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Style Thief: How To Rock the Queer Maximalism of Hayley Kiyoko

Feature image credit: Photo 1 by Gregg DeGuire / Stringer via Getty Images; Photo 2 by Joe Maher / Stringer via Getty Images; Photo 3 by Rich Fury / Staff via Getty Images; Photo 4 by Frazer Harrison / Staff via Getty Images
Hayley Kiyoko knows how to dress big and bold. She rocks what I like to call queer maximalism: mixing different patterns, bold colors, metallics, and textures in a way that eschews standard rules about “matching” and cohesion. She’s playful and risk-taking in her fashion — whether on the stage where she tends to rock looser, casual clothing that still conveys a strong sense of personal style or on red carpets, where she experiments more with sequins, dresses, and very structured looks. She makes me want to embrace a little more fun and creativity in my own fashion choices. And her go-to color palette (BRIGHT AS HELL! NEON! FLORALS! ETC!) is extremely on-trend right now. I feel like she used to be known mainly for her slouchy, patterned short-sleeve buttonups, but she has recently really been bringing a lot more variation and drama than that. If you want to figure out how to dress like Hayley Kiyoko (whose relationship with Becca Tilley was recently confirmed btw!) and incorporate a little more queer maximalism in your closet, you’ve come to the right place.


The Pink Gaydies

Photo 1: Hayley Kiyoko stands on stage wearing a fringe silver jacket, pink short shorts, and pink calf high boots. She is holding a microphone and the lighting behind her is pink. Photo 2: A silver friend jacket. Photo 3: Pink patent leather boots. Photo 4: Pink and purple tie dye shorts. Photo 5: A mesh black buttondown.

Photo of Hayley Kiyoko by Rich Fury / Staff via Getty Images
1. Sequined Fringe Jacket ($104)
2. Pink Platform Patent Leather Boots ($48)
3. Pink Unisex Tie-Dye Shorts ($23)
4. Mesh Shirt ($47)

Tie-dye, mesh, patent leather, and sparkly fringe might seem like a lot of once — but that’s exactly what we’re channeling here! Too much! Over-the-top! Drama! Queer maximalism is all about mixing playfully, clashing boldly, basically becoming a walking disco ball and/or galaxy. A black mesh shirt is surprisingly versatile, so it’ll do a lot of work outside of this truly unhinged outfit I’ve put together with Hayley as inspo. Tbh the next time I’m on a dance floor, I hope it’s in this exact look. The pink boots linked above are less expensive, but I’ve been coveting Intentionally Blank’s boots for so long now (I can’t decide between white or pink!), so if you’re wanting something from a smaller brand and that will probably last longer, price up to those.


Sparkle Suit

Photo 1: Hayley Kiyoko wears a sparkly patterned suit in green and purple with pointy silver shoes. Photo 2: A gold and black double breasted blazer. Photo 3: A pair of gold sparkle pants. Photo 4: A glittery silver bootie. Photo 5: A gold chain necklace.

Photo of Hayley Kiyoko by Rachel Murray / Stringer via Getty Images
1. Sequin Blazer ($105)
2. Gold Sequin Pants ($42)
3. Betsey Johnson Booties ($120)
4. Chain Necklace ($28)

So you will notice with some of these I am not coming up with EXACT replicas of Hayley’s looks, but to be fair, Hayley is wearing a lot of designer clothing, and I’m not trying to put $800+ items on here. So while this is not exact, I do think the name of the game for this particular look is BOLD sparkly suiting with some structure to it. The two patterned pieces here are going to be eye-catching. And these sparkly shoes could absolutely be a fun look for a wedding — either if you’re a guest or even with your reception look if you’re the one getting married! Also, while we’re here, this glittery blazer I also found is on sale for $54. Also, an alternative option here is to do a sparkly romper moment instead of the suiting but still keep the booties and chunky chain necklace.


Bowl of Fruit

Photo 1: Hayley Kiyoko has a long blonde ponytail and is wearing a low cut orange sequin neon orange dress with a lime green satin heeled shoe. She is holding a clutch in one hand and has her other hand on her hip. Photo 2: A sequin orange wrap dress. Photo 3: A pair of neon green strappy heels. Photo 4: A metallic clutch purse. Photo 5: A pearl drop earring.

Photo of Hayley Kiyoko by Gregg DeGuire / Stringer via Getty Images
1. Orange Sequin Wrap Mini Dress ($69)
2. Strappy Chunky Heel ($69) 
3. Rose Gold Clutch ($20)
4. Pearl Drop Earrings ($18)

Just dress like a walking bowl of citrus imo. Bright orange! Lime green! Lemon yellow! Citrus is the best style of fruit — who wouldn’t want to dress like it? This dress would do the trick, too. And then pair it with an orange heel.


Business Bodysuit

Photo 1: Hayley Kiyoko wears a plaid oversized suit over a plunge neckline bodysuit and bowed heels. She is holding a clutch. Photo 2: A pink and orange colorblocked blazer. Photo 2: A pair of pink and orange colorblocked pants. Photo 3: A black lace plunge neckline bodysuit. Photo 4: Chunky heels with a bow in silver.

Photo of Hayley Kiyoko by Frazer Harrison / Staff via Getty Images
1. Colorblock Blazer (sold out but there’s a waitlist)
2. Colorblock Pants ($100)
3. Plunge Bodysuit ($28)
4. Bow Heels ($45)

Sometimes you just gotta put a plunge-necklined bodysuit under a suit!!!!! Dress like the Business Slut of your dreams!!!! The only plaid suits I really found when Googling around were hella cropped or in dull colors, and dull colors is not what we’re doing here! Colorblocking seems to be the solution! I found this colorblocked set of a blazer and pants, but it’s sold out in a lot of sizes.


Casual Alien

Photo 1: Hayley Kiyoko has her arms up while at the mic on stage. She is wearing an alien graphic tee and graphic printed pants in pink, black, and blue. Photo 2: An aliens in space graphic tee. Photo 3: A pair of pink and brick red tie-dyed sweatpants. Photo 4: A pair of colorblocked sneakers. Photo 5: A set of four neon colored braided bracelets.

Photo of Hayley Kiyoko by Joe Maher / Stringer via Getty Images
1. Alien Shirt ($23)
2. Tie-Dye Sweatpants ($27)
3. Multicolored Sneakers ($130)
4. Braided Bracelet ($12)

We love a slouchy dyke uniform! Here’s how to dress like Hayley Kiyoko at her most casual. There’s still a ton of individual style to this look! Maximalism but make it casual! I for one have been thrilled to see so much tie-dye in the world again. Especially because I basically swapped out my all-black wardrobe I used to wear in New York for an all-white wardrobe I now wear in Miami and have decided that if I stain anything I’m just going to tie-dye (a solution I’m happy to report has been working out very well!!!). I found lots of alts for this look, too, including $20 Old Navy sweatpants, $9 plus size gradient joggers, and $36 doodle sweatpants. And here’s an alt alien shirt, too.


Coming in Clutch

Photo 1: Hayley Kiyoko wears a sheer floral short sleeve shirt over a metallic bandeau and green wide leg pants. She is holding a silver sparkly clutch. Photo 2: Dark green wide leg pants with a bow tied at the front. Photo 3: A neon green bandeau top. Photo 4: A long sleeve black mesh shirt with lacy sleeves. Photo 5: A silver rhinestoned clutch purse

Photo of Hayley Kiyoko by Kevin Mazur / Contributor via Getty Images
1. Wide Leg Dark Green Pant ($40)
2. Neon Green Bandeau Bra ($28)
3. Sheer Shirt ($48)
4. Rhinestone Clutch ($30)

So, we don’t quite have the floral detailing of Hayley’s sheer top here, but this black sheer shirt with the lace detail sleeve is very fun, especially if you do a pop of bright color underneath it like this neon bandeau bra. I’m also realizing Hayley is king of the clutch, and it’s making me want a bedazzled clutch!!!!! Honestly, when in doubt, just throw some neon or a rhinestone moment into your accessories.


Fuck It Let’s Power-Clash

Photo 1: Hayley Kiyoko wears a paisley tracksuit over a paisley buttondown. She is holding a clutch. Photo 2: A pair of yellow and white paisley pants. Photo 3: A paisley bomber jacket. Photo 4: A white v-neck tee. Photo 5: A pair of chunky pink and white platform sneakers.

Photo of Hayley Kiyoko by Desiree Navarro / Stringer via Getty Images
1. Paisley Pant ($95)
2. Reversible Bomber ($178)
3. White Tee ($13)
4. Platform Sneakers ($150)

PAISLEY ON PAISLEY!! Now, this was one of the more challenging outfits to put together, because “silky paisley tracksuit” does not yield many results (especially under a particular price point). I decided to just go full chaotic maximalist mode with this set, mixing patterns and colors wildly. Tbh, into it. Is the bomber I picked expensive? Yes, but it’s also reversible, so it’s KINDA like you’re getting two jackets in one. And while a plain white tee doesn’t exactly scream maximalism, with the power-clashing pants and bomber situation, no one’s really going to be looking at your t-shirt anyway. Finish it off with these truly over-the-top sneaks, and you’re definitely going to make some heads turn. Also, if someone wants to snag this $90 vintage paisley windbreaker I found while researching this look, there’s only one so get it before it’s gone.


As a bonus, here are some other queer maximalist pieces I found while doing fashion research for this post that didn’t necessarily correlate with a specific look but can still help you figure out how to dress like Hayley Kiyoko and turn heads in the process! You could combine any of these to your heart’s content to create a queer maximalist look. Get 🤪 with the textures, prints, and colors! And if you’re wanting to baby-step into maximalism, experiment with accessories!

How To Dress Like Hayley Kiyoko: Mix & Not-Quite-Match Separates


How To Dress Like Hayley Kiyoko: Mix & Not-Quite-Match Accessories

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, short stories, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the assistant managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear or are forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 932 articles for us.

8 Comments

  1. great article, I think one of the things about her style is that many of her outfits aren’t super form fitting!!

    also loving all these gentleman jack ads on the site

  2. This post inspired me to wear a no bra neon green/yellow large mesh shirt around the house this morning so thank you for that

  3. omg i was JUST talking about how i find Hayley Kiyoko’s style very affirming of my comfortable & colorful ‘what is matching for?’ approach!

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