Oh, boi! We’ve been busy creating some new t-shirt designs for you. We’ve decided to expand our line of t-shirts to give you more options and to let you know that we are still working to figure out how to provide you with more boi fashion.
The Boi Tees
They’re made for you. Each t-shirt is printed to not only fit you right, but also to let you wear what you feel. Our new line of boi tees will keep you trendy, ethical (most tees made ethically from American Apparel®), and help us find a way to bring you the clothes you’ve been waiting for. We even have a shirt for boi supporters everywhere. We really are thinking about you when we design these shirts, so make sure to give us feedback on what you think of them.
Check out our online store to buy yourself a brand new Boi Tee! Or come to one of our upcoming events to visit our merch table. Here’s a little bit about each new t-shirt. Click on a shirt below to find out more about it.
"Bois will be bois" v-neck boi tee
"My boi is greater than your boy" femmey tee (feminine fit)
The Boi’s Department gets an exclusive interview with Whitney Mixter from Showtime’s “The Real L Word” at Lesbian Nightlife’s Fusion Pool Party to talk about queer fashion and how hard it is to find masculine fashion that fits. You get to see every second of the interview right here:
Thanks to Whitney Mixter from Showtime’s “The Real L Word” for taking the time away from all the drooling girls in wet t-shirts and giving us some great responses! We really appreciated it!
0Posted by Natalie on September 16, 2011 at 1:41 am
The Boi’s Department covers the Fusion Pool Party to investigate how hard it is to find masculine fashion that fits. Special guest appearance by Whitney from Showtime’s ‘The Real L Word’.
Catch us at the last pool party of the season up in Maine!
Thanks also to Whitney Mixter from Showtime’s “The Real L Word” for taking the time away from all the drooling girls in wet t-shirts and giving us some great responses! We really appreciated it!
5Posted by Natalie on September 5, 2011 at 9:11 pm
The end of summer approaches, which also means swim suit season is almost over. Ah, what a relief. No more hiding a feminine bikini underneath our oversized t-shirts and board shorts. No more uncomfortable, wet cloth clinging to our skin. Sure, some of us don’t mind, or even enjoy, showing off our figures in a sports bra or bikini. But for those of us who would like to keep a masculine mystique, what are the options for swimwear? The Boi’s Department wanted to find out which suits suit you, so we asked around at Lesbian Nightlife’sFusion pool party in Randolph, Massachusetts. We even got to chat with Whitney Mixter from Showtime’s reality spin-off The Real L Word! We’ll have the full interview with her up next week where she tells us what bugs her about trying to find boi clothes!
The main complaint we hear is that there are no masculine bathing suits for women on the market, period. It’s sad but true. Many bois want full coverage and do not feel comfortable settling for a bikini top. Bra-like bikini tops aren’t exactly the image of masculinity. So one solution is to wear a one-piece with a pair of board shorts on top. Hurley, Roxy, Billabong, O’Neill, Volcom, Rip Curl, Gander Mountain, and Oakley all make board shorts specifically for women: Hurley’s ‘Phantom Girl’ and ‘Slam Dunk’ board short, Roxy’s ‘Reef’ shorts and ‘Premium’ board short, Volcom’s ‘Foster Gal’ board short, and Rip Curl’s ‘Love and Surf’ board short are great options because they are neither too long nor too short. They each come in a few colors too.
Pair your boi board shorts with a tankini top. They work well if you want to sport a tank top look that is water resistant. There are gender neutral colors and cuts that downplay any femininity while offering you comfortable coverage and support. For us bigger busted bois, however, it is difficult to find a supportive underwire that is not feminine. For some strange reason, the assumption is if you have boobs you must be a girl, and a feminine girl.
Cotton tanks work well to wear as cover ups or to wear over swimwear in the water too. But it is important to remember that materials like cotton will droop and cling if you wear it in the water, so opt for something with some nylon or spandex in it like the North Face’s Cayenne racer back sport’s tank.
Tell us more about where you find swimwear. What are other issues you have with swim suits? We’ll be following this article up with a video of some real live people and how they deal with styling their bodacious beach bods. Check back in with us later this week for the video update!
On August 23, 2011 Jac, creator of The Boi’s Department was featured in Têtu, a popular French queer magazine. Just outside Somerville, Massachusetts’ Union Square Jac posed in front of an American flag sporting the “boi’s will be boi’s” tee and talked about what the term “butch” meant to her. Read the article in French here. We’re working on finding the English translation, so check back, or just copy/paste into Google translate if you’re not so polished on your french.
Jac then flipped the interview around and got to interview photographer/journalist Lucile Roger about boi fashion in France. Stay tuned for the interview with Lucile when we cover international boi fashion.
