I was blown away by Indochino’s beautiful Traveling Tailor shop in Boston that I visited with Fit For a Femme last week. It was like the Apple store of suits. Priced in the $400 range, they offer the softest fabrics and choices of lapel style, number of buttons, pocket style (note: pocket flaps can always be tucked in. May as well get them and have the option!), linings, rounded vests, and contrast button stitching, to name a few!

Here are some photos from their shop, all courtesy of Fit For a Femme! The femme’s wife M got fitted for a suit as well, so stay tuned for part 2 of the Indochino experience on FFAF’s blog. 

The traveling tailor is in Boston until April 15th as part of their North America tour. Since I love Indochino and I want to make sure you all feel comfortable going to them, I gave them a heads up that some of you might visit one of their traveling tailor stores. All you have to do is tell them you are from Qwear, and they will ask you for your pronouns and preferred language for the fitting. They are are super excited to have you there. Don’t live in Boston? They might visit your city soon. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

If you are able to make it, let us know how it goes! 

- Sonia

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Anonymous asked: You've done a few posts on getting custom made shirts (from places like Ratio and Blank Label). I'm thinking about getting my first custom shirt made, but there are so many places that do it these days! What has been your best custom shirt ordering experience? Is there one company that you'd recommend over all the others?

If you are around New York City or plan on visiting any time soon, my highest recommendation is our tailoring consultant, Rae (aka The Handsome Butch) with Bindle & Keep! You can e-mail her at Rachel@BindleandKeep.com. I haven’t made anything with her yet myself, but she’s queer and amazing (not to mention, uh, gorgeous) so I’m sure she’d fit you for a fabulous shirt.

This could be you! (from thehandsomebutch.tumblr.com)

If you are not around NYC, and you fit within the S - XL range, I also highly recommend Androgyny. Even though they aren’t custom made, their shirts actually fit me better than any custom made shirt I’ve ever gotten. 

I also had a really positive experience with both Ratio Clothing and Blank Label. The email exchange with Eric Powell of Ratio was incredibly in-depth and he took extraordinary care to make sure I got what I needed (and was very up-to-date on queer needs.) It also depends which fabrics and styles you are interested in. Ratio has some amazing new gingham and plaid options that I’m feeling a tad drooly over. However, Blank Label offers more options for collar, placket, cuffs, pockets, and buttons. Ratio also will allow you to send back a shirt for additional alterations as many times as you need; whereas Blank Label offers just one remake.

I don’t have any experience with bespoke women’s shirts, so I don’t have much advice on finding more feminine cuts. But I should add that Androgyny is really cut to look androgynous. Menswear companies like Ratio and Blank Label will have more masculine cuts that emphasize broad shoulders. 

Click on the brands to see my reviews about each: Androgyny | Ratio Clothing | Blank Label

Anyone else have reviews to add of these or other custom shirt labels? Add them to the comments!

- Sonia

Those who’ve been following Qwear for a while have seen my array of button-ups. I’ve brought multiple brands to the tailor and have even taken the custom-made route. But this number by Androgyny is one of the best fitting shirts I’ve come across. I’ve enjoyed my other shirts a lot, but when I tried this on I went, “oooooh, that’s what it should feel like!” It didn’t require any adjusting or pulling to fit over my curves. And like most of you, I probably would have never known what was possible in a shirt that could fit my body and gender expression until now.

Due to the high production costs of manufacturing in San Francisco and being a start-up who produces limited editions of each style, Androgyny’s shirts are priced at $125. Though many of you have graciously informed me that you don’t have that kind of cash (I think my favorite line was: “this blog is run by a privileged idiot”), if you do have the means or are saving for a special occasion, your money will be well spent. And, if nothing else, it helps to know that shirts made for androgynous folk are now in existence and will someday be more easily acquired!

The name of the company describes the shirt exactly: it hides my curves without creating a more masculine shape than I want. The bottom comes out to accommodate hips but not in a way that’s at all noticeable. l’m certainly not a shirt construction expert, nor can I account for all the body-types other than my own — but from the way it feels I can tell they’ve done their research on the needs of androgynous people with curves. To top it off, their shirts feature contrasting inner collars, sleeves, and buttonhole thread. All their collars allow ties. Some people may find the colors in their current collection “feminine,” but you know how crazy I go over colorful menswear.

I also appreciate that they button on the right side like men’s shirts. Many dry cleaners charge sometimes up to 3 times as much for women’s shirts, so this will save you money. Pretttty cray. Also, these days maids aren’t expected to dress their Victorian mistresses, so it’s not really necessary to keep the left-side button practice.

This Crisp White Magenta shirt and 4 other colors are available at www.wearandrogyny.com in sizes S-XL. I hope all the dissatisfied andros get the experience of trying on one of these babies at least once. For now, they are only available online, but offer free shipping and free returns. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter for updates on their growing color and size options.

Thanks, Androgyny!

- Sonia

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Getting a custom shirt takes a bit of extra effort — but after my successful go of it with Ratio Clothing, I wanted to see what other companies were up to. So I got in touch with Blank Label and they sent me a sample to share with all of you! I found the shirt to have a very masculine fit, so I recommend this for all masculine-of-center folk out there. The shoulders have a broadening cut, which will help minimize your chest (if you have one) and create an overall more masculine shape. 

Single ply 100s thread count for 85$? Woahhh.

Blank Label has a pretty awesome array of fabrics and patterns — colorful, yet understated. I needed a white dress shirt, so I ordered Charlie Dunst: solid white twill weave with mini point collar. The fabric quality lives goes beyond any expectations for an $85 shirt. Single ply 100s thread count; a $220 value at most tailors. The weave of the fabric is probably my favorite part about the shirt. They let you customize pretty much everything about the shirt, so you can choose from 10 collar options, none of which are too extreme for any face, and some quite unique. Why not try a club collar? You can also choose length based on whether you plan on wearing it tucked or untucked; If you plan on wearing it formally, I highly recommend the tucked option so you don’t have to worry about it coming out. 

How to measure:

If I was doing this again, I’d absolutely send them measurements of my favorite shirt rather than measurements of myself. Why? It’s easier to screw up measurements of yourself. Even if you get them taken professionally, it is still then up to Blank Label to decide how to best cut the shirt. And if you are trying to use a shirt to create a different look for your body, this can get even more complicated. Even aside from female curve issues, some people prefer a looser fit to a closer fit. Luckily, Blank Label provides a  guide for measuring a shirt. It takes about 20 minutes. Even if you have a shirt that fits pretty well, you can guess on adjustments needed with the measurements you send. (e.g. you have a boy’s shirt that fits perfectly except for arm length.) If you fall in-between sizes, always size up. Or if you don’t mind giving up your favorite shirt for a little while and you live in the US, you can send it to them and have them measure it! Free of charge.

Then email them (sayhi@blanklabel.com) just to say hey, I want a men’s shirt:

If they think you are female, they will add feminine tailoring elements, so it’s best to specify what you need:

• If you would like the shirt to come out a little bit at the hips from the side seam, tell them! If you have wide hips, a bit of this can be good. It won’t look too feminine if it’s just an inch or two.
• Tell them you don’t want chest darts.
• They also don’t offer an option for a center box pleat on the back. Back pleats are a common occurrence on men’s shirts, and help with shape so that there is less bunching in front. I recommend requesting this in your email as well, unless you really dig the look of the no-pleat back (see below!)

Need more help? Email me!

If you want a queer to discuss fit with before making the order, feel free to email me at sonia@qwearfashion.com and I’d be happy to help!

I totally recommend them to anyone who wants a masculine shirt for a fancy occasion. Their prices and customization options are unbeatable.

xoxo,

Sonia

Colorful, Dapper, Preppy menswear for work. Obsessed. This Oakland-residing school teacher’s outfit is totally knocking my invisible socks off. Known as Bookmonkey5000, she includes dapper tips about tie knots for short queers, getting custom made pants from makeyourownjeans.com, and more sartorial reflections.

• Shirt: Land’s End Boys (6 dollars via Lands’ End’s weekly On the Counter sale)
• Tie: Gap Factory Store 
• Belt: Banana Republic Outlet
• Pants: Custom made at makeyourownjeans.com 
• Shoes: Bass Ely 2  

• Shirt: Land’s End Boys
• Tie: The Tie Bar
• Belt: American Eagle
• Pants: H&M, purchased at Buffalo Exchange
• Shoes: Bass Weejuns 

Her words about the first outfit: I’d long been eyeing some beautiful blue suede Nordstrom 1901 Oxfords, as seen in this post by the amazing gentlemen at Closet Freaks, but sadly, those don’t come in a small enough size for me. So I ordered the Ely 2s and then switched out the blue laces for white ones to snazz them up a bit. These chinos are one of a few pairs that I’ve had custom made from makeyourownjeans.com. Shipping is expensive, so they can run you anywhere from $70-$100 a pair, and they’re not designer quality or anything, but they fit me the way I want them to fit, which is more than I can say for almost every other pair of pants in the universe.

Her words about the second outfit: I wanted to pair some simple classics (white OCBD, loafers) with some more modern pieces. I’m by no means a flashy dresser, so pairing these bright blue jeans with a plain white oxford makes me feel like my outfit isn’t too loud. I’ve been really digging knit ties lately; they can make jeans dressier or trousers more casual. Every tie at The Tie Bar is 15 bucks, and while the quality isn’t stellar, you can pick up quite a few nice ties without breaking the bank.

Dapper queer tip: Since I’m kinda short (5’ 5”), my ties are often too long. Because of that, I like to use knots that “eat up” a lot of tie and make the tie shorter. In this look, I used a double four-in-hand. The Knize knot is also a good one for the same reason. The double Windsor is also a large knot that’s good for shorties, but I prefer the asymmetrical look of the Knize or double four-in-hand.