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Step one of us working together is reaching out and letting me know that you have interest, and what your parameters are going to be. Are you looking for help with a look for the Hugo Red Carpet? Or are you looking to have something for being taken seriously in a professional setting? Several of my enby and trans clients are looking for someone to hold their hand as they figure out clothing that they never learned about and navigating the body dysphoria around shopping for the new them, and they need a whole new wardrobe.

We then talk about costs. I specialize in finding other clothiers and artists that will fit your needs. A 2 hr consult will run you about $75, and that is 15 min of listening and teasing out what you are looking for in specific, what styles you like, what you would like to emphasize in your external presentation. I will need a couple of recent full length photos so I can have an idea what will flatter you. We will then spend the balance of the time with my throwing links your way to get a better sense of your taste, and possibly finding the perfect thing. For many people, that’s all they need.

If you need something more in depth, we will discuss it during the tail end of your consult period. I will then assemble a portfolio of items that will suit according to your wants and needs, based on an hourly rate of $45/hr. We can then schedule a time to go through them, or I can email them to you in an infodump.

I am also available to do video calls of “does this fit/does this suit me?” as you go through your closet or recent purchases, and on an ad-hoc basis for consultation. These must be scheduled and on my calendar for them to be valid appointments.

There was a meme going around last week: what would your red carpet look be with no budget, no limits. Aha! I thought, I have a pinterest board that answers this very question!

Actually, I have two pinterest boards. One for “I wish” and one for “I can.”

Up until 5 years ago, I had a very specific look – my wardrobe always looked good with a blazer, I would often be wearing a scarf, and turtlenecks and crew necks were my staples. I was working in sales, often 7 days a week, and the blazer and scarf in my car were often pressed into use hiding the fact I had dared leave the house in something casual on a weekend when I got a call to meet a client. Oops.

Getting out of that job, I was ecstatic that I could finally wear my tshirt collection without waiting for the phone to ring. I was moving to New England, I could go back to wearing turtlenecks 6 months a year without getting looks. And that first spring and summer, I learned that was true…mostly. But there were days that putting on a tshirt gave me an anxiety attack. As fall rolled around, collared shirts were now out, let alone anything with cuffs. And a turtleneck, the staple of my winter wardrobe, would reduce me to tears.

My brain chemistry had gotten screwed up. I am told that it is, in part, a side effect of some of my other medications, but it was also depression and anxiety over my living situation at the time, and the worsening US political climate. Living with uncertainty tipped my anxiety disorder from “occasionally there” to a party of my daily life, that needs to be taken into account in everything I do.

Over the last 5 years, I’ve lost most non-natural fibers that are not in a blend, any neckline within 2 inches of my neck, and all cuffs and collars. In a wheelchair now, I’ve lost my beloved blazers, anything with a waist seam, and wearing dresses without leggings. This pandemic has seen me totally revamp my wardrobe, because I am not going to need so much of it ever again.

Many of the couture looks that I adore are no longer available to me, because even in my wildest dreams…they would be absolute disasters on a red carpet. But they’re fantastic to look at and remind me of university where a few of us would dissect what was coming out of the big houses for Spring and Fall, where we made time during Paris & London & New York to see what Vogue was covering, and what was trending and what was exciting. They’re inspirational, and for other people.

So I have another pinterest board, of things that I can wear, cuts and colors and patterns that I could, if money or time were no object, look fantastic in, even in my wheelchair. And that’s the one I tend to add to more often. I’ve learned to love what I can do, and to work with the limitations I’ve got. And it can be done.

Geek couture has taken off in the last decade – with the rise of Etsy and Patreon, we have artists making absolutely stunning works, and being able to sell them outside of their local area, or the cons that they could make it to. Also, we as geeks have gone mainstream! This goes beyond the usual corsets, t-shirts, and hats that are the mainstay of any dealers room. You can buy Avengers tshirts at Target and Star Wars accessories at Kohls.

So hey, you can let your geek flag fly in your modern, every day clothing! But what if you need to be slightly more professional than t-shirts? Clothing is the first visual language and it will set the tone for any interaction. In an age of social distancing and video calls, how does someone walk the line between casual and professional?

For femme types, the place to go geeky is in your accessory options. Wear something in a solid color, and then add that Wonder Woman scarf, the Lionx pendant, or your Hugo Nominee rocketship.

For masc types, look at things like a Star Wars lapel pin on the collar of your shirt (your shirt has a collar, right?). The chainmail-print bowtie is a nice touch as well. What is your geekdom, and what accessories are available that will be visible from mid-chest upwards?

Think about the little touches. The pieces that 15 years ago, you would have said “no one will see that.” These days, because of the distance we sit from the cameras, they will see it. So wear the tiny pin you got at Disney, or those earrings from the dealers room, this is their time to shine.