Tranny Couture at Payless

For some reason, I’ve always been fascinated by drag queens. We had one in our town when I was younger, and before I knew that ‘she’ was a ‘he,’ I thought she was the baddest thing since LipSmackers. Then there’s my deep and abiding love for Dolly Parton. What can I say? I like caricatures, and if a man can look that amazing in a skirt, well, you gotta admire that. No one ever said 6 inch heels were easy.

I guess that’s why I also love haute couture so much- it’s all about the fantasy, and although I would never rock anything totally insane in real life (I’ll save that for Lady Gaga), I love adding interesting and quirky pieces to an ensemble, and my favorite designers are those that can make ready-to-wear as fun as couture.
Enter Christian Siriano: remember him, the Season 5 winner of Project Runway? Well now that our fierce diva is well on his way with a couple collections under his belt as a major name on the design circuit, he’s branching out into merchandising his brand at lower price points- specifically, Payless! In stores now is the Christian Siriano for Payless line (see photo at right).

Although Christian has been villanized for “knocking off” Alexander McQueen’s ‘lobster claw’ shoe, they actually both hit the runways during the same season (Fall 2009). Naysayers will say it’s a case of inspiration gone too far, others will say it’s just a coincidence. Me? I just want some tranny ferociousness!

Originally, I had hoped the ‘lobster claw’ shoes would be available through Payless, however, they are unfortunately only selling the watered-down, much more commercial platform version. I know all the queens were really hoping for some tranny couture at a decent price point, but sadly, the prints look cheap (the blue version being the lesser of evils), although the shape of the shoe is still a lot more fab that you’re going to find at that price and off the rack. There are a couple of hits, such as the flat open-toed black gladiator sandal and casual Chuck Taylor-ish looking shoes. As far as Payless goes, this is very “out there” for them; I just wish that they would have gone a bit further, for the more fashion-conscious of us. But really, I’m not typically a Payless shopper, so I supposed I understand their merchandising strategy (sigh).

Reminds me of one of my favorite episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race “Drag on a Dime,” where the contestants had to put together a ferocious look by rummaging through a consignment bin. I hope Christian made plenty of size 13’s for my girls Nina Flowers and Akashia!

Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race starts next week- set your DVR’s to LOGO TV and be prepared for some ferosh-couture!