Queer Outfit of the Week: Autumn Hard Femme Dyke Night

Welcome to Queer Outfit of the Week where I scour the world and tell you all about my one favorite queer outfit this week. I’ll envision a scenario where you or your girlfriend or your best friend or your mom or your cat could wear it and talk all about why it’s a great outfit for that event. Every week will be a different style, gender presentation and event so there’s a little something for everyone — even the person who just wants to look at pictures of stylish queers! So let’s get to it — we’re going to figure out what the heck we’re going to wear this week!

Header by Rory Midhani

Queer Outfit of the Week


The leaves are just barely starting to change, and though it’s 80 degrees during the day, it’s starting to get chilly at night. Your friends are all going to the local dyke bar’s “Back to School” night and this seems like a good time to put on your Saturday night best and flirt with some cuties. Plus you already know all the rules of how to have fun at a girl bar. But what to wear? Something femme but not too girly, that will still let the grrls and bois know you’re into them. Fortunately, I have just the look for a hard femme like you, and it’s all about (faux) leather shorts.

Leather shorts have been on my radar for some time, but have blown into full force for me now that I’ve seen Taylor Swift wear some with Tegan and Sara. Now leather shorts can be part of your go-to dyke night outfit this fall! Leather shorts, or even leather-coated denim shorts, are amazing because you can easily dress them up or down. The leather keeps them fancy but, you know, they’re still shorts. Now that it’s getting cooler at night, wearing them with a pair of fun patterned tights keeps you warm while giving them even more edge. If your leather shorts are high-waisted, go ahead and pair them with a fitted crop top in a fall color like black or eggplant. Everyone has been going all Jessie J for cropped tees, probably because they easily solve the problem of bunching tucked-in fabric.

Accessorize lightly, because there’s nothing worse than losing your favorite bracelet while dancing. A long necklace brings balance to the look, and it’s fun to choose a charm that’s funky and original. You’ll want to finish your look off with a pair of military boots. This is how you make sure the ladies know you’re into them. The steampunk goggles/sunglasses are probably optional after 9pm.

If you want to change this look up and make it more butch, you can swap the leather shorts for leather pants or even black jeans and go for a fitted but full-length T-shirt. You can also opt for slightly more masculine boots. On the other hand, if you want something a little femmier, you can swap out the leather shorts for an A-line leather skirt (like I did at the Marimacho Runway Show).

There’s not much else to say here, I mean, you’re wearing black leather shorts and some sexy stockings. Go get ’em, Tiger.


If you see something that you think should be featured on Queer Outfit of the Weeksend me an ASS messageask on my tumblr, or tweet me @Ohheyitslizz

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Lizz

Lizz is a consumer, lover and writer of all things pop culture and the Fashion/Style Editor at Autostraddle.com. She is also full time medical student at Brown University in Providence, RI. You can find her on the twitter, the tumblr or even on the instagram.

Lizz has written 261 articles for us.

19 Comments

    • I know right? I saw this outfit and almost died. In fact I might have and this might just be fashion heaven.

  1. I just want to say that I own identical items to everything in this post already, aside from the leather shorts because, like Bevin Branlandingham, I’m not a shorts-identified person (except for the high-waisted kind that look like a skirt – NOT a skort obvs).

    crop tops
    black leather mid-calf boots
    patterned tights

    FEMME CLOTHES

    for life

  2. So, I’m going to un-lurk in order to ask you what you’re doing in my wardrobe! lol (Or, ah, chair-drobe at the moment, technically.)

    I do believe I own those very tights, and why yes, I feel quite spiffing when they are paired with my much loved combat boots and a dark pair of shorts! Weirdly enough, I am also wearing a dark jeans variation at the moment :P Though my boots are a bit chunkier, and I tend to chuck a tee of some sort on top.

    Can I also say, though this has been labelled ‘hard femme’, and I personally don’t identify with either butch or femme, it’s really awesome to see something here for those of us who tend to mooch around somewhere between masculine and feminine. Ta’ – it means a lot :)

    So, yeah – hai. And, ahh, *nods to* nice boots.

  3. Here’s the thing. I love my big ol’ military boots, I have an inexplicable collection of patterned tights, and I’d love to rock this…but I haven’t owned a pair of shorts in at least six years. I feel like I’m out of the loop on how they ought to fit. Am I supposed to get the super-short high-waisted ones? How far my legs are they supposed to go before I look like a complete dork? Does it even matter, as long as my tights are loud enough?

  4. I can’t decide if I want to wear this outfit or date someone wearing this outfit. Or both, except not at the same time…although I think accidental matching is really cute.

  5. I sometimes wish I had the courage to cut my hair off, I probably won’t because I love it long too much, but then I look at a picture like that and I become jelly…wow, she looks amazing…in every way.

  6. I have almost these exact same boots, and I have worn them with shorts and stockings nearly every day for the last two weeks. I am terrified of crop tops though, I don’t know why! I’m afraid to even try them on. I feel like they’d just jump up over my bra immediately and make me inadvertently pull a Kitty Sanchez on everyone I know. Is this an insane fear?

  7. yes to fall…you can never have enough tough boots, patterned legs and photos of tough boots and great legs…thank you one and all

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