Out of the Closet and Into the Street reimagines the Fashion Research Collection (FRC) at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) through a Queer lens. The overall aim is to fill gaps in 2SLGBTQIA+ history and representation in the collection by queering the existing FRC archive. This aim is realized by connecting artifacts in the collection to historical Queer figures, movements, and signifiers. The exhibition will present these newly Queered artifacts alongside markers that were used to signal Queer identity, politics, and desire: carnations, buttons, and hankies. These signifiers have been used as a way to express Queerness, regardless of what clothing is being worn under them. This exhibition not only reimagines items in the collection as Queer, but also queers the way in which archives and garments are exhibited. Through anachronistic connections that span different styles, eras, and notable historical figures, Out of the Closet and Into the Street plays with Queer temporalities and positions the archive as something that is alive and generative of new meanings and interpretations. We invite you to celebrate with us as the Fashion Research Collection comes out of the closet!

     Anne Lister (1791-1840), known as the ‘first modern lesbian’, was heir of a minor landowning family at Shibden, Yorkshire. She is known for always dressing in black, specifically in men's fashion of the time, which is the 19th century equivalent of a modern day ‘butch’ lesbian.

     At the age of 15, Anne began writing personal journals in code that documented her lesbian lifestyle. Although many suspected her of lesbianism, no one could prove it or challenge her because of her upper class social status and familial wealth. Therefore, Anne’s sexuality is one of the best kept secrets of her time.

     In the mid 1890s, John Lister, a descendant of the Lister family, discovered the diaries and broke the code. Anne’s lesbian sexuality was discovered and then quickly re-buried. John was gay himself, and did not want to draw attention to his own sexuality by revealing his discovery of the diaries.

     In honour of Anne’s coded diaries’ Queer signifiers, including buttons and badges, have been added throughout this page. These overt signifiers have been present in the Queer community since the 80s and 90s. These badges often have slogans or clear signifiers of one’s sexuality and gender identity. They have been used for decades for visibility, activism, expression, and to express pride.

     Pairing these overt signifiers with garments from around the era of Anne’s life plays with the idea of queering time (Queer Temporality), ‘querying’ what it would have been like if Anne Lister were able to live as an out Lesbian.

Joshua Horner

Portrait of Anne Lister

c.1830
Oil on canvas
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council Collection

This portrait of Anne Lister shows us how her style was more subdued and androgynous compared to more overt feminine fashions of the time.

An 1830's fashion plate of a young woman in a pink dress and wide flower-trimmed hat. Her dress has a wide skirt and enormous sleeves trimmed with lace.

An 1830's fashion plate of 2 young women wearing matching dresses, one in pink and the other in blue. Each dress has a wide skirt and sleeves trimmed with large bows. Both women wear ostrich feathers in their hair.

Women 1830-31, Plate 063

Women's 1830's fashion plate

c.1830
Metropolitan Museum of Art - Costume Institute Fashion Plates
Gift of Woodman Thompson

In this 1830 women’s fashion plate, noted as being from the Ladies Pocket Magazine, we can see a depiction of a Paris Dinner Dress. Comparing this to the clothing worn by Anne Lister, we can see she did not wear the most feminine fashions available for a fairly well off woman.

Jacket / Top Hat

Black Silk Womenswear Bodice

Black silk taffeta bodice with tails

c. 1870-1880
Silk taffeta, lace
Gift of Bob Gallagher
1999.05.011

Christy's London for Fairweather's Toronto

Black silk top hat with leather hat box

c. 1900-1910
Silk (hat), leather, velvet (hat box)
Suddon-Cleaver Collection
2014.07.092
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Without an accompanying skirt, this womenswear bodice can be easily compared to a men’s tailcoat. When paired with a traditionally masculine silk top hat as displayed, one can imagine it as a set that may have been worn by Anne Lister who was known for her distinct androgynous style. By pairing these two items together it shows how queering fashion through modern and historical methods can help to fill in the gaps in Queer fashion history and allow new stories to be heard from existing garments that may not have had a Queer background.

A black silk 1870's women's jacket with long pleats in the back extending to the floor.

A black 1900's silk tophat trimmed with a black ribbon.

The inside of the top hat, revealing a label reading: "English Manufacture / Christy's London / Made expressly for Fairweathers Limited (88-90 Yonge Street Toronto.)"

Oscar Wilde

The green carnation, worn on the left lapel and popularized by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), came to be a code for homosexuality among young men in the late 19th century. Green carnations are not naturally occurring in nature; the flowers were dyed using arsenic. Fashion historian Dr. Alison Matthews David has argued that the “chromophobia” (a term coined by David Batchelor, and meaning fear of certain colours) towards green at the time is directly related to homophobia and the use of green in the carnations. By the mid-1860s, the public and fashion workers, having experienced the deadly results of using poisonous arsenic to tint clothing and artificial flowers, had grown to fear and shun the colour green.
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Wilde was at the centre of London’s social and artistic circles due to his wit and flamboyance. His notoriety included his success as a playwright of highly acclaimed works like Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), and his writing and lectures on dress in particular (that he toured and even presented in Toronto!). However, it was Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), whose homoerotic subtext was used as evidence in his trial for gross indecency. In 1895, he was sentenced to two years hard labour for his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, homosexuality being illegal at the time. Wilde never fully recovered from an injury sustained during the harsh prison conditions and died three years later while living in exile in France. The criminalization of homosexuality during Wilde’s time demonstrates the importance of signifiers like the green carnation for demonized communities to subvert and evade oppression.

Napoleon Sarony
Photograph of Oscar Wilde
c. 1882

A photo of Oscar Wilde as a young man, leaning against a wall with his hands folded in front of him, staring off to the side.

Frilled Jacket

Oscar de la Renta

Black velvet jacket with white silk taffeta collar and cuffs

c. 1990s
Silk velvet, silk taffeta
Bequest of Kathleen Kubas
2009.01.271
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Menswear inspired silhouettes have been a staple in queer fashion history, from the past to the present. This more recent 1990s Oscar de la Renta jacket takes inspiration from a historically male silhouette and blurs the boundaries between what is traditionally masculine and feminine. This piece could be interpreted as a modernized version of something that Oscar Wilde may have worn. Passing for the flamboyant menswear worn by dandies, or as a masculine piece of womenswear used to showcase the identity and be a form of expression for the wearer. The piece showcases the intersection of queer pasts, present, and futures through its inspirations.

A close-fitted black velvet jacket with patch pockets, black buttons, and white silk frills peeking out from the collar and cuffs.

Closeup of the collar frill and the "Oscar de la Renta" label.

Closup of the cuffs, with 4 black satin buttons and a white silk taffeta ruffle.

Blouse / Jacket

Oscar de la Renta

Cream silk taffeta blouse with ruffle collar, neck ties and ruffled cuffs

c. 1990s
Silk taffeta
Bequest of Kathleen Kubas
2009.01.672

Cecil Gee of London

Black velvet men’s jacket with pockets and floral lining

‍c. 1960s
Velvet, synthetic lining
Suddon-Cleaver Collection
2014.07.020
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Paired together, this blouse and jacket echo the dandy style of Oscar Wilde and create a similar silhouette to the Oscar de la Renta jacket on display. The 1990s women’s blouse by Oscar de la Renta echoes the style of flamboyant men's shirts through history. The 1960s men’s Cecil Gee jacket has a multitude of feminine qualities from the silhouette to the floral lining. These pieces from different eras being used to replicate a part of Queer fashion history speaks to Queer temporalities and the intersections between modernity and history.

A mannequin dressed in a black velvet jacket with notched lapels, a cream silk blouse with ruffleds collar and cuffs, and black pants. A purple and green corsage is pinned to the lapel.

A cream silk blouse with frilled collar and cuffs and a large sash extending from the neck.

A closeup of the jacket revealing the black and white floral lining and the "Cecil Gee of London" label.

E.S. Phillips

Studio portrait of two young men in dark coloured wool three piece suits

c. 1870s
Silver gelatin print on cream coloured cardboard
Toronto Metropolitan University Fashion Research Collection
2002.04.300

Though this photo was taken in Canada, it represents how young men often dressed during the 1870s, a period which coincides with Oscar Wilde’s young adult years. It is also important to note that in this era men were much more affectionate with each other which provides some ambiguity surrounding what their relationship may have been.

A photograph of 2 young men: one seated on a chair and the other seated on a table close next to him. Caption: "E. S. Phillips, Aylmer, Ont."

Riot Grrrl was a punk genre that originated in the early 1990s in Olympia, Washington. In response to the sexism and the dangers of existing as a woman (Queer or not) in the 90s punk scene, Riot Grrrl pushed back against this male dominated space that was trying to push women out of the scene. Bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy, and Sleater-Kinney self-identified as “Riot Grrrl bands” to carve out space for themselves as women musicians in the scene. However, they also wanted to make space for female punk audiences who were so often shoved to the back of the crowd and, in worse cases, sexually assaulted at shows.

Slogans like “girls to the front” came from the concerted effort of these Riot Grrrl bands making space for women punks to attend shows in safe spaces. Terms like “Girl power” and “support girl love” were born out of the Riot Grrrl movement and branded third wave feminism in the 90s. DIY and community organizing were also central to the Riot Grrrl movement and disseminating manifestos and activism through zines was common practice.

The Punk Bunnies, a 3 woman band each dressed in punk clothing and posed with their arms around each other.

The "Punk Bunnies" at the Canterbury (1978). Photo credit: Alice Bag
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alicebag/6103923214/in/photostream/

Three people with their backs turned, showing colourful bandanas peeking out of their back pockets.

Three Hankies (2009) [edited] Original photo credit: thehankycode
https://www.flickr.com/photos/42422419@N03/3971319448

While overt signifiers, like buttons and badges, were popularized in the 80s and 90s, the use of quiet signifiers, such as the Hanky Code, were used earlier in the 70s, when conspicuous signs of Queerness were not safe to wear. The Hanky Code is a colour coded handkerchief system that expresses one's interests depending on which colour is selected and the pocket it is worn in.

We compare the Hanky code as a quiet signifier to how the 90s punk movement tried (and failed) to silence the women in the scene and that women found a way to thrive regardless. The juxtaposition of a historical 1900s womenswear suit, with specifically a skirt instead of pants, in the modern wool flannel plaid is a nod to the 90s punk aesthetic and how Riot Grrrls sought to reclaim and subvert “girly” style.

Greg Neate

Bratmobile performing at The Charlotte in Leicester, England

c. 1994

This photograph depicts the American all-woman band Bratmobile performing in Leicester, England in 1994. They were part of the first wave of Riot Grrrl bands in the 1990s punk scene.

A short haired person in a white dress singing into a microphone, with a drummer and guitarist in the background.

A two-piece Edwardian women's suit made from purple check flannel with a long skirt and gigot sleeves.

Purple checked wool womenswear suit

Two piece checked purple wool womenswear suit

1900s (c. 1909)
Wool flannel, silk lining,
Suddon-Cleaver Collection
2014.07.516 AB

Although this wasn’t made to represent a Queer identity, there are multiple Queer signifiers represented in the set. This womenswear suit from the 1900s features a jacket that takes inspiration from men’s morning jackets of the time and purple plaid flannel fabric. The fabric can both be linked to the fabrics and patterns used in menswear as well as modern flannel shirts often worn by lesbian and bisexual women. Additionally, the colour purple has been used by lesbians as a symbol of their sexuality for centuries. This fabric juxtaposed with the overall femininity of this set having a skirt instead of pants but using menswear inspired cuts and fabrics allows us to connect it to the 90s punk subversion of “girly” style. The intersectionality between this set and the Riot Grrrl punk movement approximately 90 years after it was made further displays Queer temporalities and the ways that queering history can drastically change our views on garments and their characteristics.

Norma Kamali

Blue, gray, and rust coloured plaid pull-on jumpsuit.

c. 1980s
Cotton
Gift of Karen Mulhallen
1990.02.001

The menswear inspired cut and checked flannel fabric of this 1980s jumpsuit exemplifies both modern and historic Queer signifiers. In contrast to the more formal and feminine styling of the 1900s suit set, the use of mens workwear inspired cuts in womenswear is often used to subvert prescribed ideals of femininity within both the Queer and punk communities. The plaid fabric is a more modern signifier that can once again be linked to the flannel shirts worn by lesbian and bisexual women. These details further connect these garments to the 90s punk scene which was a time where women were reclaiming the scene for themselves. The contrast between the style of the two garments shows how these elements can be used to reclaim femininity, subvert it, or even do both. Through a modern lens one can see the punk-Queer coding in these garments.

A multicolour 1980s plaid jumpsuit with long sleeves, long pants, a notched lapel, and 2 patch pockets on the front.

How do YOU queer your closet?

Do you love to dress to express your identity? Do you have a favourite item of clothing that really feels like *you*? Maybe this is something you’ve never even considered! Fill out the form below to share your experience with queer style and it may be featured as part of the “Out of the Closet, Into the Street” installation for Pride 2024!

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