From carabiners to monocles, here’s how sapphics have used fashion to identify each other
BY KERRIE DRAGHI, IMAGE BY GETTY
Doc Martens, Carabiners and Cottage-core…If these words mean anything to you (or make your heart skip a beat, even), keep reading for a short analysis of some of the most iconic and memorable lesbian fashion trends throughout modern history!
Hey, Mamas
“Hey, Mamas” are a group of overly confident and flirtatious masc lesbians currently taking over the internet at the moment. Their style is inspired by 90s hip-hop stars and the typical male “fuckboy”. Think oversized t-shirts or white tank tops, snapbacks worn backwards, lots of gold jewellery and baggy shorts. Icon Billie Eilish, who recently released a sapphic single about being hungry for a girl, is the latest to join their ranks after the internet watched her flirt with the female host of Chicken Shop Date, dressed in the uniform of a “Hey, mama” lesbian.
Some are saying that the Hey, mamas lesbians are “cringey” but surely, it’s a sign of progress when queer women feel confident enough to flirt outrageously with other women?
@rachanaye different types of hey mamas 😈💦#lgbtq #lgbt #fyp #wlw ♬ original sound – nicole ★
Cottage-core Lesbians
On the other end of the lesbian fashion and vibes spectrum are the Cottage-core lesbians! These lesbians are known for being “wholesome” and wishing that they could move off-grid to a sweet cottage in the forest with their girlfriends for the rest of their days, making homemade pies and soup. Cottage-core lesbians are a fairly recent trend from the last four years, but they may be the modern (and more “femme-presenting”) equivalent of the 1970s’ “land-dykes’.
The style of the Cottage-core lesbians is identified through their long flowy dresses, flower crowns or straw hats, and maybe even some whimsical earrings or a straw hat.
Under the cute surface though, cottage-core and land-dyke lesbians represent a dream for queer people and women to be able to live with one another in nature communes where we are free from the oppressions of capitalism, homophobia, racism and sexism.
@followmeaway Do you have any idea how love works? A little sapphic short film with @lillian leadbetter in Vermont ❤️ #sapphic #sapphicbooks #redhair #wlw #vermont #booktok #lesbian #cottagecore #cottagecoreaesthetic #cottagecorelesbian ♬ original sound – Followmeaway
Doc Martens
Doc Martens are almost as treasured to lesbians as our pet cats and listening to boygenius. But how did this popular shoe become a symbol of queerness?
Apparently, during the time of the gay liberation movement, wearing Doc Martens was a secret sign to show other lesbians that you were one of them when homosexuality was illegal. Lesbians wearing them at gay liberation protests and to visit gay men in Aids wards are part of the reasons why the shoe brand is now associated with rebellion and counterculture. Also, the boots were functional for butch lesbians who were more likely to work traditionally “unfeminine” jobs in skilled labour.
@drmartens Welcome to class. Rudy from @🌈 Rainbow History Class 🌈 is here with Episode 1 of a 3-part series, where we explore Dr. Martens involvement within the LGBTQIA+ movement. #DrMartens #LesbiansOfTikTok #Queer #PrideMonth ♬ original sound – Dr. Martens
Carabiners
Almost as iconic to queer culture as the massive Doc Marten boot is the lesbians’ beloved Carabiner. This may look like a functional accessory that attaches to your belt loop and holds your keys, but it is another popular signifier for queer women to identify with one another.
@rainbowhistoryclass Keep 👏 carabiners 👏 queer 👏 #learnontiktok #tiktokpartner #lesbiansoftiktok #fashionhistory #lgbtq ♬ original sound – 🌈 Rainbow History Class 🌈
Lesbian Feminists
Let’s go back in time to the 1970s-80s when lesbian feminists were protesting notions of beauty, femininity and fashion by dressing in ways outside of the male gaze.
Lesbian feminists refused to wear makeup and high heels, not shaving, cutting their hair short, favouring heavy boots and loose clothing such as dungarees and t-shirts. All of this we might take for granted now, but it was considered revolutionary at the time before any laws existed to protect women from being discriminated against because of their gender, and women could be turned down for opportunities or fired from their jobs if they did not appear typically “feminine” enough.
Lesbian Bar Culture
It’s the 1930s and you’re about to hit up the most iconic lesbian bar in Paris, Le Monocle. Groups of fashionable lesbians gather here to drink, flirt and dance without judgement. What are you going to wear?
Monocles were often worn as a homage to the bar. Sprigs of violets were also occasionally worn at lesbian bars, a popular code throughout history to show a woman is Sapphic. The pictures that were taken from inside the bar show that some lesbians dressed full femme in long silk dresses, lipstick and curled hair, as was the fashion for women at the time. Others mixed it up in “butch” clothing wearing a men’s suit, jacket and tie with “feminine” red lipstick and short hair.
The lesbians at Le Monocle are important to lesbian fashion history because they show that there is no one way of “looking like” a lesbian – some lesbians at Le Monocle dressed very feminine and others did not – and that the lesbian styles of Femme and Butch are not strict binaries, as some lesbians dressed in a combination of Femme/Butch clothing, makeup and hairstyles.
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