We all have that one piece of clothing that we love the most, whether it’s a sparkly sequined dress, a well-worn T-shirt or a treasured pair of boots. We decided to raid the closets of our favorite feminists to see what items of clothing make them positively rage.
“My favorite article of clothing is my unicorn horn. Just as the medieval European kings used unicorn horns to make their food and water pure, I dip mine into toxic kyriarchal situations to infuse them with purity, egalité and transnational genderqueer fabulosity.” — Minal Hajratwala
“In addition to a cloak woven from the beards of men I’ve vanquished, my favorite article of clothing is a denim wrap skirt with orange lace trim and a giant pocket that my dear friend Audra bought and passed along to me. I wear it at least once a week and feel wonderful every time I do — even better than when I wear my patriarchy-smashing gloves.” — Jennie Worden
“Whenever I travel for a speaking engagement, if I have time, I try to go thrifting to get a sense of the flavor of the town. I got the most comfortable, flattering, hottest, side-ruched white-with-giant-black-polka-dots wiggle dress ever… which I found for the astronomical price of six bucks at a thrift store in San Diego that my writer friend Art Garcia took me to while I was in town for a conference. It’s basically what Jessica Rabbit would have worn if she decided she needed a less formal, less red daytime look. Wearing it instantly puts me in at least a 20 percent better mood. I’ve worn it to my birthday party, to conferences, to give keynote speeches, on dates, out dancing… so much that I have an auto-search set for this dress on eBay, so that if it ever shows up I can buy a backup for the original. Oh, and if you want to have a little piece of this badass dress… you can, by ordering a copy of Ijeoma Oluo’s Badass Feminist Coloring Book, which includes her illustration of me wearing this — the color combos you can choose for the dots are endless!” — Jennifer Pozner
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“It would have to be my 100 percent cotton granny underwear. They’re comfortable, come in several festive colors, and the higher-waisted ones pull right up over my stomach rolls for spanx-free shaping.” — Therese Shechter
“I rely on clothing to set a mood, create an ambiance to ensconce me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t dress to be noticed or make a visual statement. Because our culture emphasizes how women look over how women feel, that can be problematic. But I don’t let that sexist garbage stop me from dressing in a way that cultivates a persona. I’m a visual person. I’m a tactile person, and clothing is important to me; how I look to others is important to me. All this said, my favorite article of clothing is something I wear in the privacy of my bedroom. It’s what my grandmother — who passed this particular item down to me — would call a schmata. Said schmata is a leopard-print polyester smock, not quite a nightgown, not quite a dress. It’s from the 1950s, and whenever I wear it I feel nostalgic for my grandmother, a seamstress, whose style I’ve always admired.” — Jill Di Donato
“I have this red T-shirt with a print of a black striped tie on it — designed to look like you have a loosely knotted tie draped all casually around your neck, drunk frat boy style. I love it because it’s one of the few single articles of clothing I have that expresses my personal style and self-expression — not quite femme, not really butch, comfortable, simple, and a little playful. It’s pretty form-fitting (my bosoms look spectacular in it, if I say so myself), while the tie design adds a slight edge I love. I feel really comfortable and myself wearing it. Sadly, years of love have worn a hole in it that make it unsuitable to wear in polite company. *moment of silence*” — Tope Fadiran
“A few months ago, I bought my first bespoke suit. It makes me feel sexy and confident and fabulous in a way that no other item of clothing ever has. I bought it for a wedding, but I keep finding excuses to wear it. Now I just need to learn how to tie a damn necktie by myself.” — Carrie
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“My thigh-high, PVC, black, strappy, stiletto, butt-kicking, ball-busting boots, of course.” — Margaret Corvid
“My favorite article of clothing is my Wonder Woman underpants. Not least of all because they allow for ‘in office’ cosplay, but because I feel like if you’re going to hide your invisible jet anywhere, it should be in your underpants.” — Lyndsay Kirkham
“My ‘Notorious RBG’ sweatshirt is my absolute favorite piece of clothing. I come home from work and change into it almost every evening. There’s nothing more comforting at the end of the day than lightweight gray cotton and Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.” — Amy Bickers
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