Whites and Teals and Oranges, Oh My: Queer Summer Brunch Style

This Sunday, July 15th, is International Autostraddle Summer Brunch Day! If you’re as excited as I am, you’ve probably spent all week planning out what you’re going to wear. Just in case you haven’t, I have four summer ready brunch approved queer outfits that will be attracting more than just flap-jacks.

First off, brunch is a great opportunity to wear a day dress. If you are the dress wearing sort, it’s highly likely that there is a dress in your closet that is too fancy to wear just running errands, but seems too daytime to wear to special events or to go out in. Maybe a dress you bought for graduation or an afternoon wedding. Go over the top with this dress and add femme accessories like heels or a cute headband. Alternatively, you can make it slightly queerer by pairing it with combat boots or oxfords.

If you want to go for a more business casual femme look, shorts with a blazer is a great option. White linen blazers were practically made for brunch. If it’s particularly hot, go for a loose super light weight or see-through tank-top with a black or colored sports bra underneath. This will simultaneously bind down your bust a bit (to let the tank hang more loosely) and also look more put together and more covering than a standard underwire bra.

If you’re looking to strut your queerness and maybe catch the eye of that cute girl across the O.J., you can always wear a tie. However, keep in mind that brunch is a time to loosen up a bit. Make sure you wear keep your top button unbuttoned and your tie a bit loose. Like you had a pretend early morning meeting that ended a few hours ago. Still, certainly keep your shirt tucked in. Brunch is a time to look dapper. Pairing this with skinny pants and oxfords will create more of an androgynous look.

For a classic butch brunch look (try saying that three times fast) go for some white pants. White pants can really only be worn in the summer and look particularly hot on butch women and gender queer folks. White pants can be matched with all sorts of great summer shades. I particularly like a teal button-front or oxford tucked in to white pants with a contrasting belt and shoes.

Whatever you decide to wear to brunch, as long as you keep it simple, classy, lightweight and awesome you’re bound to turn heads. Who knows, maybe this time next week you’ll be choosing your outfit for your Autostraddle connected brunch date.

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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.

22 Comments

  1. I really like the dress idea. I’m torn between this flowered thing I own and a simple black skirt/white tank/red shrug/flats combo, possibly with fake pearls. I am torn about what lipstick I’m going to wear– I was going to wear something brownish and vampy, but now I might stick to red.

  2. Lizz thank you for writing this and reminding me that it will take me AT LEAST an hour to figure out what to wear.

  3. Hahaha… oh man. Now I’m going to have to overthink this. Normally my brunch attire planning starts off as, “What’s can I throw on to prevent first degree burns while frying eggs?”

    • i am in the same boat–i want to wear stuff that can get dirty while cooking, but since reading this post i also want to look effortlessly adorable. clearly the only solution is to wear pj’s while i fry eggs and then change into an adorable day dress before we sit down to eat. outfit change at brunch? totally normal.

  4. This is actually exactly what I needed because I’ve been stressing about this for the past couple hours.
    I also have to leave early for work which is super lame and also requires a professional outfit which is seriously becoming a problem.

  5. I wore my fckh8 t-shirt, my favorite skinny jeans and black flats. I can officially report that the Dutch’s autostraddle brunch was great. Just two people, but still. :D

  6. “If you’re as excited as I am, you’ve probably spent all week planning out what you’re going to wear.”

    These are my exact feelings about the Vancouver Folk Fest – where I have been all weekend. There are so many ways to dress, so many clothing options, and so much inspiration from all the hot/lovely effing people walking round looking rad. (So many hot homos. Just sayin’). Guys – it’s so hard to decide what to wear – made worse by the fact that the weather for today includes sun, rain, clouds, thudershowers, and heat.

    But it’s cool guys – I spent my last two days compiling clothing options – I have various quick changes available to me in my pannier for my bike. Currently – red bikini top, purple cowl neck tank w/ Y-back, black jersey skirt, and drapy sweater for riding in the rain, coupled with black flip flops. I have shorts/jeans/hoodie/rain coat options too. Oh Vancouverfuckingweather.

    ps. I wish I could brunch with y’all homoqueers.

  7. All my outfit plans were foiled by how much it was raining this morning. However, brunch was still fun.

  8. there was a brief moment this morning when i was surveying the contents of my closet where i honestly thought “fuck it, yoga pants it is…” but i managed to look like i gave a shit when it came down to it.

  9. oh no, I missed International Brunch Day?! This is tragic. I need to start making money so I can afford some mimosas for me and my friends.

  10. The photo that is posted with the headline for this article is from 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, right? That play was so fricking hilarious. Good stuff.

  11. Oh dear, I wish I’d seen this post before I left for the brunch. I threw on a decent looking V-neck and shorts (it was hot as BALLS in NYC!), with the intention of changing into my “Straddle This” shirt, but somehow that never happened. I’m really disappointed with myself, but brunch was excellent <3

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