Self-described butch lesbian Shaz Riley
has launched the
Butch Clothing Company, a fashion line aimed specifically at manly gals.
The Butch Clothing Company is a dream she has harboured for a quarter century. "All those years of having to wear men's clothes will be behind me now. BCC will make a lot of butch women happy. If they have ever had to put up with negativity from people because of being butch, my clothes will give them the confidence to hold their heads up high." When I meet her she is resplendent in one of her designs, a single-breasted charcoal suit, white shirt and purple tie, her spiky hair gelled to the nines, and reeking of aftershave. "Butches don't want to be or look like men; we just don't want to wear female clothing," Riley says. BCC is based in Brighton, with consultation rooms in the Lanes. It offers bespoke handmade clothing. There will be shorts, trousers and T-shirts, but the main focus is on formal wear (with civil partnerships in mind). Riley pledges to meet and measure each customer personally. Prices start from £240 for a suit, £75 for cotton shirts and £110 for waistcoats.
Riley says her line de-emphasizes the bust line and reduces that pesky crotch-tenting in men's trousers.
Labels: Britain, fashion, lesbians
Self-described butch lesbian Shaz Riley has launched the Butch Clothing Company, a fashion line aimed specifically at manly gals. 
