Dressing Dykes

Dressing Dykes

Lesbian Fashion History

Latest Posts

Lesbian Extravagance in Paris: Ethel Mars and Maud Hunt Squire 

Early-twentieth century Paris was a hub of lesbian activity—and consequently, lesbian style. Within the community were people from all over Europe but the lesbian figureheads of ‘Paris Lesbos’ were almost overwhelmingly American immigrants. I’ve written about the lesbian fashions and signals that were prevalent in this community in depth, detailing the styles of the 1920s…

Lesbian Fashion Summer

It’s been a while since I posted on Dressing Dykes, but I’ve definitely not stopped talking about lesbian fashion history. My last post was announcing my book, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion – which was published by Hurst this June. Though I have plans for some more posts in the near future (hopefully!), I…

Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion

Hello! I’ve got a massive announcement for Dressing Dykes today… My first book, ‘Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion’ is coming out in June 2024, and is available to pre-order NOW! “From Sappho and Suffragettes to t-shirts and TikTok, a fascinating journey through the culture, politics and social history of lesbian clothing.” I’ve poured my…

Lesbian Chic Lives Forever, Apparently

30 years ago, lesbian chic leapt into the world. As unexpected as it was provocative, lesbian chic cemented lesbianism firmly into the zeitgeist of the early-to-mid-’90s  – if only in its ‘chicest’ guise. Lesbian fashionability has its boundaries, and the kinds of lesbians that could be described as ‘lesbian chic’ were very different from most…

Coconut Thumb Rings and Brazilian Lesbian Fashion

A couple of years ago, I posted an article about rings as lesbian fashion signals, particularly those worn on the little finger and the thumb. The response to this article by Brazilian lesbians exposed me to a lesbian fashion signal that I hadn’t previously encountered, and that has lingered in my consciousness ever since: the…

Clothing Culture at the Lesbian Conference

If you’ve been reading Dressing Dykes for a while, you might have noticed that it’s been quiet here for the past couple of months. While I’ve been posting more frequently on Instagram and TikTok, full articles take a lot of time and research and my time has been taken up by spreading the history of…

The Lesbian History of Short Hair

Appearance is more than just clothing. It is our skin, our nails, the tilt of our mouths or the furrows of our brows, the tattoos that may adorn us and the hair on our heads – or our legs, or our armpits. Of course, most of my work culminates in a study of garments, as…

Sailor Outfits and Lesbian Culture, 1920s-1930s

The sailor aesthetic is irrevocably intertwined with queer culture. The job description of “sailor” has a straggeringly gay history and the aesthetic has been used time and time again in gay fashion, media, music and more; think Tom of Finland or Pierre et Gilles. I use the word “gay” because, more often than not, these…

From Ugly to Chic: Lesbians and Dungarees

Dungarees – or overalls – have lived many lives. The word “dungarees” originally referred to the fabric that was first used for them, which came from the Indian village of Dongri and was named “dungri.” When, necessitated by the industrial revolution and enabled by the British Empire, the fabric was exported to England to be…

‘Roots’ Style: Black Lesbians in 1980s Britain

I recently came across the term “Roots”, or more specifically, “Roots lesbians.” It was while I was researching for my article on lesbian feminist dress codes, and I made a note to come back to the term and find out more about it. However, once I got around to doing this, I found it to…

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