SmartGlamour stands with the LGBTQ+ community in celebrating all the colors of the rainbow, all the milestones achieved and the continued efforts in the name of liberation and human rights. To celebrate Pride month, a portion of proceeds from the sale of these Amelia Tees will be donated to our customers’ LGBTQ+ charity of choice. We also thought that, in honor of Pride, our blog would be a great space for sharing personal perspectives on “Pride” from some of our favorite members of the SmartGlamour community – our models! We are thrilled to have been a support to the LGBTQ+ models whose personal perspectives are shared below.
Model: LaLa B Zannell
LaLa is wearing the Annalise Swing Dress, featured in the #AllMeansAll: Gender campaign.
What does “Pride” mean to you?
Pride for me is a reminder that I am perfect in every way and that I came from greatness. That it is a time to remind the world and larger LGB movement that their liberation was birthed from trans women of color like Amanda St. Jaymes of the first riot in August 1966 known as the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, and then came Stonewall Riots which was spearheaded by Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and Miss Major.
So during this Pride season I never want trans people of color to forget they came from a great line of trans liberators, as well as the larger LGB movement to remember that, and stop trying to erase us out of the Pride season. It was always about love and liberation and not corporate sponsorships and parties that have now pushed trans women of color out.
How has modeling for SmartGlamour helped you or supported you in your journey?
I was so surprised when I was asked; I never thought with my body type, as well as being trans, that I would be ever asked to be a model. I was so nervous up until the day of the shoot. When I arrived it was such a welcoming space and everyone I worked with that day brought their model game. I loved the outfit they picked for me; I would like more clothes from the line. The experience inspired me to look for more modeling opportunities and made me feel beautiful again. With all the transphobia and dysphoria I face daily, for that one day and moment – Â and all the online promotions of the shoot – made me feel like I belonged again.
Model: Sebastian Zulch
Sebastian is wearing the Zadie Pleated Chiffon Blouse and Ina Charmeuse Palazzo Pants
featured in the 2017 Wedding + Special Occasion Campaign.
What does Pride mean to you? For a long time, it didn’t mean anything to me. I was a closeted pansexual trans man until I was 20, so I felt really shy about taking part in Pride. Being visible in any way felt dangerous, and growing up in an unsupportive and abusive household didn’t help that much. Once I came to terms with who I was and opened up about it to my immediate community, I found myself shunned by the queers at my school for not being “queer enough.” My queer identity has always been fueled with frustration and hiding until this past year, when I truly found multiple communities who truly support me in my journey. This year, Pride means having the courage to begin the process of transitioning through hormonal therapy. It means finally committing to being visible and proud as the person I truly am. How has modeling for SmartGlamour helped you or supported you in your journey? From the moment I met SG’s founder, Mallorie Dunn, at a NYFW panel about body positivity we were both on, I felt unbelievably supported and seen by her. I was surprised to see that someone outside of my community could work so tirelessly to dress folks with all kinds of bodies, including masculine ones. I’m often made to feel boxed into certain masculine stereotypes by people ever since I came out as a man. But Mallorie has made all parts of who I am feel seen and acknowledged, like my inherent Femininity, while still honoring my male identity without question. In the bridal and formalwear shoot I did with SG and Mallorie, it was incredible to hear the pronouns I use being used by everyone while still allowing me to flounce around in a girly outfit and lipstick for the camera. Mallorie and SG acknowledges that I contain multitudes, and helps me embody the type of Femininity I’m most comfortable with. I feel so empowered in SG spaces and around Mallorie.
Model: Gwen Boniface
Gwen is wearing the Amelia Graphic T-Shirt in light coral
with “Queen” in metallic green lettering, featured in the LGBTQ+ Pride campaign
What does Pride mean to you?
Even though I’ve always been aware of Pride’s lineage of resistance, I used to experience it primarily as queer Christmas. I would pick out a special outfit, gather with my friends and family, and spend time celebrating. Since I grew up in a very welcoming and social-justice-focused church  (Unitarian Universalist), Pride even involved being surrounded by the same people who I saw at every Christmas service.
That said, last year’s shooting at Pulse hugely shifted my perception. I’m originally from Orlando and that church I spent so much time in growing up is just three miles from the club. Â Though I was grateful to find that none of my close friends who frequented Pulse were there that night, I was nonetheless left feeling crushed, isolated, and not at all ready to celebrate.
This year, I’ve come back to Pride month with a very different attitude. I haven’t stopped being sad or scared, but that doesn’t mean I’m allowing myself to be cowed. Now my Pride is an act of defiance, refusing to sit down and shut up despite everything pushing me to do so.
How has modeling for SmartGlamour helped or supported you?
Despite being an actor, I’ve never really liked having my picture taken. Even on days when I felt pretty good, a picture that revealed any part of me I wasn’t crazy about could instantly tear down my confidence. Over the past couple of years, I’ve made a concerted effort to change that and SG has been a huge help.
To be honest, looking at the pictures from last year’s #InYourSize campaign (in which Gwen modeled) was initially challenging for me. I thought they were so unflattering. But that stemmed from the fact that it was so easy to compare myself to all these other people. I would look at them and wish that my arms were smaller like this one or that you couldn’t see the outline of my stomach. It took me months to really absorb the fact that THIS IS WHAT I ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE! And that doesn’t make me inherently less valuable than anyone. Not less worthy of feeling good or being seen. Of course I haven’t magically become 100% happy with myself all the time, but modeling for SG has absolutely helped me work through my discomfort.
Model: Maizy Perdue
Maizy is wearing the Sylvia Cowl Back Tee and
Charlotte Circle Skirt, featured in the #inYourSize campaign.
What does Pride mean to you?
Pride to me is learning about my heritage as a lesbian and the people and movements that came before me. It means loving myself and my identity with my entire heart, even when it’s hard, and it means that I have a community of people who I can love and will share their love for me in return.
How has modeling for SmartGlamour helped you or supported you in your journey?
SmartGlamour has introduced me to a lovely and diverse community of people who have all experienced life in different ways; it’s important for our growth as human beings to learn about and love people from all walks of life. SmartGlamour is beautifully diverse and supportive – we can all use a bit more of that in our lives!
Model: Bear Spiegel
Bear is wearing the Amelia Graphic T-Shirt in yellow with
“They/Them” in metallic green lettering, featured in the LGBTQ+ Pride campaign.
What does Pride mean to you?
I actually have a really complicated relationship with Pride. On the one hand, I appreciate it as a celebration for the entire queer community to be authentically ourselves as well as continuing the protest from the late 1960’s. I’ve been enjoying Pride celebrations since my senior year of high school and it has always been an amazing feeling to know that I’m surrounded by other queer people. On the other hand, Pride has been co-opted and commercialized. As cool as it is to see rainbows in Target and The Gap, all I really see is big corporations profiting off of queer people. Unless these companies are doing something for the queer community, selling rainbows isn’t going to help anyone. Cisgender-Heterosexual people now flock to Pride as well to observe the spectacle and take part of the one holiday that doesn’t being to them. The queer community has also has an identity-policing issue in which your gayness is judged and compared. Bi/Pan erasure is still rampant, people in straight-passing relationships are judged as well as trans people that “pass” or may not “look trans enough.” We need to remember that Pride was born from the oppression and strength of trans women of color saying enough is enough. If we’re not fighting for everyone in the queer community, we’re fighting against each other.
How has modeling for SmartGlamour helped you or supported you in your journey?
I started modeling with SmartGlamour around 6 months after coming out as trans-nonbinary/genderfluid. My entire life I have found joy in playing with gender and confusing people as much as possible with my presentation. Having now come out as non-binary, I felt pressure to constantly present as trans or androgynous. SmartGlamour helped me realize that no matter how I’m dressed, I’m presenting as a genderfluid person because that’s who I am. Modeling for SmartGlamour has been one of the most validating experiences for me as a trans person. Everyone is seen as an equal and pronouns are actually paid attention to! I may be modeling “femme” clothes but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m a non-binary model. I’ll always say, clothing has no gender. It’s just pieces of cloth with holes cut out. If I find something cute I’m going to wear it because I’m cute.
SmartGlamour seconds what Bear said! Clothing knows no gender. Fashion is for all bodies, for all humans, period. We are proud to stand by this during Pride month, and every other month of the year. We have so much love for the beautiful humans who shared with us in this post, and we appreciate their authenticity and their power.
