It’s June, which means one thing – it’s Pride Month! While allies and LGBTQ+ members take to the streets to celebrate, companies are vying to cash in on it. That means pride apparel, lots and lots of pride apparel. From cute rainbow shoes to tacky quirky tees, almost every brand is rolling out a pride line. And people are giving their honest opinions so here’s some do’s and some don’t of pride apparel 2021.
DO include pride colors
I mean come on, I think this one’s obvious. Although there are great pride apparel and accessories that aren’t rainbow or don’t have the bi flag colors on them, adding pride colors is an easy way to get the message across. You don’t need to say the word gay or lesbian to make it pride, just incorporating the colors can really elevate a piece.
DON’T reuse ideas
Although some pride editions of clothing and accessories are cool, that’s the exception, not the rule. It’s lazy to just take a design and simply make it rainbow or add a rainbow patch. The LGBTQ+ community is a place where creativity thrives, so stop thinking inside the box! Let your creativity flow and let those new ideas come to fruition. Fashion is all about creation after all.
DO make it wearable
The worst things about Holiday shirts are that they can only be worn one day a year and then sit in the back of your closet for the other 364 days. Pride shirts that say Pride Month or are just too kitschy are not the move. Make it cute. Design it so that it can be worn outside of a pride parade and in a month other than June. If it can’t be incorporated into an everyday wardrobe, is it really worth the $30 price tag? Probably not, so be mindful of the functionality of the apparel you are creating.
DON’T make it creepy
One of the biggest critiques of “funny” pride t-shirts is that they paint gay men and women as creepy. This is a stereotype that the community has battled with for decades and feeding into it is not helping. So although dark and raunchy humor is always welcome, don’t make it offensive to the community you’re trying to uplift.
As Pride Month continues it’s important to remember that being an ally doesn’t stop when the calendar changes to July.
