If you love this shirt, please click on the link to buy it now: Official Swagged Out With Love Compassion Shirt Suiting worked precisely becauseIt wasn’t the kind of feminine, hourglass accentuating attireI associated with the male gaze. Most of the time while at work as a model, that’s whatI wore and, apparently,It was obvious thatIt made me uncomfortable. Even after years of experience,I recently got feedback from a client thatI should take a movement class. On the surfaceI wasInsulted, butI quietly hoped that a one on one with a coach might be able to dissolve my discomfort.In the end,I spent my entire session talking through the self consciousnessI was experiencing while modeling traditionally feminine fashion no exercises needed.
In the past, the most prominent feeling that arose whenI got dressed was discomfort.I never wore anything too “feminine” or revealing becauseIt attracted unwanted sexual attention from men.I also never wore anything too “masculine” out of fear that people might thinkI looked, well, gay. Tailored clothing, like my vintage men’s Armani blazers from the RealReal and Brandon Maxwell trousers from 11 Honoré, made me feel most powerful. Since those pieces were hard to findIn plus sizes,I even built my own brand of suiting, called Henning (now part of Universal Standard). These modest, structured, menswearInspired pieces were my armor.