Thailand gets Tomboy Chic

Previously the shop existed only on the internet and was quite successful as an e-commerce venture. Now it is brick and mortar and plans to expand their distribution to all provinces in Thailand by the end of the month. Passersby may occasionally giggle, but there is clearly a market for masculine clothes cut for women’s bodies.

"At first people probably thought it was crazy," said Supamas "Jean" Sirimoungkalavanit, owner of Tom Chic shop. "It was quite understandable to get such responses because tomswear was something new to them."

"People often misperceive [sic] that we want to be like men," she says. "We have a different taste, lifestyle and identity, and so tomboy clothing is different from what men wear.’’

Indeed what we categorize in the states more often as lesbian chic than tomswear does have a unique aesthetic it has quickly spread to tween boy idols and throughout the fashion world. And though Sirimoungkalavanit tries to make it clear that her shoppers do not necessarily want to be like men there is certainly an aspect to her line that many trans-identified people can relate to.