Anonymous asked: I suck at shopping, but I love fashion. So my question is how do i shop effectively? Buy certain pieces I like, or buy whole outfits?

Start with getting all the basics and then build up from there. Usually it’s not a good idea to buy a statement piece if you have nothing to wear it with, but if you fall in love with something you can always shop to complete the ensemble. Jessica Quirk on What I Wore does a lot of mixing pieces and it can be inspiring to see how many things she owns that can go with the same white dress. If you look at my tag (Sonia) you can get a sense of how I mix pieces and work in new purchases.

Fouractual asked: Any suggestions on how to rock seersucker pants? I’ve got a pair that are light blue, and have been tossing them on with brown leather deck shoes and a white polo. Not exactly fashionable, but functional. It get’s rather warm around here during the summer. Help a fashion challenged dyke out. Hmmm, or should one just toss the pants and try again?

I love seersucker pants! And the deck shoe/white polo combo sounds fantastic. Even though I’m doubting your fashion challenges, here’s another seersucker pants outfit idea:

For inspiration. (source)

Oxford Blake - Boys 8-20 Shirt, on sale at Ralph Lauren for $34.99. See me wearing mine here.

Suede Officer Shoe, available at ASOS for $78.28

Suspender, available at Farfetch for $63.00

Blue White and Red Modern Plaid Cotton Self Tie Bow Tie, available on Etsy for $29.99

Related Posts: Dykifying for Fall

DapperQ invited me to do their Seven Days of Dapper project, bringing a week’s worth of style. They wrote have a little bio about me too and a quote about why I started Dyke Duds. Check it out! The post includes this new outfit of mine, featuring my beautiful new Adidas sneakers: 

• Sunglasses: Lacoste
• Shirt: Ralph Lauren Boy’s, (tailored)
• Watch: Tikkr
• Jeans: Abercrombie & Fitch, “The Erin Skinny”
• Shoes: Adidas

Related Posts: I’m Tailored!

My Alma Mater’s biggest event of the year after Safer Sex Weekend is Drag Ball. Whether as queens, kings, or gender fuck, all the students dress up and grind on each other in a sea of non-conformity. Here’s my friend Mandy, who made it through the highly selective process for the catwalk contest and was crowned drag king!! And guess what blazer she’s wearing. ANOTHER ONE LIKE MIMI’S. I mean seriously, I didn’t plan this. It just happened. The universe loves this blazer.

I love the colors in this outfit, in particular the matching gold and navy. Brings preppy to a whole new level. The Pompadour hairstyle is a pretty nice touch too.

Anonymous asked: First of all, I absolutely Love the blog and you are all gorgeous! OKAY! So I don't even know how to word this "question." I am half-closeted(?), so I'm not super bold with my fashion statements. I usually keep my dress casual, boring compared to those I see on here! I'm not a femme, but I'm also not looking for the androgynous look. I like aspects of both styles, and anything in-between. I'm looking for ways to sort of combine the looks, without being totally one or the other. Any suggestions??

Hey there, thanks!

Here’s my suggestion: Do what you want! If you see something that inspires you, try it out. See what makes you feel most like yourself. Maybe it will be a bow tie and a pencil skirt. Or skinny jean’s, a women’s button-up, and sneakers. Or flats, chinos, and a men’s shirt. Here are some posts featuring people who incorporate both femme and androgynous styles into their look:  

• Peter Pan Collars, bow ties, and berets
• Lindsie, Femme with Lesbian Flair
• Miss Hootie Baby Brings Chic to Arkansas

Anonymous asked: So i've tried womens jeans and no matter how hard i try i'm just not comfortable in them and i can't find a fit i like. So i tried men's jeans and have never looked back :) I still have a problem tho :( Despite being almost 5ft 8 i still find them too long and having them turned up professionally is costing me a fortune! Somehow the the tailor i go to manages to put the hem back on the bottom so they still look original. Any ideas on how to achieve this cheaply at home or any other alternatives?

I have some ideas for you: 

1. Thrift! If you thrift your pants, you will be able to afford tailoring them. Plus if you get them vintage they might fit because men used to be shorter.

2. Check out brands that have short sizes for men. These brands go down to at least 30” which should work for someone who’s 5’ 6” to 5’ 8”: Topman, Asos, Banana Republic, Levi’s, Forever 21, Marc Jacobs, Express… I will keep adding to the list as I find more. 

3. Roll that shit. I mean, it’s in anyway.

4. Take a sewing class. Does anyone know of any good tutorials on hemming pants yourself and keeping the original hem? I’m sure you could learn it if you set your mind to it.

Anonymous asked: I’m going to a semi-formal-ish event at a feminist gathering, and for the occasion I’m having a suit made to measure. I’ll be rocking a burgundy paisley (look, I know, but I have a Thing for paisley and I promise it’s a good paisley and not hideous) vest with an ivory linen shirt and chocolate brown dress trousers. My question is, what kind of tie do I wear? Skinny, wide, patterned, plain, what color? Um, it might be the case that all my ties are variations on paisley *facepalm*

PUT DOWN THE PAISLEY. As long as you aren’t mixing paisleys, the feminists will still support you. (That’s how it works right?) I mean there might be a few cases in which mixing paisley works, but I’m not standing at your closet so I won’t be able to say, and we may as well just avoid disastrous situation altogether.

Burgundy paisley, chocolate brown, ivory… all colors that will welcome another color, and even another pattern. The key to mixing patterns is to match smaller patterns with bigger ones. I like The Silentist’s post on pattern mixing. (Great tumblr blog!)

Anonymous asked: so i'm looking for summery clothes - vests and tshirts and such, but the mens clothes are really bad fitting. i'm a DD and i find it hard to find tops that look good! any ideas?

Men’s T-shirts are tough if you have a big chest and would prefer the least boobage possible. Unless you are willing to bind, you might consider trying some short sleeve button-ups because they will conceal your chest more. The placket down the front will elongate your body. If you can’t find one that fits right, get one that’s too big and then have a tailor take it in on the side seam. More posts on tailoring. Info on binding safely. Noodles on dog’s head.

UPDATE: I just got a note from Outlaw: “while they’re not the most exciting, I’ve found Hanes V-Neck men’s undershirts to fit very well.  V-necks that are cut high enough so that they don’t show breasts/cleavage/whatever are minimizing while still being comfortable for summer. Maybe try some from American Apparel too. With button downs, you might want to avoid buttoning them all the way up  because this can actually make large breasts more obvious depending on the shape of your body.”

Genderfork recently posted a quote that said “I feel so comfortable wearing a binder and a skirt” and it struck a chord with me because it made me realize that I seem to have a more feminine gender identity in my bottom half than my top. I’m perfectly happy in women’s skinny jeans, but pretty much exclusively wear men’s or boy’s shirts.

It also shed light on my wallet issues. I refuse to carry anything that even remotely resembles a purse, but I can’t fit my wallet in my pocket because I mostly wear women’s pants.

I don’t know if this trick has already been discovered by many queers, but I figured I’d better share since the discovery was quite liberating for me. It turns out that men’s wallets have a flip insert (pictured above) that you can pull out and use it on its own. It’s small enough to fit comfortably in women’s tiny pockets but can hold a surprising amount of essentials! It fits my credit card, a few business cards, ID, Charlie Card (“Like” if you know what that is), and I can even fold a few dollar bills and put them in there.

Wallet crisis diverted, and I’m one step closer to appearing suave when I reach into my back pocket to pull out my credit card rather than fumbling through my bag.

Anonymous asked: Help! I need ideas for my summer swag!

Straw hat, available at H&M for $9.95

Jane Aviator Glasses, available at Alloy for $10.90

Plaid Woven boy’s shirt, available at Tommy Hilfger for $29.00

Boys Jersey Ringer Tee, available at Old Navy for $6.50

AE Classic Length Plaid Short, available at American Eagle for $34.99

Ribbed webbing belt, available at the Gap for $19.95

Docksides, available at Sebago for $95

Check out the summer tag for more ideas