Our Favorite Hand Lotions For Soothing Your Extra-Dry Hands

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18 Jigsaw Puzzles Relevant To Your Gay Interests

1. Galison Rainbow Crystals Puzzle, 500 Pieces – $13.99

2. The Golden Girls 1,000-Pieces – $14.99

3. Jim Golden Camping Equipment, 500 Pieces – $19.95

4. Succulent Garden, 500 Pieces – $16

5. Galison Astrology Foil Puzzle With Star Signs, 1000 Pieces – $15.39

6. Nevertheless She Persisted, 1000 Pieces– $21.99

7. World of Cats, 1000 Pieces – $19.99

8. DC Bombshells, 1000 Pieces – $14.90

9. Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by Frida Kahlo, 1000 Pieces – $17.99

10. Jonathan Adler Rainbow Hand, 750 Pieces – $29.60

11. Ideal Bookshelf, 1000 Pieces – $15.62

12. Hot Dogs A-Z, 1000 Pieces – $16.20

13. Cat Zodiac, 500 Pieces – $12.43

14. Little Feminist, 500 Pieces – $13.97

15. Whale Migration, 1000 Pieces – $21.95

It’s a fact that lesbians love Sea Mammals.

16. Penguin Random House Little Women, 500 Pieces – $19.95

17. Unicorn Reading Puzzle, 500 Pieces – $13.67

18. U.S National Parks Puzzle – $20

Dice for Every Kind of Queer Dungeons & Dragons Player

There are a lot of reasons to get into D&D. With roleplaying games making a resurgence, queer people in particular have found countless opportunities for community, fantasy, and world-building within these incredible and diverse gaming platforms. We can be anyone that we want to be, giving ourselves magical powers, incredible strength, and whatever pronouns, names, and bodies feel right for us. It’s truly a gift, and if you’re lucky enough to find yourself a group of people that you can explore with, the temptation to stay in those worlds forever is very, very real.

But one of the most enduring pleasures of the game is a simple one — buying dice. Small, shiny, and so very pretty, RPG dice are infinitely collectible. Whether you want the resounding thud of a giant metal d20 or prefer the delicate grace of teeny tiny acrylic sets, whether you color-coordinate your dice to each character or keep them all jumbled in one giant bag that’s large enough to store tools in, the craving for new sets never really goes away. And while I’m sure there are players out there that only use one or two sets and are able to somehow withstand the endless temptation to buy more, why would you deny yourself this one simple pleasure? Friend, you deserve some gorgeous dice to roll when you’re storming the castle, arguing with a dragon, or flirting with that drow chick that your DM refuses to rank on a scale of hotness (but you’re confident is an 11).

We all play a little differently. I’m the annoying one who wants to look into every nook and cranny, roll arcana checks every five minutes, and steal books. Heather likes talking to animals and is the only one in our party who manages to be nice to strangers; Nic is an absolute badass in combat and can take out powerful enemies with just a few hits; Smita refuses to share her clever warlock’s rogue-like backstory but clearly has some juicy secrets; and Valerie takes meticulous and hilarious notes that have saved our asses on multiple occasions. No matter the adventure, dice are both mandatory for play and a constant source of delight. And no matter what kind of character you play or player you become, there’s a set of dice out there that are perfect for you.

Behold, dice porn in the form of a vague personality test: dice for every kind of queer D&D player.

The Investigator

1 / Aurora borealis set 2 / Clear quartz engraved gemstone set 3 / Iconic white set  4 / Opalite gemstone set from Critical Role 5 / Pearly gates set  6 / Synthetic clear quartz gemstone set

Always thoroughly examining door frames, looking under beds, and checking for traps, this player relies on high perception and constant awareness to find every little thing that may be lurking. They also may be the best notetaker at the table. Clear or white dice are a great fit as these colors are associated with safety and protection, and clear quartz in particular specifically aids in manifestation and perception.

The Bleeding Heart

1 / Paladin’s virtue glitter set 2 / Gold dust set 3 / Gold starlight set 4 / Dwarven satin gold set 5 / Lotus eaters pink metal set 6 / Rose quartz set

Ready to save every animal, child, and injured person they find, this player is known for their kindness and compassion, potentially both inside and outside the game. And while this tendency sometimes backfires, often this player encourages their group to form allies and build communities, leading to encounters that would never happen otherwise. Pale pink dice may help amplify love for the self and community, while gold dice can boost both compassion and courage. And if you’re ready for a splurge, rose quartz dice are just about perfect.

The Hothead

1 / Aged bronze metal set 2 / Graphite set 3 / Mini trial by fire metal set 4 / Critical failure set 5 / Ancient iron set 6 / Mechanical style set
More interested in throwing punches than asking questions, this is someone that isn’t afraid to charge forward and get a little messy. They may be impulsive and could sometimes cause some conflicts or fights that shift the narrative, but they also get shit done and make strong, decisive character choices. Plus, it’s always great to have someone on the front lines who isn’t afraid to take a few hits. Go for heavy, metal dice that feel powerful and decisive, especially since iron is connected to physical strength and grey can bring a sense of stoic calm.

The Charmer

1 / Vortex burgundy set 2 / Fragments of the sun set 3 / Hematite gemstone set 4 / Molten core set 5 / Rose petal set 6 / Crimson midnight set
Regardless of their character building choices or final charisma score, this player is the first to speak up when an NPC asks a question, the one most confident in their ability to negotiate or persuade. Whether they’re sharing jokes to lighten the mood or pouring on the charm and compliments, this is someone that can help smooth over difficult conversations and get even the most bristly character on their side. Utilize some distractingly beautiful or sparkly dice, especially if they’re burgundy or maroon, colors that are tied to ambition and creativity.

The Newbie

1 / Black and gold set with pen 2 / Mystic unicorn set 3 / Sapphire skies set 4 / Hops beer set from artisan dice 5 / Night circus set 6 / Shards of night set
Eager to use their newly discovered spells and anxious to prove themselves, newbies often fall into two camps: hesitant to make a mistake or eager to see exactly what they can do. Whether they’re using brand new spells or double-checking their options during combat, it can be so much fun to watch someone realize just how much is possible during a game. Any dice color that makes them feel brave and empowered is perfect for newbies, especially sets that come with multiple D20s for advantage and disadvantage throws. (Warn them that constantly buying dice comes with the territory, and watch them excitedly reveal a new set at every session.)

The Creative

1 / Amethyst gemstone set 2 / Stone of the princess set 3 / Synthetic turquoise gemstone set 4 / Purple heart wooden set 5 / Ethereal phoenix set 6 / Sunset set

Utilizing spells in unexpected ways or coming up with surprising and delightful methods to outsmart NPCs and puzzles, this player approaches problems and conflicts in ways that showcase the brilliance of the game, encouraging others to think outside the box and try new things. Their ideas may not always pan out, but they bring delight to every table, and may cause your DM to laugh, sigh, or go diving for the PHB. Go for brilliant gemstones like amethyst that boost ambition, or orange dice that can provide extra warmth and determination.

The Strategist

1 / Cleric’s domain metal set 2 / Center arc metal set 3 / Silver and blue metal set 4 / Cadet blue set 5 / Archimedes set 6 / Dragon red and black set

Drawing maps, asking thoughtful questions, and making plans for the future, this player is always thinking ten steps ahead of the current conflict. Brilliant with the structure of the game while able to think beyond RAW, the strategist is an invaluable part of any team. Also takes great notes, with special attention to detail. Framed out metal dice or another set that’s easy to read are great for this player, with blue tones connecting to stability and red amplifying leadership and willpower.

The Storyteller

1 / Coral fossil set 2 / Holy weapon set 3 / Purple fluorite gemstone dice 4 / Faux coral set 5 / Freshly squeezed set 6 / Topaz black magic set

Creative, engaging, and brilliant at role-playing, this person fully sinks into whatever character they’re playing. They spot hooks and clues, dialogue beautifully with other players, and help keep the narrative moving in fun and inclusive ways. If you’re lucky, this person is also your DM. Yellow dice can bring a sense of joy and positivity, and coral dice can help with creativity. And for the fanciest game masters, don’t miss these purple fluorite gemstone dice, which can aid in both balance and quick decision-making.

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Which kind of player are you, and what types of players did I miss? What are your favorite dice to roll, and which sets are you lusting over? Let us know in the comments!

Style Thief: The Jumpsuits of “L Word: Generation Q”

Has there ever been a better time for jumpsuits than this exact moment in human history, when jumping and suiting are both incredibly popular queer past-times? Wow, there has not! For example, have you seen Showtime’s hit series The L Word: Generation Q? I have, and I can tell you right now that every main character except Shane and Micah wear at least one jumpsuit at some point during the season. All in all, we counted ten jumpsuits. Because fashion moves fast and the show filmed some time ago, most of the actual jumpsuits worn on the screen are no longer available (and most were pretty expensive anyhow!) but in some cases, I could find something similar to feast your thighs upon. Hot tip: If you’re into this, you’ll probably also be into this interview I did with the Costume Designer of Generation Q!

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Episode 101: Let’s Do It Again

Alice’s Gold Rachel Comey Jumpsuit

The very first jumpsuit to appear in Generation Q is Alice’s Rachel Comey Barrie Jumpsuit in a striking shade of gold. The jumpsuit is cotton with a zipper front (which she unzips slightly to reveal a striped tank top underneath), a collar, front pockets and a boxy cut. This jumpsuit style is still available from Rachel Comey for a cool $450, but not the specific color Alice wore. On their own, these elements are easy to find. All of them together? The color, the slouchy boxy cut, the material, the pockets, the zipper, the collar, the short sleeves? Impossible to find! So I settled for a few jumpsuits that were only vaguely reminiscent of the original.

The Kate Twill jumpsuit from plus-size retailer Universal Standard, pictured in our next jumpsuit collage, is also VERY close in spirit to this one.

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Episode 102: Less Is More

Sophie’s Grey Boiler Suit

Sophie wears a grey button-up boilersuit-style jumpsuit to her job at The Aloce Show. It’s a long-sleeved number (although Sophie keeps ’em cuffed up throughout) with an elastic drawstring waist and straight leg. Who made this jumpsuit? I don’t know! Is it really grey, or is it dark green? These are the mysteries of life that we may never be able to answer.

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Episode 103: Lost Love

Sophie’s Blue Coveralls

Wildfang’s signature coveralls appear not only in the episode but also in promotional photos and on the bodies of its cast and crew at public events! These workwear-inspired classics boast pop stitch detailing and the tell-tale Wildfang logo patch on the front breast pocket. By wearing these to work, The L Word: Generation Q is sending a message to workplaces everywhere: coveralls officially count as business casual. You’re welcome!

Sophie’s Burgandy Coveralls

Wildfang’s website claims that “you’re gunna want more than one color” of its coveralls and it looks like Sophie definitely took that suggestion to heart, wearing a Pomegranate Wildfang coverall to her family’s grand tour of the Fancy Wedding Ballroom Daddy Already Put a Deposit On.

Bette’s Max Mara Checked Wool Jumpsuit

Bette’s wearing this when she picks up Angie from school after Angie gets in a fight with a truly terrible tween. This strong-shouldered Max Mara jumpsuit is made from 100% black and white wool with classic suiting details like pressed creases, notched lapels, a chest pocket. It’s a unique design with the kind of detailing you can’t really find on lower-end pieces, but being Bette Porter is obviously a very expensive life path.

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Episode 104: L.A. Times

Sophie’s Army-Style Sleeveless Jumpsuit

We never see the bottom half of this jumpsuit in full — we catch a few glimpses as Sophie interacts with Dani, and see Dani’s hands grazing Sophie’s ass as they dance at Shane’s 40th Birthday Party. What we know is this: it’s a damn jumpsuit! This style is a lot easier to find in long sleeve.

Dani’s V Sexy Jumpsuit

Both members of this terrific twosome arrived encased in jumpsuit to Shane’s 40th Birthday party. Dani’s jumpsuit is hard to see in the show itself, thus the BTS photo from @shandzee standing in for a fuzzy screenshot in the above graphic. This situation is very wide-legged with knotted straps leading to a deep v-neck and a thick belt encasing its middle. The ensuing sexy drunken dancing in this scene reveals that there is lots of room in that top for side-boob. I think this is probably the most important element of this jumpsuit. I could find absolutely nothing like it.

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Episode 106: Loose Ends

Alice’s Isabel Marant Etoile Guan Jumpsuit

The jumpsuit Alice wears in her Aloce Show promo photos makes a live appearance as Alice battles the paparazzi on her way to be very mad at Bette. This $455 jumpsuit is a truly unique piece — not only is it sold out, nothing else like it exists out there, at least not this season. Perhaps we’d all have better luck at a thrift store.

Bette’s Maria Cornejo Jumpsuit

Bette spends the entire episode looking amazing in this woven jumpsuit from Maria Cornejo that features a draped v-neck, short-sleeves, front-zip closure, a gathered waist with belted detail, front POCKETS and draped legs with angled-pleat cuff detail. It can be yours for a mere $895! Everlane has a long-sleeve jumpsuit in black with a similar spirit — the same v-neck cut and side pockets, but without the gathered cuff. Drawn to the tapered hem and loose fit but apathetic about sleeve length? Try this guy from Urban Outfitters.

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Holigay Gift Guide: Support These POC Indie Designers in 2019!

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Today’s Black Friday, considered to be the “official start” of the holiday shopping season. On average, 70% of the adults in America will do at least some holiday shopping between now and Monday. That’s just the beginning of the little over $500 that most Americans will spend on presents this holiday season. There’s a lot of money to go around, and whatever your feelings about consumerism and capitalism, we think that you’ll agree — it would be great if some of those funds found their way into people of color owned businesses, artists, and communities.

The Speakeasy, Autostraddle’s collective for our writers of color, got together and shared linkes and dream shopped from all our favorites. We hope you find something to love on this list as much as we loved making it. Spread the joy of economic responsibility, racial justice — and really cute earrings — this holigay season.

(An * before an item or shop name indicates the the shop is queer-owned, in addition to being POC owned)

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Look Good, Look Good, Look Good

There are two things to love about the “Keep Familias Together” tee: 1. Its graphic is gorgeous 2. It puts its money where its mouth is, donating $2 from every purchase to local organizations that support those facing deportation in our country.

Reneice found the cutest way to get into the holigay season — with two Mrs. Clauses kissing under the mistletoe! Tired of people messing up your pronouns, or want to show some love for the masc cuties in your life? Shelli recommends the “Sir” sweatshirt out of Chicago. And 2019 brought us more women running for President than any other time in US history, what better way to celebrate it than by buying a sweatshirt honoring the first black woman to ever run for the Presidency — none other than the late, great Shirley Chisholm.

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Setting Up the Spot

Keeping it real: We just want this James Baldwin pillow and nothing else matters. Well, the “come thru Queen” candle — which smells lightly of vanilla, brown sugar and queer fabulousness — would be a nice addition while we’re at it. ALSO what about a throw pillow for our couch honoring the original action hero babe (and Bette Porter’s big sister) Pam Grier. Ok and maaaaybe a coaster set for our living room with the quotes and hand drawn images of 90s women hip hop greats. Actually you know what? This whole list please. We want it. Thanks.

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The Whole Crew Drippin’

Shelli found these “Bad Bitch” bracelets and even just looking at them makes our inner Rihanna want to come out and play. Then, Natalie recommended the “Brown Skin Girl” tote bag (named after our favorite Beyoncé song of the the summer) and Carmen found queer owned Stuzo’s denim hat letting everyone know exactly how much of a Lez you are, and now it’s it was all over.

Did we mention that Stuzo is also a favorite brand of Lena Waithe? She wore the designer when she made out with Halle Berry on The Jimmy Kimmel Show earlier in the year. Maybe you can wear it as a lucky charm to make out with the hottie of your dreams, who’s to say? The “Frida Hoops” were actually on display last year at El Museo del Barrio in New York for their Dia de los Muertos celebration — just in case you’re into in incredibly wearable art.

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ETC

Abeni found some absolutely beautiful prints this year from ggggrimes, a queer non-binary artist  — and the “She’s So Handsome” dedication to masc gender non-conformity across black history, was a clear favorite (though everything in that shop is stunning, so definitely click the link!). Sarah recommends supporting queer creator and “friend of Autostraddle” Kaylah Cupcake — who’s figured out how to turn weed into actually jewelry that we’re sure someone in your life is going to adore. The “End Trans Detention” poster is absolutely essential for any home, and it’s currently on sale, so it’s a real steal.

If you got a little coin to spend, do it here! It’s damn worth it.

So You Want to Dress Like a Mommi This Fall

Every season has a standout, one archetype who becomes the most powerful version of themselves. Take spring for example— buttery pastels and flowing dresses bring out the best in our soft femmes. Or summer, where butches reign supreme in ripped muscle tanks and artful cutoffs. But fall? Fall, my friends, is for Mommis.

Swaddled in cardigans, draped in sweaters, Mommis are at their most powerful when the temperature drops below 70 degrees. They are in your coffee shops, your pumpkin patches, your late summer farmers markets, gathering strength each time a crisp fall breeze blows. In honor of their most powerful season, I have compiled a fall fashion guide that will allow you to usurp some of their power for your own, should you wish to do so!

Classic Mommi

Left to Right: Stripe Knit Sweater, Nordstrom Rack; Rib Knit Sweater, Nordstrom Rack; Seine Mid-Rise Skinny Jeans, Universal Standard; B(air) Denim High Waist Skinny in Black, 7 For All Mankind.

Here are the building blocks, the essential pieces any aspiring Mommi needs in their wardrobe. Classic Mommi is all about two things: black or dark wash denim and sweaters. High rise black skinny jeans with a cream turtleneck? This is an iconic “Mommi standing in a spotless kitchen she certainly did not clean herself” look! Dark jeans with a nautical sweater? This is effortless Mommi — you don’t need to look like you own a boat, but you do need to give off the impression that you would be comfortable near one.

Edgy Mommi

Left to Right: Brave Soul Tasmin Maxi Length Faux Fur Coat, ASOS; City Topper Leopard Print Coat, Nordstrom Rack; Crossover Lamb Leather Jacket, Nordstrom Rack; Faux Leather Panel Leggings, Nordstrom Rack.

The easiest way to level up to Edgy Mommi is by adding three things: leather, fur and prints. You are going for hints of Mob Wife here, you want to make people a little scared of you. Faux leather leggings with a leopard print coat tells even casual passerby that you are in charge of the PTA meeting schedule and everyone knows it. Throw a classic white button down under that faux fur coat and the next lunchtime glass of red is on the house, Mommi!

Power Mommi

Left to Right: ASOS DESIGN Pop Waisted Suit Blazer, ASOS; Fashion Union Double Breasted Hooded Trench Coat, ASOS; Empower Wildflower Tux Blazer, Wildfang; Socialite Paperbag Trousers, Nordstrom Rack

Power Mommi is, above all else, busy. She has time for exactly three things: dynamic, colorful blazers, trench coats and kneecapping smug executives who think they’ve got her beat. Let her ruthless corporate ways inspire you in the form of this stunning bright pink blazer. (Bonus points for going shirtless underneath!) Pick up this classic trench, thoughtfully tuck a sheaf of papers in your inside pocket and you’ll be on your way to that corner office in no time!

Androgynous Mommi

Left to Right: Floral Print Skinny Fit Suit Pants,Topman; Pink Pique Bowling Polo,Topman; New Look Organic V-Neck Tee, ASOS; Black Slim Fit Single Breasted Blazer With Notch Lapels,Topman.

While it is true that Mommis are often more femme, there is a wide world of Mommi-adjacent fashion for those who aren’t partial to super femme looks. Swap out the skintight jeans for a slim-cut, floral pants, a classic white t-shirt and you are in business! Blazers are among the most Mommi clothing items on Earth, so opt for a traditionally cut single breasted one here. Remember, Mommi is state of mind!

Lounge Mommi

Left to Right: ASOS Design Tie Waist Jumpsuit, ASOS; Commando Silk Pajama Shirt, Nordstrom Rack; New Look Tapered Leg Sweatpants, ASOS; Natori Joy Caftan, Nordstrom Rack.

All Mommis, whether they be edgy, andro or classic have one thing in common: a deep, powerful love of loungewear. Want to run some errands while remaining as comfortable as possible? Grab this jumpsuit — or if getting fully nude to pee at the farmers market doesn’t appeal, perhaps these lightweight joggers? A classic silk Pajama shirt is so canonically Mommi I feel like it doesn’t need further explanation? Nor does the caftan, frankly. Mommis value luxe comfort above all else.

Of course, there are many, many ways to Mommify your wardrobe — I have only just scratched the surface! Do feel free to share some of your additional favorites in the comments! Happy Mommi Season to us all.

Here’s Everything You Need to Succeed at Cooking More Often This Year

One of our lovely readers wrote in a request for a how-to guide for stocking a kitchen and I’m so glad they did because the new year is the perfect time to get your kitchen in order! Tons of people resolve to spend more time in their kitchens each year but aren’t set up well for cooking regularly and quickly end up jumping back on the take-out train.

Figuring out what you need for success in the kitchen can be frustratingly difficult when you’re first starting out. There are countless tools and appliances with varying functions and quality levels out there. Searching through them can rapidly cause decision fatigue. Some of them you really do need but a large majority are completely unnecessary. As a baby queer cook I was suckered into buying so many kitchen gadgets that were terribly made and really only good for catching dust, or just far above my skill level at the time but marketed as a necessity. I want to save you that time, money, and frustration! So what I have for you here is my list of culinary items that I can’t function without. These are my backbone and support system for both cooking and baking, and having these items in your arsenal it will substantially upgrade your kitchen prowess. You’ll have everything you need to make any beginner and even most intermediate level recipes that catch your eye, plus a pantry that will come through for you on those days that you need to put a meal together quickly before the urge to give in and order pizza sets in, and/or you don’t have time or energy to go to pull out a cookbook or go to the store. I use every item on this list weekly, and some of them daily so it really is worth your while to aim for acquiring everything here over time.

It’s substantially more pleasant to cook and create in the kitchen when you have all the right tools that streamline the process and take stress out of the equation. No guesstimating amounts and ending up with Pinterest fails because you don’t have a full set of measuring cups, no near losses of fingers due to old dull knives, no washing the same bowl or two over and over because you don’t have enough for each step of the recipe. Sometimes I think about the number of times I’ve ordered food instead of cooking because my kitchen wasn’t organized, and shed a single tear for all the produce that ended up in the trash instead of on a plate. I’ve always believed the greatest gift anyone can give is the opportunity to help other people learn from their experiences and mistakes. Please allow me to give that gift to you and your kitchen today, cause this the year you’re finally gonna become best friends.

The Starting Lineup

Okay, you need everything on this list. If there are things in this category that you don’t have yet and you’re thinking “it’s fine, I’d rather get a dutch oven instead” back that thang up and put the missing piece from this list in your cart instead. First things first, you need a good quality chef’s knife like this one. Dull, poorly made knives are not only a financial suck cause you have to keep replacing them, they’re also far more dangerous cause you’re using more force and therefore more likely to slip and injure yourself. It also takes WAY more time to chop and dice things with a bad knife. They can be expensive but I promise it’s worth it, so if your knife needs an upgrade, get on it!

Next is your measurement arsenal! A set of dry measuring cups and spoons, and a liquid measuring cup. No, you cannot use dry and liquid measures interchangeably; if you’re doing this, you’re doing it wrong, ESPECIALLY in baking. Also, I know there’s a lot of super cute measuring cups and spoons that look like flowers and birds and give that whimsical Anthropologie-esque vibe but most of them are inaccurate, too fragile for regular use, and just generally not functional. I like stainless steel sets because they’re durable and that’s what matters most; this two-cup liquid measuring cup has the units marked on the top and sides so you don’t have to bend over awkwardly while you pour to check your levels. Up next, you’ll want a nice sturdy cutting board that doesn’t slip around, and some rubber spatulas. Rubber spatulas are bae. I use them daily; they can’t be beat for scraping down bowls and chasing people out of your kitchen. Moving right along, heavy duty sheet pans are an absolutely non-negotiable staple. Those thin ones that warp easily are not welcome here. These will stand up to roasting veggies at high heat, all the sheet pan dinners your heart desires AND produce perfect cookies. Next we have our microplane zester/grater. I held off on buying one of these for years and I do not know why because I use mine ALL THE TIME. Probably because i’m always adding lemon zest and/or parmesan cheese to things and you should be too. Lastly, a solid set of kitchen towels. You’ll need to cover bread and pizza dough as it rises, wash your hands a million times, clean up batter splatters, and dry off dishes without leaving lint behind, and your kitchen towels will be there for you every time. These last forever and have little loops in them for easy hanging from hooks and cabinet knobs which is the kind of attention to detail that makes my heart warm.

Baker’s Besties

I could argue that these items are important whether you’re a baker or not (they are!) but they’re ESPECIALLY important for those of us with Great British Baking Show dreams, so I’m giving them some extra spotlight. I have to start with mixing bowls cause, well, baking is all about mixing. Again, I like stainless steel sets cause they won’t break on you and stand up well to mixer blades and whisks. They also stack really nicely and I find well stacked dishes kinda sexy. Up next, the aforementioned kitchen scale. You may have noticed that many food writers and chefs include weight measurements in their recipes. That’s because baking by weight as opposed to using measuring cups is far more accurate. It’s also faster and less messy because you add your ingredient directly to the bowl, then zero the scale and add the next thing. No scooping and washing in between! Now that you’ve got your ingredients perfectly weighed in your mixing bowl, you’ll want a hand mixer for whipping everything together. I had this model for years before switching to a Kitchenaid and it always performed well. The motor is strong and the whisk attachments are really well made. Now, when it’s time to put whatever you’re baking in the oven, you’ll need an oven thermometer. You’ll need the thermometer because almost every oven is a liar. The knob or display might say it’s at 400° F but it’s probably not, and the only way to ensure your baked goods will cook properly and evenly is by hanging a thermometer in the oven and checking the temperature for yourself! Don’t risk burnt cookie bottoms and undercooked cakes! Once you’re done baking, you’ll need to transfer your goodies to a non-stick cooling rack. They’re made to let air circulate evenly around the food which is key to cooling without allowing steam to build up and make things mushy.

Pack the Pantry

When it comes to the pantry, there are a few staples it’s always good to have on hand. Being able to walk into the kitchen and know you can whip something up without leaving the house is an amazing thing, and these are the items that will give you that ease! Spices are first, and at minimum I always recommend that you have ground black pepper, ground cumin, paprika, bay leaves, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg (unless and until you get your microplane grater at which point you should switch to whole nutmeg cause it’s SUBSTANTIALLY more delicious) and ground ginger. This spice starter pack has all that, plus a few extra things that will set you up nicely. You should also always have some nice kosher salt. It’s the preferred salt for cooking because it’s mild and the granules stick to food best.

Good olive oil is essential and something worth spending a few extra dollars on if you can because the flavors in a nice oil can really elevate an entire dish. It’s also really important to remember that oil does go rancid and should ideally be completely used up 30-60 days after opening. If you’re buying a large quantity of oil and letting the container sit open for months and months, you’re using stale oil and you deserve better! Back to baking — high quality vanilla extract is a must. I love this brand and find the strength and flavor superior to all others I’ve tried (pro tip, you can usually find it half off at Marshalls/Homegoods/TJMaxx) but as long as you’re getting real and not imitation extract, you’ll be alright. I’m not linking the next few items because they’re pretty generic and easily interchangeable between brands, but they’re things you should always aim to have in stock because they come up in recipes over and over again: chicken and/or veggie broth, lemons & limes, canned beans, chickpeas and tomatoes, dried pasta, onions, garlic, all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda.

A Little Something Extra

These items aren’t necessary, but if you have the extra finances and cabinet space I highly recommend getting your hands on them. I use my dutch oven CONSTANTLY. You can make pretty much anything in it. Bread, slow-simmered soups and stews, braises, whole roasted chickens; I could go on forever. Food processors will cut your prep time substantially and allow you to make things like pesto and fresh peanut butter which is always fun and delicious! Silicone baking mats will preserve the life of your sheet pans and prevent long soaking and scrubbing situations when you’re baking or roasting things that are likely to caramelize and cling to your pan for dear life. It’ll all just wipe right off the silicone! What a dream. And finally, an immersion blender! You can use it for smoothies, you can use it to emulsify dressings and gravy, you can puree soup and baby food with it, and it takes up substantially less space than a countertop blender. It’s also way cheaper, which is always a welcome bonus.

So there you have it, everything you need to make your queer kitchen dreams come true this year!

Shapeshifters: Bespoke Binders Put Fun on Your Chest

I must open this review with a confession: I have been sitting on these binders for months, wearing them, making sure I knew everything about them before bringing them to you, the genderfriends and bindingfolk of this here Autostraddle dot com. But that also isn’t the only reason why I haven’t finished this review until now. I have been in my feelings about it. Because these are the last two new binders that I will ever seek to obtain. I’m getting top surgery in 64 days. When I scheduled it, I was really excited for about 20 seconds and then I descended into dread. I have a lot of medical anxiety. But I know it’s the right call, even through the panic attack I am currently having about it as I type this; my binders are beginning to injure me.

Now binders don’t just go around injuring everyone! I have some sort of mystery autoimmune thinger and about a year ago my joints started departing from their assigned locations, which made wearing my binder really terrible for me. I would push my own shoulders out of place and I hurt my spine enough that I shook while sitting still. I was a writer who couldn’t hold a pen for three months. And it happened at the same time I came out as trans, which did not go one hundred percent well. I hated my binders; I hated my body. Every single thing about how my gender arrived on my meat suit caused me pain for almost an entire year.

I went to the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference back in August this year, and boy howdy did I feel bad and weird almost the entire weekend, given the givens. It’s a fabulous event despite the emotional baggage I was bringing to the table: there are workshops and talks and meet-up groups, all focusing on different aspects of what it means to be well while trans. They’ve got everything from top surgery show-and-tell to queer sign language. And while I was feeling bad and weird, I hit the exhibitor’s floor. A bunch of trans artists and artisans display their gender-affirming wares; it feels like a Gender Con, both in its variety and its overwhelm. But from across the hall something caught my eye — it was a riot of sparkles and patterns. Large flowers and iridescent waves. It was a siren song. I walked toward it, eyes wide, without even really understanding what the clothing racks had on them or that I was moving and putting my hands out and touching these amazing objects.

It was binders. Two huge racks of binders. I’d walked right into Shapeshifters, a binder and bra shop specializing in gender affirming underthings for the trans population and entirely predicated on the simple fact that no two bodies are alike. I was binding that day and I was already in pain (even though it was early yet) when I first laid eyes upon this visual feast. I wasn’t feeling particularly kindly toward flattening my chest even as I couldn’t leave the house without doing so. And yet here I was, delighted by each and every perfect thing, every stitch, every fabric name.

The sizing on them was esoteric, even for a person who’d been binding for half a decade, so I turned to the two folks at the table and asked if they could explain what a 7.5 meant. That’s when I met Eli and Krista, the dynamic duo behind Shapeshifters, a couple of amazing human people who just want trans folks to be delighted by their undapants.

“Actually,” said Eli, “you can buy off the rack, but our sizing is based on custom measurements. So we can actually build a binder just for you. Out of any of this.” They gestured to the table of charming fabric choices. My jaw hit the floor. The binders were reasonably priced — the ones I was considering were all priced between $45 and $65.

“Those prices for custom?” I asked

“Yup.”

“Okay, so,” I began, because it was going to be a long explanation. “My binders have been hurting me because I have some mystery autoimmune thing and sometimes binding makes it so I can’t feel my hands or it, like, presses my shoulders out of place because none of my joints want to stay put. You can — you can maybe do something about that?”

And Eli described a quick release side-zipper they’ve tested the shit out of so they know it doesn’t break and that they use on long drives and release themself when they can’t take another mile in the binder. They described how lowering the arm holes reduces that hand numbing sensation. They can do various compression strengths, a binder made entirely of mesh for the summer so you don’t pass out, even custom full-length binders for folks with insulin pumps.

“So yes,” they said. “We can do something about that.”

And I started crying on the show floor. I won’t pretend my feelings weren’t delicate at the time, but it is, if you think about it, a cry-worthy event. There are so few opportunities to look at your binder maker in the face, and that person is another trans person, and they say yes, we recognize that your body is different than all other bodies and here are the ways we can make accommodations for that. In fact, I would argue that there are so few opportunities that this may be the only one. Or at least, the only one I could’ve stumbled into. It felt so nice to have someone take such care.

Eli took my measurements two ways. First, with a tape measure. I asked to not know them, so they didn’t say the measurements out loud. Then they took a stab at one of their sizes — “Here, try this one on.” They had a small popup dressing room, the kind of thing people use to change on the beach. I knew instantly that this size was too big, and I popped my head out. They handed me the next size down. It was perfect.

Then I set about choosing my fabrics. I decided I wanted one “party binder” with a crazy print that I could wear to a party (if I were the kind of person who went to more than one party a year) and one mesh binder because my body doesn’t handle hot weather well. The first warm day every year, I go to the park and forget about this and almost pass out because my binder keeps the sun between my shoulder blades and I overheat. We made the mesh binder with low arm holes, and the party binder with the quick release side-zipper. And then I went about, attending the rest of the conference.

It took about six weeks — Shapeshifters had a lot of orders to fill from the conference. But when the package with my binders came, I TORE it open and began wearing the shit out of both binders. What I discovered is that Shapeshifters makes a binder perfect for ~occasions~. Here’s my opinion of each one.

The Mesh Binder

The mesh binder feels like nothing. It’s so light and so gentle. The lowered arm holes make a huge difference on days when my hands start to go numb or twitch. They are, seriously, GAME CHANGERS. But what I will say is this — it is extremely low compression, because it’s made out of mesh. I can’t figure a way that it wouldn’t be with my chest size, though I imagine if I were smaller the compression would be plenty. I was pouty about the low-compression for about twenty seconds before I realized a huge thing. The point of this binder was never to make my chest as flat as possible. The point of it is to get SOME binding on days where I cannot bring myself to bind at all. This is the binder that comes out on days where I’d normally have to force myself to leave the house in a sports bra and a baggy shirt because my whole body hurts. This is a step up from that and it allows me to take breaks from the more intense binding I usually engage with while mitigating the feeling of wanting to give myself to the sea.

It’s also PERFECT for big baggy sweater around the house days. Even though this is the lower compression binder of the two, this is the one that has gotten the most use from me. A+, would highly recommend ESPECIALLY if you’re at the point in your binding life where things are starting to get shitty OR you’ve got some sort of chronic pain that requires different levels of care on different days.

The Party Binder

I wish I had known about Shapeshifters before our last A-Camp, because this binder makes me feel like a merman and the theme of our dance was Under the Sea. I would’ve ABSOLUTELY worn this and some shorty-shorts and danced about like the fruit I am. Like picture this with some matte blue lips or some GLITTER GODDAMN WHAT A LOOK. That said, I did not know about them, and this makes me sad, but I do want to direct your attention to this fabric selection specifically for the queer parties in your life.

This is the higher compression of the two binders and it has the quick release zipper on the side. To be honest, I actually wish I hadn’t gotten it with the zipper, because I find it really difficult to do and undo myself. But it is really fun when someone else undoes it because I feel like a present that unwraps itself in a whirlwind, or like a cartoon superhero changing clothes. Mostly I slip it over my head like I would any other binder.

I wondered what it would look like under clothes. Like yes, I would wear this otherwise-topless to a queer party, but COULD I wear it like I wear other binders? Under real clothing? Would it show through? I grabbed my favorite button down shirt and gave it a try, and I can’t actually see the pattern through it! I would steer clear of, like, white shirts, but I found that most opaque tops in my closet cover this just fine. You can also use this binder as an accent at lower-key, less topless parties by unbuttoning a shirt down to the point where it can be seen peaking out. Real cute.

While this was the higher compression one, it isn’t as high compression as some other brands of binders I’ve tried. But as I’m about to get WAY into, that’s not really the point of these.

Final Verdict

I want to tell a story about my boxers to illustrate my point here. Mostly, my boxers come from Uniqlo. They’re actually not straight up boxer trunks, they’re boxer briefs. But I also have a good healthy handful of assless underwear that I love. They’re fruity as hell and I love rocking them around the house. Once, thinking that just because I love my assless undas around the house I would also love them in other contexts, I wore them with jeans to do my regular-day-out-the-house in. Reader, my ass sweats so bad. So bad. I was uncomfortable for hours. I came home and vowed to myself nope, not those again when I’m out doing normal things in the world. Give me cha-cha vacuuming my apartment in these any day, but these are not post office underwear.

What my point is here is that we have different stuff for different occasions. And what Shapeshifters has done here is made binders where the point of them goes beyond the normal utilitarian point of a binder. And honestly? We deserve that! We deserve gender affirming garments that are still binding, still doing the thing we need AND ALSO have enough variance to be good and decadent and fashion and comfortable on the days we need it. Our bodies come to the world differently every single day — so why have we been content to own the same binder in two colors and call it totally chill? Shapeshifters makes binders into fun and love and community. And I needed that. You might too.

You can order from Shapeshifters via their website. All you need is a tape measure.

Holigay Gift Guide: Support These Indie POC Designers 2k18!

Say what!?!? It’s that time of the year again! You just filled your belly full of your favorite foods, slept it off for 48 hours, and now it’s time to set our sights on one of the biggest beasts of the year: holiday shopping.

I get it! Shopping can be a hassle. But hey, you’re going to have to spend anyway, so might as well spread some of that coin towards communities of color! Independent designers, artists, and makers of color are creating some of the best merchandise out there and I’m excited to highlight even a small sliver of that ingenuity with this Holigay Shopping List! When I started this gift guide last year, I had no idea it would take off so well; we had a great time oohing and ahhhing, but also putting our money where our mouth is. That’s what it’s all about.

So here I am, back again, gathering up even more beautiful items for you to enjoy! To set the mood, here’s 2000s-era Destiny’s Child in claymation, singing an R&B rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” from their Christmas album that only 50 of us even remember happened!

Never forget, black Santa doesn’t mind if you were naughty or nice, just that you did your part to help dismantle systemic racism this year ?

An * before an item or shop name indicates the the shop is queer-owned, in addition to being POC-owned

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These Bags are Cute, All Your Stuff is Going to Look Cute in Them

1 / *Nina Simone “Strange Fruit” Ankara Backpack ($55)
2 / Crown Clutch ($45)
3 / Feminist Authors Tote Bag ($20)
4 / Blue Tote Bag ($24)

I’m particularly excited about this year’s roundup of bags and totes and (gasp!) a backpack made of West African Ankara print and NINA SIMONE’S FACE!! I want that bag so badly that I went to bed the night I picked it out for this gift and quite literally dreamed of it! Someone out there is going to rock the hell out of that Crown Clutch, I just know it. And what about this tote bag filled to the brim with black and and Latina feminist authors? Don’t you just want to stuff it full of books and take it with you on Saturday errands? I bet you do.

Sabrina Khadija, the designer of the Blue Tote Bag, has an entire store dedicated to graphic art featuring black women on bags, tapestries, cell phone covers and tech accessories, you name it – everything is so beautiful and honestly I’d buy it all if I could.

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T-Shirts and Sweatshirts That Lead with Their Message First!

1 / *Radical Indigenous Queer Feminist T-Shirt ($30)
2 / *Fem Boi Crop Top ($30)
3 / Black Girls Are The Purest Form Of Art ($25)
4 / Bruja Sweatshirt ($21.25)

A t-shirt reppin’ Radical Indigenous Queer Feminists? F*CK YES. How about one celebrating the beauty of black girls as the “purest form of art”? Or a sweatshirt holding it down for all the brujas in your life? I bet you know at least one babe who’s going to look hot in a FemBoi crop top. Just saying.

I didn’t get to fit it into the collage, but I bought one of Be Studio’s “I Am My Ancestors Wildest Dreams” shirts this year and I love it to pieces (it’s also a favorite of director Ava DuVernay and comes in yellow, if you’re interested). I’ve never worn it without getting tons of compliments. In last year’s gift guide, I featured this sweatshirt from Philadelphia Printworks that has all the drag houses from the iconic documentary Paris is Burning emblazoned across the front, but in the year that Pose made it to our television screens, it’s definitely worth re-upping again.

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Makeup That’s Bold and Skincare That’s Bright

1 / Thickums Nail Polish ($12)
2 / *Dianthus Lipstick ($27)
3 / Overkill Lip Gloss ($16)
4 / UNICONCHA Body Butter ($24)

Did I pick out the Thickums nail polish because its name made me laugh? Probably. But listen, I am a thickum and I’m proud of it! I deserve to have that pride down to the very tips of my fingers if I want to! (Also that pastel orange shade is such a hard color to find for nails! Selenia Beauty really knows what they’re doing! Want to see more of their gorgeous offerings? Check here.) I always want to be brave enough to wear a brilliant, dark purple like Melt Cosmetics’ Overkill lip gloss, but I can never work up the gumption. Still, you probably know someone in your life who’s never afraid to go there and if so, that gloss is perfect for them! It’s so rich and deep and gorgeous.

Equally rich, and more within my makeup range, is the Dianthus lipstick from Hi Wildflower! Tanaïs, the owner of the shop, is self-described as a “queer, femme, Muslim, Hindu, Bengali, American diasporic being.” In addition to creating makeup, they also design candle scents and is a kickass writer. There’s so much to love going on here. Also here to love? Loquita Bath’s Uniconcha body butter which smells like a unicorn went into a panadería and that’s literally all I ever want to smell like! Their line of body care items are mostly organic and all cruelty free. They also come in a variety of gender-neutral scents (like cafecito! YUM!).

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Jewelry & Accessories Ready to Shine With All Their Might

1 / Single Baby Skull Earring in Gold Plate ($19.20)
2 / Ankara Earrings ($25.60)
3 / Power Fist Enamel Pin ($10)
4 / *Decolonize Earrings ($16.50)

Michelle Chang has been making a real name for herself with her emphasis on small, impactful jewelry. This miniature skull earring (sold one at a time) is no different, and I can imagine a butch cutie looking positively dapper with one of Chang’s designs in their ears. If you couldn’t tell from my mouth watering over that Nina Simone backpack earlier in the gift guide, I have a real thing for Ankara fabric this year. Those double drop earrings would look gorgeous dressed up or dressed down, and they want to come home with me.

I featured the Filipina owned Native Sol last year, and this year the shop had so much beautiful jewelry that I couldn’t decide! Check it out for some major gift inspiration. By the way, wouldn’t your lapel or backpack look great with Grl Trbl’s triple power fist enamel pin? I think so. In addition to their Etsy store, you can find their full website here. Want a piece of jewelry that’s going to keep it real? I say go with the Decolonize earrings, and let everyone know where you stand.

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And Don’t Forget to Set Up The House!

1 / Brown Sugar Mug ($15)
2 / *La Bandera Lotería-style Poster ($60)
3 / Freedom Throw Pillow ($30)
4 / What Would Beyoncé Do? Magnet ($12)

I don’t know what exactly it is about the Brown Sugar mug that I find so charming. Maybe it’s the font? Maybe it’s the delicate detail work of the twists and turns and flowers forming a circle around the central graphic? I can’t put my finger on it, but my eyes keep coming back for more. If someone you know grew up playing lotería as a kid, then trust me they are going to love this poster! It reimagines the classic “bingo” style game from a queer point of view. I didn’t grow up playing the iconic game, and I still want one for my bedroom wall! There is nothing more true than “Nobody’s Free Until Everybody’s Free” – it’s a phrase I repeat to myself often. Let’s get it etched on a pillow, so that we can always remember!

Speaking of little reminders that will never go out of style, I present you with: “What Would Beyoncé Do?” Because really, using Bey as a guiding light has yet to steer me wrong.

Holigay Gift Guide: 5 Perfect Presents For All 5 Love Languages

The Five Love Languages is a 20-year-old book written for straight Christian couples by a dude named Gary Chapman, but like all the actually good lessons I learned from my Baptist upbringing, I decided to steal those ideas and apply them to my super lesbian life. I know lots of other queer people who have chosen to do that, too!

According to Chapman there are five love languages — quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, receiving gifts, acts of service — and most people prefer to be shown love in one or two of those ways. Most people, by default, also give love in the languages they prefer to receive it. Here are five gift ideas for each of the five love languages.

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Quality Time

1 / A board game ($15-$300)
2 / Meal delivery kit subscription ($69 per week)
3 / Picnic basket ($120)
4 / Beloved lesbian movie ($10-$25)
5 / Romantic getaway (Whatever your budget allows)

Quality time is all about giving someone your undivided attention. A board game is a great way to do that, especially a board game where you get to work together as a team. Plus you can buy board games in the we-just-met to 50th-wedding-anniversary price range. Another great idea is to cook with your partner; subscribing to a meal kit service means three built-in nights a week you can connect while preparing a healthy dinner without anyone having to do the emotional labor of choosing recipes and going grocery shopping. Or why not pack a meal into your new picnic basket and frolic out to a place where there’s no teevee? If you’re really feeling it, go all in and plan a full romantic getaway. For all of these activities, I suggest turning off your notifications and putting your phone somewhere that’s not in front of your eyeballs.

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Physical Touch

1 / Massage Oil ($20)
2 / Smittens ($60)
3 / SleepPhones ($39)
4 / Cozy Blanket ($39)
5 / Lelo Ora2 ($189)

Physical touch is, simply, touching your partner’s body with your body! One great way to do that is with a massage. Or the ol’ classic: holding hands. These smittens will keep their one hand warm and your one hand warm and your clasped hands warm, together. SleepPhones are magical; everyone should have some. You can wear yours in bed and your partner can wear theirs in bed and you can be doing your own thing — playing Nintendo, reading a book, watching Netflix — while lying close enough to touch each other. You could also cozy up under a new blanket to watch teevee (people whose love language is physical touch are often sensitive to textures, so go for something super soft). The love language of physical touch is not always sexual, but it can be sexual, in which case how about one of Lelo’s best-selling vibrators?

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Words of Affirmation

1 / Book of poems ($11)
2 / Encouraging framed print ($6)
3 / Love letter inside a beautiful card ($3)
4 / The fountain pen you wrote the card with ($18)
5 / Engraved Watch ($75)

People who thrive on words of affirmation like to be uplifted and reminded of your love with verbal or with written words. You can’t go wrong with a book of poetry you picked out for them personally, especially if you write a note inside about why the book makes you think of them. A sweet and encouraging print they can put on their desk is a lovely idea; they’ll see it almost every day. Or how about writing them a gay love letter inside a gay card, and then giving them the fancy pen you used to write it? (Words of affirmation people tend to like words in general, including crafting their own!) A watch with a personalized inscription means they can wear your words right next to their pulse every waking minute of the day.

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Receiving Gifts

1 / Subscription Box ($14 per box)
2 / Magical Candle ($18)
3 / Bicycle ($700)
4 / New Phone ($800)
5 / Autostraddle Tee ($20)

People whose love language is receiving gifts usually like either gifts they can tell you took a lot of time to pick out and that show you really know them, or they tend to like big ticket items they can show off (because they are, in effect, showing off your love!). A subscription snack box is a gift that keeps on giving, literally. It’s especially good for a busy partner who, say, works a whole lot from home and sometimes forgets to eat. Candles are excellent gifts for lots of people, and the perfectly selected scent — for relaxing, or mood-boosting, or setting a sultry scene — is an inexpensive way to show your person you get them and what they need right now. A bike is, in my opinion, the greatest gift you can give someone; it’s like giving them back the most magical parts of childhood. A new phone is a gift and a way a person can utilize social media to showcase their entire holiday of gifts. Or why not choose one of the many, many, many tees we have in our Autostraddle store to show you know what identity your tomboy femme or soft butch or non-binary babe wants to present to the world.

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Acts of Service

1 / Spa Day ($80-$200)
2 / Home improvement project (The Limit Does Not Exist)
3 / Breakfast in bed ($43)
4 / Roomba ($230)
5 / Bath salts ($8)

Acts of service people believe actions speak louder than words (and also louder than gifts), so most of these gifts will set you up to do the service. Send your bae away on a spa day, and while they’re out, do that thing you know they’ve really been wanting you to do. If a spa day is out of your price range, give them the chance to check-out at home, like with some bath salts — and go ahead and fold and put away the laundry while they’re soaking. Bring them breakfast in bed! You could go all out and give them that home improvement project they’ve been dreaming of, or even hire a robot to do the act of service for you.

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Design by Mika Albornoz

Do The Monster Mash: Binder Halloween Costumes with GC2B

This post is sponsored by gc2b.

My love for gc2b runs very, very deep. I bought my first gc2b binder back in 2015 because I wasn’t happy with any of my binders. When I received the binder, I had to write a spontaneous review, that’s how good it was. Y’all just needed to know it existed. It even disappeared under my lowest-cut tee shirt! So when gc2b contacted Autostraddle about doing a (sponsored) Halloween post, I said yes as soon as I was asked, no follow up questions (I only say yes to sponsored content from companies I really believe in!). The other thing I love is Halloween. And as a person who grew up a Theatre Kid^TM, I have some weirdly specific costume knowledge to share.

This time around, this piece isn’t at all about the binder fading out, even under my lowest-cut tee. It’s about the binder being out loud and proud. gc2b grabbed some fabulous models and used their products to create Halloween costumes on a budget using items you can find at a craft store, your local Halloween pop-up, and your own closet — and the costumes all center a gc2b binder! This is for every queer who’s ever wanted to prance or parade around in their binder in public without putting a shirt over it. Halloween’s the perfect time to do that. You flaunt that gender-wear, friends! Flaunt it good!

Whenever you’re buying a gc2b binder, remember to use their sizing guide. They’re fundamentally built differently than most binders — it’s almost like the shape does the work, rather than an elastic. So even if you own other binders and you’re sure you know your size, double check anyhow; I know my sizing has been vastly different with gc2b than with any other binder company. Enough about process, let’s get to the sexy sexy Halloween costumes!

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Frankenstein’s Monster

1 / Olive Green gc2b Binder
2 / Neck Bolts
3 / Weathered Green Shirt and Joggers
4 / Green Face Paint

It’s the 200th Anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, so what better time to dress as Frankenstein’s monster? Model Roz has your inspo covered. The center of the costume is the olive green gc2b binder (and may I point out that you don’t need to make any alterations to it, so you’ll just have this come November 1st).

The only other things you absolutely need to sell this look are the neck bolts. I recommend liquid latex over spirit gum any time you’re sticking things to your skin by the way — unless you’re allergic to it, liquid latex moves better and doesn’t have quite as pungent a smell. Usually theatrical makeup marketed as “bruise” is good for a hint of monster, and if you’re going to be dancing the night away and sweating, try setting that paint with some translucent powder.

When it comes to your clothes, update your monster by 200 years by going with whatever shirt and joggers you’ve got in your closet but aim for a faded grey or green, something to gesture at “roar scary monster that personifies a lot of industrial revolution stressssssss roar.”

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Werewolf

1 / Painted Nude gc2b Binder
2 / Creature Ears
3 / Top and Bottom Fangs
4 / Flannel Shirt
5 / Face and Body Paint

Let’s be real. You definitely have this red flannel in your closet or you know someone who does.  But you could really go with any ole button down because the centerpiece is a painted nude gc2b binder, and the important part of the shirt is that it remains lazily open the entire night.

When it comes to adhering your creature ears, my advice remains the same — liquid latex is my personal favorite ear-adhesive. A word to the wise — creature ears, or elf ears as they’re usually marketed, are never the right color for literally any human person, so even if you get them pre-painted, they’re gonna require a little makeup tlc — using your normal makeup can be a great way to match your skin tone, or rock on with the face and body paint pictured here. If you can’t find elf ears to your liking in time for Halloween, might I recommend going with fake fur — use that liquid latex and rip up a cotton ball you’ve painted a werewolf color for little whisps on the tips of your ears. To get a little bit extra, rock on with some gnarly fake nails.

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Hades

1 / Black gc2b Binder
2 / Black Costume Horns
3 / Dark Face Paint
4 / Black Foliage
5 / Sinister Trident

Aside from the black gc2b binder (my most frequently worn binder!), perhaps the most versatile part of this costume is the horns. Horns show up in a good deal many costumes and, in your laziest of be-costumed moments, you can simply throw horns on with whatever the fuck you are wearing and call it a costume. Like if I put horns on right now and go teach my class, I’m a tiefling professor and that’s absolutely an acceptable costume.

Hit your local Michael’s for their floral section for any sort of black foliage you might find — the name of the game here is head-to-toe midnight, but varying up the texture is one way take your costume next level. It might be hard to find a sinister trident, but you can make any trident sinister with some black spray paint!

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Pastel Siren

1 / White gc2b Binder
2 / Tie-Dye Kit
3 / Merfolk Tail
4 / Pastel Hair Spray
5 / Colorful Face Decals
6 / Trident

Get ready to make yourself a fancy binder to wear to all sorts of fabulous occasions, because you’re going to tie-dye the white gc2b binder! This will be something that you’ll pull out any time your goal is “extra,” so don’t get too concerned about making it too colorful. Tie dying is also nigh near impossible to mess up, so go forth and jam even if you don’t usually craft. The other thing you’re going to get out of this is a snuggie shaped like a tail, and that’s reason enough to try this Halloween costume on for size. Do remember that this costume is NOT the right one for a night of walking around and dancing — this is the best costume if you’ve got a living room party where your friends can be persuaded to hand feed you grapes while you park up on a recliner (in other words, the best Halloween party).

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Raven

1 / Black gc2b Binder
2 / Dramatic Black Feathers
3 / Victorian Beaked Mask
4 / Clawed Gloves

Quoth the Raven etc etc, tis the season to get a little angsty Poe up in here. All craft shops will be filled to the brim with black feathers, which you can tuck into the shoulders of the black gc2b binder for a dramatic collar. Most beaked masks you’re going to find are going to have a distinct “Commedia plague doctor” vibe, which honestly isn’t a bad way to go with a raven costume, and especially if you’re hitting up a Halloween party with a distinct BDSM vibe! If you’re having trouble, though, search “Venetian mask” and see what you come up with, or even papier mache your own! I also want to point out that, for those with reactive skin, this is one of the costumes that doesn’t suggest face or body paint! A mask might be just your thing!

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Robot

1 / Gray gc2b Binder with Metallic Paint
2 / Metallic Rain Jacket
3 / Metallic Boots
4 / Silver Hairspray
5 / Silver Facepaint

This robot leans heavily into silver, with the gray gc2b binder at the center. But I want to encourage you to mix your metallics for a cobbled together, steampunk robo-look. For instance, I’ve linked to a metallic jacket that’s in this general color family, but you could go gold and be just as roboty!

Or if hairspray isn’t your thing (it’s not mine), you can get a silver wax instead. This one is screaming out for customization, and it’s also screaming out for versatility. If you’re a person who regularly goes out, all of these components can be easily used at other times throughout the year.

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Stag

1 / Nude gc2b Binder Painted with White Spots
2 / Costume Antlers
3 / Faux Foliage
4 / White Face Paint

I do not know why, but this costume looks so very gay to me? I mean, they all do, but for some reason this seems extra homosexual and I welcome your theories as to why I think that, because I do not know. Anyhow! At the center of this is a nude gc2b binder, and also another reason to get something weird to put on your head that you can pull out for parties and parties and Halloweens to come. And if you really want to go extra on this, here, I found you a deer tail. You’re welcome.

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Zeus

1 / White gc2b Binder
2 / Gold Wreath Crown
3 / White Drapery
4 / Gold Paint

I have never called upon my white gc2b tank binder to solve “the toga problem,” aka my complete inability to not be naked when I intend to be in a bed sheet toga. You can really just use a white sheet for this one and tie it artfully. Once again, you can hit the craft store and use gold spray paint and some floral filler to make your crown, OR you can indulge your year-round desire to search Etsy for “gold leaf crown”. Honestly, just like Alton Brown, I’m a huge proponent of multi-use tools and these costumes can provide you with an excuse to get something you’ll use again and again —the binders, sure, but also the gold leaf crown. I also want to point out that you can use this toga-style to do a ton of other Gods, not just Zeus and Hades! Pick any Greek God or Hero and rock on!

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In conclusion, use Halloween to your advantage — get that new color, that extra binder you’ve been staring at, or try your first gc2b! Also use it to get you a merfolk tail snuggie. 2018 is a garbage fire and you deserve both things: to feel good in your body and to pretend you’re diving into an ocean to live with under-water-peeps every time you are taking a nap. We’re all on a budget out here, so make the costumes work for you — but don’t forget to play pretend in whatever ways you see fit. It’s Halloween and honestly, when everything is bad, it’s more important than ever.

Save 13% With This Discount!

gc2b is gonna make it even easier to devote some time and money to play pretend this October with a SALE. YAY FOR US!

From October 18 – 21 (midnight EST), get 13% off all items with discount code TREATSNOTTRICKS13.

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Disclaimer: I also want to make it super clear that we’re promoting gc2b here, and not other brands in our shoppable guide (though I must say I am extremely proud of myself for having found you those metallic platform boots) — the rest of the links are to make it easier for you to put together your costume in the next few days! This sponsored content was brought to you by gc2b, who’s showing our community some love. Let’s show them some love right back!

One Pen to Rule Them All: Our Favorite School Supplies

It’s back to school time. You know what that means?? I will buy so many unnecessary markers, pens, and stationary shit from Target because I love school supplies! Who’s with me? Raise your hand if you will buy all the school supplies whether or not you’re actually in school at the moment.

I don’t know where this obsession with pens and paper came from, but as a kid I collected glitter pens, glow-in-the-dark pens, Tweety bird stationary, fun animal pencils and BFF notebooks. Nothing has changed except that the things I want are more grown-up and probably in a neutral color like black.

I asked the team if they were into school supplies as much as I am and yes, some of them are! Here are the Autostraddle team’s favorite pens, pencils, markers, notebooks, highlighters, and more!

What are your favorites? Tell us about your school supplies feelings in the comments.

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Yvonne, Senior Editor

I use a blank extra large Moleskine notebook to scribble notes and write out my ideas and plans for the week. I don’t know how, but I’ve accumulated a lot of pens and skinny markers, in various colors, over the years and they sit in a tin can on my desk. But it was time to replace them with new writing utensils and that’s why I bought these Bullet Journal Planner Pens. Come one they’re $5.99 for 18 colors! Or you can get 36 colors for $9.99 which has a bunch of 5 star reviews! I feel like the Rainbow Sponge lady just getting excited about all the colors. I like that they’re a fine tip marker that doesn’t bleed through the page but still has a lot of pigment.

And lately I’ve been wanting a Field Notes Reporter’s Notebook because it’s so pretty! The last time I went out to report on a story, I used a writing pad meant for grocery lists so the pages tear off easily so it was not practical. This notebook is practical and kills in the design.

You might be thinking a journal stencil is useless but I’ll tell you what! They’re super helpful for drawing boxes and shapes if you’re not a freaking artist. Like I said before, I have a free-for-all notebook and it’s just blank and the possibilities are endless so sometimes I use the stencil to organize the chaos. They’re super handy, I highly recommend it!

Riese, Editor in Chief

There is only one type of pen I can use for anything ever and it’s that Pilot pen. Sometimes people try to get me to write with other pens and I’m like, how dare you? I switch the kind of notebooks I use a lot, but I’m really into the one I have now. It’s not too big, it’s not too small, it’s spiral bound (pages always come out of the other kind) and it looks cute.

Valerie Anne, Staff Writer

I used to love, love, love buying fresh, new notebooks every year. A blank book full of opportunities. And I’d always buy however many notebooks I needed for school, plus a book I intended to be my journal. Flash forward to me, many years post-school, and I now have dozens of empty or mostly-empty notebooks strewn about my apartment. So now I have turned my attention to writing implements I will totally and definitely use to write in those empty notebooks someday. I love a clean, inky black pen. I also have a ton of colors from when I tried bullet journaling for like one full minute. My favorites at the moment are these Inkjoy pens that have SHADES and are a nice, smooth time.

Heather Hogan, Senior Editor

Not too very long ago I got a fountain pen as a gift and it has changed my life! I’ve always been terrible at writing but now that I have a few fancy pens on my desk, I have turned into a prolific writer of things that require ink! I journal every day! I send letters and cards to people in the mail! My planner is legible and constantly up to date! Fountain pens really do write completely differently than other pens, and I only have entry level ones; I can’t imagine what a gold nib pen would write like. I hold the pen correctly (and not like my hand is a cartoon claw) now, I keep it clean, I change the ink every week. I treat it better than I ever treated those little Tamagotchi keychains of my youth, that’s for sure. This Lamy Safari is basically everyone’s favorite starter pen and you can get it in a variety of nib sizes and colors. Black Swan in Australian Rose is one of my favorite Noodler’s inks (is it purple? is it blue? is it black? is it pink? yes!) but you can get ink in literally any color (with different types of sheens!); Noodler’s is just the most economical brand. If you’re going to write with a fountain pen, it’s worth it to invest in some thicker, slicker paper like this Rhodia notepad, which I use for my daily journal. And finally, I have tried every planner ever made, and nothing comes close to the Passion Planner. It’s everything you need to keep your life on track in all the areas you want to improve and maintain.

Rachel, Managing Editor

Although I have a Passion Planner and do love it, especially for noting time-specific things like appointments or social plans, I need a dedicated Notebook for dumping and organizing all the other things going on in my brain — meal plans for the week, brainstorming for meetings, making lists, taking notes during calls, making other, different lists. For a while I was trying to “bullet journal,” which is I think what this notebook is in part designed for, but I’ve transitioned to a more laissez-faire and organic “writing stuff down and flipping to finding it later if I need it” approach and can vouch that this notebook is also perfect for that.

For writing in it and writing all other things, the only pen in my heart is the Pilot G2 .38 mm, which makes lines so delicate and clean that looking at my notes makes me feel like how I imagine Gwyneth Paltrow does after she’s spooned some cilantro oil that an endangered snow owl has made eye contact with onto a plate.

Carrie, Staff Writer

About a year ago I started writing down my daily to-do lists in a Moleskine Valant to try and calm my mind. And it worked! Best review I can give! Initially I chose this notebook for the job because it’s what I had around, but it’s proven a very apt selection. There’s nothing fancy about it unless you count the fun cover colors, which incidentally make it easy to find in a crowded bag (important for me). The size is ideal for my purposes: big enough to keep track of but slim enough to fit inside basically any carrier that isn’t a pants pocket. I like how the cover softens even more with time, too. I have this thing with me whenever there is work afoot. By now it provides a visual record of my achievements, which I very much enjoy.

I’m sure there are fancier highlighters out there but these Sharpie ones have lasted forever so I’m a de facto loyalist now. Whenever I really don’t want to do something that I know needs to get done, I’ll write out the steps and then make them all colorful with these, which tricks my brain into thinking we’re having fun. Any office supply that curbs my procrastination is a winner in my (note)book. (Sorry).

Al(aina), Staff Writer

I’ve been in school almost every year since I was four, and I’ve loved shopping for school supplies ever since. I’m starting to feel very old and set in my ways though because this year I didn’t buy anything new. These six things are my go-tos no matter what I’m doing in class. I exclusively write with black Pilot G2 ultra fine pens (because I, myself, am ultra fine) and love nothing more than a fresh pack of twelve shiny new clicky bois. I’ve also been using Moleskine notebooks since I started acting school — I like being able to line things up and look at years and years of the exact same thing! Familiarity is comforting. I recently downsized from the extra large notebooks to large notebooks, primarily because the way I take notes in grad school less “get all the important information from the professor” and more “journal about how what I’m reading applies to my research”. I use poster markers with my Passion Planner when I need to block out large chunks of time. They don’t bleed like Sharpies, but they’re more visible than highlighters; 10/10 would recommend. I got a refill on printer ink this year because somehow I have spent almost $200 on printing at school every year in the past, and I’d love to keep $200 for myself! I use lined Post-it notes because I’m constantly making lists and the larger size is more practical and less wasteful, I think. And finally, no school year can begin without a new fidget cube. It’s perfect for long lectures, for settling my mind during a writing activity, or for keeping me focused during a seminar class. Everyone should get one, they’re perfect.

Alexis, Staff Writer

I come from a family of teachers and also just nerdy people in general so back to school supplies? ARE. MY. SHIT. So uni-ball is my pen of choice cause my mom and I love “inky” pens but I only like those for the subjects I care about, so for the other subjects I’d use Paper Mate Write Bros cause it let’s me be messier. I didn’t add notebooks because honestly as long as there’s paper in it, I’m gonna use it. But I know you’re also looking at me like, why are pastels on this list? Especially since I cannot draw my way out of a paper bag and the answer is this: You gotta buy your serious supplies and your sanity supplies. Pens, notebooks = serious. Pastels = sanity. Because sometimes, after you do all that important work all day, you just wanna play in some chalk and have your hands come up in pretty colors and honestly if that’s not therapeutic and striking the perfect work/play balance, I don’t know what is.

25 Sporty Jackets Under $75 That Are Just Cool Enough for the Summer

When it’s so hot outside that your face is melting off your face, you’re probably not thinking about jackets. But just wait until nightfall on the West Coast, mid-afternoon in an aggressively air-conditioned Whole Foods or a surprisingly temperate house-party and you’ll wish you had just a little something to put over your little something. Luckily for tomboy femmes, fans of ’80s/’90s sportswear, athleisure divas and people who want to dress like Hayley Kiyoko, lightweight sporty spice jackets are everywhere and officially trendy enough to count as actual coats. It’s a real jacket renaissance people, and we’ve got to count our blessings.

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Track Jackets

This tomboy classic has never been cooler, especially with queer icons Hayley Kiyoko and Kehlani consistently sporting their own track jackets all over town. Most track jackets are made of relatively heavy fabric, but here are some lighter options ready to be tied around your waist or worn upon your body.

1 / adidas Originals Adidas Originals Track Jacket In Red And Pink ($50)
2 / ADIDAS SST Womens Track Jacket ($74.99)
3 / Barney Cools B Quick Track Jacket ($54.97)
4 / Women’s Puma Exposed Mesh Fashion T7 Track Jacket ($54.99)
5 / Reebok Lightweight Vector Jacket ($42.97)
6 / South Beach Plus Track Jacket ($32)
7 / Umbro Crinkle Retro Track Jacket ($56.69)
8 / En Pointe Satin t7 Women’s Jacket ($49.99)
9 / Adidas SST Women’s Track Jacket ($75)

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Coach’s Jackets

Originally designed as lightweight waterproof layers for football coaches to wear on the sidelines of their American sportsball games, coach’s jackets got picked up by streetwear brands in the ’90s and became popular attire for hip-hop groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A. Good news: the ’90s are back and everybody’s got a coach’s jacket now, so now even you (yes, you!) can be the Eric Taylor and/or lesbian gym teacher of your dreams! Generally longline, made out of lightweight nylon, and traditionally topped off by a shirt collar and snap buttons, the modern coach’s jacket might add a twist — like a hood! — and can be found at every price point. Here are some cheaper ones.

1 / FairPlay Rider Coach Jacket ($69)
2 / Levi’s Retro Hooded Coaches Jacket ($59.97
3 / PUMA Classic Logo T7 Women’s Coach Jacket ($24.98)
4 / Van’s Thanks Coach Jacket ($44.99)
5 / Wildfang Hooded Trench ($52.80)

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Windbreakers

Another ’90s staple, windbreakers are COOL, cooler than the really outdated Outkast reference I resisted making just then, but now am telling you about anyhow. There’s been mad reissues of old-school sportswear classics as well as throwbacks that’ll make you wanna get back into mall-walking. They’re ultra-light and, at least in theory, resist wind chill and low-key rain.

1 / Columbia Plus-Size Flash Forward Windbreaker ($49.99)
2 /  Verdusa Women’s Hooded Color Block Drawstring Sports Windbreaker Jacket ($16.99)
3 / Full Tilt Windbreaker ($34.99)
4 / Jack & Jones Core Lightweight Hooded Jacket ($70)
5 / Petite Color Block Windbreaker Jacket ($50)
6 / Nike Hooded Windrunner ($70)
7 / Topshop Rainbow striped windbreaker jacket ($75)
8 / Pony Plus-Size Cropped Windbreaker Jacket ($34.90)
9 / Reclaimed Vintage Revived Windbreaker With Sleeve Print ($39.50)

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Anoraks

These pull-over jackets usually sport drawstrings, half-zippers, and front pockets for you to carry a baby kangaroo in. The Herschel Jacket (#3) packs itself right into its own pocket, making it ideal for travel.

1 / adidas Anorak Jacket ($69)
2 / Fila Vintage Overhead Jacket With Small Logo In White ($53)
3 / Herschel Supply Co. Color-Blocked Hooded Anorak Jacket ($41.99)
4 / Hooded Anorak ($29.99)
5 / Plus Size MTV Colorblock Anorak ($42.90)
6 / Vans Ranger Anorak Jacket ($68.99)

The Top 5 Sheet Masks to Wear After Crying About Your Gender

So last Fall I had a flash realization that surprised literally only me; turns out I’m trans. I used to go by Ali, but now I go by Austen in most aspects of my life, and, largely, A.E. on the internet. I’m using they/them pronouns these days, and I identify as transmasculine and non-binary. I’ve been torn about whether to do a big ole thing on Autostraddle about it and largely I’ve come down on the side of “I’d rather rip my own skin off than do that big of a look-at-me.” On this day, however, the information is relevant. Because I’m going to give you a tiny bit of advice about crying and, specifically, crying regarding your gender. And I’m going to give it to you from my very own perspective because I feel like I am not the only one here crying about my gender, and you should know a) that you’re not alone and b) sheet masks can help.

I feel like I do almost nothing except cry about my gender. Morning, noon, night, at meals, in the shower, at work, while writing on my book, while playing computer games, while legitimately having unrelated conversations with some very confused cis people: it is my brand new full-time job to cry about my gender. Luckily for me, at the very same time all this crying was happening, I got really into skincare. While it was unrelated to crying about my gender, it was deeply related to gender. I needed ways to feel good in my body right the hell now, instead of longing to feel good in my body in the future. So I developed some intense themed baths and lotions and, yes, a crazy skincare routine. I made all choices based on what felt good, smelled good, made me feel good to spend time on. Anything I didn’t like to do, I simply… did not do.

I stumbled onto sheet masks because they are cheap and easy to work into a schedule when you’re just getting into this stuff—  you don’t even really get your hands dirty with application! All the product comes on a handy face mask that makes you look like either a cute little animal or a masked murderer, no in-between. While some naysayers and famous beauty product purveyors insist sheet masks do absolutely nothing for your skin, I am here to tell you that they still serve a purpose. Because I never really cared what they actually do for your skin; I care what they do for your soul. And the real story about sheet masks is that after your face is all red and puffy and worn out from crying for nine entire months about your gender, they feel fucking amazing to put on. Plus it’s a way to say hey, hello body that I have complicated feelings about, you are worth the three dollars and twenty minutes it takes to do this even right now when things feel real bad in here.

So without further ado, I give you: my top five sheet masks specifically for after crying, ranked, beginning with:

Number Five: A’Pieu Sweet Peach Sheet Mask

This peach-yogurt-face-situation smells amazing and that is how I make most of my decisions. It’s pretty multipurpose and not quite as hydrating as some of the other things on this list, but damn. Inhale deeply, maybe even meditate with this on your face. This one is perfect for having lightly cried.

Number Four: L’Affair Soothing Monkey

I purchased this monkey mask after reading Basic Witches, which recommends doing face masks with animals on them to imbue yourself with the characteristics of said animal. Since, at least in the realm of symbolism and story, monkeys are thought to be playful, I was like, hell yes, I will take a prayer for playfulness after crying this much about my gender. Gender should be about play, anyhow! And aside from that, this mask is labeled “soothing.” Pro-tip: when shopping for post-crying masks, the best categories to hit are “soothing,” “hydrating” and “relaxing.”

Turns out, the actual character print on this one is HORRIFYING. And that was HILARIOUS. Highly recommend when you’re reading to explore “hysterics” as a category of crying. Or when you just need a good cheer up.

Number Three: Sephora Orchid Eye Mask

This is a little bit cheating because it’s not a full sheet mask; the Sephora Orchid Eye Mask comes in just two wee patches that go where the dark circles inevitably are, just under your eye-holes. It’s perfect for when you’ve done far too many face masks because you’ve cried every single day this week, and you don’t want to put additional stuff on your face BUT your eyes are a goddamn wreck. Ignore the text on the package that says anti-aging, because we all know that’s total bullshit, there’s no such thing. Why did I pick this one, then, if not for the properties? Oh ho ho, I’m glad you asked. It’s because I like the smell of orchids and orchid-related products.

Number Two: Vita Genic Relaxing Jelly Mask (the green one)

I purchased this mask to make myself feel better after having cried to my therapist about top surgery for fifty entire Earth minutes. I then tried to go out and have normal human social experiences; this went okay, but then I came home and cried in my wife’s lap DIRECTLY before I went to sleep for, like, quite a while. I put this mask on the next morning to repair the feeling of having dehydrated my body and face and whoo boy, yes, I recommend this mask for the morning after a before-bed cry. Even though it was just chilling in my apartment, normal-room-temperature-style, it felt naturally cold when I took it out and put it on my face. It’s also less a liquid and more a jelly (surprise), so in terms of hydration, this feels a little like pulling out the big guns. Or shall I say, the big super soakers, since we’re talking hydration?

Number One: Innisfree It’s a Real Squeeze Mask Manuka Honey, specifically one that you’ve stuck in the fridge

This is my absolute, number one, you-have-cried-for-hours sheet mask. Most of my intense skincare routine is made up of Innisfree products, so I’m in the shop a lot. I got an impromptu pro-tip from one of the folks who works there because she’d seen me in there a bunch buying a metric ton of these: if you stick sheet masks in the fridge, they restrict your pores and make them look smaller. Is that bullshit? I have no clue, I frankly can’t see the difference but I also had to memorize my own eye color and I had it incorrect for years. What I do know is that, when you’ve cried for hours about your gender, a fridge mask feels AMAZING. On the plus side, you usually don’t have to rinse off sheet masks, so if you’re too sad to add steps, you can just RUB THIS SHIT IN. Bonus: smells like honey because it’s honey.

In summary: crying might be inevitable right now for you. It is for me. But as much as we’d all like to uninstall our feelings, alas, we cannot because we are not computers. We are human people with bodies and faces and genders! So while you’re doing all the work with your therapist and your community and your own internal self, grab a couple of sheet masks because you goddamn deserve it. And one last pro-tip! Don’t forget to do the internal hydrating mask: drink water after crying this much, you will feel instantly more equipped to deal with your gender.

22 Brands Selling LGBT Pride Apparel In 2018, Ranked By Highly Subjective Criteria

Ah, Pride Season. A time to take pride in who you are, especially if “who you are” is a person who is skeptical of Pride! The LGBTQ+ community’s contentious relationship with the corporations who cash in on / celebrate our community every June is a storied and well-documented saga, and every year we approach a new chapter of this epic tome. However, as much as we often feel conflicted about corporations, most of the brands selling gay apparel this summer are giving significant donations to LGBTQ+ non-profits doing incredibly relevant work — and a corporation’s Pride collection can often suggest that they’ve got some good LGBTQ+ people working for them who are making innovative and relatively progressive choices.

A quick sidenote: every June we’re bombarded with press releases about Pride branding tie-ins, but never do these companies actually want to buy advertising from us. They just want free coverage of their partnerships. So, that’s my disclaimer: a great way to support LGBTQ community health is to put money into independent queer media, and I wish these companies did that.

I’ve loosely grouped the collaborations into possibly arbitrary groups based on vague criteria, none of which I feel very strongly about. The rankings are mildly influenced by a company’s positive history with the LGBTQ community but are not influenced by the company’s overall ethics, their history or reputation in other areas, or by the politics, religious affiliations or lobbying activities of its leadership team. Undoubtedly most corporations do some bad things. This is a fact of capitalism.

“Non-Profit Partner” refers to a non-profit who is the direct recipient of money raised around the company’s pride apparel collection. Many of these companies donate to LGBTQ non-profits independently of their Pride Collections.

In total, the apparel we will consider today includes 23 variations on “Love” (including five “Love is Love” items and four “Love Wins”) as well as 15 takes on Pride, Equality, and being United. Only two companies on this list actually used one or more of the words represented in the LGBTQ+ acronym.

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The Okay, Sure

Target: #TakePride

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: ????

In 2017 and in years prior, Target, a consistent LGBT ally, has publicly partnered with non-profits around their Pride Gear and engaged in high-level gimmickry: this year, not so much, although their press release is very enthusiastic regardless, especially regarding their exclusive release of Love Simon and the fact that they are selling The Harry’s Shave Kit in stores (100% of profits from that specific product do go to GLAAD.) They’ve got some fresh-faced queers on their website sharing their favorite Target items, aggressively rainbowed accessories, and cheap pronoun pins you could also easily pick up from a queer indie retailer!

Target has been good to our community, though, through standing up for trans folks w/r/t bathrooms, moving away from gender-based signs, committing $20 million to installing gender-neutral single-stall bathrooms in stores that don’t have one, and making their stores obnoxiously gay for a month every year. Meanwhile, conservatives remain flummoxed by Target’s refusal to cater to their intolerance, and alt-right news outlets remain convinced that their Target boycott caused the store’s sales to tank. They also earned a 100 on the 2018 HRC LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index.

ETA: A reader reports that they’re selling bi and trans pride items in their stores — I didn’t see them online in the Pride section of Target’s website, but that’s pretty cool!

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Adidas: Pride Pack

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: ???!?!?!

Style-wise, these are winners. Abandoning the gaudiness of yesteryear’s Pride situations, Adidas’s 2018 Pride Pack sneakers are all about subtle pastels and year-round cool. Adidas’s copywriter promises that “these shoes celebrate LGBT pride with an explosion of bright colors,” which is false, because shoes cannot celebrate things because they are inanimate objects. However, if you’ve always dreamed of sticking your foot into a shoe that says “LOVE UNITES” on the sole, then wow have I got great news for you.

Adidas earned a “100” on the HRC’s 2018 LGBTQ+ Corporate Equality Index.

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The Pretty Good

Nike BeTrue 2018: Reclaiming the Past

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: “Organizations supporting LGBT issues in sports,” unspecified amount, unclear if this is tied to sales.

Nike has donated a portion of its proceeds to LGBTQIA causes since launching its first “Be True” campaign in 2012 (over $2.5 million as of 2017), and purportedly will continue to do so this year. They’ve been funding The LGBT Sport Coalition (recently renamed The LGBT Sports Foundation and seemingly struggling through some growing pains) since its inception, as well as sponsoring the annual LGBT Sport Summit, but no specific recipient is noted in any current BeTrue materials. Nike has earned a “100” from the HRC’s LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index.

But… two sneakers from Nike’s 2018 collection promise to “reclaim the past” and “empower the future” by taking a pink triangle — a symbol originally employed by Nazis during World War II and reclaimed by designer Avram Finkelstein’s Silence = Death Project in the ’90s, who then donated it to HIV/AIDS activist organization ACT UP! — and slapping it directly onto some very aerodynamic and stylish sneakers. Yikes!!!! While it’s true that pink triangles are commonly incorporated into gay apparel, this particular company and this particular design in this particular context inspires intense cognitive dissonance. It’s tacky at best, profoundly messed up at worst. ACT UP agrees:

Hey @Nike, we love that you’re moved by our work. How about donating the proceeds to current work we continue to do? https://t.co/Uv7jLfUouk pic.twitter.com/pdXuD6fCMp

— ACT UP NY (@actupny) May 31, 2018

Nike tweeted back “Let’s talk. Our BETRUE team will reach out,” and we’ll see what comes of that.

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GAP: We Are One Collection

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: United Nations Free & Equal Campaign for LGBTI equality, $5 from each t-shirt sale

As in 2017, The Gap is coming in cold with an uninspired collection of Pride Tees that are somehow already on sale. Maybe it’s because I personally designed the logo with leftover washi tape from camp and am ashamed of myself for having so much internalized homophobia that instead of writing words that had some meaning to the LGBTQ+ community, I wrote “We Are One” instead, which could honestly really mean anything and also is definitively untrue.

Gap Inc has consistently earned high marks from the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to LGBTQ employees, scoring a perfect 100 in 2018.

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Banana Republic: Love is Love

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: United Nations Free & Equal Campaign for LGBTI equality, $5 from each t-shirt sale with a minimum $10k and maximum $60k donation

My former employer Banana Republic, another Gap Inc property, unleashed a terrifying display of love and affection upon the city of San Francisco to kick off Pride Month by having all its employees, appropriately adorned in colorful Pride tees and carrying sheets of colored poster-board, exit their corporate offices en masse and walk enthusiastically towards the landmark Cupid’s Span sculpture (commissioned by Gap founders in 2002) where they eventually formed the shape of a rainbow-colored heart, “creating a powerful image of equality to be shared around the world.”

Another powerful image of equality? Elephants, apparently. Why elephants? Love is love!

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The Good

Abercrombie & Fitch: Made For Love

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: The Trevor Project, $250,000 plus 100% of proceeds (with a $20,000 max contribution)

Love is love love is love love love love rainbows love and rainbows pride love rainbows!!! You know, when I close my eyes and think about gay people, the first thing I think is “Love… Try some.”

Abercrombie & Fitch earned a “100” on the HRC’s 2018 LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index.

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Under Armour: United We Win

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: Athlete Ally, 100%

Next time you’re out there on the b-ball court shooting hoops and dreaming big, please feel comforted to know that “no matter who you love, how you look, where you’re from, or what sport you play,” Under Armour stands behind you. That’s right: they’re right behind you. Turn around and look for yourself! I’ll wait. Under Armour will “stand behind all athletes, no exceptions.” Under Armor specifically is going to celebrate you by making normal UA gear, but with rainbows! Proceeds support Athlete Ally, who educate athletic communities at all levels on how to be more inclusive of LGBTQ people in sports.

Under Armour earned a “100” on the HRC’s 2018 LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index.

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Calvin Klein: Wear Yours With Pride

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: Human Rights Campaign, but it’s unclear if this is tied to Pride Apparel sales in any way. “In support of LGBTQ equality, CALVIN KLEIN has made a donation to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation™”

Calvin Klein has taken clothing they already make and turned it into… rainbow clothing they already make! Yay rainbows for everybody! Rainbows forever!

Calvin Klein consistently ranks among the most LGBTQ-friendly brands. I mean honestly their CK One campaign in the ’90s is my root. They earned a “100” on the HRC’s 2018 LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index.

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Madewell / JCrew: Love To All

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: Human Rights Campaign, 50% of purchase price

I love Madewell’s jeans and wispy-soft t-shirts and Madewell loves all, and “all” includes the HRC.

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Everlane: 100% Human

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: Human Rights Campaign, 20%

Everlane, one of the few companies on this list truly committed to ethical production practices (and STILL one of the few companies on this list to reject Autostraddle as an affiliate, BUT IT’S FINE), continues the 100% Human campaign they started last year with another 100% Human Campaign Pride Collaboration with the Human Rights Campaign. Last year Everlane won high “marks” from us for its inspirational assemblage of cool LGBTQ folks, like Hari Nef and Rowan Blanchard, and their #HumanTogether initiative, but this year they’ve taken a more low-key approach. It’s okay, we’re all only human.

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The Great

These companies get extra points for exceptionally inventive & informed design choices, actually saying the word “gay,” and/or featuring a cool and/or diverse array of actual lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and trans people in their Pride campaigns.

H&M: Pride Out Loud

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: United Nations Human Rights Office Free & Equal Campaign, 10% of sales (guaranteed minimum of $350,000)

H&M’s first-ever Pride collection was launched in collaboration with Out Magazine and gets extra points for featuring Art Hoe Collective founder Gabrielle Richardson (I believe she is representing the “L” for us) as well as Kim Petras, model Shaun Ross, Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Aja. They’re also making a huge guaranteed minimum donation to their non-profit partner.

H&M’s Pride Out Loud page intermingles their Pride line — some basic tanks and tees slapped with words like “Equality” and “Love” and a fun black mesh t-shirt dress with a rainbow “Equality” gradient logo — with other H&M items.

“H&M believes in everybody’s right to love who they want,” H&M’s head of Menswear Design told WWD, clearing up any misconceptions anybody had about H&M’s stance on love. He hopes people can use H&M’s Pride collection to celebrate their belief in equal love. Literally every time I think about equal love, I go to H&M, so this is going to be really easy for me.

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Lane Bryant: Fast Lane Pride

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: GLSEN, 10% of sales

Life in the fast lane, surely make you lose your mind, life in the fast lane, everything, all the time! Wow, I love love! Also that bra is real cute and Lane Bryant gets bonus points for sending all this cute stuff to Reneice for her to model for you all.

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American Eagle: It Gets Better

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: It Gets Better Project, 100% of Proceeds

American Eagle, my favorite source of AA-cup bras, has a selection of tees and tanks with inspirational messages like “Proud,” “It Gets Better” and YOU GUESSED IT — “Love is Love.” It Gets Better Executive Director Brian Wenke says, of the collab: “Our partnership with American Eagle Outfitters for the #WeAllCan campaign is the perfect collaboration to ensure that LGBTQ youth know they have the potential to achieve great things and to make a tangible and positive difference in the world.”

American Eagle gets major bonus points actually printing the word “gay”!! One of their shirts even says “lesbian” on the back!!!!

American Eagle earned a “100” on the HRC’s 2018 LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index.

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Converse Pride Collection by Miley Cyrus

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: Happy Hippie Foundation, “Converse’s LGBTQ+ youth community partners around the world,” 100% of proceeds

If you’re looking for an idea, here’s one from Converse, which is owned by Nike: “show your support for all genders, orientations, and identities with shoes and clothing from the Converse Pride Collection designed by Miley Cyrus.” In addition to the shoes pictured above, the collection includes a white tracksuit and some polka-dotted t-shirts with matching hats that would befit an employee of Dylan’s Candy bar or somebody trying to give me a migraine. All net proceeds will support Converse’s LGBTQ+ youth community partners around the world, including Miley’s Happy Hippie Foundation.

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JCrew: Love First

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: Human Rights Campaign, 50% of purchase price

J.Crew promises to send 50% of the purchase price of its Love First socks & tees collection to the Human Rights Campaign, but more importantly, they recruited Jamaican women-in-menswear fashion icon Allison Graham of @shedoeshim and makeup artist Earon Dianna (@earondianna) to front for the brand.

Unfortunately, in what I can only interpret as a personal attack on me, Toby from Pretty Little Liars is somehow involved in this campaign and is pictured canoodling with Shoshanna from Girls on their Pride page. Are they dating? Don’t tell me.

This campaign gets high marks for how adorably Allison is geeking out about being part of the campaign on her insta feed, and also because the t-shirts are actually cute.

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MeUndies: Wear It With Pride

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: True Colors Fund, unspecified amount, unclear how it is tied to apparel sales.

MeUndies, who continues to deny Autostraddle membership in its affiliate program for reasons that remain mysterious and elusive, debuted one of our fave collaborations last year — this year’s slightly less ambitious, but still notable for working with QPOC designer Oscar Zaldaña and getting lots of hot LGBT influencers to wear underpants on their instagram accounts, including your true love Hayley Kiyoko.

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Levi’s: Be Proud. Be Bold. Be Yourself.

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: The Harvey Milk Foundation and the Stonewall Community Foundation, 100%

As last year, San Francisco based Levi’s gets props for a genuine commitment to the LGBTQ community that began far before such a commitment was even remotely popular. Levi’s 2018 Pride collection isn’t quite as daring or inspirational, design-wise, as last year’s, but their 2018 Pride Cast includes some pretty kickass faces, like chef Melissa King, photographer/speaker io Tillett Wright, genderqueer model/motorcyclist TJ & her partner, model/actress Nicole.

Levi’s was the first corporation to give to HIV/AIDS causes, with a commitment that dates back to 1982, when they were the first corporate donor to help open the world’s first AIDS clinic at the San Francisco General Hospital. Then-CEO Robert Haas was a fierce critic of the federal response to AIDS and added AZT to employee healthcare plans in 1987. They were the first company to file an amicus brief with the CA Supreme Court in favor of same-sex marriage, and the first Fortune 500 company to extend domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples. Their inclusive advertising efforts include the 2008 Logo/Levis Unbuttoned campaign that included a clip starring Sarah Croce, shot by our very own Robin Roemer. They also earned a “100” on the HRC’s 2018 LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index.

In total, Levis has contributed over $70 million US dollars to HIV/AIDS organizations in over 40 countries and supported organizations including the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal.

The FIGHT STIGMA campaign also includes a video series featuring LGBTQ Levi’s employees.

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American Apparel: They Is Okay

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: The Trevor Project, 100% of Proceeds

As usual, American Apparel is aiming straight for your hipster heart with a trendy line of tees, modeled by actual everyday LGBTQ people recruited by open call. On the AA campaign website, real human models share their experiences with coming out and being themselves.

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Hollister: Wear Your Pride

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: GLSEN, donating $250,000 as well as 100% of proceeds on the collection up to $25k

Hollister coming in strong, like last year, with a collection that mixes sort of unfortunate choices with genuinely cute items and makes a significant financial commitment to GLSEN. Hollister has partnered with GLSEN in the past to produce a Safe Schools campaign and coordinate the Day of Silence, and its website features a video of LGBTQ students talking about what makes school safe for them. Hollister is also conducting an in-store round up bringing donations to GLSEN, in addition to their 250k sponsorship. Last month, GLSEN honored Hollister with their Corporate Ally Award for their leadership in supporting safe and inclusive K-12 schools.

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Urban Outfitters: Love is Love

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: GLSEN, $10 – $15 per item

Again, it bears mentioning that Urban Outfitters is… not a great corporation in general. But! They’ve clearly got some very clever, socially conscious human beings on their team ’cause last year’s Pride Collab was HOT and this year’s even hotter because it’s fronted by your true love Hayley Kiyoko. No piece in the collection is over $35, and a significant portion of every purchase (between $10-$15, depending on the item) goes straight to GLSEN. This shirt is my favorite Pride design of 2018.

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Just Wanted To Mention

In addition to above criteria, these stores are not only making donations to LGBTQ+ non-profits, they are LGBTQ-owned! This means literally all your money is going to a great cause.

Wildfang: Show Your True Colors

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: The Trevor Project, Unspecified Amount

Although a portion of the proceeds from the Wild Feminist Pride Collection go towards the Trevor Project, it’s worth noting that Wildfang is owned and operated by lesbian and queer women already, so you’re really getting a double whammy here.

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Tomboy X: Rainbow Pride

Non-Profit Partner for Pride Apparel: National Center for Lesbian Rights, Unspecified Amount

Tomboy X gets all the bonus points: they’re a lesbian owned-and-operated brand dedicated to size inclusion and bodies that don’t necessarily conform to mainstream conventions. They’re giving back to an organization other corporations on this list have likely never even heard of, and probably would avoid due to its specific focus on women. Also, it’s really fucking hot at Pride and if you are really devoted to rainbows, a sports bra counts as a top!

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Wanna pick up a Pride-relevant tee from an actual lesbian or queer person?? Check out our list of indie merchants here.

LGBT Credit Union Superbia Wants to Help You Keep Our Gay Money in the Family

“What does gay money look like? Not surprisingly, it looks a lot like money. Gay money happens to be the same as non-gay money. So why can financial institutions in America still be allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity?”

So asks the welcome video that explains Superbia, the first explicitly gay credit union. I’ve been waffling on dumping my money out of a large corporate bank and into a credit union for a long time; credit unions exist to serve their members and are, in fact, owned by said members, so profits from it go right back to those with accounts at the institution. Credit unions are by and large not funding things like the Dakota Access Pipeline. They keep money local and decentralized. In short, credit unions are bomb. But my problem is that I haven’t found one I’m in love with yet.

My face went totally heart-eyes-emoji when I got the press release about Superbia. Explicitly for the queers and our allies, this sucker will not only function like a normal credit union would, but it will also pour 30% of its profits back into community organizations. And they’ll do this by making sure you aren’t refused service at your goddamn financial institution, a thing that still happens despite the fact that it is 2018. The promotional material cites a bunch of studies proving that queers undergo financial discrimination, but I know I don’t have to explain that here. Because we’ve all felt it. We’re all keenly aware of the subtle-yet-pervasive sense of economic dread, and some of us may have experienced outright hostility when applying for loans, for instance, or trying to open a business.

Founder Myles Meyers (epic name!) is keenly aware that our financial needs as a community are unique. From the press release:

In the same way a bakery can refuse a cake, one bank’s discrimination could lead to higher interest rates on homes, rejection of student loans, judgement on credit for health needs, outdated products and services for LGBTQ individuals and families, and lack of acceptance and understanding among traditional institutions. Twenty-nine states currently have no anti-discrimination laws in place, meaning sexual orientation or gender identity may be considered in accessing credit. “Our families, lives and financial journeys are not necessarily the same as those of other communities,” shares Meyers. “The products we need and how we are communicated to should reflect our community, using our values, as we determine.”

The credit union’s tech will be powered by CU*Answers and the credit and debit cards will be Mastercards. They’ve got it all planned out and they’re ready and raring to go. Their next step is raising funds to set up the credit union, which they’re doing on Indiegogo. Now I normally do not, under any circumstances, write about a fundraiser. But truly, honestly, my need for you all to know this exists comes from one place deep in my very soul: the place that wants to give my money to my fellow queers. I make a lot of decisions with my money to keep it in the fam. I love to pay queers. Love love love it. And essentially that is what being a member of the gay credit union would be: paying queers. Members vote on what organizations get our money as members; and if members need a service that isn’t being provided, they ask for it and are actually taken seriously. Superbia is already partnered with Stonewall Community Foundation to administer grants to LGBTQ organizations. If all goes well, this will be up and running by Fall 2018.

Decentralizing money and orienting it toward community is one decision that individuals can actually make that disrupts some of the unfettered power that large corporations have in this crazy, crazy world of our own making. In summary, here are the bare bones bullet points of what this financial institution will be all about. From their Indiegogo page:

We will

• Remove the risk of discrimination that members of the LGBTQ community can still encounter at traditional institutions
• Provide unfettered access to tailored financial products and services
• Harness the power of our diverse and activated community to provide equal economic opportunity and support to our community.

Superbia will serve its members in three important ways

1. Provide fair, non-discriminatory and unique products, services and treatment that honors the unique needs of the LGBTQ community.
2. Put profits back into Superbia to offer better saving and lending rates, and other improved services to our members
3. Awarding up to 30% of remaining annual profit to directly fund LGBTQ organizations, causes and community needs.

If this sounds good to you, consider heading over to Indiegogo (where, if you’ll recall, we raised funds for our massive redesign back in 2012, so yay Indiegogo!) and consider making a contribution to the founding of Superbia. And since it’ll be Mastercards, I’ll close with the following:

Minimum contribution? $50

Special Founder’s Edition Mastercard? $250

Having a bank that helps sustain the community and gets your pronouns right? Priceless.

Things to Bring Your Friends for Their Bars (That Won’t Break the Bank)

This whole post got borne out of a question I got asked through the A+ inbox and we all felt like it could use a little elaboration: what do you bring your alcohol-enthusiast friend when bringing them alcohol just isn’t in the budget? You know that friend, we all either have that friend or are that friend — the one with the bar in their house, or the dedicated cabinet or the one who spends, like, six minutes per glass on garnish alone. That friend is a good friend to have. They often open their homes to help make up for some of the dedicated spaces closing; and having a cocktail in a living room is always a more monetarily sustainable option than going out. Plus, if you don’t drink, your alcohol-enthusiast friend will almost always have the ingredients to whip up a fancy soda with limes and syrups and such. Thank the alcohol-enthusiast friend. Be kind to the alcohol-enthusiast friend. Give back to the alcohol-enthusiast friend when you can. Here are a few ways to do so without breaking the bank.

Bar Supplies

You’d be surprised at the amount of bar supplies that are wee tiny additions and people don’t effing buy them for themselves because it’s not a priority. But a few well-placed, eight- to fifteen- dollar accessories make for a smoother home bar process, and if you choose something that’s not consumable, your friend will think of you every time they use it. I didn’t buy an atomizer ($7.90) for literal years, and it’s a game changer whenever a recipe calls for a rinse. A bag of pour spouts ($8.99 for 12) is just as good as bringing a bottle of wine and it lasts longer.  I literally also have never bought myself a receptacle for my own simple syrup ($12.88 for two) and other longer-lasting homemade ingredients, and let me tell you, I kick myself EVERY cocktail hour I throw. And if you’re okay bringing something consumable with alcohol in it, your friend might not pick the weird bitters up in favor of old standards that they use a lot—pick the strange bitters ($11.38 for Fee Brothers’ Rhubarb) for them so they can experiment with new flavors!

Books and Paper Goods

Alcohol nerds love a good read. The Savoy Cocktail Book ($9.99-$19.95) is an amazing resource full of classic recipes from the ’30s. Grabbing up The Drunken Botanist ($9.15-$11.99) ain’t a bad call, either. Alcohol nerds also love a good notebook, so get them one specifically for tastings for their fave kind of alcohol (whiskey tasting notebook from 33 Books, $5 for one, or $12 for three). Recipe cards ($10 for 12) are also PERFECT for the queer who’s making up their own shit—keeping track is often hard among all the experimentation.

Make a Syrup

Budget even tighter? A home-made simple syrup with an ingredient you already have lying around in your kitchen might be just the thing! The basic proportion for simple syrup is equal parts sugar and water, simmer until all the sugar dissolves. Just a quick search through Saveur provides a ton of recipes and inspiration to take it further with stuff you likely already have on hand: mint, rosemary-clove,  black pepper, cardamom or cinnamon. Just make sure you’ve got a jar to give the gift in and you’re golden!

Favorite Recipes

Listen, if the budget is even tighter, for the price of a cool index card and the ink in your pen, you can give your bar friend your very favorite cocktail recipe, be it one you made up yourself, one you chatted the bartender into giving to you or one that your family is known for. If you don’t drink, I guarantee your friend would LOVE to hear about your favorite non-alcoholic mixed drink or scrumptious soda concoction; and hey, that makes it even more likely that their next party features your fave as an option. My favorite thing to receive as both an alcohol and a baking enthusiast is a recipe I would not have otherwise gotten a chance to try (if anyone has a good recipe for Icelandic Kleina, please send it to me!). You don’t have to break the bank to add to the bar—your knowledge is priceless.

Relevant To Your Interests: Be The Gym Leader

It’s Learn To Live in my Body 2018, and for me, that means (ugh) hitting the gym. As a person with a history of eating disorders and obsessive exercise, this is fraught territory for me. But I’m beginning to accept that to feel healthy in my body means to have some sort of exercise situation, and because I often have trouble committing to things solo, that means some sort of fitness class or trainer.

I do not like gyms. They smell like people. Not in the good way. I always, ALWAY, need a cheer up at the gym. Even though I used to work in one. Even though it is often (read: always) the only way to get me to do the fitness. If the rest of y’all nerds also need a cheer up, here are some nerdy gym accessories to ease the weird gym feelings!

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Legend of Zelda Sports bra, $12 and shorts, $7. Black Widow Tank, $13 and shorts, $13.

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Pokemon trainer duffle, $80 and gym leader shirt, $20. Wonder Woman sports bra, $17 and Wonder Woman sneakers, $37.

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Widowmaker yoga leggings, $25. Dragon Scale yoga leggings, $50. Aguamenti water bottle, $20. Star Trek swimsuit, $37.

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For more tips on getting hyped on exercise, check out our Gym Class series!

Top 13 Things I Bought From the Autostraddle Store in 2017

2017 was an amazing year for the Autostraddle Merch store. A renaissance, if I might. And because I love everything we produce here and I love mail (seriously, I’ve bought at least one thing almost every month this year), I’ve made some pretty sweet purchases. Here are my top 13 of the year.

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13. Gal Pal Tee Shirt

Samira Wiley has one!

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12. Lez Get Dressed For Work Sticker

I keep it on my computer to keep me focused.

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11. You Do You Pin

Helps keep me gay in heteronormative formal situations.

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10. Dear Queer Diary Sticker

I got a new journal and I wanted to let anyone who tries to read it know that it’s gonna be gay.

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9. Weirdo Lesbian

Really a great way to put yourself out there for everyone.

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8. Basic Scissoring Shirt

It’s so soft! And people keep asking me if I sew when I wear it!

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7. Indoorsy Pin

Honestly, was this just made for me? I haven’t left my house in four days.

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6. Hot Take Shirt

Riese has had a lot of great ideas; this was one of the best she’s had this year for sure.

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5. High Femme Button

This makes me so happy? Potheads love talking about how much they love pot and this is so cute!

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4. Sorte x Butch Tee

How does everyone not own this yet??? This shirt is perfection on so many levels. Everyone needs at least one.

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3. They/Them Pin

Everyone’s coming out with them, but ours is the original and ours is perfect. I’ve bought a minimum of five this year because I keep losing them, and it’s always worth it.

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2. Mis Pin

I wear this when I have meetings with men who might try and come for me.

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1. Queer Sultry Summer Zine

Honestly y’all, this and the Yes, Cats zine were the two best books I’ve read this year. I don’t know if you know this, but some of the best writers write from Autostraddle, and here you get to have some of their words to hold in your hands and sob a little bit over on long bus rides. Run, run, run, to the Autostraddle store and get a copy of this while you still can; you will not regret it!

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Next year, I vow to get even more great stuff. You should too! Go support queer independent media!

6 Kinds of Coats for Facing Any Winter Weather

I have a lot of feelings about winter coats — perhaps too many! I’ve lived in a wide range of winter climates, from the essentially winter-less Los Angeles, to mild D.C. and slightly colder New York, to quite cold Ann Arbor, to completely frigid Chicago — which is why I’m here to guide you through some of the best options that prioritize both fashion and function. Let’s get down to business!

Parkas

1. ASOS CURVE Oversized Parka with Padded Liner 2. Noisy May Parka with Faux Fur Hood 3. Alpinetek Women’s Short Down Bomber Parka 4. Hotouch Hooded Fleece-Lined Parka

Parkas come in a wide range of weights and linings, so whether you live somewhere frigid or in a milder climate, you can find one that matches your winter needs. You don’t have to drop hundreds on a Canada Goose either (unless you do a lot of outdoor adventure-type stuff, in which case, invest in a serious parka). I recommend going with a bold color if you want something a little different.

Puffers

1. Topman Oat Puffer Jacket 2. ASOS Puffer Jacket 3. ELORA Full-Length Puffer 4. Longline Plus Puffer

Not all puffers have to be hideous — they can also be fun! And they’re super easy to pack. For colder climates, definitely go with the full-length; my full-length Spyder puffer was on the expensive side, but it got me through six winters in the Midwest.

Wool Coats

1. ASOS Wool Coat 2. Cinzia Rocca Walker Coat 3. Wool Shawl Collar Wrap Coat 4. Lucky Brand Oversized Lightweight Wool Coat

Wool coats can be super femme or super butch, making them my favorite and most versatile style of winter coat! They’re not always practical for places with serious winter weather, but they hold up well in mild snow, and keep you snuggly and warm and looking fresh as hell. If you’re prioritizing style, definitely go the wool route — think Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde or Cate Blanchett in Ocean’s 8.

Field Coats

1. Carhartt Weathered Duck Wesley Coat 2. Volcom Field Bonded Flannel Jacket 3. Adirondack Flannel-Lined Barn Coat 4. Carhartt Lined Sandstone Active Jacket

Field coats and hunting-style jackets are great for masculine of center folks or any other flannel lover. I wear a very simple dark green field coat that I, ahem, “borrowed” from my girlfriend; it’s just the right weight for New York, and it’s incredibly comfortable. Carhartt is one of the biggest brands for this style, but you don’t necessarily have to go to an outerwear brand for this look.

Barely Winter Coats

1. Sherpa-Lined Flannel 2. Levi’s Plus Fleece-Lined Denim Jacket 3. Fleece Bomber 4. Uniqlo Fluffy Fleece Coat

Maybe you live somewhere pretty warm year-round, but you still want in on this “winter” “coat” life. Look, it’s all relative! It took about one week of living in LA for me to suddenly think 50ºF was cold. Fleece and other lightweight jackets are so comfy and cozy and ideal for winterless places, or for around the house if you do live in a winter climate and have a drafty home.

Wild Cards

1. ASOS Bell-Sleeved Padded Jacket 2. Brave Soul Joseph Padded Coat 3. Eloquii Leopard Coat 4. Monki Faux Leather Shearling Biker Jacket

I loved this Racked piece about getting a silly winter coat, and I agree — winter doesn’t have to be a time for fashion monotony. Try something a little wild!