Lez Get Dressed For Work: F*ck Yeah End Of Season Sales

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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Well kittens, it’s still hot as labia outside but you would never know it by the offensive influx of fall fashion into the shopping space. I can’t even look at the emails I’m getting about new fall clothes with their layers of heavy plaids and thick denim because it makes me overheated. Also, clothing brands, please don’t try to make my summer shorter; it only just started and it’s my favorite season.

There is one positive, though: end of season sales. The best time to buy clothes is when they’re going out of season because they are cheap! And, if you go for classic pieces, you’ll know you’ll want to wear them again next year. Since a solid work wardrobe is composed of classics/basics that you adore, end of season shopping for work clothes is really an ideal situation.

Take, for example, the sleeveless button front shirt. This is definitely a summer staple that I’ve talked about many times before, but who wants to pay $90 for one top? Not I. There are plenty on sale and I bet you’ll layer it all winter, too. Check out some of these options. They are making my heart sing. So cute, so work appropriate.

Also, importantly: many of you have asked me how to dress like you shop at Madewell without actually shopping at Madewell because you can’t afford that shit. I don’t really have an answer for that because I’ve never found anyone who does Madewell as well as Madewell, which is why their sales are so important to me. And I’m pleased to report that their current one is amazing, and will solve a lot of your problems. Here are a few work appropriate things I think you should get but please don’t take my word for it — go look for yourself!

On a related note, I’m often advising butches and bois to check out Topman, but that’s another situation that can get pricey. Until sales! Sales, you guys. These are my picks for you from Topman. I think you’d look real handsome in ’em. There are a lot more things on their website.

Your turn. Which stores do you sale stalk?

Lez Get Dressed For Work: Real Talk About Your Queer Hair At Work

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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A lot of you spend a lot of time thinking about your hair. This extremely scientific fact is supported by my very professional observations about how damn good your locks look. I think Autostraddle readers as a whole probably have the best looking hair around, statistically speaking. Of course, I’m not in charge of the universe, and what I think counts as great hair is not necessarily the same as, say, what your boss thinks.

If you’re just starting out in the professional world, or if you’re just starting out in the alternative lifestyle haircut world, it can be hard to figure out how to mediate the two. On the one hand, you have to be true to yourself and get whatever haircut makes you feel the best. On the other hand, you most likely need to work, and your coworkers might not understand that shaving the sides of your head is a queer signifier and instead think you’re maybe a little too rebellious for the office. It’s unfortunate, but true: the special element that gives your hair that super gay edge to it might be just the kind of attention grabbing look that is not encouraged in your line of work. As I’ve mentioned in this column, the hard part about dressing for work is that work isn’t about you (usually), and so you really shouldn’t be taking attention away from it. But hair is so central to happiness, to self-identification! What’s a homo to do?

Do you get the haircut and risk your job? Do you take the job and risk your individuality? Or is it actually not as big of a deal as you might think it is? Like, maybe your boss will just think you have a “pixie cut” and you’ll never correct her that what you actually have is a very specific “dyke cut” and it will just be whatever.

Maybe you saw this coming: there’s no right answer here. Every situation is different, and you have to feel it out. Maybe your alternative lifestyle haircut is frowned upon because you work with a bunch of homophobes who don’t deserve you anyway, or maybe you are just in the kind of office where everything on you needs to be proper and tidy (as an ALH tends to not be). Also likely is that it’s your own fear holding you back — fear of being visible, of looking different.

Currently, I’m lucky enough to have a day job where my weirdo haircut is fodder for articles, but I wasn’t always in such a situation. When I worked at an abortion clinic right out of college, my coworkers were constantly commenting on my hair, which at the time kind of looked like Baby Bowser. “You would look so pretty with long hair,” they’d say to me, which was actually not a compliment. The patients would stare at me, too. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because I looked like a dyke, but because I looked unprofessional in comparison with the other people working there. “Unprofessional,” of course, is a relative term. I looked unprofessional in the context of a medical facility, but would have looked very professional in the context of a blog for girl-on-girl culture. You know?

To further this discussion, I polled some other working queers of various professions to find out what their feelings are. It turns out there are a lot of feelings out there. No one is surprised. Read on to learn their stories.

Ashley, cashier: The day I came in with an undercut framed by my long hair, all hell broke loose. Several managers told me I couldn’t have it displayed in public, that I’d have to part my hair on the far side of my head to cover up the “bald spot” (what if I had had surgery?). I agreed with a few managers that once the warehouse was closed I would be able to wear my hair however I’d like (much like our tattoo policy, as soon as we’re closed, you may roll up long sleeves, take off covering bandages, etc). I conceded to this because I have to pick my battles. But on two separate occasions while the store was closed I had managers tell me to cover my head. I told them to walk around and make sure all our other employees were covered up too before I was covering anything. One manager even told me my lifestyle “connotates an alternative lifestyle,” even though I am cool with saying I live one! I still don’t expose my undercut while we’re open, but as soon as those doors close and the last customer walks out, it’s game over.

Allison, intern at Utah Clean Energy: About a year and a half ago I gave the ol’ middle finger to society, cut off ten inches of my dark curly hair, shaved the sides of my head, and began my life as a true rebel without a cause. I didn’t do it because I’m MOC and queer but because I needed a big change. My fauxhawk adds to my identity and I have enjoyed keeping my hair short and “alternative” ever since. I never saw it as a problem until I started interviewing for grown up jobs and internships. No matter how feminine or androgynous I dressed for my interviews my haircut stole the show and made it into Allison’s Genderfuck Variety Hour. A feeling of uncertainty is always present after the person interviewing finds out I’m the Allison they will be speaking with, almost as if I can see them thinking, “We were just expecting someone… different.” Ever been misgendered several times by the person interviewing you during the interview? I know this feeling well. There are very few vague laws protecting LGBTQ+ folk from workplace discrimination in Utah and the ones that exist in Salt Lake don’t stop institutionalized discrimination from happening. My hair makes it known that I am not a part of normalized society. I’ll never know if it was the true cause of me not getting hired but I know it has sometimes made a negative impression.

Abby, works in the legal field: I’d had long to very long hair for basically my whole life when I finally decided to cut it all off. I was nervous that I couldn’t really pull off short hair, but also I worked at a law firm and was nervous that if I got an ALH, I might get fired. Not because my bosses were homophobic, but because it was an environment that expected a certain level of professionalism in behavior and appearance. And despite being on the more casual side for law firms, you were still expected to dress on the conservative side. Also, people had been fired for a lot less. When I went to get my haircut, I hedged it with, “I want to go really short. I want something kinda gay, but I also work in a law office, so I need to be able to look professional too.” And the woman cutting my hair totally got it. Despite being a little nervous, I got only compliments on my hair when I went into the office the next day.

Rae, archivist: When I graduated from college , I was determined to get a job at the main research library of the NYPL. I was 22 and still had College Hair, specifically a College Mohawk. When the human resources department contacted me for an interview, I didn’t go out and get a new hairstyle (instead I went out and got a new button-down), but I instinctively combed my hair differently to make it look more like Job Hair. I still remember what it felt like to tuck the tail of my mohawk into my new shirt. So much meaning is invested in personal style, so I don’t necessarily advocate getting a hairstyle you don’t feel any connection to, or one that makes you feel like you’re doing an impression of somebody else. When I was just out of college, I basically started doing an impression of a version of myself that didn’t exist yet. In terms of what I think is appropriate First Job Hair, I’d say washing it is the most important thing. And starting to get more regular haircuts. And never underestimate the value of a comb or pomade. The NYPL hired me, so my mohawk didn’t sabotage me. And I was fortunate enough to be hired for a union position, so I probably could’ve kept my College Hair. But I wanted to start transitioning into the next version of myself as soon as possible.

Okay, now it’s your turn!

Lez Get Dressed For Work: It’s Hot AND Rainy, and Your Feet Are Miserable

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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Feature image via MoMo on We Heart It.

Hello little ducklings. Are you staying dry? I barely am. I mean right now it’s nice(ish) out, but for the past week NYC has really just been taking one long humid shower, the kind that makes you more dirty. Aside from stating the obvious, which is that summer is just doing it wrong, I think it’s time we talk about a sticky issue. Yes, I’m talking about shoes. When it’s ninety degrees and raining or at least maybe going to rain at some point, and you’re on your way to your air conditioned office in the sky, what the fuck do you wear on your feet?

Think about that question for a second while we take a break to talk about something really cute. Remember how two weeks ago I told you about Everlane’s new Poplin shirts? Well, at least one of you is listening to me, because look at this lovely gem that appeared in my inbox.

If you find yourself following the advice in this column, please send me a picture like Heather did (gabrielle@autostraddle.com). Thanks Heather! Also I like your necklace, it looks really good over that shirt. I would totally give you a promotion for this outfit.

Okay, back to feet. While waterproof winter shoes can be really super great (Hunter boots, I’m lookin’ at you), waterproof summer shoes are still definitely working on getting there. Sometimes it can feel like you have to choose between hot feet (rain boots) and wet feet (cute shoes). Neither are really work appropriate, though. Sure, you could wear your rain boots to work and then change your shoes once you get there, but honestly I don’t really find that convenient. Like, who wants to schlep a pair of shoes to the office when one is also carrying lunch, snacks, coffee, water, all of one’s makeup, and whatever else you can’t live without during the eight/twelve hour work day?

To be completely honest with you, so far this summer on rainy days I’ve been wearing black skinny jeans and Doc Marten’s with a very lightweight top. I look kind of like this by the time I get to work:

So, let’s get more appropriate shoes together, shall we? The first thing to consider is material. Nothing’s going to keep you dry like some good old fashioned rubber. But rubber’s not exactly known for it’s breathability. Here we find ourselves at a crossroads. Are you okay with wearing rubber sandals? Your feet will get wet but your shoes will stay dry, meaning you’ll have to wipe those feet off with a paper towel once you get to work, but after that it will be smooth sailing. Since jellies are kind of back in style but have been updated to be more grown up, it’s actually really easy to find a cute pair of jelly-inspired rubber sandals that are nice enough to wear to work. Plus, if you wear a cute enough outfit, people will think you are just wearing those shoes because you like them a lot. Also everyone is a little less fancy in the summer, it’s a fact of life, because sweat.

If rubber sandals don’t go with your spirit’s vibe, consider the rubber oxford shoe. Yes, it exists, and I’m kind of obsessed with it (pictured below, center). There’s also all kinds of rubber flats out there for your perusing pleasure. Granted, they’re going to be a little sweatier than sandals, but still less sweaty than big old boots. Boat shoes and other slip-on situations all come in rubber. Here are some nice ones that will suit a variety of gender expressions.

So, what are your strategies for keeping your feet dry in the summer rain when you also have to look professional?

Lez Get Dressed For Work: Everlane Makes Summer Dreams Come True

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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I’ve already mentioned to you my love of Everlane, due in no small part to their high quality basics that are the perfect things to build a work wardrobe upon (okay also I like their cotton t-shirts and their policy of “radical transparency”). Their silk blouses are really the best things, but, you know, $80 for a dry-clean-only situation isn’t always appealing. Plus, I don’t know about you, but silk isn’t my go-to summer material. So, when I caught wind of their new poplin collection that launched on June 20, I couldn’t wait to tell you about it.

Everlane’s poplin button front shirt collection is truly the perfect thing for your summer work life. Poplin is crisp yet great for hot weather, and these shirts appear to have just the right amount of breathing room to ventilate [certain kinds of] hot sweaty bodies while also looking professional. (Disclaimer: I haven’t seen one in person, but I trust this brand a lot.) They come in collared long-sleeve ($55), collared short-sleeve ($50), and sleeveless band ($45); there’s also a men’s version ($55). But, the women’s shirts are menswear inspired, so if you’re looking for something more tomboy than femme, this shirt will probably work for you.

I feel like $45 is a really good price for a high quality shirt that one could potentially wear twice a week for the rest of summer.  The colors are lovely, too: white, midnight, and sand for the women’s cut, and those plus dusk, light blue, navy, and Mediterranean for the men’s cut. They look good tucked in or not tucked in, will work with trousers, skirts, or shorts, and, maybe most importantly, have that special magical quality that makes something look pretty queer.

You should check out the Poplin Collection Lookbook on Facebook for all the ways you can wear these shirts to express your unique snowflake office self, and then tell me what your feelings are.

Lez Get Dressed For Work: The Working Bois Of Summer

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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Today I want to talk about how to dress for work when it’s super fucking hot outside and you don’t wear dresses. As I said when we talked about this issue for femmes, (literally going to just quote myself here, hope that’s okay with you) having a job to go to in the summer is a special brand of hell. Between the heat outside, the air conditioning inside, the schlep to and from the office, and your sanity, dressing for work in the summer is real challenge. As a people who, in general, know their way around some layers, it can be jarring to suddenly have to make an outfit out of as little clothing as possible.

Plus, if you’re masculine of center, your clothing options are already limited by the hyper-gendered nature of work clothes. I’m going to be pulling from both men’s and women’s clothes for this — if you’re shopping online, make sure you measure yourself first, especially if you’re ordering a “gender” of clothes you haven’t tried on in person. Men’s clothing doesn’t fit the same as women’s and vice versa, though it can definitely fit. My girlfriend has taught herself how to tailor men’s shirts to fit her, which for her involves just making them shorter, because that last button is trouble, as men’s hips are generally more narrow than women’s. If you just make the shirt shorter though, it won’t go over your hips and everything will be great.

Dressing for hot weather involves wearing less clothing for everyone, obviously. For more masculine clothing, it involves a certain amputation of your clothes’ limbs: pants become shorts, long sleeves becomes tee shirts, etc. For optimum temperature regulation, you should also change what material you’re wearing, and, importantly, your clothes should be a little looser. Nothin’ like getting some ventilation in there.

Depending on wear you work, shorts may or may not be an option. I love the Gap’s new “boyfriend” roll-up shorts (left, below), particularly because they are a lot longer in person than on the models shown (models have very long legs) and they feel very business casual to me when worn with other nice things. However, if you can’t wear shorts to work, cropped dress pants are a very reasonable options. According to Rae of The Handsome Butch, “Showing some ankle cools you off, and looks stylish, so long as you don’t wear socks. Wear boat shoes or other shoes that are forgiving when sockless.” (I don’t know if you know this but the images below are linked to the products. If the images aren’t linked there will be a link in the caption. I just want you to be able to buy things you want.)

Uniqlo is also currently selling linen vests and blazers, so if you work somewhere that’s air conditioned to be a walk-in freezer, you can bring your layers with you and put them on upon arrival. I highly recommend not getting fully dressed until you absolutely have to be when it’s hot out.

Okay bois, what are your hot weather work attire secrets? Don’t keep them to yourself. Also while I have you here, can you guys start sending me pictures of yourselves in your favorite work outfits? I really think that’s what’s missing from the internet right now. Thanks have a great weekend, don’t think about work too much!

Lez Get Dressed For Work: 5 Reasons You Should Start Wearing Jumpsuits To The Office

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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If this column were called Lez Get Dressed For The Weekend, right now I would be telling you to get denim overalls. While I really think you should do that, I’ve brought you here to talk about what you’re wearing to the office, and you most likely shouldn’t be wearing your new weekend overalls. What you should wearing is the workday version of that: a jumpsuit!

Today I noticed a handful of people wearing jumpsuits in my office and they looked amazing, to the point that it inspired this entire post. The following is a list of reasons why you should look into investing in one. Or three. Unfortunately for my evening, there is apparently severe shortage of photos of queers rocking jumpsuits on the internet; the photos you see below will be mostly from brands. I’m sorry. It’s because you haven’t sent me a picture of yourself in a jumpsuit yet because you didn’t read this list yet. Anyway. This is why you should get one, like, now.

Lez Get Dressed For Work: Hot & Sweaty Summertime Femme

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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Well creatures, it’s been a long fucking road but it’s finally here: post-Memorial Day territory. It’s just a matter of time before our pit stains grow as long as the early evening shadows, and my pores are filling with dread. Having a job to go to in the summer is a special brand of hell and not just because of the precious beach time one has to miss out on. Between the heat outside, the air conditioning inside, the schlep to and from the office, and your sanity, dressing for work in the summer is real challenge. As a people who, in general, know their way around some layers, it can be jarring to suddenly have to make an outfit out of as little clothing as possible. And how do you wear as little clothing as possible while also looking professional and appropriate?

I had planned to write posts on this topic later on in the summer, but based on your feedback it seems you all need to talk about it like yesterday, so let’s do it. This one is a femme-ier take on the problem, so if the following advice and conversation doesn’t apply to you, hang tight! I haven’t forgotten about the needs of your sweaty office bod, I promise.

Before we talk about clothes, I want to talk about faces. Specifically, the greasy puddle my face would be without the magic of Fresh’s mattifying serum. This product has changed my life so much that I really can’t talk about summer fashion at all without telling you to buy it. I put it on instead of a moisturizer and then put my makeup on top of it, and it totally de-greases my face for the day. Even if you don’t wear makeup, this is a good thing to have. It will also help you out on those days that you don’t have time/the will to shower before work. I also switch my lipstick out for a matte stain (Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain is made of miracles) and I stop wearing liquid eyeliner because that shit runs in sweat like that. Instead, I go for a waterproof mascara and I actually just put my foundation on my eyelids instead of eyeshadow. This gives my eyes a bright pop and stays put for the day. I also put foundation around my lips to be extra sure the lip stain stays where it’s supposed to. Between my natural greasiness and all the matte products at work, I end up in the middle at “dewy.” It’s a nice place to be considering the alternatives.

If your office is on the fancier side of things, consider dresses with black and white color blocking. White because summer, black because fancy, and a dress because the aforementioned reasons. It will look super chic, and because of the two-toned nature of the dress, it’ll trick people into thinking you planned a whole outfit when really you just put one thing on. This one would look cute on you:

One issue faced by the femmes I polled for this post was not the work dress, but things that surround the wearing of the work dress. Specifically, thighs. Thighs that chafe; bare thighs that now touch gross things like the subway when your dress rides up as you sit down; thighs that sweat and sweat and sweat with nothing to absorb it but your office chair. Anyone else ever leave a butterfly-shaped sweat stamp on their chair on a dress-wearing day? No? Just me? Cool. I hope no one from my day job reads this.

Luckily, there are things you can do about it. Wearing bike shorts under your dress, for starters, will definitely make a difference. There’s also lingerie specifically made to address the issues that your thighs, though lovely, present. The brand Luvees comes highly recommended to me, and though I haven’t tried them myself, their products are both pretty and claim to address inner thigh burn. So don’t just suffer through it if this happens to you!

So what about the days when you don’t want to wear a dress? For maximum temperature control, my personal non-dress solution involves an extremely lightweight sleeveless button down and similarly lightweight straight leg pants that can be rolled up. I love the Gap’s broken-in straight khakis (see below) for work wear because the loose-ish fit makes them breathable but the leg is nicely tailored, and since they are women’s menswear-inspired pants, they add that touch of andro which looks sexy (yet work appropriate!) with a femmier shirt. Throw some cute summer shoes on and you’re good to go.

Okay femmes, let’s hear it: what are your secret solutions for not drowning in sweat at work now that summer is upon us?

Lez Get Dressed For Work: The Suit-Not-Suit

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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So let’s say right now you aren’t at A-Camp and instead are sitting at your desk reading Autostraddle wishing you were at camp. Cool, same here. Cute girls are running around in matching camp t-shirts in nature and you and I are (probably?) in different places but are both staring at a screen. It’s like we’re looking at the same moon. Only it’s not the moon because we’re stuck inside, at work, in our work clothes. Great!

Maybe there are some people around you wearing suits. Are you wearing a suit too? Do you have to?

Unless you work in a super fancy shmancy corporate office where you have to wear a nice suit every day, you probably have some confusing wiggle room about how much of a suit to wear to work. Honestly I think having to wear a suit makes life a lot easier: you know you have to get dressed up and it’s pretty much set how to do it (now, finding things that actually fit you within that category is obviously a different story). But if your work environment is somewhere in between suit and not-suit, you have approximately an infinite amount of things you could wear and how are you even supposed to decide on anything?

I find it helpful to have a go-to, formulaic silhouette for these situations. Today I’m going to tell you about my personal version of it, and you’re highly encouraged to share your own. For me, when wearing a suit approximation, it’s important that the outline of the outfit looks like a suit: pants (or skirt!!), collared top (which we’ve talked about), blazer, oxford shoes. But it’s actually not a suit because it’s not a set, and that’s where your personality can shine through.

A suit is technically made of clothing from the same cloth. It’s really matchy matchy. If you don’t have to wear a perfectly matching suit, I want you to try something: go in the exact opposite route. In putting together your suit-not-suit silhouette, you shouldn’t be looking for gray pants to match a gray blazer, because the materials will be slightly different and the colors slightly different and it will thus look slightly sloppy. You should be looking for a bright blue blazer to go with those gray pants, or something could even have a pattern on it. Get creative if your office allows it. Bright colors are fun too.

The exception to this is black. If the blacks match, the materials can be different and it’s fine because black is a magical color. But if it’s not black, the worst thing that can happen is that it matches-ish, and you don’t want there to be anything ish about your outfit. So if it’s made up of very different colors yet complimentary colors, you’re color-blocking! Literally just blocks of color. That’s really in style right now and I don’t see it going anywhere. Also, stripes.

Okay, so what do you think? This is just my interpretation of a suit-not-suit that works for me. What works for you?

Lez Get Dressed For Work: Yes, Virginia, There Are Professional Tops That Aren’t Button-Ups

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. Read previous posts here.

Header by Rory Midhani

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A lot of people spend a lot of time and energy trying to look like they just rolled out of bed: perfectly messed-up hair, flannel thrown on just so, and maybe a little bit of smudged eyeliner, depending. Going to work is pretty much the opposite. Unless you are a morning person (what does that feel like!) you are probably familiar with the exact minimum amount of time you need to make yourself look professional; and likewise, the maximum amount of seconds you get to spend in a blanket cocoon with your eyes closed (omfg I’m so tired right now).

Today I had one of those days where I really stretched out that staying in bed time. When I finally crawled out of bed like an old homeless hamster, putting on clothes that weren’t my pajamas just felt bad, so I wore the closest things to pajamas I could justify: my softest nice skinnies with my Madewell silk boyshirt, untucked, and suede booties. I wore a gold bow tie necklace and between all those things I somehow managed to look like I’m a professional grownup, I think. This is a close approximation:

Wearing this outfit reminded me of something: you know how I keep telling you guys to tuck your shirts in? A lot of you responded to that advice by saying you’ll never feel comfortable tucking in, and I totally feel that. Actually I personally do it like 50% of the time. I’m not all that tall but I have a long torso, so it’s a rare shirt indeed that is long enough to actually tuck in. Also there are days like when I have my period or I ate a lot of pizza the night before when the thought of tucking it in really just makes me want to cry, so.

If you’re of the non-tucking persuasion, just pay close attention to where your shirt falls. If it falls above the top of your pants, wear an undershirt and tuck that one in. Actually even if it appears to meet your pants perfectly, wear an undershirt and tuck it in: you want to be able to lift your arms without showing off your tummy to all the ladies (this is work, not your women’s studies class). If it hangs down past the top of your pants, and you like to wear belts, make a note of what the bulk of the belt does to the way the shirt falls. If you can see the shape of the belt through the bottom of your shirt, maybe don’t wear it, and put on pants that don’t need a belt. (That’s just a pet peeve of mine. I hope it continues to be implied that you should do whatever you want that is also work appropriate. But really I feel like you shouldn’t be able to see a belt shape under your shirt.) Also, in general, you should probably be wearing an undershirt with your button up because guess what? That gapping problem? It happens to mostly everyone I’ve ever seen in a button front to at least some degree.

Last week I suggested getting things tailored if you’re one of the majority of people for whom off-the-rack clothing doesn’t fit perfectly, though I know that’s not very helpful advice since what we all want is to have this be as easy and cheap and painless as possible. This can be especially difficult with button ups, with their attendant gapping problems. A friend of mine suggested actually sewing the parts of the shirt that are gapping and then pulling the shirt over your head like a popover. But if you’ve given up on button ups, that’s totally fine and reasonable! Let’s talk about what else you can wear to work.

One of the reasons button front shirts look professional is because they have nice collars. There are plenty of regular shirts with nice collars, too. American Apparel in particular, although they are in many respects an eyebrow-raising institution, makes a lovely Silky Collar Tee that I may or may not have in two different colors (hey, if you love something, buy it twice, right? I got mine at a thrift store!). You can tuck or untuck, and it also looks amazing with high-waisted pants situations, which is a really good look if you’re femme and into being a little bit retro and also showing off your curves.

Maybe you don’t want to shop at AA because of your good politics. Collared tees are totally a thing that are relatively easy to find with some dedicated googling. Look, I’ll even get you started:

Next week, let’s talk about ways to queer a suit. Hint: it’s not actually going to involve wearing a suit.

Header art by Rosa Middleton.

Lez Get Dressed For Work: One Of A Lot Of Posts About Button Ups

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. 

Header by Rory Midhani

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Feature image via Pascal Pierrou

Last week, just to recap quickly, I gave you a lot of reasons about why I wanted to write this column. Based on your sweet and positive responses, it seems I didn’t need to spend so much time justifying it to you! I wrote like two paragraphs of actual suggestions, the main theme of which was “get some basics.” Then I got some emails that asked a very good question: what the fuck are basics? You didn’t say it like that actually.  (You also asked a lot of other questions which are now snug in a word document waiting to be addressed. So don’t fret if this doesn’t answer your question, I read it and I love you and think your hair looks nice.)

Basically, a “basic” is a foundational item that goes with most of the other things you own, can be worn in different ways, is comfortable, and fits you perfectly. It’s important that it fit you perfectly because every other part of your outfit relies on it for success. A basic is usually a standard, solid color, like black, white, brown, gray, navy blue, or whatever color makes sense with your wardrobe and the job you’re dressing for. If a basic isn’t a basic color, it is specified, like “neon basics.” Your basics are the building blocks for your outfit. A weekend basic might be cut-off shorts. A weekday basic is a button down. See? Sometimes fashions mags come out with “new basics for [insert current month]” and then try to tell you that you need something trendy as a basic part of your wardrobe. I call bullshit on that, because a basic should also be timeless, and that’s why I think you should invest in some high-quality ones. You can be trendy with the things you add to your basics — unless you have a salary that lets you update your basics according to what is in style, and in that case, know that I am jealous.

Today I want to keep talking about button downs, because that seemed to be a hot topic. Sometimes it can feel impossible to find one that fits you right, is affordable, and is well-made. Last week I mentioned Everlane and Madewell, but have you checked out the tops section of Uniqlo? For women’s shirts, I’m really impressed at how non-frilly and simple their button downs are, but they also come in patterns if your job allows you to wear fun things. They also come in linen, silk, and cotton, which are quality basic materials if I’ve ever heard ’em. And the best part? These are actually very reasonably priced.

The shirt pictured above is the Women Silk Long Sleeve Blouse, and is $49.90, which is great (in my opinion) for a nice silk shirt. Tucked into work appropriate pants and worn on its own or layered with a cardigan, crew neck sweater, vest, or blazer, this will look really good on you. If you feel that the way this shirt “drapes elegantly” is  too femme for you, they also have these really perfect Oxford Long Sleeve Shirts that are soft and thick and don’t have any of those frustrating dart seams that women’s shirts sometimes have around the chest. They also have narrow collars, so even though this shirt is very androgynous, the proportions are such so that you won’t look like you’re wearing your dad’s button up. The oxford shirts are $29.90.

If Madewell’s best most perfect boyshirt line is out of budget, another good option for androgynous women’s shirts is the Gap’s boyfriend shirt situation. I know, I know, everything about writing that sentence made me want to stab my own eyes out but it’s true: high quality, without awkward lady-shirt darts, long enough to tuck in but not tunic-y, these shirts are really good and super gay. They come in “shrunken” which is a little tighter and “fitted” which is a little more tailored.

Speaking of tailored, if you find that button down shirts gap over your bust or don’t button over your hips, you should get them tailored. I’d buy something that fits the widest part of my torso and take it to the tailor. I’d also get something that is machine washable so that one item doesn’t turn into a money-suck. Don’t be afraid of getting something tailored. Okay?

Another option for larger-busted workin’ queers is the pop-over. Do you guys know about popovers? It’s a shirt that doesn’t button down all the way, and they tend to be looser than button ups. So you can get one that fits your bust and tuck it into pants so that it’s not too flowy. J.Crew Factory Outlet has some good ones, and they are especially appealing if you can’t afford actual J.Crew (cool me either!).

So let’s say you work in kind of an “anything goes” environment and there are some people in jeans but you’re trying to make an effort to look nice without looking like you don’t fit in (apparently there are a lot of you dealing with this). Take the advice I’ve given so far as per button downs and apply it to a button down made of a less fancy material that is maybe a little more fashionable, like, say, chambray. Chambray button downs can be worn with the top button done and tucked into pants because they are thinner than denim shirts. Your silhouette will be professional, but you’ll look more casual than if you were in an oxford. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a good chambray; my favorite one is actually from the Old Navy outlet store and was approximately $10 I think. To femme this look up, add a statement necklace over the shirt and wear a colorful belt. For a more masculine look, keep your belt brown or black and wear a chunky watch and some nice men’s or menswear-inspired shoes. This will look good with black skinny jeans, just make sure the material of your jeans isn’t too thin (oh don’t worry, we’re going to talk about pants A LOT very soon). I like to wear mine with salmon colored skinny jeans.

Please continue to share your feelings in the comments and to send your lovely emails to gabrielle@autostraddle.com. Have a good day at work!

Header art by Rosa Middleton

Lez Get Dressed For Work: Beginnings

Because you deserve to be the best dressed homo in the office. 

Header by Rory Midhani

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Hello and welcome to the first ever edition of Lez Get Dressed For Work, in which we’re going to be talking a lot about work clothes. Why, you ask? Shouldn’t we be talking about something more substantial like how to even get a job in This Economy? Well, yes. But also: any job, no matter how shitty or fabulous, no matter if it’s something miserable to make money while you wait on your dreams or if it’s actually a job you’ve been dreaming of your whole precious life, is going to suck if you don’t feel good about how you look. Think I’m being superficial? I might be, a little bit, but I personally have never had a good day while also not feeling good about how I look. It’s just so distracting. And you’re here to work, not worry about your clothes. I’m here to worry about them for you!

I’ve had some pretty bad clothing crises in my life, and I’ve also had a lot of different kinds of jobs. Within these different jobs I’ve done a lot of navigating to find the balance between my visible queerness and professionalism: visual clues about the fact that I’m a big dyke, like my generous body hair, don’t often go well with nice jobs — not because a place is necessarily homophobic, but because the clothes that I’d have to wear to reveal that body hair would be inappropriate. I actually learned this one the hard way so I’m going to tell you about it. My first job out of college was at an abortion clinic. It was summer and approximately one million degrees out, which was made worse by my fifteen minute walk to the subway. So I wore shorts. They were from Express and gray pleated so I thought that that made them business casual. They were also way more professional than anything I had worn during my college job at a well-known sex toy store. That day my boss came into my office (one of two times she came to my office in the year I spent there) to give me a lecture about how she couldn’t let me “walk around like that.” I was (silently) outraged, and immediately assumed that it was because she didn’t want people to see my extensive blonde leg hair, which in my young mind meant she was clearly homophobic.

In hindsight, obviously, she just didn’t want me to wear shorts (and they were pretty short) as an employee of an abortion clinic, because, professionalism. She also probably didn’t even notice my leg hair because it’s blonde? The point was that my bare legs were attracting attention because they were bare and it was a medical facility. But I had spent so long cultivating this queer identity and trying to stand out and get noticed that I didn’t realize one major part of being an adult: at your job, you’re not really supposed to make a visual scene (with some exceptions that I will address shortly). So that’s why getting dressed professionally is so hard: you have to look Nice but you still want to look like yourself but you also can’t be a distraction from the actual work taking place because (usually) it’s not about you. Stressful!

I currently work at a place where the opposite is true, and I’ve found that to be equally stressful. Everyone looks hot and fabulously unique every single day and every outfit is more gorgeous than the next. But at the end of the day, there’s still a difference between a fabulous outfit in a stylish work environment and a fabulous outfit for not-work. And that difference is what this column is going to be about. You know how there’s that one (or more if you are lucky!!) hot homo at work who always looks so fucking cool and appropriate and like she was literally born wearing perfect oxford shoes and silk shirts, even if it’s 9am on Monday and not being in your bed is making you want to die? My goal is to get you to be that person. Not the one that wants to die. The first one.

So to do this in a way that meets all of your needs, I’d really like it if those of you who are having clothing crises every morning (been there!) would let me know what kind of place you work and what your gender presentation is like. Or, if you feel great about the things you wear, let me know so I can share that knowledge with the world. We’ll also inevitably be talking about hair and makeup, so let me know if you have questions about that. If not I’ll just riff. You’ve probably noticed by now if you’re still reading that I’m talking about work environments at which one doesn’t get dirty, aside from your hot sweaty bod and your smelly feet (oh is that just me? Sorry). I hope to eventually tell you about the best clothes to wear to jobs that involve physical labor, but I’m going to need one of you experts to tell me about it first. Okay? Thank you.

For now I’m going to tell you a little bit about my business casual strategy. It has a lot to do with button up shirts. Specifically, the top button. I feel strongly that any button up shirt — be it your favorite flannel or your most expensive silk — looks professional with the top button done (and the other buttons done too), tucked into pants and with a nice belt. As long as the shirt fits you well, is ironed, and doesn’t have any major holes or stains, this will make you look like someone who knows things. Promise. It’s also a good way to spend that treacherous first two weeks of a new job before you get paid when you can’t afford new clothes yet. Know what I mean?

When you can afford new clothes, I want you to invest in some high-quality basics. High-quality isn’t a set thing, of course, so do whatever makes sense for your financial situation. My favorite, favorite (overpriced) basics come from essentially two places: Madewell and Everlane. Both of these places sell women’s clothes that function well across a broad range of gender expressions. If you invest in some classic pieces, like a solid colored silk oxford shirt, you will have it forever and it will always be appropriate for that thing that’s giving you a clothing crisis, like an important editorial meeting or a job interview or the day you have a fancy work event after work. I feel anxious just thinking about the fact that my go-to navy blue silk button down is at the dry cleaner right now. I just need it all the time. Oh that’s another thing: I actually only have one silk button up shirt because hello, expensive. It’s just that life-changing.

That being said, this is infinitely more complicated than just having a go-to shirt. That’s why this is a weekly column and not one post in which I attempt to sum up professional lesbian fashion as a whole. Because obviously there’s no such thing as “professional lesbian fashion.” Just a lot of queers with a lot of different jobs and a lot of different anxieties about how they look. We’re all in this together in our own different ways.

You can email me at gabrielle@autostraddle.com if you have feelings that you don’t feel comfortable sharing in the comments. Lez do this thing.

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Header art by Rosa Middleton