Middleman!

[sorcyress]

So, there's this really damn interesting person known as rm who posts a lot about things I'm interested in, like sexuality and gender. Especially gender. Lots and lots of very awesome gender things.

One of the things I have gathered from reading all this is that, occasionally, he sees fit to dress himself up as Ianto, from Torchwood. Not as a cosplay, specifically, somuch as a "it's time for work, and today I would like to look nice and smooth and stylish like Ianto". I mean, as far as I can tell, of course --I don't know his exact motives in the action, merely that it is something he does sometimes, and completely rocks.

Rach may have Ianto days. I apparently have Middleman days. At some point, my brain ticked over into "goddamnit, Sorcy is a bit of an irresponsible twit, but MM is about the most steadfast and responsible person ever. Let's be him today, instead, and get stuff done!"

And so, after lunch when I came back to the room...


...I redressed myself accordingly.

It's a fantastic outfit. The whole thing is designed to feel solid, accomplished, good about myself. Those are grade A boots of butt kicking there, the cargo pants are designed for girls, with actual pockets, the belt is in the least known of "my colours", the button down shirt and tie are just professional, and the jacket is made pretty much entirely of win, some more win, a little bit of awesome, and even more win.¹

Oh, but of course, I'm leaving out my favourite part.



Hey, at least if I'm a tremendous dork, it's for one of the better organizations out there. (It's worth noting that I'm also wearing boy scout socks...also that sometime I should write an essay detailing my thoughts and feelings on GSUSA and BSA)

~Sor
MOOP!

1: Okay, and a tad "needs buttons" but whatever. I can fix that.

Comments

[ms-hecubus.livejournal.com]

I love it.

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Why thank you!

~Sor

[l33tminion]

Sharp!

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Not as sharp as your icon! That is *awesome*

~Sor

[l33tminion]

Thanks, I clipped it from VG Cats.

[rm.livejournal.com]

This was awesome (both you and your pics (and that jacket is _so_ made of win) and your comments about me!)

My personal male style icons are Tim Gunn, Keith Olbermann and Ianto. They all know how to rock a suit and play with texture. If I were a full-time man, I'd be happy to look as good as any of them do in a suit. The Inaot thing is funny, not because he's fictional, but because hello, character I don't identify with at all. Just, really, really love the suit.

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Man, I am so happy I found the jacket at my favourite local vintage store. And doublehappy that, because it was missing all the original buttons (front, sleeves, epaulets) I managed to talk them down five bucks, so it was only a twenty dollar jacket. *happydance*

I don't particularly have a male style icon, partially because I typically dress what I consider largely genderneutral --jeans and a t-shirt. If I actually started working on putting together a male wardrobe, I'd probably primarily be influenced by people I know in the real worlds --Dominic, Swing, and very plausibly you to a certain extent.

Among other reasons because I'm a small femme looking thing, and you're a small, somewhat femme-looking thing¹ who has put more thought into it than me, and so (should I decide to start being a boy more often) I should steal everything I can get about passing.

~Sor

1: I...am not intending offense, nor have I spent enough time with you/seen enough pictures to have a baseline in the back of my head for just how femme you look. This is a lot based off your comments from the other day where you said I've a soft face and a pointy chin and the saddest eyes you'll ever see. Soyeah. I am going ahead and assuming you to be a small femme-looking thing, regardless of what gender you're being on any given day.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I am (omg, you made me drag out this icon as case in point). Totally fine.

I once auditioned to play Billy Tipton in a film and was told by the casting folks that while they believed me as a man, I was too "urbane" for the role, which I think meant they believed me as a femmey gay man with a vicious sense of humour. It remains one of the funnier things that's been said to me in the business (and more pleasant than "in France, you'd actually be attractive" which is my other favourite "acting sort of sucks" story).

But yeah, I'm very small boned and thin and while the thin and relatively small tits (B cup) thing works in my favor, my measurements are very curvy (34B-25-36/37/38 -- depending) for the size I am, and I have to disguise a lot. I can't buy anything meant for men off-the-rack and have it work other than boy's dress shirts (which only come in about 3 colors and don't offer french cuffs at physical world shops) and ties.

I've recently figured out how to find good men's shoes that will fit me (which involves buying boys shoes from Italy, since they make my size and width in masculine shoes that look like adult shoes and not chunky kid shoes -- now I just have to find a place that has the size combo in question in stock), but this shit is utterly utterly rocket science for pretty much anyone under 5'7" who is curvy, small-boned or has narrow shoulders. A lot of this shit I figured out, believe it or not, from what I know about clothing construction myself to stumbling on a style-guide for short men in the Wall Street Journal about a year ago, and I've been building knowledge from there. That my tailor is sort of like "hey, mad science, cool!" with me, as meant us figuring out a lot of stuff together.

[perelman42.livejournal.com]

I have the same problem, and I'm male-bodied. I have almost exactly your measurements, except flatter and a couple more inches in the waist. I'm 5'11" though, which makes what get called "European" cuts in the US work well; still, it's a lot of shopping in Juniors for dress clothes.

..and I still feel like wearing suits *is* drag for me, but that's a different post.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Mmm, sexy.

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

~Sor

[swingerzetta.livejournal.com]

!!! That is an unfairly sexy outfit on you sor!

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

*grins* Why thank you! Clearly next time I need to do Dubbie.

~Sor

gender? what's that? *looks innocent*

[woozle.livejournal.com]

I'm now remembering the time in kindergarten when I first discovered that girls and boys had different rules for how they could dress. At the time, this was basically "boys can't wear dresses* and girls can, while girls can wear anything that boys can" which of course seemed rather unfair (but on the other hand, who wants to wear a dress?).

I was never able to figure out is why there would be different rules in the first place, so imagine my surprise when I later learned about "men's fashion" and "women's fashion" -- the fact that people voluntarily choose of their own accord to dress in gender-specific ways.

I mean, I hated wearing suits, and never saw the appeal in dresses, so who in the world would actually want either one?

I now have a vague understanding of what's going on here, but it remains one of the ways in which the world is just Not Right.

*or earrings, but this at least has changed since 1970. yay.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

I lust after those pants. Also, you, but mostly pants.

You look fab!

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

They also need a button. But besides that, are the greatest pants ever.

I was in my friend Lauren's room, and she was all "by the way, I don't want these pants. Do you?"

*grins like the smug little bastard she has every right to be*

~Sor

[lordrefa.livejournal.com]

Having been a Boy Scout, myself -- and having somewhat mixed feelings about them at this stage in my life... But having enjoyed my experiences with them...

I'm very interested in hearing what you have to say about the GS and BSA.

:)

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

I have somewhat mixed feelings on both myself --the very basics are

Fuck you BSA for being such utter dicks to the gay
C'mon GSUSA, Studio 2B? Really? really?
Man, boy scouts do all sorts of awesome survival skill things
Girl scout camp is about the BEST THING EVER
Goddamnit, stop asking me about cookies
SERIOUSLY. UTTER DICKS TO THE GAY
But eagle scouts are really kinda hot >.>
And why do you keep changing the fucking uniform every other year? WE WILL NEVER BE STYLISH
I don't even remember I can wrangle groups of girls it's such an innate talent
Girl scouts is awesome and I adore the idea
Except for Studio 2B
Also, SERIOUSLY. WHAT'S WRONG WITH GAY PEOPLE, HUH?

(I mean, I'm sure I have other reasons to be irritated with BSA beyond the "hurr, we are dicks to gayfolk" thing. But Jesus Christ on a pancake, that one pisses me off.)

~Sor

[jere7my.livejournal.com]

Bad. Ass.

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

*bows*

*...and grins like an idiot.* Thank you.

~Sor

[joshuazelinsky.livejournal.com]

Bad Kat! I was getting work done and am now busy reading all of rm's previous meanderings.

[joshuazelinsky.livejournal.com]

Also, I am of the firm opinion that any outfit that includes boots should have the boots be reasonably visible.

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Oh gawds. I have not even begun to do that. Hell, I haven't even given kittikattie's journal the wander it deserves.

But yeah. Started reading it several months ago, and basically just go "yeah, okay, bookmarking *that* one too" every other post or so.

~Sor

Middleman!

[kirby1024.livejournal.com]

Mmm, suit. I am wearing a suit right now, and it never fails to fill me with a sense of power and awesomeness.