Butch Fashion

I’m sorry I’ve been absent 🙏🏼 It’s sort of a classic tale of femme breaks butch’s heart and butch becomes a shut down hermit for decades to follow 😏

Hopefully not actually “decades” 😮‍💨

But I’m hoping the warmer weather will inspire an outfit other than scrubs and sweatpants. Let’s see what the weekend brings.

Good Morning 🩶

This isn’t technically a “fashion” post but the connection I made when realizing my uniform highly affects my fashion choices outside of work seems relevant.

As a kid, my family was never well off. We attended public school so I never wore a uniform but the idea appealed to me that a uniform could reduce the bullying for kids that couldn’t get designer clothes. (Keep in mind this is late 80s-2000 👴🏼)

As an adult, I spent years trying to figure out my style, vacillating between femme to butch aesthetics while also trying to “look cool,” which I have never really been good at anyway. I always felt so uncomfortable in “business casual” because I was supposed to dress like a girl but the butch energy inside would shine through, making me look and feel entirely awkward.

After working so many other jobs and industries, it finally clicked one day when I was 24 years old. I started school… And I got my uniform 😎

A big reason I don’t do OOTD posts is because they’d mostly look like this… 😏 I’ve worn scrubs for work most of the last 20years. Now judged by my skill and knowledge instead of my outfit. When I look in the mirror as I’m dressed for work, I feel confident and even powerful in some ways. It reminds me I do a job not everyone is capable of and I am strong.

Autumn 🍂

I love a plain crew neck sweatshirt… and this wine color is particularly appealing for the season.

• Immediately gives Dad vibes

• Comfortable & casual but looks nice

• Easy to accessorize with

When I was younger, I didn’t think about my clothing choices very much. I was a typical “tomboy” as a child and then awkwardly tried to blend in with the girls as I survived puberty.

I came out at age 21 as a femme… skinny jeans, low cut shirts, platform sandals… 😮‍💨 Feels like a different life in some ways. But I also think that’s where I learned how girls want to be treated and what breaks their hearts. 🤍

In my late 20s, I moved away from “home,” and all of its single-minded, whitewashed, religious oppressions. I suddenly found myself engulfed in diversity and I was in awe of it. Listening to languages I didn’t know being spoken throughout the grocery store… a multitude of skin tones standing in every line… and queer people as I had never seen them before. They were unapologetic in their expressions and clearly not trying to blend in or pass as straight.

I wish I could say I immediately chopped my waist-length hair and bought myself some Doc Martens. It actually took over a year, and a breakup, to take me to the salon. The stylist talked me into “baby steps” to avoid too much shock.

Over time, I have played with styles and colors a bit but only in the last few years have I truly grown into my full butchness… intentionally cultivating a wardrobe that feels more like me.

More thrift store finds! 😁

The green hoodie was $7… it says “Sundance 1969” on it, which is significant for where I live. When I wear green, people often say it brings out my eyes. This shade is especially nice. 💚

The charcoal button up ($4) and jeans ($7) literally came off the mannequin in the store… I was hoping it would look half as good on me. The jeans need to be hemmed but they’re so comfy… the shirt gave me that, “oh yessss 😎” vibe when I put it on. 🩶🖤

anyway you're awesome so i wrote you a tiny haiku poem:

the butch that wore that

inspires us all to hold onto

our hope and gayness

i hope you like my humble offering its all i could offer (i failed english at school but hey it could be worse). pls never stop existing you're awesome and genuinely it brings me so many positive feels to see people like me just finding joy in their lives. absolute diva never forget that

Very impressive haiku! 😁

And I accept the rainbow fit challenge! 😆🌈 Good idea!! Although, I don’t know so much about the merch… I wouldn’t even know where to start 🤪

Nothing too special today, I just love when an outfit comes together 💙🩵

A few fun facts…

Flannel - thrifted for $4

T-Shirt - Boys size XL, $6

Wallet Chain - I know it’s old school but it has lapis lazuli and tiger’s eye stones on it…

Tiger’s Eye Gauges - to match the chain 🐅

Thrifting Finds 🌺🌹

Money on my mind today… Mostly because I don’t have much to spare and it’s payday so my brain is working through what needs to be paid and how much that leaves for food, meds, weed (also “meds”) and fun OR other needs.

The good news is I don’t care much for “expensive” things anymore. A younger me would buy the $60 jeans and $50 flannels because they made me look good on the surface and in status (10 years ago, that was a lot of money 😏). Mostly, I was trying to fit in and be accepted by the expectations of others. Growing up, “Thrifting” was synonymous to “poor” and other kids never let you forget it.

I’m grateful we’ve started to move in the direction of thrifting being more desired as a sign of being environmentally conscious and interested in the unique over the mass distributed. The realization takes shape that we continue to manufacture and sell products destined to plague the landfills for decades or more. Everything continues to get more expensive and yet we’ve continued to worship the hardship it’s given us.

Cultivating “Butch” • Pt. 1

Re-taping today… Made a short video I’m considering posting for the butch/masc/enby folks that are learning to tape. *There are many ways to tape depending on your goal and your chest size so I’ll make a couple more videos if there is a need.

Technically, I do “wear” the chest tape so it fits with this blog theme 😏 I also thought it necessary context when it comes to the outfits I post. The open shirt style is something I’ve grown to love and find power in. I’ve struggled with body dysmorphia most of my life due to weight issues and the expectations of others. From chubby baby to skinny kid to chubby teenager to the yo-yo adult that can’t get comfortable in their own skin, I tried everything to fit in and look the way other people wanted me to look.

Even when I came out at 21, I stayed in the Femme box that was more palatable for the public for over 7 years. When I moved away from the stifling state I call “home” I found myself surrounded by diversity and much more free to explore my aesthetic and my queer inner self. I slowly accepted that what I wanted to look like was more important. I cut my hair… traded “boy short” underwear for boxer briefs… started replacing my wardrobe a piece or two at a time. Cultivating my own butchness with intention.

I still do this today. I look for new styles that I can try or put my own spin on. “Age appropriate” is something I consider very loosely since everyone matures and ages a bit differently but for myself, I want to avoid looking like I’m “trying to look young” and outfits that make me “look old.”

Butch Confession: I cut the sleeves off almost every T-shirt I own. ✂️

I like showing my arms. 💪🏼😉

I don’t like the feeling of T-shirt sleeves around my arms since they are typically not cut for my body type.

Tried to go out and feel like a person today… I attempted three of my “usual” spots and nothing felt right.

Sometimes the right accessories really make the outfit and put a little extra swagger in your step… A harness or holster can take “basic” to Extra Butch. 🖤

On the subject of fun patterns and short sleeve button ups…

I bought this outfit for a photo shoot years ago and wasn’t sure I was really “cool enough” to wear such a noticeable pattern. But I took a chance and it was perfect for the “Flirty Cupid” character I was given.