DapperQ and You

Photo credit: Featuring Michele Wang and Bettina Chin in the New York Times by Elizabeth Lippman

Take the sharp-tailored suits and the handsome elegance from the lads and blend them with the fierce female form or the transcendent transgender gent and you will find DapperQ at the core of this luscious hybrid.

I gained awareness of the DapperQ fashion blog this afternoon and I love it. I want to pledge my fleeting wardrobe to it. I want this site to re-make me into a sharper, sleeker version of my femme/androgynous self. I want to emulate these ladies and gents and become, in a word, refined.

DapperQ describes itself as a fashion site "transgressing men's fashion" -- in essence, content revolves around the alternative cuts of men's clothing designed for the self-identified genderqueers existing outside the traditional male form. Rugged charm meets kickin' curves, amen.

In their first MaveriQ Style Series interview, DapperQ takes a moment to discuss the fashion sense of professional drummer, Alli Miller. Miller has toured with the likes of Ani DiFranco and Natalie Merchant and can now be counted among Brandi Carlile's touring band. Miller's now taken up the position as band leader of a jazz ensemble for her second album, Boom Tic Boom, along with Myra Melford (pianist/composer), Todd Sickafoose (bass) and Jenny Scheinman (violin). Oh, and did I happen to mention Miller is an out and proud gay gal? It adds an extra something special to her stunning credits, I should imagine.

Here she is:

MaveriQ Style Series Launch -- Drummer Alli Miller from dapperQ on Vimeo.

I'm already plotting how I can pull off a look similar to hers. I love the jacket she's wearing in the first half of the video. Even though it's got a masculine cut to it, she's still got a feminine edge to her. And come on, how cute is that vintage cowboy shirt? I appreciate her connection with the "tomboy" term -- I find myself returning to that personal identification more and more these days. The wardrobe I've got doesn't quite reflect that fact at the moment, but Allison Miller is a model example of what I'd love to find.

With a little effort and a touch of swagger (and perhaps a pretty piece of change, too), I imagine the DapperQ in this blogette will get her chance to strut soon.