Rooted in free spirit, fun, the sounds of house music and a passion to create stylish, quality clothing for Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender and Gender Queer women, without trying to be everything to everybody…Lipstick + Wildflowers was born.

 

In the Summer of 2005, inspired by edgy, confident and fashion forward women “in the life” at a trendy New York City lounge one night, CEO and Creative Director Tracey Robinson came up with the concept behind Lipstick + Wildflowers.

Tracey noticed the cool and unique style of bois, butch, gender queer, drag kings and androgynous women in men’s clothing, oversized tees and neckties from the boyishly slim to those with the natural curves of a woman.  She became painfully aware that so many women, herself included, loved the style of men’s clothing…the mixture in textures of fabrics in an outfit, rich colors, attention to detail in construction and creativity in design. However, she found it extremely difficult to find such clothing in mainstream fashion for women. The more feminine woman, while it isn’t difficult to find clothing, Tracey noted they wanted clothing that wasn’t so frilly and girly from the juniors department. LGBTQ women wanted clothing that was fun, sexy and edgy.

In that one evening, it became obvious that while the fashion world claimed to be daringly innovative, provocative and gay friendly, they had neglected a large portion of that community, women…particularly those who identify as butch, boi, aggressive, gender queer and transgender. Gay men are perceived as having all the style while the women are left to fend for themselves, shopping in the men’s department and fighting the stereotype of mullet hair cuts, combat boots and flannel shirts. Seeking to fill this need, Lipstick + Wildflowers, Alternative Lifestyle Apparel for Women™ was born, setting out to prove that you can be a woman “in the life” and have a sense of fashion.

Who is the L + W woman? She is confident, secure in who she is and what she wants out of life. She is free, adventurous; healthy in mind, body and spirit or aspires to be; she loves music from the soulful sounds of house music to the guitar riffs of her favorite all girl rock band. She aspires to have the finer things and loves quality. Yet to her affluence is not just how much you may have materially, but a state of mind. Her life is busy, sometimes complicated, pushing her to the limit...and she loves it. She watches independent films yet will watch the occasional blockbuster, craves obscure books and places off the beaten path. She is a tom boi yet romantic; feminine yet strong. She doesn’t want to wear a rainbow or pink triangle on her tee shirt, but likes graphic and vintage tees with subversive slogans, that are tongue in cheek with a nod and wink to gay culture, music, politics and fashion of the past and present. She wants her clothes to take her from the office and a day of classes at the university to drinks at “The Abbey”; from a weekend trip to Fire Island to a Sunday afternoon stroll in Fort Greene to her favorite bookstore. Her clothes cater to her free spirit, lifestyle and individuality not only as a woman, but a gay woman.

 

Alternative: -adjective “employing or following nontraditional or unconventional ideas, methods, etc.; existing outside the establishment.”

-noun “a choice limited to one or two or more possibilities, as of things, propositions or courses of action, the selection of which precludes any other possibility.”

 The Lipstick + Wildflowers tagline “Alternative Lifestyle Apparel for Women™”, conceived in 2006, puts a positive spin a word used in the past to refer to a “deviant” lifestyle. Our alternative…that one has a choice to be free with their feminine, androgynous and masculine sides. You can either live as others in mainstream society expect you to live…a lie or the “Alternative Lifestyle”…being true to yourself to BE FREE to live your life as the person you truly are. The Lipstick + Wildflowers brand is all about thinking outside the box and not following the crowd…being unique.

The Lipstick + Wildflowers logo, created in 2007 represents the softness and strength of a woman. The logo is a hybrid of a wildflower and a labrys--a double headed axe. The labrys can be found in many ancient civilizations from Africa to Greece and was said to used by Amazon warriors. Today, it is often used as a sign of identity and solidarity among gay women and feminists representing strength, self sufficiency and matriarchal power.

 

We wish to provide clothing for those women who have a hard time finding stylish, well made clothing that has a “Masculine Attitude, Feminine Fit™”.  We also have an eye for the feminine woman who has outgrown the juniors department and wants clothing that is sexy, stylish and edgy. We want you to take our fashions and make it your own, as opposed to just wearing what we create. We take the utmost care in designing and selecting our products, focusing on small details and craftsmanship. The items you find in our online store whether its a Lipstick + Wildflowers original, a design made exclusively for L + W by an artisan (Lipstick + Wildflowers Design Edition™) or a item that we feel our client will love from an outside designer (L + W CO-OP™)...we wish to take you on a journey of personal discovery in fashion, to be who you are.

We are chasing herstory, revolutionizing the clothing industry and taking fashion to the next level for women in the LGBTQ community. We offer clothing that lets one exhibit their style whether it’s feminine, masculine or androgynous and feel comfortable about their spirit and personality. Some days you can go either way with your feminine or masculine side or combine the two.   It’s your prerogative to play with and blur the lines of gender. So lets throw out the boxy tee shirts, ill fitting men’s clothes and oversized sweatshirts. We want to bring sexiness and style to women to the LGBTQ community as well as a fun and flirty attitude.

The grassroots production of all garments is in house. . .from designing and packaging to marketing and advertising. We will continue to produce distinct clothing that is feminine, as well as cutting edge, androgynous and masculine in style…never putting anything before product quality. We are moving beyond screen printing to cut and sew. Look for the debut of the Velvet Label™ collection featuring bags, jackets, pants, skirts and dresses. We will continue with our high quality, buttery soft, hand dyed, eclectically colored vintage and sheer t-shirts, hoodies, “tricked out” shirts, L + W Limited Edition™, hats and jewelry. We want you to experience Lipstick + Wildflowers and take you on a viral journey via our websites and online store. We wish to awaken your senses by introducing books, film, music and home goods that we feel, you our client will love, while offering a showcase for up and coming artisans in the L + W CO-OP™ and our Velvet Lounge.

We assure you that the Lipstick + Wildflowers brand will live up to the high standards that we set not only for our clients, but for ourselves. We will continue to deliver the unique attributes and benefits our clients count on, and we promise you quality clothing made with an attention to details and craftsmanship with beautiful soft and colorful fabric.
We will maintain an edge, superb customer service, service and respect by keeping our products, online store and websites unique with you…the client’s influence. Customer service is extremely important to us. We want to hear about what you want in your clothing, from style and fit to fabrics and colors. Lipstick + Wildflowers is not just a brand, its an experience, lifestyle…its you.