I’m a very lucky human. I was sat at the breakfast table trying to catch up on my blog and regretting my sad lapse in preparation yesterday when I realised that I was sat opposite on of the snappiest dressers I know…. and so here is an improptu EXTRA blog post today about suits, for all those FTM and enby folk who, like me, feel a little swamped trying to dress themselves.

There are a LOT of gendered dress rules. On a basic level there’s the kinds of items of clothing you can wear and not wear, but then there’s all the rules about choosing different kinds of clothing, what patters and styles and buttons and vents and…. all the things. Of course a lot of people want to refuse the rules and construct the aesthetic that feels most exciting and appealing to them, and that’s fantastic. That’s not quite my style, and this post is more for folks who enjoy at least knowing what the rule book says, even if they discard a good portion of it.

If you do a very simple google search about dressing to pass as FTM you will get a VAST array of advice about how to dress yourself so that you hide and disguise your body, so that you don’t break any of the rules, so that you bulk out what should be bulkier and slim down what should be slimmer etc. etc. I warn those of you who might go looking that this can make you feel very bad about yourself – it’s likely that your body has some features that are closer to the gender you want to dress as, and some features that are really disparate. For example, I have (now) shoulders that are broader than my hips, which is a stereotypically cisgender masculine trait, and I don’t have much in the way of curve. On the other hand, I’m five-foot zero and my voice sounds like a chipmunk on helium, and without taking hormones I’m never going to be able to change that. Mostly I don’t mind these things, although sometimes I wish I could pass slightly more accurately than I do.

I’ve had a lot of luck in the children’s section of my local thrift store in the shape of two beautiful designer blazers that fit like gloves and that I keep in my closet for the occasions that I want to look a bit more snappy than usual. For some of you, thrift store might be your budget, especially if you’re saving frantically for surgery… or anything else. I also found this nice collection of charts that femme, and masc, that give dispite their binary language give a lot of basic information about unstated dress rules. But for those of you who have a bit more budget, or a lot more budget, blues instructor and beautiful dresser Kenneth Shipp has kindly offered his top tips on buying a suit:

• Think about what you’re going to do in the suit. If you feel like you can only do one thing in the suit comfortably, it’s probably not the suit for you. You should have a full range of motion, and as you get to know brands and style you’ll start to work out what kinds of suit work for you at any price range.
• There are a number of historical traditions around suits, but those traditions have been adopted for a reason and actually do matter. I think it’s Henry VIII who was the first King too fat to button the bottom button of his waistcoat, and his court adopted the fashion as a gesture of respect. Now suits are actually CUT so that they flow correctly with the bottom button undone, and won’t sit right if you do it up… so pay attention to the idiosyncratic rules.
• There are different opinions on vents (the slits up the back of a jacket or blazer). In general blazers are cut with one vent, because it’s slightly cheaper to make and blazers are designed to be at a more accessible price point than a full suit. If you are buying a full suit look for double vents, one on either side, because that usually means that a little more effort has gone into its construction and it will flow better. If the vest gapes you may need a jacket that’s cut slightly longer. Spend some time getting to know them and allowing them to get to know you and your tastes so that if you do later go back with your ultra-expensive suit they’ll be familiar with your body and what you like.
• Accessories (shirt, tie, pocket square) should enhance your suit, not distract from it. Colour should pop, which means that not EVERYTHING should pop. Not everything has to match, but the eye should not have to pick out four or five things across your look. Be selective about what element of your suit you want to highlight, and dress in a way that excites you.

I feel so happy to be sat here listening to suit talk, even if the prices are a little too aspirational for me right now. I’ve promised myself that when I graduate from my PhD (May if all goes well!) I’ll do it in a suit of my own. Thank you so much to Kenny for helping this post take shape!