Welcome back to Style Dossier, Gabrielle Royal’s column that profiles stylish queers across the country. This edition, Gabrielle is featuring the very fashion-forward Ariana Offray and Hannah Glover, creators of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle blog The Angelinos. They use their platform to speak about the intersection of queer and interracial relationships through the lens of their own experiences.
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dapperQ: Why is queer visibility in media and fashion important? How do your platforms help create space for members of our community? How do they challenge mainstream media and fashion platforms?
The Angelinos: Queerness is inherently tied to media and fashion. Like Blackness, it is a primary influence of mainstream culture, and Black Queerness is the pinnacle of influence. It is only right that queerness is given recognition through visibility. Our platform is about the expression of ourselves. We create our own editorial images, spreads, and concepts to portray ourselves as we want to see others like us portrayed. This is especially true for myself (Ariana), as a Black lesbian woman with masculine style. It is so important to portray me as mainstream media and fashion may not – as romantic and androgynous, fluidly feminine and masculine yet still a celebration of womanhood.
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dapperQ: How would you describe your personal style aesthetic? How much of your personal style is influenced by your identity?
Ariana: I would describe my personal style aesthetic as retro and rockstar. I discovered my style and my identity at separate times in my life, but in general my identity allows me to be more open and free with how I express my style. There was a time where they felt very distinct from one another, but now I think that my identities are more intertwined with my personal style than ever. I definitely feel like there is a significant influence.
Hannah: Like many queer people before me, I went through a phase where I strove to wear my identity on my sleeve – literally. I dressed how I thought a gay woman should dress! For years now, I’ve returned to femininity with the knowledge that my femininity does not cancel out my queerness. I would describe my personal style aesthetic as vintage, comfortable, and classic.
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dapperQ: Who is your biggest fashion icon and why?
Ariana: Picking one is hard… my top three are Prince, Lenny Kravitz, and Jimi Hendrix. I can see myself in them in different ways. They all have broken fashion boundaries and walk the line between masculinity and femininity. All three of them represent different parts of me and my style.
Hannah: Rihanna. She is the epitome of versatility, power, and class. Her values are embedded in her work and she not only embodies the label of icon, she deserves it too.
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dapperQ: Tell us about your biggest fashion and/or shopping fail.
Ariana: I’m really small, and I love menswear, so ordering online is pretty much a constant shopping fail for me. I can consistently count on getting clothes that are just really oversized… and not in a wearable way!
Hannah: I recently ordered a ton of “work” dresses online… only to discover that all but one of them were so short that they were basically shirts. Having a long torso + shopping online is an easy way to end up with a shopping fail.
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dapperQ: What advice would you give our readership? What advice can you offer to people who fit outside of society’s understanding of traditionally masculine and feminine styles?
The Angelinos: Our best advice is the stereotypical ‘wear what you like’. This may not be the case for everyone, but for us fashion is identity. It’s expression, it’s communication – and without a grasp on how we communicate who we are to the world, we would feel lost, like something was missing. The best thing to do is to figure out what you want to say about who you are through fashion. Find role models who you feel reflect you, and experiment! Find what makes you feel like you, and wear it.
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dapperQ: Tell us something unique about you!
Ariana: I’m not sure if it’s unique, but I really enjoy my ability to remain optimistic and hopeful.
Hannah: I’m weirdly adaptable. I would say that’s a fairly unique trait, you could throw me in almost any situation and I would fit in just fine.
dapperQ: What can we expect next from you?
The Angelinos: You can expect a lot! We are trying to inch into print and commercial work, as well as speaking engagements like panels. We may or may not have a podcast coming in 2020… We have lots of big plans for the future!
Where can our readers find more about you?
The Angelinos: Our joint Instagram account is @theangelinos_
Ariana’s personal Instagram account is @arianaraw
Hannah’s personal Instagram account is @glovintothemax
