Saint Harridan will be popping up in the Andersonville area of Chicago at 1748 W. Balmoral Ave. Nov. 15-23. The pop-up shop will be between two lesbian-owned businesses Joie de Vine and Karma Salon. The businesses will be doing several cross promotions including wine tastings. Humboldt House will be providing furniture from their retail store for the pop-up.
Gender-bending Oakland, California-based clothier Saint Harridan designs and manufactures masculine clothing for women and transmenand its nine-day temporary "pop-up store" will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and open late, until 8 p.m., on two nights, Nov. 19 and 20.
Visitors at the pop-up shop will also get the opportunity to be photographed by Miki Vargas, who is traveling with the Saint Harridan team. Vargas' project For the Love of Bois portrays this masculine-of-center, gender-exploding movement. "I'm documenting the Handsome Revolution," said Vargas, who has exhibited in Oakland, San Francisco, Baltimore, Atlanta, Philadelphia and New York.
Dom Brassey is a fashion anarchist and free agent regarding gender. Hustling for Saint Harridan since December 2013, Brassey works on pop-up shops, fittings, operations and customer service. Brassey's suit-wearing heroes include Malcolm X, Ellen DeGeneres and Fox Mulder ( the character from the TV show X Files ).
Brassey recently discussed fashion, Saint Harridan, cultural waves of awareness and a visit to Chicago with Windy City Times.
Windy City Times: Tell me a little bit about the evolution of Saint Harridan, from Kickstarter till now.
Dom Brassey: Everyone we know has always dreamt of wearing a masculine-style suit that looks right on our body. Our Kickstarter supporters launched us from fundraising around that dreamto selling suits that our customers can actually touch and try on. We used our Kickstarter funds to source fabric, learn about garment construction, and find partners who could help us create these suits. Now we sell them. It may not sound epic when we put it like thatbut when we see tears streaming down our customers' faces, we know that this was no small feat. We did it. We made the leap. We've created something our community has always dreamt of.
WCT: I feel as if you are starting the ride on an amazing wave of awareness in this country. Does it feel that way to you as well?
Dom Brassey: Absolutely. This is a remarkable moment for queer visibility in the U.S. Marriage and workplace equality movements, anti-bullying campaigns, and advocacy for women and LGBT people in the armed services have held mainstream justice frameworks to account. Even in the two years we have been in business the world has changed. The market for our product had grown because saints everywhere are pushing the envelope. It's the queering of America. Which is a good thing for diversity and inclusion across all differences. It makes us feel proud.
WCT: I love the possibility of the "non-traditional" becoming traditionalwhen we can actually watch it happen in our lives. Can you associate that at all with Saint Harridan?
Dom Brassey: The liberation of menswear is an interesting mix of non- and traditional. On one hand, queer people becoming visible within the traditions or legacy of menswear has the feel of mainstreamingon the other hand, gender-nonconforming and trans* people becoming visible within traditional masculinity inevitably troubles the very core of the gender binary upon which so many of our cultural assumptions and biases are based. It's one of those exciting paradoxes of being queer. The most revolutionary thing is to be yourself. Saint Harridan supports queer people looking good while doing it.
WCT: The idea of pop-up stores seems like "taking the show on the road." Does it feel that way from the inside?
Dom Brassey: It does. We're based in Oakland, California, but we've visited 14 cities on our pop-up tour this year. We love visiting Saints all over the country and watching their delight when they try on our suits. We see that masculine-of-center women and transmen exist in every city. We are lawyers and teachers, politicians and parents, advocates and everyday people. And we look awesome in suits.
WCT: Tell me what the relationship is between clothes and activism. For me, there is such an interesting relationship.
Dom Brassey: We think that clothes and activism are both venues for the visibility of truth and justice. We make masculine clothing and accessories for women and transmen because we believe in smashing the barriers around masculinity. People who want to express masculinity can live bigger and feel stronger if they have increased access to masculine clothes that fit. We exist to reduce the time it takes to go from bed-head to self-actualization. Our people have big things to do. We want them to get dressed and do those big things.
WCT: Why did it take so long, in your opinion, for the world to wake up to the concept of fitting body and individual into non-biased gender clothing?
Dom Brassey: It's not a matter of waking up. It's a matter of investing in product development and connecting with a market. Crowd-funding has enabled queer people to fund queer people developing queer products. That's exactly what we are. Saint Harridan is what happens when queer ingenuity and community meet the Internet.
WCT: What are you looking forward to the most about coming to Chicago?
Dom Brassey: Deep-dish pizza … Our neighbor Joie de Vive is hospitably offering free hot shots to visitors in our Pop-Up Shop. Mostly, we're looking forward to seeing Chicago Saints putting on suits and looking in the mirror. We can't even describe what it feels like to validate and inspire people with our product. Our suits carry a powerful charge. Our product is about self-reverence, visibility, and dignity. We love seeing our suits have a powerful impact on people.
WCT: My standard question I always have to ask: Tell me about something that's on your "bucket list."
Dom Brassey: Watching six of our models walk down the runway at a dapperQ Fashion Show at the Brooklyn Museum Dec. 6. We'll be doing it. We hope some of you will join us.
Event: The Saint Harridan Pop-Up Shop, nine days In Chicago
Description: Retail shop specializing in high-quality masculine suits for women and transmen
Date: Nov. 15-23
Time: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. every day except 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 21 and Nov. 22
Location: 1748 W. Balmoral Ave.
Public transportation: #50 bus stop at Ashland & Balmoral, Clark Street Bus at Balmoral, Red Line Train at Berwyn
Phone: 510-473-5414
Website: www.saintharridan.com .