Thanks for reading Qwear! And no, I don’t believe that you are appropriating queer culture by taking inspiration from this blog. I actually put “women with gender noncomforming styles” as part of the description to include straight folks. (Gender deviance is not just for queers!) As far as I’m concerned, if you like this blog, then you should read it and take as much inspiration as you please!

BUT it’s great to raise these questions and continue to talk about privilege and oppression. There are many ways in which taking inspiration from cultures other than your own (particularly oppressed ones) can be appropriating. And for this, we need to educate ourselves, discuss, and keep asking questions! I found this post by thesadnessofpencils about appropriation really helpful.

- Sonia

A blogger named Katherine decided to do a photoshoot in her brother’s clothes. Isn’t she adorable? Aren’t these color and pattern combinations incredibly badass? I mean who would ever think of wearing a denim jacket over a blue oxford. She’s making me consider wearing things I would never consider wearing.

I also love how many Indie and non-US brands I’m learned about from her. She’s got brands from Tokyo, Melbourne, Copenhagen, the UK… (Although, I did NOT realize Navajo appropriation was also a thing in Japan). For those of you interested in vintage frames, Moscot is a vintage style eyewear company with an online store and locations in New York.

Beanie: Norse Projects
Shirt: Deluxe Clothing Street Tailor
Jacket: Bedwin and the Heartbreakers
Chinos: Levi’s Vintage Clothing
Socks: Chup 
Shoes: Adidas ObyO KZK x WHIZ
Rucksack: Makr Carry Goods
Glasses: Moscot

Beanie: Norse Projects
T-shirt: Norse Projects 
Jacket: Adidas OT Tech jacket 
Shorts: Wood Wood
Socks: Alpaca
Shoes: Nike Lunar Wood

Hat: Supreme 
T-shirt: Nike x Kobe Bryant (not shown)
Jacket: Perks & Mini
Jeans: Ironheart
Socks: Vanishing Elephant
Shoes: New Balance Highs and Lows
Glasses: Moscot

All photos from: This is what I look like when I wear my brother’s clothes

Follow Katherine: katherineisawesome.com

Anonymous asked: So, here's my question: I'm a queer who is currently loosing weight- once I hit my goal I'm planning on upping my wardrobe (I currently own: 1 pair of casual pants and one pair of work pants +roughly 1,000 tee shirts.). My actual "style" I guess would be really eclectic (but not femme at all! Dresses give me anxiety). The question, after my rather long winded prequel is: What do you think of woodsy/tribal/post-apocalyptic clothing? Can is be done casually without getting weird looks? Thanks

I enjoyed your rather long winded prequel :) Woodsy/post-apocalyptic: definitely. Tribal: If it is a part of your culture, or you spent a lot of time somewhere in which you got some meaningful clothing, you should rock it. But I have strong feelings about all the clothing brands — sadly ones I otherwise love — appropriating tribal patterns in a tacky and offensive way. I would avoid any Western brand that worked a tribal print into their clothes.

I’ve had several conversations with queers and… well, more queers, about the evil empire that is Urban Outfitters and the brands they own like Anthropologie. Now there are a lot of corporations doing some pretty shitty things that I write about here nonetheless (bad labor practices, sexist advertisements, appropriating Native American patterns in poor taste, etc.) but it seems that Urban Outfitters tops the list for their blatant attacks on queers. And since this is a queer blog, it doesn’t seem right to continue plugging them without at least warning people that their money will end up in the hands of Rick Santorum or the likes. That’s right, Richard Hayne, the chariman of Urban Outfitters Inc., generously supports anti-gay campaigns (view source.) Most recently Urban came out with some transphobic greeting cards and didn’t speaking out against their actions.

Now, as mentioned in this post, this blog is not meant to be political. I want to empower queers to buy clothes that they feel GREAT in out of our limited resources. Thus I bring you the Urban alternative for my American readers: Buffalo Exchange. Those of you outside the US, please comment with more hipster aesthetic thrift stores.

So here’s how I’m going to proceed guys. A lot of you have clothes from Urban Outfitters and their other businesses, and so do I. Every time we model something from there, I’m going to NOT LINK to them (this increases traffic to their site and is generally good for them regardless of how many direct purchases stem from Dyke Duds) and add a disclaimer at the bottom of the post that reads, “Urban Outfitters, Inc. donates money to anti-gay campaigns. Learn more about their actions here. Buffalo Exchange is a great hipster Alternative.”

If you have any more comments, please don’t hesitate to share and I would love to take them into consideration. Peace.