u/JuniXe

I have, since seeing Shane in The L Word in 2008, been a fan of gender neutral, androgynous, tomboy, masc styling. If you search Erika Linder, Casey Legler, or Emma Darcy on pinterest there are examples. They are icons to me.

I like hard edged aesthetics, the more ink the merrier. Camo pants and laceup combat boots 🤌 crop tops, visible waistband underwear, leather jackets, flannel shirts.. the list goes on.

But i'm deep in hetero suburbia surrounded by young parents raising kids. There's not much straight style let alone queer style. Dressing queer brings curious attention from questioning women and competitive energy from straight men. And then, there's assumptions about being a top.

What did you do? Did you move or did you end up scoffing at the perturbed glances?

I found a free bust cup and bodice pattern from Tiana's Closet, and tinkered with the pattern until I got a decent fit for my individual bust in a muslin/scrap fabric. The final garment will be in plain fabric (the muslin is patterned so I don't waste the good fabric.)

Now my problem is, her instructions don't go into how to add structure amongst other things. I am thinking of adding an underwire channel and also some thin foam bust cups, using youtube tutorials. Is that suitable?

I am not sure how the lining, straps and zip are installed when the underwire and foam cups are added.

Additionally, I don't feel like putting boning in the bodice but i'm not sure if it's wise to leave that out.

Does anyone have advice on how to continue with the bustier and/or point me in a direction to find instructions.

Fabric suggestions also welcome.

Thanks, sewists.

Does anyone love masc style but not the public attention it gets?