A couple of weeks ago I received a package from clothing company HauteButch. The package contained a gorgeous white shirt with gold and blue paisley trim and a blue, gray and white striped bow tie. HauteButch provides fitted menswear styled clothing for butch, stud, boi and tomboi women.Since I self identify as a “soft butch” and have been wearing men’s clothing for some time, the chance to try something fitted to my size and shape was exciting. As a butch woman I am tinier than most — I stand just under five foot tall — and I often have trouble finding butch/masculine clothing that fits me properly.
What first struck me about the white shirt was that it was made in America. This is highly unusual today when almost all of our clothing is mass produced in China or some other Asian country. The shirt was made of a sturdy, heavy white cotton with a collar secured by buttons to the shirt. The paisley trim runs around the collar and down the front of the shirt. The cuffs of the shirt also turn up to reveal the paisley pattern.
When I wore the shirt to an event this past Saturday, I wore the collar down and the shirt buttoned up to just below my neck (the paisley pattern down the front of the shirt is hidden when buttoned) with both cuffs turned up to reveal the paisley pattern. The shirt was a great fit and extremely stylish and comfortable. I received several compliments. I would definitely purchase another shirt as the quality, craftsmanship and style of this shirt was outstanding. And it’s so nice to have a “male” shirt tailored to fit me.
I wore the bow tie out to dinner with friends. This is the first bow tie I have ever owned and I loved it! I paired it with a white button down and a blue sweater vest. I have to say that I felt very stylish and sophisticated. I would also like to get another bow tie to wear as it adds a layer of stylish “butchness” to a wardrobe.
My only wish is that the shoes on the website would fit me. My feet are extremely small and I have trouble finding masculine, stylish shoes to wear.
So, check out HauteButch and patronize a woman owned, dyke friendly business!
Disclosure: HauteButch provided these products to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents to review, but opinions are all our own.
Discover more from Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Hi – could you comment a bit more on the cut of the shirt? Maybe compare it to the size and shape issues you usually encounter when trying on masculine clothing.
Hi LurkingLibrarian. Typically men’s shirts are too long for me in the body and the sleeves. Boy’s shirts actually fit me better. This shirt was tapered to fit a woman’s body although the sleeves were too long (a problem I have with women’s petite clothing too). But the cuffs were meant to turn up because of the paisley trim so it wasn’t a factor. So the difference is that the shirt was male in style but tailored to fit the contours of a woman’s body.
@ledcat @LurkingLibrarian I’ll chime in, too., as the person who sees her clothing more often than anyone else! The shirt was cut better around the chest and hips. I would say it was a combination of the design and the quality of the material and workmanship. It fit her better than anything she’s purchased in a store in a long time – she usually has to have everything tailored b/c of her petite stature, but this fit w/o tailoring. It might be possible to shorten the sleeves, but its not necessary.
@SueKerr @ledcat Thanks for the details. It’s really encouraging to see a clothing line like this.