The limited options available for transgender and gender non-conforming people in stores is nothing new. While representation within retail is happening, the pace is sluggish.
Looking amongst the aisles of department clothing stores, the long stretches of menswear and womens wear suddenly becomes choosing sides: function or aesthetic, body fit or style?
With a sense of urgency, turning the attention to eCommerce captivates the market as creative individuals with easy-to-make websites pioneer filling the gap with representation, intersectionality, and individualized experiences.
“The current situation for trans undergarments and for people with disabilities is that we shouldn’t be stylish, because we should ‘want to blend in’ AKA society wants us to be invisible and not draw attention to ourselves.” Sky Cubacub reflects on this through their work with their personal clothing line, Rebirth Garments.
The fashion designer and chainmaille specialist founded the brand alongside their single goal: to open up wearables to bodies of all ranges, completely inclusive of race, gender, disability, and size. Using neon fabrics, geometric patterns, and a variety of fits, cuts, and styles to craft their custom-made clothing, Cubacub entices a revolution of body acceptance and the notion that, in order to truly embody the fullness of ourselves, one must become Radically Visible.
To learn more about Rebirth Garments, Radical Visibility, and their evolving activism, visit http://rebirthgarments.com/shop/.
What better to make us all feel sexier this sultry time of year than a pair of ravishing silk underwear? Honestly, who doesn’t want a genuine pair of silk panties to lounge in bed for a whole day in? Panties for boys, girls, and persons who’d rather have no genitalia at all, Tack is a collection of art individually handcrafted by artist and fashion designer Charolette Chanler.
Operating similarly to an Etsy shop, Chanler is the sole creator of all Tack products.
Using what she knows and going from there, the current listings feature many flowers, dice, and cupid-covered crotches. Past collaborations brought takeaway containers and birthday cakes to the forefront of the LA-based silk panty marketplace, as well as the forefront of crotches.
One pair of 100% silk panties will cost you $48. You can find out more about getting a custom order done, too, at Tack’s website and store.
Innovation at its simplest will follow a two-step process:
- Identify a problem
- Solve the problem
It was the case for Pyramid Seven in founding “boxer briefs for periods, not gender”.
Creating a prototype required a bit more design than initially understood, as there was one core problem: how would users use their menstruation products?
Oddly enough, though, the problem wasn’t only part of traditional menswear.
“We noticed that on more traditional feminine underwear like panties or even boyshorts, if you put a pad on, fold the wings and go to bed or lay down, you’ll still leak in the front or back.” Zipporah Jarmon, co-founder, expressed.
This identified problem brought leak resistant material and stitching throughout the briefs to the forefront of the design.
Paired with the extra layer of fabric within the crotch for pad wings to fold around, users are met with a well-rounded, comfortable design accessible to any and all needs: size, shapes, products used, and methods practiced, including free flowing!
To find out more about Pyramid Seven’s innovative story and Affirming Boxer Briefs, shop at https://www.pyramidseven.com/shop/.
In the digital age that encompasses all that we do, the power of platform is limitless. In the very same way that what you wear presents an extension of your identity, who you choose to wear is an extension of your beliefs. TomboyX uses their platform not only to challenge ideas of what it means to be a Tomboy, but to raise the bar for breaking gender roles and raising others around them.
Alongside reclaiming the title of Tomboy, ethical consumption is at the core of what they do: the human within the Human Agenda.
All undergarments produced are eco-friendly and human-friendly, with anti-sweatshop agreements across the global factories and all natural materials used in the process.
So go ahead, choose from classic briefs to 4.5” trunks to 9” boxers briefs and dance around the apartment adorned in candy heart print undies, for knowing the brands we support are directly supporting humanity will connect us all to a brighter future.
A variety of items beyond undergarments and more about TomboyX’s charity awaits on their website, https://tomboyx.com/.
Entering the market as a conglomerate of design, marketplace, and consultant work, Radimo has directed their eye to the realistic needs of creative minorities globally by providing “the ability to directly support marginalized individuals by shopping products designed, customized, and handmade by queer, trans, black, POC, plus size, women, and disabled small business owners.” (Radimo)
Scrolling through their store is more like exploring a bazaar. With access to 14 different queer-forward and intersectional stores at any given time, the options for potential aesthetics seem endless.
Beyond clothes, Radimo supports jewelry brands such as Garden by Eden and beauty brands such as Fluide, (as featured in our 2018 Christmas edition of our Ethical Gift Guide)!
Finding your newest obsession has never been easier. Shop at https://shop.radimo.la/ to find it.
Chances are if you’ve ever shopped for binders, you’ve shopped FLAVNT’s Bareskin Binder. These ground-breaking binders were the first of many: the first racerback binders, the first water-friendly binders, and the first all-inclusive binder.
Featuring five different colors representing a variety of shades and undertones, the Bareskin Binder is 82% Nylon and 12% Spandex in construction. Coupled with an 100% cotton interior lining, FLAVNT nailed the harmony between great compression and fast drying (because no one likes boob sweat).
At an even price of $50, the only question now is when will they be back in stock?
To check out FLAVNT’s work in more depth, visit their website. To keep an eye out for when Bareskins will be back in stock, follow their Facebook Page @flavntstreetwear.
Just the Beginning
After spending a day online shopping for both genderless and gender fluid brands, the future of fashion doesn’t seem so bleak. People are starting to take notice the needs of all people, and not even necessarily niche markets. Transgender and gender non-conforming folx are not a new hype, and certainly no new breed of human.
Just as we all deserve to be respected, we all deserve to be represented.
Intersectional clothing is just the beginning; the conversation has only just begun.