dapperQ is proud to present our very first ever Canadian edition of He Said/We Said (HS/WS) on Autostraddle, featuring the masculine gender queer style of some amazing queers in Toronto!
For a quick refresher on the HS/WS series, check out creatress mastermind Anita Dolce Vita‘s plan behind the HS/WS magic:
“The models fashion their very own looks – I give the inspiration, they give the interpretation. They come to the shoot camera ready: hair, make-up, their own clothes, accessories and props. I didn’t want the series to reflect how to recreate menswear from an individual stylist’s point of view. It’s always a wonderful surprise to see what each model came up with and all of the different translations of the same inspiration.”
Photographer Jack Jackson, along with Anita Dolce Vita, selected the Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2015 menswear collection as inspiration. Here’s what Jackson had to say about the inspiration and overall experience:
“The photo shoot was a great learning experience as someone who first picked up a camera only two years ago. Finding a community and somewhere that I could call home only at the age of 38 was life changing for me. I want to promote our visibility and sense of finding one’s home through both my photography and my work with alljackedup by showcasing our beautifully diverse lives. The location by the lake made a perfect backdrop to promote a sense of freedom and to reflect the very essence that makes our lived experience as gender non-conforming people so powerful — being surrounded by the infinite diversity of nature.”
Inspiration
Interpretations
Front: Emily. Back from left to right: Jack, Quinn, Meg. *Note: Robin (below) was not available for the group photo.
Meg Fenway/ Vag Lightning (roller derby name)
Occupation: Administrative and Marketing pro, and resident butch of Toronto Roller Derby
Outfit: Shirt, Joe Fresh. Jacket, Burton. Pants, One 5 One. Shoes, John Fleuvog
Outfit sobriquet: Saucy Sailor Seeks Ship
Song that best describes your look: On the regular I’d say Plastic Bertrand’s “Ca Plane Pour Moi” because I wear the things that work for me and make me feel like royalty no matter the style.
Whose wardrobe would you raid?
Tiq Milan’s. Hands down. My word that man has impeccable style.
Where are your favorite places to shop?
I thrift a lot of things so you’ll find me at Vintage Depot or rummaging through Kensington Market a lot for most stuff but I’ve grown to depend on H&M for pants. Admittedly, roller derby has made pants hunting more annoying than it usually is.
What accessory/article of clothing can you not live without? Why?
I can’t live without my anchor bandana. It protects me from bugs while biking, serves as a playful pocket square, and looks great sticking out of my back pocket. It allows me to show my loyalty to the Chicks Ahoy (derby team) everywhere I go!
What did it mean for you on a personal level to be involved in a project like He Said/We Said?
I think this kind of shoot is really important. As a masculine of center person it can be really hard to find ways to emulate styles that speak to you and have them look the way you want, not to mention how expensive it can be. So it was really swell to be a part of the shoot and see how others interpreted the options from the RL line.
What were some of your favorite moments from the shoot?
I think all of us attempting to walk together like a boy band was pretty hilarious. We were all a little awkward and I think there’s comfort when you can sense the awkwardness of others.
Quinn Anderson
(they/them, genderqueer/trans* identified)
Age: 25
Occupation: Barista/Cafe Manager
Outfit: Hair, Crows Nest Barbershop. Sun glasses, LeSpec. Shirt, Topman. Shorts, J-Crew. Shoes, Superga.
Outfit sobriquet: Tropical Queerdo
Song that best describes your look: “Blood Orange” by Champagne Coast
Whose wardrobe would you raid?
Ezra Miller
Where are your favorite places to shop?
Topman, Philistine, Common Sort, Frank and Oak
What accessory/article of clothing can you not live without? Why?
I can’t live without button-up shirts. They are just so dapper and you can wear them for any occasion.
What did it mean for you on a personal level to be involved in a project like He Said/We Said?
I love “menswear,” but I’m a small person so I can’t always wear what I want because of size-constraints. (I’m a men’s small or XS if I’m lucky.) I’m really excited to be part of a style blog (and community) that helps to make fashion accessible to gender non-conforming people. The fact that this blog exists is so wonderful and reaffirming for us.
What were some of your favorite moments from the shoot?
The hilarious banter between the models and trying to coordinate the ‘jumping’ shots!
Emily Woloszuk
Age: 21
Occupation: DJ / Photographer / Videographer/Video Journalist
Outfit: Blazer, Talula. Shirt, Gap. Belt, Zara. Pants, Abercrombie and Fitch. Shoes, Gap.
Outfit sobriquet: Chic business casual
Song that best describes your look: “BBHMM” by Rihanna
Whose wardrobe would you raid?
Ryan Gosling, Kat Moennig , and Erika Linder.
Where are your favorite places to shop?
The Gap, thrift stores, and Forever 21.
What accessory/article of clothing can you not live without? Why?
Collared shirts
What did it mean for you on a personal level to be involved in a project like He Said/We Said?
I grew up in the suburbs where there didn’t seem to be access to LGBT community. The women who I found online — Andrea Gibson, MTV’s 1 Girl 5 Gays being some — helped me be comfortable and understand myself a little better. With the opportunity, I have the chance to help encourage someone to have stronger confidence in their own personal style, androgynous, femme, butch, queer, whatever. And, stronger confidence in themselves.
What were some of your favorite moments from the shoot?
Meeting with the other models, hearing a bit of their life story. Working with Jack was also pleasant.
Jack Hixson-Vulpe
Age: 28
Occupation: PhD Candidate, York University / Facilitator, 519 Education and Training Department
Outfit: Jacket, Danier. Shirt, H&M. Pants, H&M. Shoes, Gift for Szczecin, Poland
Outfit sobriquet: A Boy Named Sue
Song that best describes your look: “Carpe Jugular” by The Hidden Cameras
Whose wardrobe would you raid?
The only celebrity that I can even really think about is Colin Firth and, while I love his style, there are other reasons that I would like to be in such close proximity to him.
Where are your favorite places to shop?
There are so few places that I can shop because of my size. My favourite place to shop by default is H&M. They are the only place I can find menswear in my size. Luckily, I can very often find clothes that I really enjoy.
What accessory/article of clothing can you not live without? Why?
My necklace. It represents my connection to my partner.
What did it mean for you on a personal level to be involved in a project like He Said/We Said?
I was asked to step in on this shoot last minute. I have had the pleasure of working with Jack Jackson on another project, so it was great to get the request from him. On a personal level, it meant a lot to me to support someone who is trying to capture broad understandings of gender and gender expression. As someone identifies as feminine but not as a woman, it means a lot to work with people who understand, respect, and in many ways reflect that identity.
What were some of your favorite moments from the shoot?
I really enjoyed the opportunity of being sort of tossed into a group of people that I didn’t know and working to find commonalities while we were being photographed. We didn’t really have time for awkward small talk, we just sort of had to figure out how to chat and make each other laugh. It really was lovely to figure out how to be so comfortable with people that I had only just met.
Robin
Occupation: Consultant
Outfit: Shirt, Zara. Bow tie, alljackedup. Blazer and pants, Calvin Klein. Shoes, Tommy Hilfiger.
Outfit sobriquet: Sugar beach
Whose wardrobe would you raid?
Ellen DeGeneres
Where are your favorite places to shop?
H&M
What accessory/article of clothing can you not live without? Why?
It’s a black metal watch that sits nice and heavy on my left wrist.
What did it mean for you on a personal level to be involved in a project like He Said/We Said?
Just sharing a moment of myself!
What were some of your favorite moments from the shoot?
When I looked past the photographer and saw a little girl in a dress flying a rainbow kite right into a couple sitting in side by side white beach chairs in the sandbox.
Credits:
Photographer: Jack Jackson, photographer and owner of alljackedup
*Desperately searches to find the jacket Meg is wearing.
I think this is my favorite He Said/We Said.
I mean BBHMM and BOW TIES. Love you all.
Thanks Jessie! <3
Quinn’s sunglasses :O <3
All these people are amazing. They’re also helping inspire my next haircut.
this is great and all have great style and look amazing. no doubt about these people being great and having great style. but why are all of the people in this shoot nearly identical / all white? toronto is super diverse and i would expect more
i have to agree with sam’s comment. this is quite concerning and also really disappointing. is this how toronto is being painted? why isn’t robin and other qpoc’s images more centred?
Thank you for the feedback. There were three POC models who dropped out of the shoot last minute because of scheduling issues. The photographer did a special solo shoot to include Robin, which is why Robin’s image is not in the group pic. Since the models and photographers are all volunteers, it became quite difficult to have participants ask for time off of work and reschedule for this particular shoot. But, we hope that this is not the last Toronto edition and will strive to represent Toronto’s diversity in future shoots.
Y’all styled it much better than they did! <3
I’m freaking out that He Said/We Said actually came to Canada!! How did I not hear about this omfg
I most def need hair styling tips from Emily, how does it stay so perfect?