Fashion Beyond The Binary With Plume Health

At Origami Customs, we are absolutely thrilled to announce our partnership with Plume Health, a groundbreaking organization dedicated to providing affirming, accessible, and comprehensive healthcare for trans and non-binary people. This collaboration marks a significant step in our shared commitment to supporting the trans community, not just through clothing but also through vital resources that empower individuals to live authentically.

Plume Health has established itself as an essential resource for trans individuals seeking compassionate healthcare tailored to their unique needs. Plume ensures that trans and non-binary people have access to care in a way that feels safe and affirming. Their virtual care model breaks down barriers, making high-quality healthcare accessible no matter where you are. At Origami Customs, we deeply admire their mission and the life-changing impact they have on the community.

We’re equally excited to share that this partnership will include a series of collaborative workshops in the coming months! These events will blend the expertise of Plume’s healthcare professionals with our passion for creating gender-affirming garments, offering educational and interactive sessions designed to celebrate identity and support holistic well-being. From exploring the intersections of healthcare and fashion to practical tips on navigating both spaces, these workshops will be a space for learning, connection, and growth.

This is just the beginning of what we know will be a meaningful and impactful partnership. Together, Origami Customs and Plume Health are working to create a world where trans and non-binary people feel supported in every aspect of their lives—from healthcare to self-expression. 

For our very first collaborative workshop together, we just created a free workshop on exploring your own sense of fashion outside the gender binary! In this workshop, led by Rae Hill, founder of Origami Customs, and Rai Dang, community education program manager at Bloom, you'll gain practical tips and meaningful reflections on building a wardrobe that affirms and celebrates your identity. 

Together, we delve into what it means to navigate style as a tool for self-expression and self-discovery, balancing personal authenticity with safety and societal perceptions.

Through this conversation, you'll learn:

• Tips for creating silhouettes that align with your unique presentation goals, whether feminizing, masculinizing, or celebrating fluidity.
• The transformative power of accessories and non-medical gender-affirming tools like binders, gaffs, and shapewear.
• How to take accurate measurements for custom and off-the-rack clothing.
• Strategies for finding joy and euphoria in fashion while navigating challenges like dysphoria, fluctuating body shapes, and societal expectations.

This workshop also provides a wealth of resources, including a curated Pinterest board of trans fashion inspiration and practical guides to navigating shopping, tailoring, and thrifting. With heartfelt anecdotes, actionable advice, and moments of reflection, Rae and Rai create a space that acknowledges the complexities of dressing authentically while celebrating the joy and freedom of self-expression. Let's dive into this journey together!

You can view the slide deck here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v8u9oo...

Trans Style Inspo made by Rae and Rai: https://ca.pinterest.com/origamicusto...

How to measure yourself for custom sizing: https://origamicustoms.com/pages/sizing

TRANSCRIPT FOR "FASHION OUTSIDE THE BINARY"

Rai Dang:

I'm really excited about this webinar, but for those who don't know me, my name is Rai. Pronouns is she, her. I am a trans femme person based in Elodieland, Oakland, California and I am the community education program manager here at Bloom. 

Really excited to be hosting this event around fashion outside the binary with Origami Customs founder themselves, Rae Hill. Rae, we've been, you and I have been having amazing conversations around like, what does it mean to provide a really like tangible resources around fashion? And also, like you know, there's, there's like the binary fashion in sense of maybe for safety and survival, but then there's also like the gender-free and expansive type of fashion that just has so many worlds of possibilities.

And I think that like fashion can be used as a way to like really dive deeper into your self-expression and your, your self-discovery on top of, and also. Without even without stuff like HRT as well. So thank you so much for being here. And if there's anything else you want to share about that, go ahead. 

Rae Hill:

I mean, I've just been so excited to develop this with you. I think there's a lot of content going around right now for this week and Transate Remembrance, but this feels like something that's very like relevant and also nuanced. And like you were saying, it really ties into our identities and it's about being trans, but it's also not about being trans. You know, there's a lot in here.

There's a lot of practical advice, but a lot of like us thinking about what, what it means to exist in this time and place and how to express our identities in ways that feel like you said, expressive, but also safe. Yeah. So I'm really, really excited to present this one. 

Rai Dang:

Oh yeah. Just like a quick acknowledgement about what the space is going to be. It's going to be an up about an hour and a half long with a Q&A at the end. There will be some sections for reflections that we will ask questions on with y'all. And there will also be a live demonstration on how to measure your body to get like the specific measurements, so you can find clothing that fits for you or custom make them. 

But just some quick acknowledgements, you know, we know that clothing can feel really gender-free and expansive, but also finding clothing that fits well and feels authentically, you can feel really challenging. There's also, you know, a lot of things around safety and survival and just like dysphoria, euphoria, and comfortability and just like being perceived in public. 

And, you know, all of those things are here with us in the room right now, on top of like the joy and the love and the care that we get to experience together, when we do get to find clothing that feels really good. And we get to share that joy with other trans people too.

So just holding like the complexities of all of that and wanting to really allow y'all to take what works for you, you know, leave behind what doesn't, and we'll do our best to give you information and resources and hold that space to help you make some empowered decisions. 

But I will also share these two resources. They're the Trevor Project and the Trans Lifeline. They are amazing in general. They provide warm lines and hotlines for queer and trans folks if they need emotional support. 

Moving on, we have live captions. You can turn them on with the live transcript. It is automated. We have a Q &A box, so you can click the Q&A to type in your questions. And when you're chatting in the chat, make sure that it says everyone instead of host and panelists.

And yeah, with that, also, it is not on here. I don't know why the slide is gone, but this webinar is recorded. And so everybody will be receiving the webinar recording, the slide deck that Rae and I had created, and also just like a list of different resources in there as well. So yeah. 

Rae Hill:

We wanted there to be lots of like practical things to take away from this as well. 

Rai Dang:

Totally. Is there anything else, Rae, you want to say before I start presenting the slides? 

Rae Hill:

No, not necessarily. I'm just so thrilled that so many of you are here. So thank you for spending your day or evening with us.

Rai Dang:

Sweet. All right. Let me go ahead and get us present. Get this presentation on then. Yeah, cool. Here we go. 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN THIS WORKSHOP

Rae Hill:

Thank you. I know you probably saw this when you signed up. Today is going to be about fashion outside the binary, dressing for your expansive identity. You've already met Rai and I am Rae. We'll get into a little bit more about ourselves in a second. This is what you can expect today. 

So first of all, we're going to go over what trans fashion means, our experiences of it, talking about our self-image in a changing body, being trans, and also all of the different things that allow for expansiveness and transition in our lifetimes. We will have a pause and reflection after that with a couple of questions for you.

So if you haven't got a pen and paper handy, that might be something that you'll want to have with you. If you'd like to write things down. Then we're going to go into some practical tips for wardrobe building. With some of my experience with custom fit clothing and some tips and tricks. 

Then we'll do a live demo about how to take your own measurements. We'll wrap up with some more time for you guys to ask questions. If you want. And then we've got a bit of a takeaway, collaborative project and a resource list for you.

ABOUT RAE HILL

So this is me. I already told you guys I'm Rae. I use they/them pronouns. I'm a queer and trans non-binary settler here in Montreal. My background is in sociology, not in fashion.

And I never really thought that I would be in the fashion world, but here I am. I created one of the first brands to make gender affirming clothing. I was definitely the first main brand to start doing customized gender-affirming gear. That was 15 years ago. 

So I've been working in non-medical trans healthcare for 15 years. And I'm very excited to bring that experience to you all. On top of the clothing company that I run, I do education work around trans integral business practices, diversity in marketing, marketing, non-medical gender affirmation care, lots of other things. And I've worked with NGOs, businesses, healthcare teams, universities, and all sorts of other stuff. So this is a little bit about what I do. The company that I own and run is called Origami Customs.

You may or may not have heard of it already. We've been leaders in gender affirming care for 15 years. Essentially, it's custom-made lingerie and swimwear. We decided to take out the binary in buying underwear many years ago. And so now we allow for completely customizable sizing and also for gusset selection, which means like every item can be for any body, regardless of the shape and fit that you need. 

And everything is produced locally for us here in Montreal, I've trained a all queer and trans staff to make these garments. It's really, really important that we start here at home. And outsourcing is just a thing that I do not feel comfortable with, but that's a whole other story.

We really created a framework for trans and gender diverse and queer integral staffing, which is a lot of the education that I work that I do around to teach other companies how to do the same. We also run a parallel community program that supports gender affirmation for folks with limited access. This program operates globally through a network of nonprofits. And they provide items to folks facing barriers to intersectional oppressions. 

We work with almost a hundred organizations now across the globe. And that's a program that I've been building over the last seven or so years of my work. So amazing. Thank you. That's me in a nutshell. 

ABOUT RAI DANG

Rai Dang:

This is me. I mean, y'all know me. If you've been to a workshop here, I'm the only one that shows up like for the past two years.Anyway. Yeah. 

I'm a trans transgender person in Oakland, California. But a little bit more about, I guess, like my personal life. This has a lot of my work stuff. I've been trans and medically transitioning for the past four years. I am, you know, I say trans femme and I use she/her pronouns, but I would say like, I have a lot more of like a gender fluidity, gender expansiveness in terms in like my roots, instead of like being a trans woman and looking for my fashion to be in the binary.

I love exploring just like juxtapositions and fashion and diversity. And in clothing and expression and in style. And yeah, just that in fashion and also in life, I am like a drummer. I make jewelry. I love cooking. I do ceramics. I do wood, like wood building, all that stuff. And so I love being able to be trans; it's just like, it doesn't have to look any particular way. Excited to be sharing about some anecdotes and personal stories throughout this presentation as well. So enough about me. I'll pass it back to Rae. 

Rae Hill:

Wow Rai, you do a little bit of everything. That's amazing. 

Rai Dang:

Yeah, basically. It's the ADHD. Yeah, we do everything.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DRESSING FOR YOUR DESIRED GENDER PRESENTATION

Rae Hill:

Okay. So we're going to start with going into this, knowing that we're going to use potentially like terms and ways of describing experiences and bodies that might not resonate with you. So if we're using terms that don't land, just switch to something else in your head that feels really good, you know? 

So first we want, to start by understanding some of the typical assigned gender at birth body structures that we have key areas that, that might differ. And of course this isn't always going to be true, but sites that we might see dysphoria, and then we can look at more closely when we talk about dressing to accentuate or mask those areas, you know. 

For example, with assigned female at birth bodies, we've got like the hips, the shoulders, maybe your height is something that you're really aware of. For assigned male at birth bodies we're talking about maybe like less chest tissue, the height as well, and the curves around the hips, those are something that you might want to yet change or modulate in some way. 

You know, this might not be your experience, but we've got some tips if this is something that you're looking to change. Again, like not everyone's going to experience dysphoria, like point blank or in the same way; we're making some pretty broad generalizations here. But I hope that you can hear it and take it with a grain of salt, and work with it in a way that feels more authentic to your experience. 

Okay, so going a little bit deeper into that, when we're looking at fashion, we want to choose different proportions in a way that might make us appear more masculine or feminine. Sometimes when you're wanting to appear more feminine, you might have a goal of slimming the waist, making your appearance seem taller. You might want something that's a little bit tighter, the hips or the stomach. You might want something that's a little bit of a higher rise or something that minimizes the shoulders. 

So we'll get into some more like really concrete examples of clothing that you can buy and things that you can do to your clothing later that might hit these targets for you. For more masculine centered folks looking at things that might make you seem more boxy that are made to your shoulders are going to appear a bit wider, something that's going to be a little bit more loose to the waist, something that doesn't accentuate the bum and the legs. And in pants, that usually means that something's going to have a bit of a lower rise to have that really like masculinzed feel to it.

So next we're going to go over navigating size, gender and societal expectations. This is a big one. So bear with us. As we all know, clothing can be gender free and expansive, but it's also highly gendered. So how do we talk about those two things together, right? 

We live in a world of societal perception. We hate being seen. But we love being seen. And safety and freedom of expression can obviously be hindered. We're talking a lot about how to exist safely in the world and how that sometimes is at odds with the way that we want to be creative. So there's a lot of differing ideas here that we need to hold at the same time. 

DRESSING IN A NEW WAY IS ALLOWED TO FEEL SCARY

Rai Dang:

Yeah. And a little bit about, you know, what we were doing at this event and we wanted to share some personal stories in this too. And so Rae was asking me some questions around that. But I wanted to share about that. Yeah, around the time that when my egg first cracked and I realized that I was trans was actually through instead of clothing, it was actually through jewelry. 

It was wearing hoop earrings for the first time. It was my partner at the time they they were helping me remove my studs in my ears and then they replaced it with hoop earrings. And I remember looking at myself in the mirror and it was just so strikingly, it felt so strikingly different, in a way that was very scary. And also very, very exciting and connecting to that second point around hyper femininity and safety. It was literally like, in the same night we were going to an event and I felt so scared of going outside.

And it was just like me, a he/they with hoop earrings looking mostly mask at the time. But the hoop earrings was just something that made me feel so visible and so naked and like vulnerable. And I would say like, you know. A lot of a lot of my gender journey has been moving through a lot of those anxieties. 

And obviously, I feel a lot more comfortable wearing things like that now. But I think that that fear is just it's just a moving post for me. The fear is I still have fear of wearing really femme clothes. I still have fear going outside looking femme and being approached by people or being harassed by people. And, you know, I think that that is one of the things that I realize it's a lot deeper in my body.

In terms of what that anxiety and like the safety feels like for me now, there's something that's constantly on my mind in a way that is subconscious in a way that wasn't really present for me before. And so, you know, just wanting to give that story and also affirm that these things can feel really scary when you are trying to step into yourself. And also sometimes we do it anyway because we want to be ourselves, too. So, yeah. 

Rae Hill:

Yeah, I totally feel you. That idea of having it like running in the back of your mind like a script. That's super real. Yeah. Thank you for sharing all this stuff as well. I really appreciate it. 

HOW THE FASHION WORLD FAILS THE GENDER DIVERSE COMMUNITY

So some other things that we face when we're navigating all of these different intersecting identities and how society views them. There's added challenges, especially for gender non-conforming people who have larger bodies. And this is really important to talk about. Finding well-fitted clothes is difficult for people who fall outside traditional expectations of gender identity and expression, non-binary, trans, gender fluid people, everyone. 

But it also informs people's expectations of what they're going to look like when they're talking about what a gendered person's body size should be. And people with larger bodies are often made to feel like their bodies are not in line with the expectations that gender holds, especially people who identify as women or are femme presenting. So we all know that that's going to be a lot more challenging. And I think that's a really important part of this conversation.

One other thing that I think is really interesting, I think about this all the time. So masculine and feminine are, they're constructs located in our time and place, right? Like the way that we view those things is really based on the lens of growing up where and when we did. 

Obviously, most of us are going to have a similar lens in this part of the world. But also our identities play into that, you know, our family backgrounds and such and even our ages. But I love this: in the 18th century, masculine clothing was very different. It was very colorful. They use brocade, they use elaborately cut suits and jackets, and they wore pantaloons, britches, and things like that. It was very flambouyant. And wigs and high heels. Like, this is not what we think of as being masculine today. So this really is a good example of how things do shift over time.

So some other things that were coming up for me as I was writing this; One thing that we'll see a lot these days in the fashion world as, like, “androgynous” clothing and what that really means when it's used. People talk about like, another word I hear a lot is “ungendered” and I think that's quite limiting in a lot of ways. Like, we can talk about what these words mean to us afterwards but I don't think that encompasses the idea that gender can be expansive and gender is also important and it's like it it's embodied in in ourselves as well. We’re not trying to get rid of gender as a concept in the way that we dress.

Our bodies are also shifting and changing over time. Obviously people who are on HRT know this in a very real way but we're talking about all the different factors too that can play into that over our lifetimes; our age, our weight, ability, disability, and all of these other things that that change us over time. We're never in a stagnant body.

One thing that I talk a lot about in my work is the difference between “unisex” and “genderless” clothing versus gendered clothing that is made specifically for trans and gender diverse people. 

So in my company I really talk about, yes everything is for everyone. It's customizable but it’s specifically made for the gender diverse community in that we’re not trying to strip the like creativity from the fashion and say everyone should just wear this like shapeless beige sack and call it ungendered. 

You know like the Gap can’t just put up like a beige hoodie and sweatpants set and call it like the “ungendered” or like the “genderless” section like that’s not really the goal here. 

Rai Dang:

When’s the Origami Customs beige sack dropping? (Both laugh)

Rae Hill:

Yeah but I think it’s really important to look for places who are doing that work of talking about like: How is this actually for the trans and gender diverse community and feels like it's pushing the edges of like the different options that it gives people to expand their idea of what gender is? And not just kind of like meeting in the middle and having like the lowest common denominator for fashion. 

SELF IMAGE IN A CHANGING BODY

So here are just some questions that that came up while we were writing this. Thinking about your own self-image as a person in a body that's changing over time: 

When you're stepping out  of your comfort zone for the first time, and finding your self-expression for the first time from a place of curiosity and exploration, how do you know that there's an expansiveness happening versus having a view of yourself that comes from external pressures?

How can you build trust with people in your community to help you do this? Are you following people online? Are there people in your life that you can look up to as examples of this kind of expansiveness or creativity? And maybe, you don't have a lot of examples of that and maybe we can help you find some. You know, there's so many good examples out there of people who are really like pushing the edges of fashion. 

And how can accessories not just our clothes, but jewelry, piercings, tattoos, and things like that play into your self expression? And I know, in terms of a story, Rai has a really good story about this:

Rai Dang:

Oh it's me huh um. I'm forgetting-oh yes okay the evolution and fits. I'm like how much do I share about this? Do you remember what I was sharing with you? Let's see it was like, yeah, okay I guess like in in terms of timeline of self-discovery, I remember when I was first transitioning and I realized I wasn’t just non-binary, I wanted to be percieved as femme at a certain time. 

And it was a thing that I felt like I was so obsessed about I needed to look femme, I needed to act femme, I needed to be perceived as femme. I didn't want to look masculine at all. I had this weird association of like, masculinity as violence, and you know. And there was a lot of stuff that I had to work through at that time. But you know, it was when I started medically transitioning, I was trying on just like hyper feminine clothes like the skirts and the dresses and like the certain cuts to make me look more Feminine. 

And over time, you know, with the pandemic, I was gaining a lot of weight, and you know, I think that maybe there's some internalized transphobia and internalized fat phobia that was playing a role in forcing myself to shift my lens on how I am seeing myself in relation to the world. There is a time where I couldn't see myself in like mirrors because of this dysphoria. And it wasn't until I started to explore more around facial piercings, actually it was my vertical library that like got me out of my intense bout of like dysphoria. 

I realized that I was trying to model myself after trans women that I really looked up to. I thought that these other trans women were so beautiful and they were so gorgeous and it was such like, batty energy. And at the same time it was hard because I realized that it wasn't that I couldn't get to that point, but like I wasn't there and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to be that. 

But it was the only example that I had in terms of what femininity can look like. Once I decided to go for my facial piercing, it kind of cleared the fog for me. It made me realize that actually this facial piercing makes me feel like I'm moving in a different direction from being like a binary trans woman, I think.

It makes me feel a little bit intangible, which almost cleaned the slate for me to be like, 'Well, if this is making me not a trans woman then what am I?' And that started to like reshape my relationship to clothing and jewelry and accessories, and I started approaching things from a place of curiosity. 

I think that the changes of HRT for me, like having a bigger chest or having a little bit more curves or like my face getting softer isn't actually me trying to go into femininity; it's to expand my options. Like, I love looking butch sometimes; I love having clothes that literally my trans mask friends would be it would be affirming. For them as much as it's affirming for me, like the baggy pants and like the cropped muscle t-shirts, you know?

Or I could completely swap and flip and be like super feminine. Or I would go with like all gothy type of energy too. And it also expanded how, like even the hobbies that I started to do recently is as a result of that too. I almost restricted the things that I enjoyed for the sake of trying to be quote-unquote feminine when that concept is wasn't really working for me, you know? 

So that was kind of how I stepped out outside of my comfort zone. I mean Rae, I'm curious if like if there's anything there that you resonated or if there's kind of like a similar story with you? 

Rae Hill:

Yeah. Like, I love hearing the way you're talking about these kind of like liminal spaces and and gray areas, and I mean we're both like somewhere in the middle our identities.This might not be true for people who have more of like binary identities, but this workshop is about like outside of the binary. 

So I'll share as well: one thing I realized is that I don't have any of my personal stories in this outline, but yeah, I'm also very happy to share about my experience. I think it was really interesting for myself, when I started taking testosterone, I realized that I didn't want to dress as masculine anymore. 

And as my body did start to have those like very subtle shifts and changes because I didn’t want to have a medical transition that really put me in a place where I’d be seen as a man or that I would see myself as a man in any way. But like you said I just wanted to have more options, like that’s just a great way of putting it.

And I I had heard this from other people too, and I was really curious to see if it was gonna happen. Like I started wearing more feminine stuff the more masculine I looked.

Rai Dang: 

Just that was me but in the opposite way, yeah. 

Rae Hill:

And I think I think it’s totally true what you're saying like, we just, I mean at least for me, I wanted to experience like a fuller range and also like, I think a big part of it was my dysphoria was like lessened, and I felt more confident and comfortable being more fluid in that way, so yeah. Let us know if this is like resonating for any of you guys; we can open it up in the chat afterwards. But I was really surprised, honestly, that that started coming up for me.

Rai Dang:

Yeah, for sure, that was very much the same for me too, like I started feeling more comfortable with like the quote-unquote masculinity once I started having more quote-unquote feminine whatever any of this you know. But it like, it makes sense; trans math is how it works. I think I want to be, I want to look like a boy as a girl. And then some of my friends are like, I want to look like a girl, I want to look like a girl but be seen as a boy. And both of those people; they're the same person, basically, in opposite directions. 

Rae Hill:

Yeah! And you get to just pick and choose pieces. 

Rai Dang:

Yeah, absolutely! And the other thing too is tattoos-tattoos give me so much gender euphoria. I have this like big chest tattoo that just made me like love my chest even more because it was just on this upper part; I just wanted to show it all the time. It felt like, it was like a very symmetrical type of thing. 

I have like tattoos on like my arms and it just makes me feel really connected to myself and it makes me really feel like this is, this is even sometimes even more affirming than like HRT. It's like I get to have this autonomy to shape my body however I want. 

Rae Hill:

Yeah tattoos are so fascinating because they're a way of expressing your identity. And it's not seen as gendered as clothing is a lot of the time. It's much more like personal to our own identities. Yeah, I think a lot of people feel this way about tattoos that it's like Informed a lot more by what's going on internally than like an external pressure. Y

Rai Dang:

Yeah I'll move us on to the next slide because we actually have some reflection questions for folks so I'll let you take it away. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Rae Hill:

Yeah for sure, so this is a point where we're just gonna stop for a second because we realize we are going through a lot of content, so it's nice to just kind of like take a little moment before we get into the more practical stuff. 

So these are some questions, feel free to do a little bit of journaling if you're called to. Feel free to put any anything that's coming up for you, feel free to put it in the chat and if you would like us to comment on anything if you have questions, we're also super happy to. 

I'll read these out as well: 

So which parts of your body do you relate to the best, which need a bit more love and are these views fueled by a normative or cis lens of masculinity or femininity? 

How do you find ways to trust your body and explore your sense of fashion identity outside of this normative lens? 

These are big questions. Feel free to just take a little chunk if you'd like, and ask us anything else that that you would like to know from this first section. 

Rai Dang:

Also I'm seeing some folks in the chat relating to the intertwinement of like femininity and masculinity too, which I think is really awesome. And also just wanted to shout out someone's getting a double mastectomy tomorrow and I am super super excited for you, congratulations, amazing! 

I got a question asking how did you all trust your body? Rae, if you want to take that? 

FINDING YOUR TRANS STYLE IS A JOURNEY

Rae Hill:

How do we trust our bodies? I mean, I think I'm like developing an innate sense more than I ever did before of like trusting what feels like a yes and what feels like a no. Quite vulnerably this comes from like my work doing somatics, experiencing and just knowing some some more of the cues of when I'm putting on clothing, does this feel like it's the right thing for me or do I feel like it's a choice that I'm making to be in a certain space.

And sometimes that's the right choice because it feels like it keeps me safer and I can say, I'm gonna put this on for a particular reason and I'm gonna come home and like get into something that feels more like me. Or I'm gonna put this on for me, but for me it's noticing like the feeling in my body, the way that I hold my body, the way that I walk when I'm wearing things that really resonate with my internal sense of self and gender. 

Rai Dang:

I love that I would say building trust for me, external validation. I'm gonna be so real with y'all. I really needed, I really needed my friends to gas me up when I was wearing some things because I was just so judgmental about myself and how I was looking because it just felt so foreign to me. 

And really, that is what it is. It's just sometimes it feels really foreign to you. It's like the euphoria doesn't hit immediately; it takes you a little bit to adjust. Sometimes it does, sometimes it hits like boom, immediately. 

But oftentimes, doing these things feels really scary, and you know then like the self-critique starts to come in. And so there's I feel like there is a difference sometimes and it's hard to gauge the difference between, I don't like this clothing this is not working for me, versus I'm not comfortable wearing this clothing yet, or I'm not ready for it yet.

So how do I get to that place where I can? Or how do I even get to the place where I can decide that this is something that I like, versus this is not something. And sometimes that takes a bit of external validation or some conversations with friends, and stepping outside of your comfort zone for that. 

Rae Hill:

You can always just like dip your toe in be like; Okay, you can just like try on this piece of clothing and like see how it feels. You don't have to keep it on; just like dip your toe in these like little moments. 

Rai Dang:

And what's great is you can take the clothes off if you don't like it. But seeing all the stuff in the chat- love seeing all this stuff in the chat! We got someone saying they love their leg hair, yeah. Lots of legs, but I've seen people growing to love their jawline and shoulders, yeah. This is really beautiful.

Rae Hill:

I also really resonate with the person who was talking about going to the gym and like, yeah, we might use that as a way of like building particular muscles, that are like seen in certain gendered ways. But also for me that brings such an innate sense of like strength or like the type of masculinity that I want to embody, and it just feels really good to be like making myself strong. So that's definitely a way that I experience gender euphoria.And I love wearing gym clothes; I love being a bro when I'm at the gym. 

Rai Dang:

You love being a jock? Is that gender affirming for you? 

Rae Hill:

Yeah, I really do! That's such a euphoria moment for me. 

Rai Dang:

I know someone's saying their hair is giving them a little bit of trouble at the moment and it makes them feel more femme than they want. Super real. I feel like hair is really challenging, honestly. So, rooting for you and your journey of your hair discovery for sure. All sorts of different body hair is imbued with like so many different values, it's wild.

I remember when I was growing out my hair, I was doing it because I was like, 'Long hair is feminine, right?' And I was growing it out without really any direction and I just like didn't go to a hairstylist for a really long time until I saw a trans femme person with a like, short pixie haircut type of look. 

And it looked so freaking cute. It actually made them look really feminine and yeah, it was just like, looks so pretty on them. And it blew my mind that, oh, you can have short hair and still look quite feminine. And then sometimes the short hair can actually make you look more feminine than the long hair, or sometimes the long hair can make you look more masculine than short hair and vice versa, all those different things.

Rae Hill:

Yeah this can be a struggle, yeah don't be too hard on yourself if this is still a challenge we're all going through highs and lows of how we experience being in a body, and like right now let's be honest, it's a particularly rough time. Let's try to have some grace.

Yeah, it's so lovely to see all these things in the chat being written down. Sweet thank you everybody for sharing; I really appreciate all of this. 

Rai Dang:

Rae, do you want to move on and do a little bit of practical tips? 

HOW TO TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS

Rae Hill:

Yeah, definitely. Let's move into some more practical tips. You guys feel free to keep putting things in there if you'd like to share, or if things are coming up after. So we're going to go into a demo of how to take your own measurements; if you want to follow along with me as I'm doing it to actually take your measurements, you are more than welcome to do so. You'll need a tape measure, and if you don't have a tape measure, which you probably didn't get ready because we didn't tell you to, which is totally fair.

If you have a piece of string or even like the cord for your laptop or your phone or something handy, you can do this and write things down, and then I'll show you how to like measure that afterwards. 

Normally, you would have a tape measurement and you have like a pen and pencil so you can write things down. Yeah, if you're using a string or a cord or something, you'll need something to like mark it, either a pen or a piece of tape or twist tie. You're all inventive I believe in you. 

This also will be recorded and you'll get it afterwards so you can just watch along with it afterwards. When you're ready, so I'm gonna stand up so you can see my body. I might have to like tilt the angle a little bit a few different times so bear with me. There also is a video on youtube that I will make sure to send out too that shows you how to measure your body, yeah we'll go into a little bit more detail there. 

So, I'll preface this by saying that there are different ways of talking about your body parts. Obviously, I think for the sake of brevity, I’ll use terms that feel comfortable for my body. However, please use words that resonate with you. For example, some people might feel differently about using terms like "chest" versus "breasts." Fill in the blanks with words that feel right for you.

I'll go over some of the main measurements you’ll need when getting fitted for most clothing. If you’re getting something like a suit, you’d need a few additional measurements, but these basics should cover you for most items. These measurements will help you compare against size charts online or input specific details for custom clothing. For custom garments, like the ones I create, your exact measurements determine how the piece is made to fit your body.

Taking Measurements of the Chest

First, we’ll start with the chest. For me, this involves taking the tape measure behind my back and ensuring it’s parallel to the floor. You want the tape to be straight—not sagging or slanted. Wrap the tape around the fullest part of your chest. For me, that’s where my nipples are, but it might be different for you. The key is to measure where the majority of the tissue is. This applies regardless of gender presentation. The same spots are measured; the body parts may just be referred to differently.

Next is the ribcage, or what’s sometimes called the "underbust" when buying bras. To measure this, take the end of the tape with the zero, hold it to your body, and wrap the rest of the tape snugly around. It should be tight enough to stay in place but not so tight that you’re holding your breath or distorting your natural shape. Note where the zero meets the other end of the tape, and that’s your measurement.

Common Questions

One common question is about how I gauge measurements without attaching the end of the tape to the start. The trick is to hold the zero end firmly against your body while wrapping the tape around. It’s tight but not constricting. This ensures accuracy without over- or under-measuring. For example, when I measure my ribcage, I breathe naturally and avoid pulling the tape too tight or leaving it loose.

The waist measurement can be confusing because it’s often referred to differently in men’s and women’s clothing. Your natural waist is usually the smallest part of your torso, located around where your body bends when you lean to the side. This is about two inches above the belly button for most people. To find it, bend to the side and locate the crease. Measure snugly without sucking in or holding your breath.

Measuring Hips and Lower Body

When measuring for pants or underwear, you’ll encounter terms like "high hip," which is where lower-rise pants or underwear typically sit. This can be misleading, as some men’s pants labels call this the waist. To measure, wrap the tape around this area, ensuring it’s parallel to the floor. You can do this over form-fitting clothing but avoid bulky items like hoodies or pants with full pockets.

For the low hip, measure around the fullest part of your buttocks. Keep your legs close together and ensure the tape stays parallel to the floor. If you’re doing this alone, use a mirror or feel for the tape’s alignment in the back to avoid uneven measurements. This is easier with help but manageable solo.

Special Considerations

Some garments, like gaffs or binders, require specific considerations. For binders, avoid measuring over a padded bra or another compression garment. This could skew the measurements and result in an ill-fitting product. Similarly, if measuring for a binder, wear a thin T-shirt or nothing at all to get an accurate sense of your body’s natural dimensions. The compression calculations are based on raw body measurements, so any added layers can affect the final fit.

The term "girth" might come up, especially for bodysuits or specific garments. Girth is the measurement around your torso, running from one shoulder, down between your legs, and back to the starting point. This measurement is uncommon but useful for items like leotards or bodysuits.

Using Measurements for Shopping

When shopping, especially online, look up the brand’s size chart to match your measurements to their sizes. Many brands have unique size charts, so doing a bit of research beforehand can help you find a better fit. For in-person shopping, you might ask store staff for assistance or look up their charts on your phone.

For bras, swimsuits, or items that might include padding or prosthetics, measure with the forms if you plan to wear them consistently. If you want versatility, measure without forms and choose stretchable materials that can accommodate both options.

Gussets and Tailored Details

A gusset is the piece of fabric in the crotch area of underwear or swimwear. Its size can determine whether the garment accommodates certain anatomies comfortably. For example, trans femme individuals might prefer wider gussets for better fit and comfort. Knowing what works for your body and referencing brands that suit your needs is essential.

Final Tips

As you take measurements, write them down and keep them handy—on your phone, for instance. This allows you to reference them when shopping. If you’re looking for plus-size or non-binary clothing, we have some great links at the end of this video.

Lastly, finding gender euphoria through clothing is a journey. Bridging the gap between joy and presentation takes time, so don’t feel rushed. Start with pieces that feel good, and let your wardrobe evolve naturally.

Yeah, okay, which I think that we will get more into in the next few minutes so if you have any questions about that feel free to pop them into the chat. 

Measurement Questions From The Chat

Is there a way to find measurements for higher waisted clothing possibly above the belly button plus size without going custom? For that you'll want to use the waist measurement depending on where the height of the clothing sits, usually high-waisted clothing will sit at the natural waist, so that's the measurement you're going to want to use for anything. Yeah, you don't always need to go custom if you can find brands that are size-inclusive and fit you well.

Torrid is a really good example. They're a pretty mainstream brand that has a lot of selections and do really good plus sizes. 

Oh, this comment is perfect! Girth- think of a pageant sash that goes along your neck but instead of resting on your hip it's going through your crotch. Yeah, that's that's actually exactly what it is. That's a fantastic visual for that! Great. 

If something comes up for anyone later on, the practicality of taking measurements feel free to ask me. So now we're going to go into practical wardrobe building tips, yeah! And also you guys have amazing answers, so fantastic all right! So these tips are going to be applicable to people in the process of experiencing changes, whether that's from HRT or all those other reasons that our bodies fluctuate over time like we mentioned.

Shall we move on to the next section? 

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR BUILDING AS TRANS WARDROBE

So now we’re going to go into practical wardrobe building tips. These tips are going to be applicable to people that are experiencing changes, wether that’s from HRT or bodies fluctuating over time. And it's important to note that elements of our non-medical transition and of course one of the non-medical elements that we're talking about can be gender euphoric garments. 

But also we can talk here about like prosthetics, legs, electrolysis things like that. Many things can complement a medical transition and they can also be legitimate on their own, so there's no real need to couple them together. It’s really like we were saying, a pick and choose your own adventure.

So one fantastic way that we can use binders and gaffs and other kind of non-medical devices like that in clothing is to see yourself more actualized in a future version. For example, if you have this vision of yourself that's had top surgery, you can still hold on to that wonderful image and say like, 'oh this is my goal one day' for whatever reasons I might not be there yet or I'm still waiting for that. 

Using these strategies in the meantime can help like as stepping stones along that path and they don't always need to be forever and some people do want to use binders or trans tape for example for all of their lives and they choose not to get medical intervention so just like really holding space for all of those different paths to euphoria. 

Yeah I love this idea of like an intermediate period and like there's, there's so many wonderful ways that we have access to care now, and I hope that we still keep having access to care. That when we blend together these different strategies, that's when we get the most unique presentations. I'm starting to see that more and more now, there's not just one way of transitioning.

CREATING DIFFERENT SILHOUETTES

Okay, so we're going to go into some practical tips for creating different silhouettes. Again, we're talking about masculine and feminine, but feel free to use words that work better for you. Not everyone wants to have these certain silhouettes, so grain of salt again.

So, when we're building a wardrobe that's more tailored around a femme presentation, here are some things that you can start to look for in the clothing pieces themselves that will accentuate the classical style of clothing. And then we're going to go into some practical tips for creating a feminine look. 

So, there's a difference between a dress shirt or a formal shirt, like a button-down, that's made for men and one that's made for women. You definitely want to look for things that are going to accentuate your body. I'll stand up again for a second.

They’ll have tucks and darts, which are little kinds of triangles of sewing. You’ll see them usually right here and maybe at the waistline, and those are to create curves in an item that’s generally flat. It's opposed to a men's dress shirt, which is made to make your shoulders seem flatter and wider and more boxy. So, this is a subtle difference you can look for when you're buying clothing. 

Shoulder pads in the shoulders. I love these; they've got a fun nickname, and I can't remember what it is anymore—someone should tell me in the chat if they remember. But something that's not a raglan—a raglan is when it's cut like this. This is like when there's like a... this can be really great for broad shoulders. Yeah, thank you. In like making the shoulders seem less wide. As well, A-lines are really, really fantastic for creating this hourglass, if that's the shape that we're going for.

Three-quarter length also is really great for minimizing height. So, in both skirts and pants, wearing something that's not all the way to the floor is fantastic. Accentuated waistlines—like I said, if you're into vintage clothes and thrifting, using those 50s styles to accentuate right at that waist like we were talking about. 

I mean, shapewear is another great example of this, as it is made to create that hourglass figure. If you're someone who's already using hip pads and breast forms, you're probably familiar with clothing that fits that shape and how we can modulate and affect the body to create more of that shape. As well, to create kind of openness in the front body, depending on what you've got going on for breast and chest tissue, a really deep V can be really flattering.

What I would say to avoid is a boat neck, which is the one that kind of comes across here, because that will make your shoulders look wider. I just love a deep V—any gender, deep V, fantastic. Flat chest deep V? So good. So, here are some other things... on the other side of the binary, let’s call it. 

Looking at if you want to masculinize the way that you are perceived for yourself and others. So, we want to look at shirts that are a little bit shorter. I know as transmasculine folks, we always want to have these big baggy shirts. Try to find ones that are going to cut right at the belt line of your jeans. Take them up a couple of inches.

And this has become much more in fashion these days, so you can find a lot of shirts that are already like this. But you can even just cut a couple of inches off the bottom. Personally, I don't even think you need to hem them. That's totally your call, but I think it looks great without. Like someone was mentioning raglans before—a raglan is a shirt where the seams go across here. 

Like a normal t-shirt, the seam is on this shoulder, right? And it's like a baseball tee. So, a baseball tee style is really, really great for making your shoulders seem wider and your chest seem broader. A raglan. Boxy fits again. So, finding brands that make more of a square shirt or sweater or whatever you're going for, and you'll see that the shoulder seams fit a little bit wider. 

You’ll see that they’re more straight cut, like a high neck, like what I’m wearing. This is just kind of a standard t-shirt, but a nice high neck can also really help with that. It creates this line where this part of your body seems more angular rather than something that has a lower neckline. Like we were talking about with the shirts before, you want to avoid something that's darted if possible. It does, subconsciously, really signal femininity in this weird way. It's such a small difference in the way a shirt is cut.

But if you see a woman’s dress shirt, it does flare out at the hips, and that can be a big tell. But we might not notice that if we're just thrifting and we're like, "I picked up this shirt because I love it." So, yeah, just keep an eye out for subtle things like that in the way things are constructed. Yeah, shirts are so long, you tuck them into your pants and then pull them up a bit. That’s also a fantastic idea. Then you don’t have to cut them. Yeah. Okay, this is something that I am also guilty of: a smaller, more fitted shirt will actually make for a more masculine look than a baggy, oversized look.

I know that everyone loves this baggy, oversized look, and it looks fantastic. But if you want to make your body look a little more masculine, something that doesn’t have to be super, super tight—I know this is tempting for people who bind. 

Also, they want something that kind of hides their chest, but something that falls flat and isn’t skin-tight is actually going to make it less obvious that you’re wearing a binder. Straight cut jackets are another fantastic piece. A jacket is really built to overemphasize the shoulders. And I mean, of course, some of them have shoulder padding in them, so that’s always a fantastic piece to masculinize. Vertical panels, like, for example, a loose shirt over a tee.

Anything that adds this bulkiness in a vertical way really helps to build out the visual of the body. And there are so many good comments here. This is fantastic. Fake platform boots to hide height. Amazing. Yeah. Wearing things a little bit more fitted. I know it’s kind of magic. We were taught wrong. 

Love a shoulder pad. I mean, for anyone, honestly, a shoulder pad is having a moment. So, besides the masculinizing and feminizing, here are a couple of other things you can keep in mind. If you can afford it, having things tailored is really incredible, and it’s not as expensive as people think it is. Often, if you take your clothes to a dry cleaner, they’ll offer a service where they can tailor things, and it’s a lot more affordable than taking it to a tailor who does suiting.

Oh, my gosh. Hawaiian button-up shirts. I just got the best Hawaiian button-up that’s shorter. It’s short enough that it actually fits my body. It’s actually a square. It was the ultimate score. Yes, I love that. Having trans fashion inspiration rather than just consuming media that is straight and cis and doesn’t look like you—this is, for me, the most important takeaway from all of this. 

Like, find the people who are doing work, who are hiring people that look like you, who are creating things for people that look like you. We’re going to give you some great resources at the end of this and a fun little project where we can explore that a bit more.

But yeah, if you’re not seeing yourself reflected in the media around fashion, it’s just always going to create this distance of, "I’m never going to look like that." But there are people who are designing for the trans community more now than ever. As well as queers, we love thrifting. 

And thrifting is great because styles really change over the eras, right? So, if you have a particular aesthetic that works for your body, like, if you’re trying to feminize and that 50s cut really works for you, you might not find a lot of brands these days making that silhouette. But going thrifting will let you hone in on an era that works for your presentation and your body. You know, like the shoulder pad suits from the 80s.

Maybe that’s your grandpa aesthetic that you can lean into. People did, in a lot of different ways, have more defined silhouettes than we do now. So, yeah, yeah. Dad and grandpa style—they’re really coming back. 

Absolutely. And yeah, just finding brands that work with your body shape and sticking to them. Know where you can go where it’s not going to make you feel terrible. Okay. So, we’ve given you a lot of information. We’re going to let you guys let it sift down a little bit. If you have anything that you want us to expand on, from both those practical tips talking about different styles of clothing or questions around taking your measurements, questions around custom clothing, questions on where to shop. 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON TRANS FASHION

Rai Dang:

And we also have a resource on the—we're creating a, like, trans fashion inspo board on Pinterest that I can pull up in a second. But, Rae, if you want to take the questions in the Q&A box while I load that up, then I can get that set up afterwards.

Oh, of course. Yeah, definitely. I know some of you have to go now, and that's totally fine. Thank you for joining us. The unisex clothing idea is an interesting concept. Yeah, I have feelings about unisex clothing. Obviously, it can be fantastic. It can also be, like, weirdly dehumanizing.

Online and local shopping? Yeah, definitely. Like we talked about, if you know your measurements, shopping online is really great. You know, I don't love telling people that it's fantastic to buy things knowing that you might have to return them, but it is a benefit of buying online. 

Yeah, you'll get access to the next section, which is building some trends, inspiration vision boards. So that will be a part of what goes out after this. Absolutely, if you have to leave early. Yeah, Pinterest is really, really great for fashion inspiration. So Rae dropped the link in here. If y'all feel like you have the time and want to stick around and open that up, that is something that we can use together for this next section.

For customizing clothes, if we bring something in that we find from a thrift store or elsewhere, can they replicate it or extend that?

Rae Hill:
That's a great question. Some people will be able to. It totally depends on the garment and the skills of the person you're bringing it to. I would say someone who specializes in tailoring might be the best place to go. Replicating is definitely harder to find, especially if it's a complicated garment. 

And, like, this really depends on if you live in a big city and if there are people who have that skill set. But it is possible. Absolutely. I used to do that. People used to send me, like, Halloween costume ideas or, like, bathing suit ideas. And I would just, from one picture, recreate it. And it was a lot of work. And I don't do it anymore.

Yeah. Okay. So this person is also looking for a particular size of clothing. I can't find any clothing except at drag queen stores that I found online. I would say if it's possible and accessible for you, then custom fit might be the way to go. I would be happy to help you out with that. 

But I know that there are a lot of other brands as well who offer sizing outside of that. So if you're looking for something that's, like, kind of their standard sizing system, that's always something that I'm happy to design for. It really depends on what you're looking for, obviously, because I'm a bit niche. Cool. I forget if we tackled the question in the Q&A boxes.

That first one around this person saying that they default to masc presentation, but they're tired and it's what they have the most of. They haven't felt gender euphoria, save for the moments they appreciate when they style their thrifted skirts. Right. How can they bridge this gap to feeling joy in dressing before wearing clothes or considering replacing more parts of their wardrobe?

Yeah. Honestly, from my experience, both personally and in my work, I think undergarments can be really fantastic for that. It's something that people on the outside don't really always have an idea of what's going on underneath your outer layer. So I hear this a lot, actually, from people who want to try, like, tucking for the first time. It's something that only you know is happening for the most part.

If you're in, like, a work scenario or just out on the street. So it's something that you could try out and then have your masc-presenting clothes on the outside and just try out how that feels internally—having, like, kind of this protection but also knowing that what's closest to you, internally, is more of a reflection of yourself. Just kind of checking in about how that feels and maybe buying different pieces to affirm that are hidden.

Right. Next one is, if you just started using hormones, how often should you check your sizes? Do you have any suggestions? Yeah. I mean, that's really going to be individual as well in terms of, like, what your dosage is and just your body.

I know people who, like, every month have a different size, and they'll kind of go through growth spurts, too. I think that's quite common at different, like, times in your hormone use. So at the beginning, I know that you're going to kind of form pretty quickly. For me, my size went a lot bigger really quickly and then kind of dropped down and then kind of slowed down. And I think that's common for quite a few people. So I would imagine, like, in the beginning, yeah, I mean, it's really personal. But maybe every month or so if you're getting custom clothes made.

Another thing that's important to note about that is if you're getting custom clothing, there's usually a bit of a wait time because it's not pre-made, right?

Like, for example, if you're getting clothing through me, it's about four weeks while we create the garment. So you can send in your measurements and have something made. And then, when it gets closer to the time when, like, we actually make that garment for you, you can re-measure and update your measurements. I know that I'm always happy to do that for people. And if you are doing custom, other brands might be willing to as well.

I know that I'm always happy to do that for people. And if you are doing custom, other brands might be willing to as well. Also, I just wanted to add a little bit to the first question that I had, that you had answered. When you're talking about having more masc presentation clothing and not having things that feel more gender euphoric, that's something that I face a lot, actually, sometimes.

And also, when it gets cold too, you kind of just want to bundle up, which, you know, you just want to feel comfortable. But, you know, if you are someone who enjoys or wants to experiment with jewelry, I would highly, highly recommend jewelry as a place to experience different types of gender-affirming feelings or euphoria, even within the same outfit. 

Like, you could wear your baggy pants and a long t-shirt, and that might feel like a masc presentation for you. But then, if you throw on hoop earrings, then you're kind of like, you're kind of switching it up, you know? Or if you're having danglies, or if you have a necklace or a choker, you know, those small little things can really change how an overall outfit looks.

It's like, if you don't have clothing that feels affirming, think about the accessories that feel affirming.

I would even say things like dyeing your hair, even if it's a natural color or something that kind of, quote-unquote, suits your gender that people are perceiving you as. Like, you'll know that there's a subtle difference, and it might just give you kind of that boost of confidence, but it's still quite hidden.

This person said, "How can you find which clothes make you feel euphoric, especially if your existing clothing has previously been limited to t-shirts and jeans?"

Yeah, I mean, it's expensive to try to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. So honestly, I would say, find a place that has pretty accessible styles in a range. And I mean, thrift stores are so good for that. Try to find one or two pieces that you're like, "I don't really know, maybe this is me." But it's not so much of an expense that it's really going to harm you financially if it turns out to not be the right thing. 

But that experimentation is really important right at the beginning. So I like to pick up something and wait until I get it home and kind of—I mean, you can try it on as well when you're shopping—but wear it around a little bit and be like, "What comes up in my body as I'm feeling this?"

Like, what is it like to style with other pieces? You know, sometimes something might feel really feminine, but if you put a dress over pants, it might feel different for you. Or put a jacket over it. You know, there are lots of different ways of playing around with it. So I would just say, play as much as possible in a place that feels safe for you.

I would also say—I mean, some places, some cities have little communities like queer communities that do clothing swaps. They have queer and trans communities that do clothing swaps. That is one of the best places to go because I feel like we change and evolve every three months. And so if you go to a clothing swap, you can get somebody's entire wardrobe basically there.

This person said a lot of femme clothing they get has this extra space by the armpit to accommodate breasts, they suppose. Being AMAB, this kind of gives their tops a bat-wing appearance. Is there a style cut or a measurement they should be aware of to get more form-fitting tops, especially around the armpit?

Yeah. I'm imagining that you're talking about maybe a tank top that has a bit of gapping here. Am I reading that question correctly? Or maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong if you're talking about a long-sleeve. I mean, tailoring is always a really great thing. If you find a piece that you're super in love with and you don't want to give up—

Okay, you're thinking about long-sleeve stuff. Then, I mean, if it is—

Yeah. If it is something that you really want to invest in, you're like, "This is the shirt I need to have," you can definitely have it tailored because that's something that's taking away the material to make it fit more smoothly and flat. And that's quite an easy tailoring process.

If you were like, "I want to make more room," that's something that's a lot more challenging to do.

But there are probably going to be a lot of other styles out there. So yeah, just look for things that already sit flat. Mostly, you're going to want to be looking for stretchy fabrics. Because stretchy fabrics don't need to use that same type of tailoring to accommodate for different chest sizes. So yeah, if you're looking for clothing, something that is just a flat front that will expand to accommodate, that should get rid of some of the gapping on the sides.

Cool. How do you find femme clothing for tall and broad shoulders?

Femme clothing for tall and broad shoulders is really about—it's dependent on the styles that you like. Finding brands that maybe specialize in that look or aesthetic.

Tall is really like, if you're not going custom, just finding a brand—like off the top of my head, I know H&M is like a taller brand. So you might have to do a little bit of experimentation. 

Again, like doing this on the cheap is like going to clothing swaps and thrift stores and finding things that fit you, and then going to those stores. Broad shoulders—again, if you use something that has stretch materials, you don't have to worry about that. You don't have to worry too much about where the seam is hitting. So looking at something that's like a softer material is helpful. I think in general, it's just like stretch materials are going to be a lot easier for people whose bodies are shifting and changing.

Any tips for a trans feminine NB with the body shape of Danny DeVito?

Danny DeVito. Okay, so we're looking at, like, I'm assuming, shorter and wider shapes. I'm trying to recall DeVito specifically. Trans femme clothing—there are going to be a lot of things that you can buy and then tailor. Because again, when you're taking material out of clothing, if you're making it shorter, that's really, really easy to alter. So again, if you have something you love, just take it to a tailor and make it shorter.

Yeah, someone who has a bigger middle section—again, stretch materials are really great for that. An empire waist, that's something that sits right here, can be really nice and flattering.

It's totally dependent on your personal style. Like if you want dresses, that can be really cute, and something that's really flowy. If you want something a bit more fitted, you could also go the opposite way and do a big jacket that's really cute on top of something more femme.

I think that's really flattering, and it kind of evens out and "square-ifies" the shape, if that's more the silhouette that you're going for.

And I would say, like, one last thing too is: you fit in the clothes. The clothes fit on you. You don’t fit into the clothes. I say this is something that I came across when I was gaining a lot of weight. I was trying to fit myself into smaller sizes, where I tried to hold on to the smaller size pieces. Because I was like, at some point, hopefully, I'll lose weight.

That's not really reasonable. It's not really reasonable to expect necessarily. And so having to make the adjustment to find the clothing that does fit your size does make you look a lot better overall. It also makes you feel and look a lot more confident too, when you're wearing things that fit you properly. 

Like we were saying, our styles change, our bodies change constantly, and it can be a lot of upkeep. But absolutely, dress for the body you have now. Because we don’t know what it’s going to be like, and it’s not the same as it was before. And that’s totally fine.

This person had a question around how soon you feel body changes when starting hormones. This isn’t a fashion-specific one, but I can still give a little answer because I’m on T too.

Yeah, again, it’s really dose-dependent. My experience has been on, quote-unquote, a half dose. But I would say for most people, the majority of the changes are happening within about the first six months.

It’s really quite a different timeline. And also, depending on the hormone body changes—if I were to guess, and this is like, I’m not a medical professional—are not going to happen in the first two or three months probably.

And then changes obviously can keep happening for years down the road.

Yeah, I’d say the most notable changes will happen around the three-month mark—or not noticeable as in "oh, you’re there already," but noticing some shifts happening. Shifts starting to happen.

Yeah. Shifts will happen between the one- to three-month mark. And for hormones, it could really go not just on the one year, but it could really go to five years before you have the full effects. And sometimes you even get more beyond that.

It really is body-dependent. It’s also genetics-dependent. It depends on the type of dose that you’re taking. Is it injections? Is it a patch? Is it a gel? Yeah, sometimes your body interacts with them differently.

And so, yeah, I would say, take your time. And if you do want to do that—like measuring, you know, if you are wanting to keep up on body measurements, I’d say do it once a month. If you want to do that, once every two months, if you’re wanting to get accurate sizes.

This next question is: do you have any tips for someone in a red state who wants to dress cool enough to be clocked by the community, but not cool enough to be clocked by those against me?

I’m Canadian, so I don’t know if I am qualified to answer that question. I am not in a red state. But you know what? People on Reddit probably know that. And I find the resources of people who are in similar positions, whether that’s people in your community that you can reach out to or, yeah, just trying to access more information on forums.

There was just one question that we skipped over earlier that I think is really important to answer, and I want to make sure that we go back to it. It’s from Sabrina, and it’s about apple-shaped bodies. And it’s more measurement-specific. So, do you mind if I go back to that one before we end?

Okay. So, this person is saying, "I find the measurement process to be trickier because I have an apple-shaped body."

So, I don’t know your pronouns, Sabrina. "I have wide shoulders, narrow hips, and about the same size. Sorry, narrow hips about the same size as my waist. My fat collects in my belly, so when I measure myself, I worry that it can create a false number. Is this more of an issue to be fixed by tailoring or adjusting how I measure myself?"

This is actually really important. This is something that I get a lot, and it’s something I design around a lot. So, I did want to make sure that I go back to it.

You don’t need to take your measurements any differently. What I would say is that having good custom-fit stuff will be more important depending on—I want to say—the intimacy of the garment. Like, the tighter it fits to your body, the more chances that you’re not going to get a great fit because you need to have more specificity.

You want to take your measurements exactly the same. This is what I tell people when they’re sending in their measurements: when I say, "This is usually the biggest part of the body," sometimes it’s not, but you still want to use those same level markers. Like, you know, where the natural waist is, even if the biggest part of your body is between your high hip and your waist.

And you could leave a message—for example, if you were getting something made by me, you could leave a message and be like, "Actually, around my belly button is the biggest part." But for us to be able to customize a garment, making sure that you’re still using the same standards will allow us to input it into our system for creating a piece.

Of course, you can have things tailored that are going to fit your body better afterward, but that’s just the technical side of it if you’re sending your measurements to someone.

So, yeah, I hope that makes sense.

There’s one question around, "Do you have any tips or suggestions for trans fem folks who are looking to tuck and their size is bigger?"

Yeah, definitely. Finding brands that make your size. I offer three gusset widths, which include a standard middle-of-the-road one. There’s a narrow one, which is what you’d normally find in traditional cis women’s underwear. And then there’s a larger size.

So, for people that have more going on downstairs, there’s more flexibility in the way that you can customize that garment. I don’t know of a lot of other places that do that, but there are probably brands of gaffs that already make them a little bit wider.

Again, you might just want to go for a little bit of a wider size. You can go on a forum like Reddit or something and see if other people have had the same experience, and maybe you can get some other information around other brands that would work for them.

I would also be happy to create the things that you need, obviously. But yeah, I’m sure that there are lots of other brands that are going to be on the larger side.

Well, the last question in the Q&A is, "Are there any trans-focused brands you’d recommend?" They said they love Origami Customs, but they can’t just go out wearing their gaff.

Totally. That makes sense. You need something on top of it.

I think that’s actually a perfect segue because we have created a resource for you guys.

So, we created a Pinterest board of trans brands and trans models, which—you know—we might have made some assumptions in looking at these things.

I think it’s very queer and trans-focused. Yeah. So, I’m just going to put that here.

But yeah, we really know that there aren’t a lot of resources out there to try to find a unique style that feels trans and reflective of your identity. We wanted to leave you with the exploration activity, if you choose it, to kind of go through this and see if anything resonates with you. See if you’re finding people who look like you or what you want to look like.

See if you’re finding styles that you’re like, "Wow, I never would have imagined that on myself. But maybe I can try to find this particular piece when I’m out looking next. Maybe this silhouette could flatter my body." We did try to get a good range of body styles and identities.

We did try to get a good range of body styles and identities. It’s not exhaustive, obviously. So we’re also hoping that you folks might want to help other people who have seen this, and other people who can access this, by, of course, adding anything that you would like to it.

But yeah, we really wanted something that could exist in the world in a collaborative way to help you explore more as just one tool. And of course, if you’re seeing models and brands here that you like, then you can go to the pin and find out more about that brand. I added some of my favorite trans brands that you’ll see throughout.

And then, yeah, we do also have a list of resources in link format that can give you some more ideas as to where to start.

If you’re looking to get more information, there are a lot of really good blog articles that go a little bit more in depth. There are a couple of lists that have other trans brands. There’s a little bit more writing about what we’re talking about today.

And then, of course, there are both of our websites, and there is the more in-depth video on how to measure yourself.