How to Look More Masculine: Clothing Tips for Closeted Trans Men & Trans Masc People

By the time I realized I was trans, I also realized my clothes needed an upgrade so I could feel more like me. I'd moved from the small town where I grew up to a big, busy city, and for the first time, I felt like my life was actually mine. I could go where I wanted, do what I wanted, and stop worrying about what everyone else thought.

Looking back, it was a pretty great time to realize I wanted to make a big change.

Don't get me wrong, I was still nervous. What if my family didn't accept me? (Some of them didn't.) What if my friends rejected me? (Some of them did.) What if I got fired from my new job? (I didn't, but it wasn't exactly a healthy work environment.) But I knew what I felt was the truth, and I wasn't about to let fear stop me. So I jumped.

Not everyone's coming-out looks like mine. A lot of people know who they are long before they're in a position to act on it. Maybe your parents aren't supportive. Maybe you're worried about school or work. Maybe you're just not ready, and that's okay. Coming out is your choice, on your timeline, for no one but yourself.

That doesn't mean you can't do anything right now. These tips on how to look more masculine are for anyone who wants to but can't shop openly in the men's section yet. They aren't rules. Masc folks can wear anything they want, and your clothes don't make you any more or less trans. And if you're still figuring out the words for yourself, here's what transmasc means.

How to look more masculine without testosterone

You can change a lot without T. Fit, shape, layers, and patterns all change how masculine you look, whatever your body is doing. Testosterone changes your body over time, but clothes change how it reads right now. Plenty of guys years into T are still figuring out what works for them. You don't have to wait.

1. Go a size up

This sounds obvious, but it took me years to get it. I was out, on T, and still buying medium shirts. Then I'd wonder why I hated how I looked. I thought it was my body. It wasn't. I just should have been buying larges.

I blame men's fashion magazines for some of this. For a while, GQ and friends kept telling readers to size down and ditch the baggy clothes. A lot of us decided tighter was better. What nobody said is that clothes that fit loosely aren't the same as clothes that clearly don't fit.

Go one size up from what you normally wear. Your clothes should hang easy. They shouldn't hug you, and they shouldn't drown you.

• Tighter clothes read more feminine on most bodies. Looser clothes read more masculine and play down curves.
• Shoulders matter most. If the shoulder seam sits where it should, the rest can be boxy and it looks on purpose.
• One size up is usually right. Two sizes up can start to look like it doesn't fit.
• Boxy tees, crew necks, and straight-cut henleys are your friends. We carry boxy and oversized tees.

2. Shop athletic and gender-neutral styles

Athletic wear is one of the easiest ways to dress more masculine. The cuts are basically the same in every section, they mostly come in black, grey, and white, and nobody blinks at what you're buying.

• Basketball and mesh shorts: there's almost no difference between men's and women's versions. Wear them with an oversized tee or a muscle tank. Try our shorts, like the Wrestling Season Long Mesh Shorts and the Flamer Shorts.
• Mid-thigh shorts: shorts that end mid-thigh make your legs look longer and give your lower half a more masculine shape. If you're worried about height, skip shorts that hit at or below the knee.
• Oversized jerseys: wear one over a plain tee or on its own for a wide, boxy shape. See our jerseys and tanks, like the I Love Tboys All Over Mesh Football Jersey.
• Joggers and sweats: always gender-neutral, good in any season, with none of the length issues shorts can have.
• Compression shirts: these flatten your chest a bit without being a real binder. They're an easy first step if you're not ready to bind.

3. Lean into tartan and flannel

Quick note: tartan is the crisscross pattern. Plaid is technically the big piece of tartan cloth kilts are made from. In the US, most people call the pattern plaid. We won't judge you either way.

Tartan shirts are in every section of every store, all year. Heavy flannels are everywhere in fall and winter, and light cotton ones in summer. The crisscross stripes can make your chest look flatter than a solid shirt does, and the busy pattern makes it way harder to tell a men's cut from a women's cut.

4. Button-downs and thrift stores

The line of buttons pulls the eye up and down the middle of your body instead of across your chest. That's exactly what you want.

If you're starting to redo your closet, thrift stores are a goldmine. Men's button-downs, oversized flannels, and vintage denim are cheap, and shopping there feels a lot less gendered. You're just sorting through racks.

• Oxford shirts in blue or white read masculine in almost any fit.
• Chambray shirts worn open over a crew neck tee add bulk and break up your shape.
• Flannel button-downs in L or XL are boxy, warm, and about as gender-neutral as clothes get.
• Work shirts and mechanic shirts, with chest pockets and tough fabric, look masculine without trying.

5. Layer up

If you're not binding yet but want to play down your chest, layering is one of the best tricks. The downside is more clothes when it's hot. In summer, plan indoor stuff like movies, bowling, or anywhere with blasting AC.

• Hoodies and oversized sweatshirts soften the shape of your chest. Go one size up.
• Jean jackets are pretty much the same in men's and women's sections.
• An unbuttoned flannel over a plain tee adds width to your shoulders and breaks up chest lines.
• Zip-up hoodies and track jackets are easy to take off, and the zipper works like the buttons on a button-down.

The rule: more fabric means less visible chest.

6. Use the boyfriend trend

Boyfriend jeans, blazers, and chinos have been around for over a decade. They're looser, straighter, more classic masculine cuts, sold in sections anyone can shop. That's really handy for us. Boyfriend underwear went mainstream too. Hanes sold it at Target. It's looser, sits lower, and is cut more like boxers or briefs.

• Boyfriend jeans: straight leg, mid-rise or lower, looser through the thigh and hip.
• Boyfriend chinos: the straight, relaxed fit reads more masculine than tapered versions.
• Boyfriend blazers: oversized and unstructured, so they soften your chest and hip lines.
• Boyfriend briefs or boyshorts: for days when what's underneath matters too.

7. Crop your shirts at the hip

A lot of people are sleeping on this one. Crop a shirt so it ends right at your hip. It's not a belly crop, just a hem that stops at your hip instead of hanging past it.

• More leg shows, so you look taller and your lower half looks more masculine.
• A shorter shirt with room in the chest and shoulders gives you a boxy, sporty shape.
• Hip-length shirt plus mid-thigh shorts gives you the longest-looking legs you can get. The Mushroom Magic Mid-Thigh Shorts are made for this.
• It works at the pool too. Try a cropped tank or rash guard over swim shorts.

You don't need to buy new. Take an oversized tee, wash it first, and cut it to hip length. The raw hem looks like you meant it. Our finding your style guide shows you how. Or grab the Loverboy Crop Top or Loverboy Tank Top.

Your hem is where people's eyes think your legs start. Keep it at or above your hip and your legs do the rest.

The clothes you wear right now matter. You don't have to put on a show for anyone. Feeling like yourself in your clothes is worth a lot, and you don't need anyone's permission to get there. Start with fit. Everything else follows.