Queer-eye for the straight woman

[LoriO]

OMG, I normally HATE shopping, but I don't think I have ever had so much fun shopping as I did today. I went to the mall to find some new clothes for vacation next week (sunny Florida here I come!!) and stopped in to check out a new store there.

It is a store for plus size woman because I found that is one of the few stores that carry nice shirts and blouses that will fit my shoulders and chest.

Well I walk in and get greeting immediately by the clerk on duty. I was a little wary at first about it being a guy, but as he talked, he was very open about being gay and also being a drag queen..oh and one that does comedy!!

Due to the snowstorm here in CT, the mall was empty so he was thrilled to have a "live doll" to play dress up with. I still start laughing everytime I think of him refering to my boobs as "the girls" I have zero fashion taste and told him that and just let him pick outfits out for me. Man he had incredible fashion sense!!

Seriously, I wish more stores had guys like that working there. I swear I am going to go back and kidnap him next time I need to go clothing shopping.

[Zen]

OMG, I normally HATE shopping

I hear you thereI hear you there

Seriously, I wish more stores had guys like that working there.

Instead of skinny college girls who are busy making after work plans and thinking godknowswhat about us
When I lived in Fort Lauderdale I had a gay guy friend who loved to take me shopping. It may be a stereotype but he did have a great fashion sense.

[shootingstar]

I'm sure some of you have worked in similar workplaces..places where there are highly paid professionals and outfits to match.

It floored me the few guys, probably straight, who would spend tons of money on 1 suit with leather shoes that were always polished.

Meanwhile we're drooling over the $80.00 cycling jersey..oh wait, that guy probably has expensive sports gear too.

Where I work now, being fashionable..is wearing a hardhat, safety boots and having a body arrest/safety harness looped around your body.

[LoriO]

I'm usually either in a uniform for work , jeans and grubbies for the barn, or work out clothes. Fashion? What's that??? It was awesome shopping with someone that had a fashion clue!!!

[Mr. Bloom]

but as he talked, he was very open about being gay and also being a drag queen..oh and one that does comedy!!

I didn't know RuPaul worked in retail?

It floored me the few guys, probably straight, who would spend tons of money on 1 suit with leather shoes that were always polished.

Were you floored by the fact that they spent a fortune on the only suit they had...or that they had a collection of expensive suits?

All my suits come from Brooks Brothers (mid range $, but still quite expensive), but they'll probably get worn 200 times before being retired. My dress shoes generally cost about $300, but I have one pair of Johnston & Murphy's that are in their 10th year of wear (I've sent them back to the factory twice for refurbishment at a cost of $125 and they come out looking like new, but feeling comfortable they've been worn for years).

For me, work suits are a necessary expense, so I stick conservative and make them last as long as I can. On the casual side, I'm not quite as conservative, but my only wacky indulgence is socks - I LOVE crazy socks!

LoriO, it's great that you (and the girls) had such a fun experience. It's rare these days that anyone can actually have a good "retail service" experience...AND...I LOVE YOUR AVATAR!

[Tuckervill]

Men can get away with much more expensive clothes because they can wear them forever. I don't mind dropping serious coin on my husband's shoes. It's important that they fit well for those long days on the convention floor (even though he only does that once or twice a year). I think it's a wonderful idea that they can be resoled! I have zero shoes that can be resoled, except maybe my Birkenstocks.

Now that my hub does not wear suits to work anymore, we spend less on each piece (polos and slacks) than we did on suits, but we have to buy more often because they don't last as long. It's probably a wash, dollar wise. Because of his height we have to buy in specialty shops so that drives the cost of slacks up. He can be more fashionable this way (not that he cares!).

Karen

[Mr. Bloom]

Men can get away with much more expensive clothes because they can wear them forever.

Interesting issue: I've served on the boards of two organizations that have "clothing closets" for low income people.

They can NEVER get adequate men's clothes since men tend to wear things until they fall apart.

Every now and then, if you're at Wal-mart or Old Navy and see that rack with things that are too cheap to pass up (the $5 shirts, or $8 pants). Buy them and give them for the needy.

[carpaltunnel]

Mr. Silver, that's a really good idea.

It fits in with a recent experience I had. A friend's daughter is an ER nurse in a city teaching hospital. She told me that often they have to cut the clothing off a homeless person, ruining the clothing. Then they dismiss them in scrubs, which they feel is inadequate but all they have. She wondered if I could put together a few complete "outfits" - (pants, shirt, unders, sox) in ziplock bag kits for them to keep on hand to use.

I couldn't find much in my DH's closet that I thought was good enough because of the very reason you said.

I'm going to find some things on sales racks for her. THANKS MUCH for the compassionate idea

[Trek420]

When I lived in Fort Lauderdale I had a gay guy friend who loved to take me shopping. It may be a stereotype but he did have a great fashion sense.

Thank you Zen. Finally, someone recognizing this is a huge stereotype.

I'm speechless, which whether you only cyber-know me or know me IRL is rare for me but I'm surprisingly bothered by this. I realize it's all good but to wake up and before even my first cup of coffee see the Q word splashed in the title .... I dunno.

Maybe I'm over-reacting because after all it is TE and it's all good but ....

I'm glad you had a fabulous shopping experience and I'm thrilled that they guy is open and out. Also QEFTSG is an actual show, so it's not like you're calling anybody the Q word. It's a good pun. I like puns and plays on words

We all have stuff to teach each other. Their should be SGFTQG & QGFTSG & SGFTSG and.... I could sure need fashion tips.

This is a very personal thing. If you ask 1,000,000 gay folk you will get 1,000,001 responses (the extra one is me changing my mind. It's also generational and I love it that our younger generation often think nothing of the Q word and other terms. It's a breath of fresh air.

Personally I like the Q word vs. the alphabet soup of LGBTQ, and the general term Gay usually is taken to mean our awesome Gay men-folk and leaves us out. So I like the Q term. And I use it ... a lot .... around others who bat for my team. Because it's our word, and it's us, and in the tribe so to speak.

It's a completely different thing to hear from a straight person before my 3rd cup of coffee.

And slightly OT as these things tend to go, Mr. Silver (and any other men-folk on the board and/or women with opinions on this isue): what's with all the dark blue, gray, black? Why no bright colors?

I was just reflecting on this because where I work and live there are a lot of urban cyclists. Now the punks and goths and fixie riders all dressed in black because it's a style thang I can understand. And the folks with "no blood for oil" stickers on the bikes (a sentiment I agree with but not their fashion sense) We would not want to look cheerful or happy or like cycling's fun or anything, it's serious not fun no colors.

But your average working Joe, construction guys, working class. Whether he's on a bike due to the cost of gas or just trying fit a little work-out in. Why are they all to a man in black, gray or dark blue? OK, so you're in the East Bay and you're a Raider fan, you have the jacket. It comes in Silver too. It's reflective

So maybe we can't get folks to wear helmets but how about a nationwide movement to have men accept that colorful clothing can be manly!

I'm glad TE is here to provide a forum and an open place to discuss this. Long live TE

[Brandy]

So maybe we can't get folks to wear helmets but how about a nationwide movement to have men accept that colorful clothing can be manly!

There are three or four guys in my office that have embraced the pink shirts and purple shirts. I love it! My favorite was when our CEO had on a bright multi-colored striped shirt with several buttons not buttoned, one casual Friday. I told him he looked great and he seemed unsure, asking me if it was "too much"...lol.

Bring on the colors!

[Trek420]

There's an ad on TV, think it's Home Depot for a line of paint color choices that match your favorite college or pro football team. It shows the happy smiling guy gesturing at newly repainted room "Look! My living room matches the Green Bay Packers" My own personal idea of design he)).

My LBS guy, Chris at Robinson Wheelworks has faaaaabulous taste and a great eye. And he's as straight as they make 'em. When he repainted my commuter-mobile he put a tiny Mavic logo just so on the back top tube. It's just the right place and size.

Then he and his wrench debated the Lizard skins, he said it was juuuust the right touch of black, his wrench said no - it would not look right. A fight ensued, it rolled out into the parking lot, Chris is 6' somethin' and he won.

They put it on and the bike just pops.

His redesign of the shop was fabulous too, the tiny shop looks much bigger. I thought he'd somehow expanded and it was just a matter of moving things and bouncing light off color .... even little things like the parts display counter the parts are nestled in coffee beans! Which bounces the light and the shiny Campy bits just sing against dark espresso beans. Who'da thunk it?

His lucky wife and kid get the aesthetics of a designer with all the advantages of a big ol' great straight guy

I've long ago learned that if I bring the bike in for work and he says "It will look better with this, and work just as well as that" .... he's right.

So it's not as if straight guys can't have taste even in a Blue Park Tool work shirt.

But again, why all the black, blue and gray?

[Duck on Wheels]

Well sis, if it's any help, and if you've had another cuppa by now ... When I'm out shopping, which I usually don't enjoy, I'm thrilled to find anybody who knows what's in their shop, who it fits, what colors are likely to look good on them etc. and gives me good advice if I happen to stumble in there as a customer. In my experience so far, it's usually been a woman a few years older than me (which IS saying something!), but if it were a guy, straight or gay, I'd be good with that too. What I'm hoping here is that LoriO was impressed with this particular salesperson's professionalism and helpfulness. That he had a sense of humor was a welcome extra, and that his humor happened to be spoofing about his own sexual orientation, well ... that was his own choice, not hers to make, but fun enough when he made it. Maybe it's my insensitivity (I can be pretty dense) but while I thought she was treading close, I think she stayed on the right side of the stereotype issue. (Yep, they're wrong as often as right, which means they don't hold up statistically.) And the rest of the discussion went off in a very helpful direction: I need to go through my closet, pack up things that are still in good shape but that I'm not likely to use, and donate them somewhere they can find good homes. It'll help make room for what I bought on sale today (went out shopping for a new tea kettle, but came home instead with a knit suit at 75% off, charcoal gray, knee-length skirt with twirly pleats, long jacket with very long sleeves (YAY!) and a hood (?) but no pockets (). Actually, UK might want to borrow it for job interviews, but only if she gives it back.
BTW, remember warning your nephew about not wearing the rainbow beanie he'd had since he was 5 to his new HS? Well, he is one straight guy I would take along as a shopping advisor any day, if he were willing. Excellent fashion sense. Also good sense of design in other departments, such as which direction to lay the boards on the deck stairs. Not very patient with women shoppers, tho. His gf and I plan to leave him at REI while we hit the mall, come June.

[carpaltunnel]

Bring on the colors!

I just got home from shopping, where I saw a young - 17-ish - "Dude" sporting a pink T-shirt with the words (In black) All My Black Shirts Are Dirty".He was with his Mom & sister, and they looked like they were having fun!

[Trek420]

remember warning your nephew about not wearing the rainbow beanie he'd had since he was 5 to his new HS? Well, he is one straight guy I would take along as a shopping advisor any day, if he were willing. Excellent fashion sense. Also good sense of design in other departments, such as which direction to lay the boards on the deck stairs.

Yes, and if anyone were to say "well you cook, have good fashion and design sense ... you sure you're straight? "

He just stands up and up and up and says "Yeah, and you gotta problem with that?" then does a fingertip chin up.

Remember when I came out (to my sibs first) oh about '75 or so, I remember either you or BrotheroftheDuckonwheels saying that our mutual parents had asked if mutual brother might be batting for the other team. Brotheronwheels is very much on the Het side of the Kinsey scale but a slave to fashion. When pegging jeans was the thing he pegged his own, he dresses very well to this day, likes Native American massive jewelry and almost always dresses in black. Dayuhm he cleans up nice. I could learn a thing or two from him

So they thought he might be .... but he's not. BTW I also know G@y guys who I just love bunches but they don't have the fashion/design sense G*d gave lettuce.

So here he is with his grandson in a rare moment of color. Note for comparison purposes the Dad to the right; black tennis shoes with shorts? I think it's a fashion don't. Ladies (and Gent) whadya think? Can a guy wear colorful clothes or are we doomed to blue, gray and black?

Of course I'm not one to talk, the electricians are here, my power is off and I'm STILL in sweats.

So I'll keep de-cluttering. What I learned on QEFTSG is that if you haven't worn it in a year or more .... donate it. You probably will not wear it again. Bell bottoms have already been in style....twice. So another load of donations to the thrift store.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Most of the people I know wear all kinds of interesting colors and styles...both men and women, straight or gay/queer.
I'm not sure what the question is- *Is* there a question?
Maybe it's because I don't work in an office?

I tend to have quite a lot of black items...most biking tights, capris, etc are black. I then pair them with bold colored socks, neck gaiters, bright hats, etc. The black base color shows off the bright accessories' colors better.