Queer Clothing: Introduction

In the sphere of queer culture, the styling of clothing and accessories is the best way to tell if a counterpart identifies along a similar spectrum of sexuality. This goes for any community and even as far as to any person of course; what you decide to wear, consciously or subconsciously, sends a message to those observing an outfit. People buy and style their clothing for a myriad of reasons: color, fit, outward appeal, comfort and so on. Queer people are widely regarded as a very style forward community, with many of the world’s top designers and fashion icons being queer themselves. This creates sort of a mass focus on what queer people are doing though, and while this creates beneficial exposure and success for these designers, it quickly pushes an original idea into the vacuum of the trend cycle where anyone can access it; where the novelty is lost because of its widespread access. There exists, though, an underbelly of subtlety that requires a closer dissection with a trained eye. The thesis of what makes a clothing item inherently queer is less about the actual article of clothing, rather who is wearing it and what they’re doing with it. Those styling something that is an identifier know that they are laying out their identity in a way that is only readable to those who know what to look for; those who know how to find key details in otherwise unassuming garments. This column will identify these clothing items and accessories and the history of why these things can be identified as queer. It should be noted that the word queer is used here as an umbrella term to encapsulate LGBTQIA+ identifying people, as many of these motifs that will be touched on don’t belong to just one letter of the community. As for this series, there is so much to touch on within dressing oneself. So, to make writing this more concise I’ll be focusing on more of the gay male expression of dressing within the queer sphere. Happy reading!