Clothing and appearance advice

I am somewhat new to the guy's clothing scene as well, haha, so I can't really suggest a specific name brand store, but I will say secondhand stores are my best friend. Thrift stores are nice, but in particular, the Gabriel Brother's near me is fantastic! Great selection, great prices, and no one seemed to judge me there.

 

Hello. I recently figured out that I am androgyne, but I have bought male clothes all the time as a kid. I bought it from any store. I mainly buy TV fan shirts online or comic cons, so I'm not much help, sorry. Well, I bought a cool male sweater shirt a few months ago at Aeropostale.

 

I buy clothes in regular shops. Or chain shops. I don't give a damn about staff and other customers.

 

I usually shop at H&M. Their clothes are reasonably priced and fit me well. I have started to shop in the men's section even before transitioning. Most people don't care and if someone comes up to you just say you are buying something for your boyfriend or something.

 

Why bother with lies? You don't have to make up things to explain why you are buying this. You want you buy. If somebody from a staff has problem with it, take your money to another shop. Easy.

 

Yeah, regular shops will do. In a chain shop you can always browse through stuff on your own. I've even had staff help me find my men's sizes, and no, I don't pass and didn't tell the story behind, there are lots of nice places

Generally, "wierd" looking people, those who have some sort of subcultural or creative look, tend to be nice in that respect and don't do the whole "But it's MEN'S!" story. Also, look for staff who look "nice", not like the people who you would asses as the most "popular" breed.

You don't have to tell the whole story to every stranger in the shop if they ask you, you have the right to simply want to purchase that clothing for yourself, because you see fit that way. Especially in big cities, in shopping centres, in shops of bigger brands, it's safe. They don't have the right to make you unpleasant situations. You are the customer, you pay for the clothing and it's their job to make you buy stuff, or otherwise you'll go buy it somewhere else.

 

I generally agree with this, but if it makes other people more secure to have a "back up plan" of sorts, why not?

 

Yeah, it's always nice to have a Plan B too. My backup was "But it looks nice".

 

I like American Eagle. Get a nice pair of snug, but not skinny jeans and a nice blue button up when you want to express your masculine side. Roll the sleeves neat and just below the elbow and if your hair is short, a nice bit of spikes and you will be handsome as hell <3

 

I've shopped in men's/boys my entire life because my style has always been plain and casual even before I realised I was trans but Ive only exclusively shopped in men's for the past couple years. I can recommend shops for very small sizes but I'm not sure if you have them in America. Good cheaper ones I've found are Primark, H&M, New Look and more expensive ones that fit extremely well are Next and Topman. I've heard that American Eagle are a good brand for small sizes though but just search around.

I can suggest that the first couple of times you go if you feel uncomfortable and like people are judging (I can assure you theyre not, literally no one even cares but it'll take time for the paranoia to go) then take a guy friend/brother with you. It helps big time but make sure they know what you're looking for and don't put you down for your style.

 

i am bi gender as well, and present in public as male. i get both my male and female clothing at walmart for the most part. the clerks dont care as long as it's a sale and if im questioned too much i have a cover story of a female im buying for.

hope this helps.

---------- Post added 2nd Mar 2016 at 02:24 PM ----------

if you live in a rural area or small town this is not as easy as it seems.

 

I'm in a similar position. Realising I liked girls last year somehow finally made me comfortable again with my tomboyishness and suddenly made me realise that if I loved menswear so much, why didn't I just wear it? I haven't bought anything yet because I am a broke child with an unsupportive mother. I love looking at Wildfang stuff but its expensive so I just use it like a fashion blog for inspiration haha. Then I go on Asos and Topman and H&M and Zara and try to put stuff together in my inspired state. But yeah, yet to buy anything. I've taken to wearing ties over all my awful floaty, darty womens shirts to make it look more masculine. I don't think you need any sort of special shop, I've never had problems fitting into a peice of guys clothing and I'm busty enough. I guess it could get oversized if you're short... I really want to go thrifting... I have about £10 though haha. And yeah, rural areas ugh. I live in a little town and the second hand shops suck I have to go to the city... even more expense.

 

But with this you are kinda admitting that you're doing something shady and that you're ashamed of it. There is nothing wrong with buying clothes you like. Be confident and people will treat it as natural thing, as something obvious.

It works the same in rural area/small town.

 

I personally have an extra difficult time when it comes to finding pants. My legs are much thinner than the average man, so most pants look ridiculously baggy on me. I've had the best luck with buying the skinniest men's pants I can find in my size. Best case scenario is a 12" leg opening.

I've found a good brand called Rude that they sell at Hot Topic. These are my favorite jeans.
H&M and American Eagle also sell super skinny men's jeans that work nicely.

For shirts, I like J. Crew, Forever 21, H&M, and Topman because they have a good selection of slim-fit shirts.

If you feel nervous about shopping in person, do it online. Most shops will have a size chart.