Queering the Workplace – Suits, Pants, Tailoring

In the last installment of “Queering the Workplace,” we explored the practical aspects of wearing men’s fashion in the workplace, including specific examples of what to wear on top.  In this third installment, we’ll explore additional items in most any dapperQ’s work wardrobe – pants, suits, and that ever important (and often neglected) step of tailoring.

Pants:

We’re women.  Most of us are shorter than the average man, and some of us have more in the hips and butt area than the average man.  Finding men’s clothes to simultaneously fit our height and accommodate our hip and butt areas will be challenging. 

For all the aforementioned reasons, finding men’s pants that fit is one of my biggest challenges in maintaining a dapper wardrobe for the workplace.  I still have several pairs of women’s dress pants in my wardrobe.  Since I prefer the look of men’s pants and feel overwhelmingly more comfortable in them, however, my women’s dress pants don’t see the light of day often. 

When looking for men’s dress pants for work, I typically stay away from “boxy” or non-fitted styles.  Since I have more than average in the hips and butt, many styles of men’s pants only accentuate these attributes and actually make my hips and butt look larger than they are.  I realize that some dapperQs may prefer this type of fit, or even a more loose style fit of clothing.  For me, however, in order to feel comfortable and take attention away from the away from my hip and butt areas, I seek out slim fit pants.  Keep in mind – slim fit does not mean that you need to be small.  There are slim fit styles for almost every size.  The style is simply a matter of the parts of the body that the pants accentuate, or rather, don’t accentuate.

Zara Man's Cotton Trousers

Zara Man carries slim fit lines of clothing that I find usually fit my frame the way I like.  I didn’t realize that a slim fit line existed at any store until years after I had made the transition to wearing primarily men’s clothing.  I stuck to what I knew – a traditional men’s slack – which was not the best fit for my frame.  A word of advice: Take your time and try on several styles to see which feel best on you, even before you need to have any tailoring done.  Every men’s clothing store will have various styles, so bring several into the dressing room with you to see which styles fit your frame best, and most importantly, you feel the most comfortable. 

Getting men’s pants to fit us appropriately is the final step in the process.  Since many men’s pants are straight in the hip and butt areas as opposed to curved, I get most of my men’s pants tailored.  This may include getting the seat of the pants taken out and getting them hemmed.  Some stores carry pants that I rarely need to get tailored anywhere but in length.  Since I’m only 5’4” and a 28 – 30 inch inseam in men’s pants isn’t easy to find, getting my pants shortened is not a negotiable point.  I’ll discuss tailoring in the last section of this article. 

Suits:

In the suit department, many men’s suits look too boxy on me because of my frame.  For dapperQs who prefer this style, suit shopping in the men’s department typically won’t be a problem. I prefer a more fitted style, however. 

If you find a men’s suit that fits you off the rack, you may still need to get it tailored.  The shoulders and sides of the body are the areas that differ greatly between men’s and women’s suits.  Similarly to pants, if you have a typical woman’s build in the butt and hip area, you may need to have the bottoms adjusted as well.  When I find men’s suits that fit me, tailoring is always a critical step in the process of making sure it looks fantastic for the workplace.

Okay, so this was a Clark Kent/Superman Halloween costume, but the suit principles I discuss here still apply. After all, it can be argued that Superman is the most dapper of all superheroes!

A trip to the men’s suit department may not always yield positive results.  You may be able to find a men’s suit that is an appropriate size, but for shorter women or women with a smaller frame, finding a suit that fits can sometimes be challenging.  When a trip to the men’s department leaves me with no suit options, I often do one of two things: Buy a very dressy blazer and slack combo from the men’s department, which may be able to substitute for a suit in those less formal situations, or buy a women’s suit and get it tailored to a men’s cut. 

There are many women’s suits out there that aren’t frilly or overly feminine.  Many women’s suits have much shorter jackets than men’s suits and may not be as simple in pattern as a typical men’s suit.  However, you should be able to find a women’s suit in a solid color or subtle pattern, such as pinstripe, and with a jacket that is similar in length and style to a men’s suit jacket.  When I need to go the women’s suit route, I get them tailored to fit similarly to a men’s suit.  The length of the arms should be tailored to the same length they would be on a men’s suit jacket.  Many women’s suits are tailored to wear a short-sleeved or sleeveless shirt underneath.  Since I always wear a button down shirt under my suit jacket, however, the sleeves need to be tailored to fit this style.  With suits, I prefer to wear French cuff shirts with cufflinks, and in order to make sure this looks good, the sleeves of the jacket need to be the correct length.  Men’s suit jackets are tailored for this factor, but women’s are typically not, and thus the appropriate tailoring is required.

Tailoring:

Throughout this piece, I’ve talked about what I normally need to get tailored in order to make sure that men’s clothing looks good on me.  I get a lot of tailoring done, and am lucky to have found a couple tailors that know how to alter men’s clothes appropriately to the female form.  Unfortunately, some people skip the tailoring step when building their wardrobe.  Getting clothes to fit correctly is a critical part of dressing appropriately for the workplace. 

Tailoring can be expensive depending on what you need done, but it is a wise investment since this is how you present yourself at work.  Getting pants hemmed is fairly standard and easy, and is one of the least expensive types of tailoring.  Getting the seat of pants let out and the length of jacket sleeves shortened is typically a bit more expensive, but certainly still reasonable.  Once you need to open the lining of a blazer or suit jacket, the price goes up.  If you need the sides of the jacket or the width of the sleeves taken in, it will cost a bit more than the aforementioned items.  Finally, the most costly tailoring I’ve experienced has been when the shoulders of a suit jacket or blazer needed to be adjusted – only get this done if you absolutely need it, because it is not cheap.  For this reason, I endeavor to buy blazers and suits that already fit me in the shoulders and require any tailoring done in this area.

Finding a good tailor who understands how you want your clothes to fit is important.  Ask your friends for recommendations, or try a couple tailors to help you with the less complicated types of tailoring, such as hemming pants, to see if they will work when the time comes for you to get more complicated types of tailoring done.  Most places where you can buy dress clothes, particularly suits, will have tailors on staff.  Tailoring services at stores tend to be as expensive as a private tailor and may take longer, though.  Most importantly, make sure that whoever is tailoring your clothing understands how you want the clothes to fit your body.  Altering your clothes the way you want them to fit is the perfect way to create and show off your style.

In coming installments of “Queering the Workplace,” we’ll discuss what other dapperQs are wearing in their workplace environments, as well as other topics and issues related to being a dapperQ at work. 

Jody Mousseau

Jody Mousseau is a consultant, blogger, athlete, and avid dapperQ located in Brooklyn, NY. She believes that fashion gives everyone enjoyable and unique opportunities to express who they are. With her contributions to dapperQ, she emphasizes that we have the power to change perceptions in the social scene and in the workplace -- just by being ourselves. Follow Jody on Twitter: @superjody.

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