Gendering Clothing Doesn’t Help.

By: Kristin Schillings

Thrift stores end up with more clothing than they can sell. That ends up in our landfills, and in increasingly large piles of textile waste around the world. 

Despite the excellent marketing campaigns of fast fashion, the truth is, we don’t need more clothing made. We need to use the clothing we have.  

Pretending that clothing needs to be gendered limits ways clothing can be reused.  

I’m an average-sized cis woman. My favorite pair of pants (found at a clothing swap) are “men’s” khakis.  They fit great. They have real pockets. Why would I limit them as men’s? Or worse, not try them on?  

Baby and kids clothing is a pet peeve. One dad went viral on TikTok for his rant about the choices available for his little girl.

High heels - a hallmark of femininity - began as a trend in male fashion. Rules about who should wear what are arbitrary.

So expand your search! Remember that clothing is fabric. There’s nothing inherently male or female about it. We make up the rules. Wear what makes you feel like you!  

Come experiment at our Clothing Swap at Hi-Wire in Durham on Sunday, 5/26/24

Tell us about your experiences at the intersection of gender & clothing, we’ll add it to this blog!  

Email: CircularTriangleNC@gmail.com or send us a message on the social medias.