Nightlife fashion queer guide

When I first met Miguel Caballero-Vazquez, an assistant professor in the Spanish and Portuguese department, he was wearing a crisp lavender button-down, straight leather pants, and Doc Martens.

But he told me that he swaps out his stylish and expensive clothes on the weekends to go out cheap. He experimented with the idea while exploring LGBTQ+ Chicago nightlife with his girlfriend of two years.

“When you’re surrounded by drag queens and asexual people, you’re like, ‘Okay, what am I doing here wearing my normal gay clothes?'” Caballero-Vazquez said. They think. Let’s be inspired by what’s happening around me.

Dressing up for going out looks very different in the LGBTQ+ community due to the history of queer fashion and subculture. It’s the dress. Everything For members of the NU community, hoping to make a mark for a veteran of the nightlife scene like Caballero-Vazquez, or for those at a house party you want..

Fashion and identity

Queerness and fashion are intrinsically linked. Caballero-Vázquez describes how queer children are frequently punished for experimenting with dress and sex—like a little boy trying on his mother’s heels. Therefore, he sees his sense of style as a bit of “revenge” or rebellion against normative pressures to adhere to gender roles.

Caballero Vázquez says: “One of the most important things for me – and I think for queers in general – is to develop a personal taste, not in a vain, but in a liberating, expressive way.

Caballero-Vázquez took inspiration from the 1970s, a time of queer liberation and exploration. From this period, he fell in love with style and became more aware of the politics and philosophy of the time.

To find vintage items, check out thrift stores. He usually goes directly to the ladies’ rooms and usually wears more women’s clothes, for example, for a night out.

“Being queer is hard because you’re often punished for being queer. You are always in a society that is not built for you. But at the same time, it gives us a lot of freedom because we don’t have to follow rules.

The connection between sincerity and fashion is seen as deliberate in SESP first year Malik Middleton’s fashion choices. He carefully looks at the clothes, trying to match the colors and patterns.

He said he appreciates clothes that require thought and coordination. “This is indicative of queerness,” he said.

Middleton takes time to question how clothes make him feel, thinking about how the clothes he wears fit into his gender identity.

Middleton developed more of his own style during college. Along with being surrounded by other young people trying to express themselves creatively on a college campus (he lives on South Campus), his sexuality offers freedom and creativity.

“If I was straight,” he said, “I would be boring.”

Sign and subculture

Queer style, however, is not always visible to the outsider. SESP sophomore Adrienne Scheide, known on campus as the “Pink Cage Girl,” described her signature feminism as queer in high school. On campus, she’s not sure everyone accepts that.

“It seems like something you don’t notice unless you’re in that community,” she said. “It looks like a secret club.”

That’s why so many use signification – specific styles adopted by the queer community to distinguish one another. This is especially important when trying to attract a special someone at night.

While stepping out, Middleton sports a typically masculine style, carrying plenty of feminine pieces. He uses his sister’s crop tops as rings and earrings to show off his elegance.

“I want to be warm on my vacation, but I want to go out and play,” Middleton said.

He described the added pressure he felt to dress well in specific queer spaces, such as clubs, which tend to be predominantly white. As a black, male queer man, he says he knows how race and queerness intersect.

As they venture into queer nightlife spots, he finds himself wondering, “Are there black people here? Am I part of the beauty of this universe? ”

Because of this double standard, the chances of writing will be higher. He feels that “turn your head” should be attractive.

A place to experiment with gender

A nightlife context where everyone dresses to impress gives queers a chance to experiment with their approach.

Scheid likes to emphasize her femininity to reclaim negative associations of weakness surrounding traditional “girly” beauty. For her, this night looks different.

“It’s an opportunity to feel myself outside of my traditional aesthetic and outside of people’s perceptions,” Scheidt said. “I want to play a feminine part. I want to go into it in a slightly more mature way.

Scheid keeps her signature pink aesthetic in a simpler way, relying on subtle feminine details in her clothes or makeup to express her femininity.

Weinberg third-year Chris Bell represents their style of non-binary gender approach and uses dressing up as an opportunity to play with gender.

“Sometimes I put on the nicest outfit and say, ‘Yeah, I’m giving someone away tonight.’ “I think it’s fun and not really thinking about whether it’s more feminine or masculine.”

Medill third-year Missy Scavongelli embraces her masculine side with her everyday fashion. Ever since she was a little girl, she always preferred androgynous, loose-fitting clothes.

For an evening, Scavongelli prioritizes comfortable clothes but strives to achieve a unified look. She goes for a crisp white t-shirt, dickies, and a nice pair of sneakers or oxfords.

“I feel more confident in being able to dress a man in a more formal context,” she said.

Questioning and reinterpreting masculinity poses challenges at times for Scavongelli. With clothes designed for the male body, it’s hard to feel good wearing the same clothes as a man.

Finding your style

Bell said the process takes time for newly out queer people who want to find their own style.

“I would definitely say try all kinds of things,” Bell said. “And I think a big part of that is making sure you’re having fun at the end of the day. The clothes we wear should be very interesting.

She recommends using Pinterest, looking at other people’s styles, and being hungry to experience your own beauty.

While Caballero-Vazquez has been out of step with the students he teaches, he’s still experimenting with his own style and identity.

He tells young queers that they may feel unsure about how to dress when they go out for the first time.

“You may find yourself out of place at first, that’s okay. Insist. Keep looking, keep exploring, keep trying, but think of it as a process. It’s a continuous evolution, a continuous change,” Caballero-Vazquez said.

Queer nightlife community

While developing a personal style takes time, queer communities on and off campus provide a space to learn and experiment.

Bell, who enjoys a very queer hyper-pop scene, likes to set up with his fellow punks because they all play nightly style.

“It’s great to sit down and sort out what we want the night to look like,” they said.

Caballero-Vázquez frequents Chicago’s “underground” queer scene — that is, parties held in art galleries or old speakeasies. He explained that it was a strange holiday.

One recent night, Caballero-Vazquez was standing alone at an underground queer party when his girlfriend and friends went to grab drinks. Thinking he was alone, one of the queens at the party approached him and asked if he knew anyone. He explained that it was the first time in the special place. Then she said, “Welcome home,” and pulled him aside to get to know him better.

Family safety and a queer nightlife community allow Caballero-Vazquez to feel comfortable experimenting with who he is and what he does.

“When you go to a club and dress creatively… you compliment each other. It’s time to realize how weird you are and how weird I am. It’s a way.” to see each other,” Caballero-Vazquez said.