Hi Femme! Debbie-jean Lemonte

Welcome back to Hi Femme!, dapperQ’s sibling visibility project celebrating the incredible contributions that stylish femmes make to the queer fashion landscape. For this edition, we’re featuring Debbie-jean Lemonte, the Owner and Photographer of DAG IMAGES and Content Creator of a Lifestyle and Fashion blog, The Loc’d Bella. Prior to taking the step into full entrepreneurship, she worked as a Reservationist at renown restaurants around the beautiful city of NYC. Educated at Queens College – CUNY, Debbie’s academic career focused on dance, psychology, the fusion of the two studies and how it can help as a therapy for individuals who’ve suffered from trauma. She has over four years of experience as a photographer and is passionate about social media management, dance therapy and content creation for brands. Her photography series, We Are Queens, has been recently featured on renown site, ForHarriet, receiving various praises for its inspiration to women of color. Her latest collaboration emerged early 2016 as an event photographer for GQ magazine. She has also been named among Autostraddle’s “50 LGBTQ Black Women You Need To Know Because We Are Awesome”.

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Hi Femme: Can you talk a bit about how you define queer femme style and what makes it transgressive?

Debbie: I would define QUEER FEMME style as any style that embodies the femininity of anyone regardless of sexuality/gender. There’s more to femme style than just heels + lipstick. It’s beyond the idea that “femme” is just for females or female-identified individuals. It’s for anyone QUEER and that’s what makes it trangressive. It’s not just females in skirts, heels and makeup anymore. We are able to dress in whatever makes us comfortable without being stripped of our “femininity” title.

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Hi Femme: How would you describe your personal style?

Debbie: I would say my style is “COMFORTABLE”. Everything you see me wear, I am comfortable in. It is the first question I ask myself before stepping out. If I’m not comfortable, I’m changing.

Hi Femme: Who are your fashion icon(s)? Fashion icons?

Debbie: To be honest, I don’t really have one. I’ve watched celebrities and I’ll say ‘I like what he/she is wearing’, but that’s it. I’m not obsessive over anyone’s particular way of dressing.

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Hi Femme: What item in your style arsenal can you not live without?

Debbie: Heels. The end. Heels or die! Haha!

Get more of Debbie by following her on Instagram here and here and her websites here and here.

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