General 4 — The Queer Wardrobe Project

Charlie

Charlie is an NHS doctor, specialising in accident & emergency care. She is a charity shop and vintage clothing enthusiast, and has always known she was queer. She describes herself as “vocally, politically bisexual”. She lives in East London with her spouse Jack and two cats, Dora and Bertie.

I really want people to read me as bi. But what I find is that generally queer people read me as bi and straight people have no idea. These signals we give off were never meant for straight people. They were meant for other queer people. And so strai

To code yourself as bisexual rather than as a lesbian, your clothing has to have a knowing nod to not being either straight or lesbian. And there's a kind of there's a kind of awkwardness to bisexual presentations in a way that is hard to pin down.

I've got a turquoise floral shirt that I found in a charity shop. It ended up becoming a "lesbian wardrobe item" because it has ended up being worn by both of us, like the joke that lesbian couples merge into each other.