i was just talking to a friend about queerness in fashion! im not going to be able to articulate as well as i’d like but from my interpretation i think the quality ur looking for-the “ugliness” it factor-comes from queerness and in particular from gender-fuckery specifically to white beauty standards. julia and doja exaggerate and push within the codes of acceptable cis woman gender presentation. even when they use elements of what “sexy” is to straight ppl, they use it in a way that alienates and confuses. doja, and Black women in particular, know how to play with fashion and push it forward BECAUSE they are automatically alienated from white beauty standards. their codes of style often playfully upend and distort white beauty standards to honor their Blackness and honor their gender identity in a world that tries to deny them femininity.
1000%!! another (v mainstream but salient) example is Janelle Monae , she’s always embodied this for me in such a huge way, and it’s so intertwined with her artistry in general as genre pushing and ground-breaking
This is an amazing read. Love the idea of fashion being a vehicle to expand our relationships with objects—particularly those we don’t find “fashionable.”
When the hammer works and does its job, we don’t think of it as an object. Only when it breaks, we think of what else it can do.
A similar idea came to me when I was theorizing the “Orchid Woman”: “Whatever is strange, peculiar, even ‘ugly’ about her, she makes the bedrock of her beauty and the source of her fascination.”
This was such a fascinating read, and it’s such an interesting phenomenon in fashion that something we see as “ugly” can very quickly become its opposite the more it starts to gain traction and exposure. I used to think 2000s fashion was so ugly, but now I’m like wait… low-rise is kind of hot??
Fashion is such a great way to open our minds and push the boundaries of taste!
This is funnn, it’s giving me the same vibes as girlscarryingshit on IG like we’re cool we’re unstoppable we come as we are and we really do rule the world.
Oof, I felt the skirt of jeans comment 😭 was also anti then came around. I'm in the process of revamping my wardrobe, so trying to quite the noise of "what's hot" and instead lean into using my clothes as another, carefully curated outlet for self-expression. I often revere older women for the fashion choices they make and ever since hearing advice from one of them about developing my wardrobe over time with slowness and intention, I've been trying to be more careful about what I buy while pushing myself to be adventurous with my choices. I really enjoyed this piece!
i think those last few lines on everything as an accessory really sum up what fashion is to me: having fun in the mundane moments of daily life. such an interesting read !! consider me inspired to start pushing more boundaries.
This reminds me a lot of Michaela Stark’s work and philosophy too!!! The way she plays with “bad angles” and “unappealing” shapes but makes it look so artful has really changed the way I view my own curvy body. It’s also given me freedom to wear tighter clothes even if my body fat is accentuated, and actually viewing it as a unique accessory. Cherry on top is the way it’s actively challenges these oppressive beauty standards
i was just talking to a friend about queerness in fashion! im not going to be able to articulate as well as i’d like but from my interpretation i think the quality ur looking for-the “ugliness” it factor-comes from queerness and in particular from gender-fuckery specifically to white beauty standards. julia and doja exaggerate and push within the codes of acceptable cis woman gender presentation. even when they use elements of what “sexy” is to straight ppl, they use it in a way that alienates and confuses. doja, and Black women in particular, know how to play with fashion and push it forward BECAUSE they are automatically alienated from white beauty standards. their codes of style often playfully upend and distort white beauty standards to honor their Blackness and honor their gender identity in a world that tries to deny them femininity.
1000%!! another (v mainstream but salient) example is Janelle Monae , she’s always embodied this for me in such a huge way, and it’s so intertwined with her artistry in general as genre pushing and ground-breaking
yessss
This is an amazing read. Love the idea of fashion being a vehicle to expand our relationships with objects—particularly those we don’t find “fashionable.”
When the hammer works and does its job, we don’t think of it as an object. Only when it breaks, we think of what else it can do.
thank you Will!! such a great way of putting this
"When it comes to fashion, looking hot doesn’t mean looking like someone a man would want to have sex with (thank god)." heart emoji
<33
A similar idea came to me when I was theorizing the “Orchid Woman”: “Whatever is strange, peculiar, even ‘ugly’ about her, she makes the bedrock of her beauty and the source of her fascination.”
This was such a fascinating read, and it’s such an interesting phenomenon in fashion that something we see as “ugly” can very quickly become its opposite the more it starts to gain traction and exposure. I used to think 2000s fashion was so ugly, but now I’m like wait… low-rise is kind of hot??
Fashion is such a great way to open our minds and push the boundaries of taste!
thank you! yes I love this idea!!
This is funnn, it’s giving me the same vibes as girlscarryingshit on IG like we’re cool we’re unstoppable we come as we are and we really do rule the world.
i love the freedom coming thru this piece
<33 exactly what I wanted to convey
beautiful!
thank you <33
Inspirational read, many thanks. Being one who makes their accessories themselves, I especially loved the last bit ⚔️
eve!!! i love this so much! especially resonate with your point about building fashion into function, it's so true!
thank you so much Sarah!!
Oof, I felt the skirt of jeans comment 😭 was also anti then came around. I'm in the process of revamping my wardrobe, so trying to quite the noise of "what's hot" and instead lean into using my clothes as another, carefully curated outlet for self-expression. I often revere older women for the fashion choices they make and ever since hearing advice from one of them about developing my wardrobe over time with slowness and intention, I've been trying to be more careful about what I buy while pushing myself to be adventurous with my choices. I really enjoyed this piece!
thank you!! I love this, I agree about seeing what older women are wearing (esp to figure out what’s more timeless and what a microtrend)
im feeling inspired to push my fashion boundaries, thanks eve 🩷
<333
Love 👏 this 👏 So much, in fact, that I'm now going to go braless way more often. Thank you! 💖
thank you <33 honestly it’s been so impactful for me
i think those last few lines on everything as an accessory really sum up what fashion is to me: having fun in the mundane moments of daily life. such an interesting read !! consider me inspired to start pushing more boundaries.
This reminds me a lot of Michaela Stark’s work and philosophy too!!! The way she plays with “bad angles” and “unappealing” shapes but makes it look so artful has really changed the way I view my own curvy body. It’s also given me freedom to wear tighter clothes even if my body fat is accentuated, and actually viewing it as a unique accessory. Cherry on top is the way it’s actively challenges these oppressive beauty standards