Fashion!

[Tove]

I'm AMAB and non-binary.  And I LOVE fashion.  Before coming out, I kept up on the world of men's fashion and made sure all of my finery was tailored and up to date.

Now that I'm out, I have found tons of fashion advice for how to look femme, but not how to look NB.  When I've researched it, I've either seen AMABs like me who dress very femme or AFABs that dress very masculine.

Any ideas where I can get fashion tips for looking NB as well as fabulous?

[suzifrommd]

Wish I could help, Tove. Unfortunately I'm not the one to give fashion advice. I'm all about what looks good on my and I can't be bothered to keep up with what's in and what's not, though I have a huge respect for those that do.

My suggestion is to be an androgynous trendsetter. Find stuff that looks good on you and wear it about town. Experiment and enjoy the journey and when you find something you're proud of, share some pics on https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,98870.0.html.

[Laura_7]

There should be lots of advice for an androgynous style...

and you might even look into groupes where clothes are self tailored... like role play groups...

there are many very interesting styles there, and you might adapt some of them.


hugs

[Drake]

Unfortunately I can't send you anywhere for advice either, but I love fashion myself. Being AFAB I sort of came from the other direction, and what I do is watch the trends for both genders somewhat and mix it up by the day's mood and experiment with what kind of look I like on myself at any given time. Sometimes it gets more masculine, sometimes more femme, and often a bit of both. (And sometimes just gender-neutral lazy, haha)
It can be an ongoing thing to have to figure everything out for yourself, and what works to what effect, and while that can be annoying, it also gives you more freedom, doesn't it? I think in a way it's lucky that there are no ironclad rules and styleguides for what absolutely does and doesn't work for this or that type of androgynous.

[jasonmary]

Look up Elliot Alexzander. He's genderfluid and dresses femme and is sooo hot. Alexzander's look may not be exactly what you're looking for, but he is absolutely my favorite fashioniste in the whole world! He's my idol and has exactly the expression I want to have.

There are lots of other genderfluid and nonbinary models out there. I would do a google search specifically for "nonbinary fashion" or "androgynous fashion." messing around with style and presentation is so fun. a short skirt and heels paired with a less femme top is a good look, flowy cardigan/shawl type things are androgynous fashion essentials, they give that body line that says "I'm neither one nor the other" while still looking classy.

[emerry]

It can be an ongoing thing to have to figure everything out for yourself, and what works to what effect, and while that can be annoying, it also gives you more freedom, doesn't it? I think in a way it's lucky that there are no ironclad rules and styleguides for what absolutely does and doesn't work for this or that type of androgynous.

LOL, yes.

I'm AFAB, and I had the exact same but opposite problem myself. Namely, I didn't like the NB fashion tips for AFAB people, because they seemed too masculine for me. I didn't like all the "tough guy" kind of thing, and binding. What I found was that "effeminate/androgynous male" style was it. So for example, rocker style, the trend with shapeless flowery sweaters, small-clevaged tops, but also nice button ups. Gererally, well groomed. So, you may try the tomboy, sportsy women's style? There's a lot of cute clothing I used to wear before I decided to "come to the dark side" that isn't too femme. Mixing both gendered shop sections looks cool too. You just find pieces of clothing you like and don't care about the department. You may also try specific styles, like hippie, rock, surfing, the simple-and-smart...

All the best 

[Kaelin]

I hope it's not too late to jump in.

One possibility is to mix things up.  It took forever, but I finally found a couple skirts I'm good with, and they've got enough presence/meat to them that they'll pair decently with male-ish and unisex shirts (and I may still wear male-shoes with some informal fine jewelry).  Male-ish pants with female-ish tops are an option, if that's something you can swing (it's not my scene).

If your core outfit strongly leans one way, you may be able to use your shoes, hair, or jewelry to push things in another way.  If your core outfit is already mixed, then you've got some more flexibility with the secondary items.

You don't necessarily have to present as a perfect blend every day.  If you see a lot of the same people semi-regularly, it's okay to lean one way or another some days and build a reputation as someone not attached to one side.

As mentioned earlier, you are going to have to develop your own fashion.  It's not going to work every day, but the more you practice it, the more you'll know what works for you.

[CarlyMcx]

Look up Vice Ganda, Filipino film star and television personality.  He is probably one of the wealthiest and most famous genderqueer, non binary people on the planet.  He nominally identifies as a gay male, but has played straight female and transgender roles in film.  His style is, to say the least, unique.

[Lyric]

Well, if you can learn fashion as quickly as trendy TG buzzwords and abbreviations, you'll have this down quickly. Being androgynous benefits from as much creativity and flair as you can muster. Dressing depends upon the occasion, of course, but it's best to cultivate an reputation for being a bit avant garde. The big advantage of this is you give yourself more freedom and concern yourself more with what interests you than whats in fashion. Find some things that interest you-- retro stuff, steampunk, whatever-- and start from there.

In the last few years I've given myself a pretty good education in fashion by what I call my piggyback method. It's fun to watch celebrities. Those people have the best clothing stylists in the world picking their clothes out for them. Pick a celeb who's photographed a lot and follow her fashion from week to week (I often use Google Image Search). You'll see her not only dressed up for red carpet events, but in her day-to-day street clothes. I find those the most useful. You don't have to buy their designer brand stuff, of course, just use their combinations as inspiration.

I actually follow over a dozen celebs that way, whose style often fits my own tastes to some degree. I keep a computer folder labeled by the year and fill it with celeb and other fashion ideas I like. Each folder ends up with hundreds of pics. I now have a very good idea of the color combinations and style types I like.

Of course, another good thing is to snap a pic of yourself now and then when trying stuff on to compare with your style models to spot what works and what's a boo-boo.

Oh, here's a good website to check often: http://outfitidentifier.com/