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shortkingvi · 6 months ago

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🌞🕶️⛱️ shortkingvi's ultimate guide to cool butch fashion in the summer ⛱️🕶️🌞

Hello friends! At long last, I come bearing the summer fashion guide I promised a little while back. As a young kid looking to butch up my wardrobe, I found it rather difficult to find sufficient inspiration for some with my body type and goals. It can be - and is! - difficult to find decent fashion guides geared toward butches by butches, and even moreso for the summer season when the typical butch fashion fallbacks (layers, boots, etc.) just aren't realistic.

And so, as someone who spends a lot of time putting together fun outfits that fit me well and bring me joy, I figured I'd put something together in hopes that someone on the lookout for help figuring out their style might make use of this!

Below you'll find:

Information on determining your style goals

Tips on creating outfits and combinations that are undeniably butch/masc

Advice for butches who might not be safe to shop outside the women's department (you can still make a masc outfit out of women's clothes, I promise!)

Outfit inspirations

The best places to shop as a butch/masc person

...and more!

So, click on the read more if this sounds like it might be useful to you! Feel free to shoot any questions my way, as well; I'm happy to help you out with some more specific advice.

Section 1: How the hell do I figure out what I want to look like?

Before we can get into the specifics, it's crucial to figure out exactly what you're going for on your butch fashion journey, especially in the summer. Butch/masc fashion is not a monolith, and you likely have seen some popular butch trends that you absolutely do not like. That's great! That gives us a perfect place to start.

There's no shame in using celebrities, fictional characters, or even friends and family as a jumping off point for your style. Hell, I recently watched Love Lies Bleeding and have been incorporating muscle tanks into my wardrobe more than ever before. It makes things a whole lot easier if you have an idea of what you'd like to go for with your fashion choices.

I recommend ignoring full ensembles and thinking about the micro details of an item of clothing or outfit that you really enjoy. Consider things like:

Length - is there a sleeve or pant length that you'd like to try out?

Colour - is there a colour you feel like you look good in? A colour you think others look good in? Do not fall into the "x skintones can only wear x colours" rhetoric - that is the devil speaking and we do not do that here. Every colour can be worn by anyone, so long as you style it well!

Vibe - have you been wanting to try out streetwear? Country/cowboy style clothing? Soft academia? It never hurts to pick a vibe and look for inspiration from there. Google, in this case, is your best friend

Pattern - do you enjoy florals, perhaps? Start thinking about what you'd like to incorporate this into

Body type - is there something you'd like to highlight on your body? Maybe a cool tattoo, your newly flat chest, strong thighs, or even a fun haircut you've gotten. It's always great to feel confident about your body in whatever you're wearing

Once you've thought through some of these things, it makes it infinitely easier to establish a baseline. You might really want to buy a Guy Fieri style button up: go for it! Use that as your anchor point, and start to build out the rest of a look from there.

Section 2: I am a butch who doesn't know how to make clothing fun if I can't layer! Help!

Trust me, I get that. Sometimes it feels a lot easier to present more masc when I can wear a hoodie and jacket with some loose jeans, but this does not mean your summer need only be full of plain t-shirts and 9" inseam shorts. Creativity is absolutely possible in the summer.

Take this outfit, for example:

Pretty standard, pretty basic, right? It's a pair of sneakers with a t-shirt, shorts, and a baseball cap. And yet, it's not boring. The shorts are patterned and bright blue, which means they'll be the focal point of the outfit. The shirt, as a result, should be a bit plainer, though it doesn't need to be soulless. I've got a fun little graphic tee on here - theres a larger design on the back - with just a touch of blue in the numbers to match the shorts. The hat is in keeping with the blue and white theme (I am a big fan of matching your hat to your outift. Though it's not absolutely necessary, it makes things look much more intentional on an otherwise simple outfit).

Brief interlude to talk about shirt lengths and sizing here. Though this is not always the way I feel, in shirts like this I tend to prefer to reduce the prominence of my chest. I'm not dysphoric, personally, nor do I bind, but I do enjoy the aesthetic look or a uniform body shape when I'm in a combo like this. In order to achieve this, I buy shirts a size up from what I usually wear. I typically am an XS, so when buying shirts, I'll look for a small size most times. I also almost exclusively purchase my shirts from the men's department because the cut of the shirts follows a rectangular shape and in turn cut a more angular chest to hip shape on the wearer - you'll want to look for shirts labelled "regular fit" to achieve this.

(We'll talk about shorts later on in this guide)

Back to the outfit breakdown. The shoes are Jordans. Disclaimer: I am a big sneakerhead, so my shoes mean a lot to me, but you in no way need to spend the big bucks on your shoes! A simple pair that. again, is in keeping with the theme go a long, looooonnngg way. I also urge you to leave the standard ankle socks behind; low length ankle socks give your outfit a really harsh cutoff. A pair of slightly higher ankle socks - or even a low crew sock - work much better to highlight the muscle lines in your legs and bring that more masculine feel to your lower body clothing.

All of this is to say that while yeah, you might not be able to layer as much as you would like, you can still create pretty simple looking outfits that are engaging, unique, and give you that distinctly butch feel - in a well put together kind of way.

Section 3: I want to wear muscle tanks, but everything I try on looks weird!

Ah, the muscle tank dilemma. My mortal enemy. My eternal plight.

I have bested this, though, and today I'll introduce you to two different ways I've done so.

First and foremost, sleeve length. A good, more masculine looking muscle tank should have sleeves that cover the entire top of your shoulders - without going past them (you'll be edging into cap sleeve territory if that's the case, and that'll move the needle toward a more traditionally feminine style).

Next, please stop falling for the extended sleeve hole propaganda. While a sleeve like this

might be what you have in your mind when I talk about muscle tanks, it is absolutely not doing you any favours in butching up your wardrobe while also keeping it stylish and flattering. These are great for the gym, but not always the best at cutting the body shape you might be looking for in a tank.

What you want instead, is this:

See how the sleeves follow a tighter line around the arms but then cut a more uniform shape down the body? This'll give you wayyyyy more room to play with presentation. You can find tanks like this at almost any clothing store (athletic is your best bet) - this one comes from Champion, and is about $18 CAD.

But maybe you reeeeeallllly don't vibe with store tanks; they might be boring or constantly have logos and sayings that are that specific kind of millennial cringe that makes your teeth ache (sorry millennials, we do not rise and grind here). Well, my dear reader, let me introduce you to my (semi) foolproof method of creating your own muscle tank! Go read that tutorial if you’re interested in cutting your own, and then come back here so we can chat about it.

Ultimately, what you're looking for here is a tank that gives you a slightly boxier shape without absolutely dwarfing you in it. This'll draw attention to the parts you want to show off (in a muscle tank, that's probably arms and shoulders) and reduce focus on your torso's figure.

Section 4: Can we go back to the layers discussion? I need help with that!

Though I have, for the most part, moved out of the layers realm when it comes to my summer fashion, I still love and appreciate the occasional button up situation.

I typically have two rules when it comes to layering that I'll explain here.

Figure out the focus before you put on the outfit

I'm not a fan of a patterned button up paired with an equally busy tee; I think they both end up pulling focus from each other and leaving the outfit looking cluttered. To make sure the outfit does what I want it to, I typically will either do a patterned button up with a solid colour tee or tank underneath, or a simple button up with a graphic tee:

2. Understand that length and fit are everything

It's easy to assume that all button ups are created equal; this is WRONG. Sleeve length is crucial, and simply cuffing your sleeve can make the shirt look much more flattering in the long run. It'll also add some dimension to the layers you're wearing to make sure that they all fit each other appropriately. Your top layer shouldn't be shorter than your bottom layer (there are occasions where this is fine, but typically, it looks messy), so finding a top layer that hits at the waistline or can be tucked in and look good is critical.

Layering in the summer can be tough because of the heat, but many short sleeve button ups are made with lightweight material and are breathable by extension. I like to shop at Hollister or American Eagle for my button ups, but ASOS has a great selection in a wide range of fits and styles, as well!

Section 5: Shorts... just shorts.

Shorts are tough; it seems like the moment you find a length that works for you, the trends move on or you start to hate it. I think that the best rule of thumb for shorts is to buy what works with the style of shirt you tend to wear.

If you wear a slightly looser shirt, but not one that hangs super low, a 3-5" inseam is best for you. It'll do well to cut a taller figure by exposing some more leg, but also provides you with a good selection of looser fit shorts to go with. These shorts in this photo are roughly in this range and look pretty solid with the looser, skate style/streetwear shirt I personally prefer:

A tighter shirt or tanktop typically works better with a longer short - I don't LOVE shorts beyond like a 7" inseam, but there are definitely ways to wear them in a fun, flattering way. I enjoy a longer short when I'm going for that 80s-90s style butch look. If I'm doing certain kinds of cropped muscle tanks, a longer short gives it the messy ratty kind of vibe I like:

Also, don't buy into the jorts slander! They'll always be a simple, classic look that is easy to pair and style. I like to turn my older jeans and longer shorts into shorter jorts when I get tired of them, which gives me the lived in look I prefer from denim.

Shorts, really, are about what you want your figure to look like more than anything. If you're a short lil guy like me, a shorter inseam will almost always help elongate your figure. Buying a short that fits straighter gives your legs an opportunity to not get squashed by something too tight. There's 100% a space between tight femme shorts and baggy basketball shorts, and it's all just a matter of determining what that space is for you.

Section 6: I can't stop wearing Vans and I need to be free

I am taking your hand gently as I say this: there is a whole world out there beyond the skate shoe. Come with me as I take you there.

Please, PLEASE invest in at least one pair of sneakers. I personally wear Nikes most often because I really enjoy the chunkiness of the shoe, as well as the vibrance of most of the designs.

Here are some of the styles I enjoy most:

Dunks: These come in high or low tops and are typically a bit chunkier than other styles. They're sleek but casual and look great with a looser pant.

Air Force 1s: Are a similar shape to the typical Dunk, but are a bit smoother and simple. Don't be fooled by the argument that the white AF1 low is a feminine show - that's the gender devil talking, and we don't like that here. An AF1 is incredibly versatile.

Jordan Spizike Low - if you love Jordans and crave a pair of J4s like I used to, the Spizike is a more affordable option. It's dynamic and fun and looks great if you're wanting to edge into the streetwear realm.

These are only a few examples of Nikes specifically that I think do well to help spice up an outfit or edge into the masc/butch territory if you're not ready to fully dive in.

I've also become a big fan of Vessis recently because they're 100% waterproof and provide some nice casual to semi-formal options.

Summer shoes, ultimately, are about comfort on the move while also looking fun and exciting. I think sneakers do a good job to help with this.

Side Note: if you wear anything under a Women's US 8.5, you can fit junior sizes and save yourself money on shoe costs! I wear a Women's US size 8 and so I exclusively buy Junior US 6.5s and subsequently save myself $100 at times.

Section 7: Nightmare blunt rotation - formal wear in hot weather

It suuuuucks most of the time, I know. But this is probably because you've been lead to believe suits are your only option. Spoiler alert: they're not! I don't have the time to run through all your options here, but I'll give you some general directions to start heading toward that are both butch AND can be tweaked if you're not able to/not comfortable dressing fully butch quite yet.

First up, the short sleeve button up:

One of my best friends got married last May, and I knew that a long sleeve shirt would be FAR too stifling for that kind of weather. SO, the short sleeve white dress shirt came in to save the day:

With this look, I took a rather simple shirt (I don't think it cost me more than like, $50 at the most) and made it formal by adding a tie, a racing stripe dress pant (purple was the wedding theme), and a collar clip that added a pop of gold where I would typically include a necklace. This look got me plenty of compliments, and by cuffing the sleeves and adding a brown belt and shoes, I ensured it looked super clean and formal enough for the setting I was in.

The other semi-formal to formal look I enjoy is the vested pant suit:

I LOVE this look; I recently wore a vested pant suit to a bridal show and it was SUPER flowy and breathable but didn't at all feel too femme for me.

My rule for this is that if you're wearing a loose or baggy pant, leaving the vest open and wearing a tank underneath looks best. I did this and paired them with a chunky platform oxford, and the look came out pretty solid, I think!

If you're interested in a more fitted look, however, a closed vest and a slimmer pant looks incredibly nice; it can almost edge into that punkish middle ground that still is acceptably formal, like this:

Whatever your choice for formal attire, remember that the most important thing is your comfort in hot, sunny weather. Lighter colours are better, but shade and water are most important!

Section 8: Hey, I'm not able to shop for mens clothing yet, what should I do/ where should I shop if I still want a butchier look?

I get that and sympathise; I've only recently (the last few years) felt fully comfortable buying mens clothing. Luckily, we are in an era where even women's trends are veering toward baggy, straight fit clothing, so it's entirely possible to creep toward a masc presentation regardless of the department you shop in.

ASOS has a huge selection of clothing, and they carry quite a few unisex items as well.

I find that Hollister's mens section can also be passed off as just like... baggier womens clothes, so that may be an option.

Sport and athletic wear tends to trend toward gender neutral as well. In the same way, streetwear like Fear of God or Supreme will cut the same look while still giving you a softer transition into buying and wearing masculine clothes.

The most helpful thing, in my opinion, is to find people who dress the way you want to dress and start leaning on that to determine what'll work best for you. It was a lot of trial and error for me and I certainly am still evolving in my clothing decisions, but establishing a baseline of what makes you happy will always result in more confidence and a longer lasting wardrobe.

Section 9: Shortkingvi's Outfit Reference Guide - if You're Looking for Somewhere to Start

Here are some outfits I've put together that are simple and casual and may give you an idea of what you'd like to go for. Not all of these are summer looks, but they do well to show the sort of fit I like to aim for and what I think really affirms my personal expression. Feel free to ask for links to certain items if you'd like to know where they're from!

#i hope this helps at least one person maybe solve a fashion dilemma they've been having!#as you can tell i enjoy a hat and this is because currently i can't cut all my hair off lmao #so i accommodate to get the look i desire!#anyways here are some tags for reach #lgbt #lgbtq #butch #masc #lesbian #gay #bisexual #transgender #pride month #lgbtqia+#fashion #queer fashion #queer #happy to get this OUT of the drafts finally

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