News & Blogs - Gender Free World — Queer Fashion

By Beth Kennedy We’re here, we’re queer...but how can we signal this without saying anything? Queer signalling has been around for decades. In the 70s, LGBTQI+ signalled to one another using a handkerchief system. They would put hankies in their back pocket or their waistbands and each colour signalled a specific sexual preference and specific kinks. There were several variations of the hanky code, so if you’d like to find out more about this slice of LGBTQI+ history, take a look at this great article about flagging (TW: lots of very explicit sexual language). Flagging is not so common now,...

Guest blog by William Elisabeth Cuthbert Dressing for your gender identity can change everything about how you move through life. Confidence, posture, accepting compliments or opening up around others, can all shift towards how you are inside. But it can also reveal ways you’ve never imagined you could feel about yourself, as I found when I needed an outfit for two family weddings in 2021. Two ceremonies, one weekend, maximum pressure. At my sister-in-law’s, in the stately surroundings of Kenwick Park Hotel in the Lincolnshire Wolds, I hoped to make an impression as a member of the bridal party. What...

  In years gone by, the classic short back and sides was the ultimate way to identify a lesbian - because it was a way of expressing the individual which wasn’t conforming to feminine cultural norms.  But over several decades we’ve seen more diversity with regards to hair length on women, regardless of sexuality. Think of the 80s when Annie Lennox (or just Annie Lennox in general), Grace Jones and Alison Moyet all sported beautiful ‘butch’ haircuts. Or how about Sinead O’Connor’s iconic shaved head style? Annie Lennox. Source: RCA Records The point is, ever since the 80s hair length...

We’re delighted to announce the launch of our Pride Socks inspired by the internationally known pride flag! Lisa, our co-founder, explained: “We originally wanted to do the Progress Pride flag but, with 9 colours, the manufacturing equipment wasn’t up to it.” However unfortunate it may be that we couldn’t include all the colours, we thought we’d break down exactly what the Progress Pride flag colours represent and their importance. Where does the Progress Pride flag come from? In 2017, Philadelphia introduced a “More Colour, More Pride” flag as part of a campaign from the state’s Office of LGBT Affairs. They...

There’s no shortage of amazing LGBTQIA+ people to look to for outfit inspirations. In this blog, we’re going to give you the lowdown on some of our favourite queer celebrities and how they manage to look so spectacular!    Credit Dfree / Shutterstock Janelle Monae If you’re over 30, you may remember when Janelle first hit the music scene in the late 00s and celebrated everything non-binary at a time when the term ‘non-binary’ wasn’t as widely known as today. Over the years she has championed bisexuality and pansexuality, as well as pushing through gender norms. Here are some wise words...

"Not all bodies fit the binary. Not all clothing should either" Good news! There seems to be a growing number of independent retailers offering a particular style for trans-masc people. At GFW Clothing we’ve partnered with Both&, who specialise in making incredible AFAB masc-presenting clothing for trans men and the trans masculine folk. In their own words, Both& say “You need clothing designed for your body, that creates square shapes and helps you feel gender joy.” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves! Here are some of our best trans-masc clothing tips so you can feel 100% like yourself! Binder-friendly t-shirts...

Gender Neutral - Gender Evolution - Gender Free; a natural progression. Brighton-based companies Gender Free World (GFW) and Lightning Like Scissors are pleased to announce their collaborative project challenging the dominant notions of gender and identity. The  theme is Gender Evolution – honouring the life-changing protest that has given us freedom and paved the way for us to express ourselves openly in our daily lives. Whether it be through the broad spectrum of gender identities or our sexuality, we wanted to acknowledge how far we have come by resisting centuries old norms, and how far we have still to go by continuing to...

Gender-free clothing isn’t just a mere fashion statement, it works in harmony with our own individual lifestyles. How is gender free different to gender neutral? Men in skirts and more...