It’s been a while since I’ve done a Fashion Friday post, and this one seemed especially pertinent right now, what with it being LGBT Pride Weekend and the same-sex marriage and all.
Ingrid and I went to a wedding a few weeks ago that was a fashion extravaganza. Our friend and hairdresser Deena married her sweetie Gunner at Lake Merritt in Oakland… and the guests turned out in splendid form. The fashion struck this note that resonates strongly with me: a blend/ balance of dressiness and formality with joyous, giddy, non-conformist exuberance. It’s a hard balance to strike — dressiness and formality pretty much by definition mean “conformity to certain social norms.” But they managed it… and then some. These are theater people, and hairdressing people, and long-time participants in the queer community, and they totally get it about using fashion and style to celebrate, to communicate, and to express both yourself and your awareness of the occasion. I think the guests wanted to recognize the specialness of the occasion with the dressiness… and also wanted to recognize the specialness and uniqueness of this couple and their vivid, vibrant, outrageous styles and lives.
So without further ado — Deena and Gunner’s wedding!
Jordan and his husband. Lots of amazing menswear at this wedding. As I’ve written before, menswear is really hard to be exuberant and joyful in. It’s especially hard to be be exuberant and joyful and at the same time dressy and formal in. But lots of guys at this wedding hit it out of the park. I think the whole “being openly queer, and therefore not being worried about people thinking you’re queer” thing helps.
Color-coordinated butch-femme realness!
Pink hair and leopard print jacket. Always appropriate.
Loads of amazing ink at this wedding. I love that this is a tattoo of makeup. (That’s Ingrid photo-bombing on the right.)
And here’s the makeup tattoo lady head to toe.
Johnny Kat (who gave away the bride) and friend. More awesome menswear!
If you can’t wear a silver sundress with green shoes to your dyke hairdresser’s wedding, when else are you going to wear it? And can I just say — SHOES!
Waiyde and Critter, serving up more awesome menswear.
I can’t believe I got my thumb in the frame for both pictures of bridesmaid Lady Nigel. So she gets two. Also because of the super-sonic mega-awesome.
More amazing ink… this time of a sewing machine. Gotta love the fashion-themed tattoos!
And here is the sewing machine tattoo lady, in all her splendid glory. I like this thing of having bridesmaid’s dresses in the same fabric, but not the same design. A nice way to get cohesion and still be flattering to everyone.
See what I mean about the bridesmaids?
And here’s a full shot of the bridesmaid look. There’s something I love about the wedding photo of someone taking a photo. Very meta. Also, I just have to point out: Seamed stockings!
More awesome menswear!
Gotta love the color blocking. Of all the awesome dresses at this wedding, this was the one I most wanted to steal and take home.
Kickass dress, yes… but OMLOG, look at those shoes!
The band, She-L-O, a drag queen ELO cover band. And for the record, they RAWKED!
And still more fabulous menswear.
Stunning black and white print sundress. No further comment needed.
The celebrant, Annie Sprinkle, wielding a flower-shaped bubble machine.
Johnny Kat again. Again with the awesome menswear! And please note the pink Chuck Taylors. (Actually, they’re Chuck Taylor knockoffs, since Nike owns Converse and Nike’s being boycotted. They had the word “PRIDE” on the back of the heel. Gotta love it.)
The only thing better than a butch dandy? Two butch dandies! (Flower girl Jenny B on the right.)
Now this is how you do black for a wedding!
Or this.
And still more killer menswear — in a matched set, no less!
Yet another dress I wanted to steal and take home.
Pure class. Nothing else to say.
And her little dog, too! Oh, and once again — SHOES!
Here’s Ingrid with bride Deena. Alas, I didn’t get a picture of Gunner!
But Ingrid got a good picture of the wedding party, and there’s Gunner and Deena at the top.
And here is Ingrid and me. One of the rare occasions when one can wear a layered lace skirt and an ice-cream-man striped jacket and green hair, and still feel under-dressed. Ingrid, as usual, hit it out of the park.
Happy same-sex marriage Pride Weekend, everyone!
Love the fashions. I need to move to the Bay Area sooner than planned. There appears to be much more scope for my wardrobe. 😉
dammit. everyone here looks fabulous. I nearly cried due to my utter lack of fashion sense (the comparison made it even worse).
I still have major hangups over clothes, having internalised a message of toxic masculinity involving quite a bit of “fashion is for vain women; you shouldn’t care about it”. And so I didn’t. But having realised I was genderqueer, (and before that, a big clue-by-four of feminism), this became rather problematic. It still is.
Awwww!
Even a fashion ‘tard like me is overwhelmed by the awsometude and pulchriness.
Not just the clothes I might be inspired to steal away with…
You and Ingrid both look completely stunning!
I absolutely adore that first bridesmaid’s whole look. The hair, the HAIR!
Is it bad that I immediately recognized the bridesmaid’s dresses as Bettie Page? Anyway, if anyone wants to get their own…
OK, I admit it. You look great (jacket!) but Ingrid looks amazing. Yellow print roses with red hair! YEEESSSSSSS
Also, please to be sending me her pewter-gold Mary Janes. Kthnx.
You both looked lovely — and everyone else did, too. I think guys have an advantage over gals when dressing for this kind of event; witness the couple in gray coats and dark slacks, matching all but ties. Ah! Whereas we women have to choose dresses, skirts, tops, shoes… and it can be really hard to make the right choice, and you can get to an event feeling badly dressed even though you looked great in the mirror at home.
I grew up in Oakland, and the notion of a wedding at Lake Merritt charms me.
I wish your friends a long and happy life together. And thanks for all the pics! They’re inspirational.
Glorious! Happy-making many times over. Except for the ongoing twinges of covetousness, this made my day!