ABSTRACT
The contemporary lesbian is considered to be ‘congenitally’ unfashionable: too busy propping up Havelock Ellis’s eternal mantlepiece, pipe in hand, gently flicking ash off her tweeds, to spare a thought for trend. Although lesbians do model in fashion magazines such as Elle, Marie-Claire and Vogue, these fabulous creatures are always assumed to be heterosexual because they ‘look heterosexual’. So what do lesbians look like? Unsurprisingly, the majority look exactly the same as heterosexual women. Mainstream fashion rather than lesbianism exerts the strongest influence over their style. However, there are others who cast only a sideways glance at the mainstream, lesbians for whom style is a conscious statement of gay identity. For these women, dress provides a visible connection with their lesbian subcultures; identifying their politics and sexuality in relation to other lesbians. Many of these styles are controversial; displaying lesbians’ new preoccupation with sexual practice. And with ‘lipstick’ lesbians and SM lesbians set against revolutionary lesbian feminists, their ‘style wars’ reveal deep ideological disagreement. There seem to be more ways of looking like a lesbian than ever before. But do they have anything new to say about our identities and politics? Certainly, lesbian fashion is making statements, and as such, invites interpretation.
