Rae Tutera
Two years ago, Rae Tutera created The Handsome Butch project (thehandsomebutch.tumblr.com), ″designed to remind LGBTQ folks, in case they ever forgot, that they have the right to be handsome.″ But she´s not only blogging about the handsome butch life; she´s also dressing handsome butches, as a queer clothier for Bindle & Keep, a New York-based bespoke menswear and womenswear company. ″Like many other folks both within and outside the LGBTQ community, I spent decades wearing clothes that hid me,″ she says. ″I didn´t appreciate the impact that had on my identity until I put on my first suit. I wanted to pass on that feeling of awe and empowerment to as many people as possible.″ And while it´s clear Tutera has been reaching a large audience-her work has been profiled everywhere from The New York Times to Refinery29 to Marie Claire-there´s another reward, as well. ″The diversity of my clients has been an education and a joy, and it´s heartening that as we tell each other our stories and discuss our lifestyles, that no matter how different they may be, we discover so many overlaps of experiences and feelings. I never anticipated custom clothes being the context in which I would really learn the meaning of community-building; without hyperbole, it has changed my life.″ -GH
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