Lesbian Fashion

An aspect of Butch/Fem culture that I find particularly interesting is the emphasis on dress and the messages that are conveyed through appearances. In “The Fem Question”, Nestle emphasizes the importance of dress for lesbians in the 1980s. Before commenting on this, it is worth noting that dress also played an important function for lesbians during the height of the bar subculture in the late 50s and early 60s. During this era when bars were popular meeting places for lesbians, mode of dress was a direct means through which sexual identity could be expressed. This is evident in the very distinct ways in which butches, fems or kikis presented themselves in the bar scene and the roles they were expected to fulfill based on dress (for example, butches were considered to be dominant, fems submissive). Hence, in the 1950s and 1960s, the way lesbians dressed was a direct expression of their sexual identity as well as a comment towards sexual preferences.
In addition, for fems specifically, the way she dressed was also key to developing a certain way of life. Since looking like anything other than what was prescribed by the heteronormative society was considered taboo, the way fems dressed often helped them “pass” in a heterosexual world. Nestle supports this notion when she states, “…in the earlier decades, many fems used their appearance to secure jobs that would allow their butch lovers to dress and live the way they both wanted her to…”(Nestle).

In the 1980s, the function of a lesbian’s mode of dress took on new meaning, especially with regards to identification with the lesbian movement.
Nestle comments “…if I wore the acceptable movement clothes of sturdy shoes, dungarees, work shirt and back pack, I was to be trusted…” This implies that for lesbians, especially fems, dressing outside of this uniform was seen as conforming to heteronormative standards which required women to dress “feminine”. Another example of acceptance based on dress is evident in Nestle’s narrative when she is giving a talk, and is the one identified with more by her audience because she “looks” more like them-(heterosexual women) because she wore a dress and high black boots while her partner wore pants, shirt, vest and a leather jacket.
This offers insight into the complex situation that fems were often faced with in terms of expressing their identity. Especially in the case of Nestle, she had to make the choice between expressing her solidarity with the lesbian movement, or with simply being comfortable in her own style-which became problematic since it happened to coincide with the dress of heterosexual women.

The importance of dress and the messages being conveyed are still an important aspect of lesbian identity today (and undoubtedly, a part of everyone’s identity). However, discussing lesbian fashion becomes problematic since it is often discussed in stereotypes. In an interview with Cynthia Summers, the stylist of the popular TV show “The L Word”, Summers discussed how difficult of a task it was to dress the cast of the show (who all play lesbians), without relying on stereotypes. Some present day stereotypes of the way lesbians dress are “…the butch [who wears] husky jeans, T-shirt, blunt haircut and blue-collar work jacket; the lipstick lesbian: long, styled hair, makeup and a combination of pretty dresses and power suits. The sporty dyke: athletic wear, from sneakers to track jackets. And there's the granola lesbian: hemp fabrics dyed with organic earth tones, necklaces made with symbolic stones, Birkenstocks (often with socks) and lots of fragrant patchouli oil”.

Generally speaking, the way we dress conveys messages about everything from our personality to socioeconomic status (stereotypically that is). With regards to lesbians, in the urban bar subculture that emerged after World War II, mode of dress was used to express sexuality. Eventually their identification with the lesbian movement was further added on to the meanings that their mode of dress conveyed.

Images (Butch/Fem stereotypes Past and Present)