With New York City officially announcing today that NYC Pride will not be happening in person, it’s more important than ever that we show support for the LGBTQ+ owned brands and non-profit organizations who rely on to operate year-round. The LGBTQ+ community is worthy and in need of support all the time so I thought today was is a perfect time for another edition of Queer All Year. This series celebrates LGBTQ-owned businesses all year long, not just during Pride in June.
I am shining a light today on , a queer woman-owned apparel brand dedicated to bringing high-quality, inclusive, and empowering clothing to the queer community. I first learned about Queer Gear when I saw one of my fave influencers, @plussizetransguy, wear their “Queers Have More Fun” tee and I knew that I had to know more about this brand.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B391n9FBcmY/
Queer Gear was born out the frustration to find trendy and not tacky LGBTQ+ inclusive apparel. I know the struggle all too well of searching for queer clothes and only finding “Straight Outta The Closet” tees. Sarah, Queer Gear’s founder, works in eCommerce software sales so she had the experience to make this happen.
“It took me a long time to come out and even longer to feel comfortable in my own skin, let alone wear ‘queer clothes,'” Sarah tells us. “Once I finally started snooping around for some cool gear to represent my identity, many of the products I found were still exclusive to certain identities, tacky, gaudy, or low quality.”
“Why was LGBTQ+ clothing often sold by sketchy online vendors who also sell beer pong sets, bottle openers, and whoopie cushions?” Sarah continues. “Shouldnât LGBTQ+ clothing be made by LGBTQ+ creators? I knew there was a market for this kind of apparel and thus, with a passion for producing Pride clothes to be proud of, my knowledge of the eCommerce space, and my disdain for the 9-5 grind, Queer Gear was born!”
When you buy from Queer Gear, you aren’t just supporting a queer-owned brand, but you’re also supporting the organizations that they support. “We currently donate 5% of our proceeds to the , which works to provide social, health, and legal services to low-income people and people of color who are transgender, gender non-conforming, or intersex,” says Sarah. “We have also contributed to the an organization whose mission is to provide crisis counseling to LGBTQ+ youth in an effort to reduce suicide among this vulnerable population. We look forward to continuing to diversify our philanthropy to give back as much as we can!”
As a queer-identified person who took a , I can certainly echo Sarah’s sentiments to want to wear your exact identity. If queer is the term that feels best to you, you don’t want to wear something that says “gay AF”. There’s something that feels far more connected and in tuned when clothing is created by LGBTQ+ creators and this includes being more inclusive to a range of identities. I have the Queer Gear “Queer AF” sticker proudly on my iPad and their rainbow “PROUD” sticker on my laptop.
Both Gio and I have the Rainbow proud design. Since he identifies as trans and I identify as queer, this is the design that we could both wear and match. I would definitely love to see some more trans focused designs added to Queer Gear’s inventory in the future. Gio is wearing a large in the baseball tee which is available up to a 2XL and I am wearing the 2XL in the tee which is available up to a 4XL.
My rainbow Proud tee from Queer Gear is soft to the touch. Queer Gear prints on Bella jersey tees which explains why its one of the first tees I grab for. This style is also available in white and the rainbow design comes in two tank styles in addition to the baseball tee. Talk about options for every aesthetic.
I first wore the Queer Gear Proud tee on a LGBTQ+ press trip to Puerto Rico. It was the perfect complement to the rainbow sculpture and dock we found.
We had a blast in Puerto Rico and it was nice to be exploring a new city and showing Pride at the same time.
So are you totally sold on Queer Gear? I know I have my eyes on few more designs to add to my wardrobe. And if you have a supportive ally in your life, there’s even a few designs for them. Totally planning on grabbing a for my mom!
“Finding stylish queer-related clothing is a minor struggle compared to the discrimination and isolation that millions of LGBTQ+ people continue to face,” says Sarah. “Queer Gear is about bringing representation and awareness to this tenacious fight without stereotyping and helping every person show that there is unity in diversity!”
We may not be able to gather for a parade or festival this year but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to be unapologetically us! Join in the fun all year long with pieces from this LGBTQ+ owned and operated brand because queers really do have more fun! Shop Queer Gear’s now.