My Dandyism's "Wicked" Journey
When you defy gravity by having the right friends
One of the best things that has ever happened to me in my entire dandy life, which, at the time, didn't seem like one of the best things that has ever happened in my life but ultimately was,
was the day I was formally kicked out of my church back in 2009 by one of my pastors. I didn't realize at the time, but definitely do now, that this was an important move to not only
fast-track my dandyism to, well, these levels, but also was my way of understanding who I am and where I truly belong.
It took over 5 years, but one of my best friends, Patrick, introduced me to this tiny rainbow-glittery store here in DC called
Why Not Boutique, truly one of the most magical clothing stores ever created (Where was this
enchanting place when my parents dragged me to clothing stores as a child, which I deeply hated?). Patrick's guidance, along with their selection, transformed my dandyism into the
award-winning historical black queer dandy fashion art that it is today. One of the big secrets? Patrick is a spiritualist with amazing witchy tendencies that I ultimately love. He not
only transformed my dandyism but transformed me, introducing me to people in my queer community who loved, accepted, and included me. Evangelical Christians in my then-church ignored
me, rejected me, denied they knew me, then condemned me for not being in a church after all of that. Meanwhile, a beautiful, beautiful gay spiritualist with
witchiness loved, accepted, and included me and then transformed my dandyism after that.
Click here to see the outfit
Fast forward to February 2025. Since then I have done quite a lot with my historical black queer dandy fashion art to,
again, these levels, when an old Christian "friend" and I got onto a disagreement about political issues on Facebook. I mentioned to him that I
suffered dismissal, rejection, denial of knowing me, then condemnation after all of that by people in the church, his fellow Christians. I then told him about
the love, acceptance, and inclusion I am getting from my queer friends and family, and I even showed him my dandyism, particularly the image you see above. His response? He commanded that
I repent. He never addressed anything I said about my treatment back in 2009, not even an I'm sorry; he went full-on
condemnation mode on me. I of course showed him the virtual door and bid him a not-so-fond farewell. Irony is that, the night before, I was at
Crush with family and friends, family and friends who loved, accepted, and included me. I even wore a
mild dandy outfit to feel better about myself after an earlier issue. I felt so loved and wanted, and yet, this time, the condemnation came again from a Christian, but, this time, I
didn't need rescuing like I did in 2014 per 2009. The bigger irony? This blog was only made possible by my new laptop which was purchased thanks to help from another of my best
friends, Preston, who not only contributed to my GoFundMe but recruited his friends and colleagues to also contribute, raising the money I needed in an hour! Here's the fun part:
Preston is a beautiful beautiful gay witch! This again confirms not only where my dandyism belongs but where I belong: among those who truly love, accept,
and include me and elevate my art in whatever way they can.
Not bad for my first blog since my old laptop crashed out and died last year, nej?
141 views
Tell me what you think about "My Dandyism's 'Wicked' Journey" by clicking here