Top 20 Looks from the Brooklyn Queer DPs “Hey Queen” and “WITCHES”

As my Sartorial Superhero, the self proclaimed geriatric fashionista Iris Apfel, once proclaimed “it’s all about the altar of the accessory.” I agree. And this is a concept that she had adopted from her mother, recalling “like a shaman stylist, she worked her magic, transforming her workaday black dress into a smashing cocktail outfit. Her talismans were shoes and scarves, bags and belts, but most important was her costume jewelry collection…her bits and baubles, bangles and beads. Slowly, I began to appreciate their powers of transformation, their ability to evoke a mood and express an individual personality, to make a statement about the wearer.” Truth: accessories are such innate cultural signifiers – especially with in GLBTQI culture. One of the many vital components to a highly individualized complex style matrix.

On that note, in search of the some of the most smashing looks with stand out accessories, I roamed through the icy industrial landscapes of Brooklyn at the two well-known parties Hey Queen! and WITCHES. From hybrids of an understated streamlined futurism to a kaleidoscopic mash-up of ’60s Sci-Fi inspired sequined fantasies, I was thrown into a deluge of style iconoclasts. As a fashion historian and material culturalist, it was clear to me that even the East Berlin punks of the ‘70s to the New Romantics of the ’80s to the Macaronis of the 1780’s wouldn’t have topped the queer Brooklyn club culture.

Below you will find my top 20 favorite looks from the two events that took place last week. Enjoy!

Look 1: @ Hey Queen

C: Who was your style muse for this?

The ‘20s, Quentin Crisp

C: Tell me more about your look…

Scarf – Birthday Present

Blazer- H&M

Military Style Blazer unknown

Look 2: @ WITCHES

Christine Tran, co-founder of WITCHES

C: Where did you get your collar?

“It is a handmade piece from SHAG“

Look 3: @ WITCHES

Shana

C: I absolutely love the lines of that coat with its ever so soft graphic appeal, where did you get it?

Calvin Klein. Mall at Macy’s in CT, marked down from $400 to $200!

Look 4: @ Hey Queen

Annie Raife, founder of Raife and Singer

Necklace: Her very own “Cocobolo Reclaimed Wood Triangle necklace” priced at a mere $45.

Look 5: @ WITCHES

Olivia

C: Where’d you get your look?

White puffer jacket – Unique Thrift

White tee – oldie but a goodie

Tartan wrap – oldie but a goodie

Hat – ditto

Look 6: @ Hey Queen

Founders of Veer NYC, Jenny McClary and Allie Leepson

Look 7: @ Hey Queen

Look 8: @ Hey Queen

Look 9: @ Hey Queen

Performance of the night: Sequinette Jaynsfield

C: What was your inspiration?

1950s Sci-Fi, Attack of the Flying Saucers meets Dolly Parton

C: Let’s talk about your hat/ headdress…

Part Mongolian hat, Part Bowl covered in iridescent metallic velvet

Dress – Self made (look at that fine pagoda sleeve detail!)

Necklace – vintage

Look 10: @ WITCHES

Dori

C: What’s your inspiration?

“I make inanimate objects, things that don’t necessarily go together, work for me”

C: Lets talk about your hair…

I shaved everything underneath to clear it off.

Glasses – designed by h0les

Look 11: @ Hey Queen

Mars Dietz

C: What inspires you?

Cool colors

C: What was your motivation for this outfit?

The goal was to be able to dance.

C: Where’d you get this ensemble?

Top – H&M

Fanny – Monck (Stockholm)

Pants – Monki

Chain – Mom

Necklace wwith V pendant – Ditto

Boots – Zeha, Berlin Based Company

Look 12: @ Hey Queen

Look 13: @ Hey Queen

Look 14: @ Hey Queen

DJ PRECOLUMBIAN (right)

C: Both great looks unfortunately didn’t get a chance to chat. DJ PRECOLUMBIAN is a Philadelphia-based gender-queer activist and musician known for transforming dance floors into block parties fusing indie anthems, dark crystals, booty jams and tropical rhythms to creative an all inclusive space and multi sensory experience.

Look 15: @ Hey Queen