Styleuk stylewomen's fashionModels

Plus-Size Transgender Model Shay Neary Makes Her UK Debut For Yours Clothing

'We are constantly changing, so you aren’t meant to always look the same.'
Open Image Modal
By 

Parents & Style Editor at HuffPost UK

Shay Neary has teamed up with a plus-size fashion brand to provide style advice for the transgender community.

The plus-size transgender model, 28, collaborated with Yours Clothing following customer feedback that noted the lack of fashion guidance for transgender shoppers.

“Presentation is important, but I’m not saying that you have to impress anyone, except yourself,” said Neary, who models the brand’s spring/summer 2017 collection.

“Putting yourself together each day, will help you get through your day better. Knowing that you look good and feel great - can change an entire day.”

Open Image Modal
T-shirt, £19, open hoop earrings £5, all from Yours Clothing.
Yours Clothing

”Your smile is your best accessory,” added Neary. “Always remember - no matter what you’re wearing - a smile makes the look.

“Your comfort in that outfit and level of love for it will show. Love yourself, and let your personality show.”

Open Image Modal
Dresses, £26, Bag £15, Wedges, £14.99, all from Yours Clothing.
Yours Clothing

Neary hit the big time in 2016 when she became the first out, transgender model to have her own campaign with American plus-size brand Coverstory and she has spoken openly about her wish to see more diversity among transgender and plus-size models.

“Sometimes finding yourself takes a long time,” she said. “Transitioning teaches us to become ourselves. But we sometimes forget who we were.

“There are days where I don’t wear makeup and wear relaxed clothing. I don’t look like my normal fem-bot self. That’s OK!

“We are constantly changing, so you aren’t meant to always look the same. Get comfortable with the not so pretty and the confidence will start to blossom.”

Open Image Modal
Scarlett & Jo Black, Coral & Blue Floral Print Dress With Pockets, £50, from Yours Clothing.
Yours Clothing

In terms of fashion advice Neary cautions: “Finding shoes in bigger sizes can be difficult - Don’t be stressed, lots of cisgender women have large feet. My advice is to own one pair of statement shoes, wear with minimal outfits and let them shine bright.” 

Open Image Modal
Blouse, £23, skirt £17, from Yours Clothing.
Yours Clothing

Neary believes “lingerie is simple” - with the right advice.

“If you don’t know your bra size, find someone who can measure you,” she said.

“Your undergarments are the base of any outfit, they have to fit appropriately.”

Open Image Modal
Top £20.30, jeans, £21, and shopper £21, from Yours Clothing.
Yours Clothing

For more from Neary visit Yours Clothing.

Before You Go

Transgender Heroes
Munroe Bergdorf(01 of07)
Open Image Modal
Munroe Bergdorf is a London DJ, designer, model and activist.

She has spoken out about the difficulties and abuse she has faced as a transgender woman, shedding light on the issues facing the trans community, as well as bravely discussing her own experience as a victim of attempted rape.

Bergdorf has encouraged transgender people not to be afraid of their identity, speaking out for Pride London’s #FreedomTo campaign earlier this year.

After experiencing bullying as a teenager, Bergdorf said she had a lightbulb moment when she realised she had to “start being true to herself”.

She has since described the decision to begin her transition as the “best decision I’ve ever made”.

She told the Daily Mail: “I’m so much happier now than I was growing up.

“I want people to know that it's okay to be different, and that you shouldn't be scared of being the person you are.

“I talk quite openly now about what's I've been through and frequently speak publicly about trans rights and community issues.

“I think it's important that the world understands and respects transgender people, the struggles that they face and the rights that they deserve.”
Paris Lees(02 of07)
Open Image Modal
Paris Lees is a journalist, presenter and transgender rights campaigner who has challenged how the media talk about transgender issues.

She founded the first British magazine aimed at the trans community, META, as well as working for a number of other publications. Lees has also made appearances on Question Time and Newsnight, as well as speaking at the Oxford Union.

She currently works with Trans Media Watch to help Channel 4 remove transphobic material from its content.

She has also spoken out over a number of incidents deemed transphobic, including media coverage of transgender teacher Lucy Meadows and a column by Julie Burchill in which she described trans people as "a bunch of bed-wetters in bad wigs".

She was awarded the Positive Role Model Award for LGBT in the 2012 National Diversity Awards, Ultimate Campaigner at the Cosmopolitan Women of the Year Awards, and also topped the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List in 2013.

After a tough start in life, which culminated in a spell in prison, Lees spoke of the change in media coverage of transgender people.

Speaking when she was named Young Campaigning Journalist of the Year award at the MHPC 30 To Watch awards earlier this year, Lees said: “"When I first transitioned I was depressed and isolated. I looked to the media for inspiration and all I saw were people like me being ridiculed.

"Five years on and things are looking very different." (credit:Dan Dennison via Getty Images)
Dr Jay Stewart(03 of07)
Open Image Modal
Dr Jay Stewart was honoured for his services to the trans community with an OBE in 2014.

He is a co-founder of Gendered Intelligence, a not-for-profit group which aims to increase understandings of gender diversity through creative ways, working with the trans community and those who have an impact on the lives of trans people. The group particularly specialises in supporting young trans people aged 11-25.

Stewart led ‘What makes your gender? Hacking into the Science Museum’ – a £10,000 project funded by Heritage Lottery Fund with London’s Science Museum - as well as a number of other projects.

As well as chairing Gendered Intelligence’ board of directors, Stewart also acts as a mentor and youth group session leader.

Gendered Intelligence also provides age-appropriate workshops and assembles for primary school children to help them explore gender roles. When the initiative was criticised by a select few, Stewart spoke out on the importance of such education.

In a statement on Gendered Intelligence's blog, he said: “It’s so important to teach children in schools that they can be anything that they want to be, regardless of the gender that they have been given at birth. They can be engineers, nurses and politicians; they can be caring and kind, strong and forthright; they can wear what they like and look how they like. It’s okay for all children to be girlish, boyish or anything in-between.

“Our work at Gendered Intelligence includes going into primary school settings. It’s important because gender stereotyping and reinforcing gender norms start from a young age.

“If we are going to tackle the prejudice in society towards those who express their gender differently from what is considered the norm, we need to introduce teaching early on in a person’s education.

He added: “Trans people – like all people – have a right to an education in a safe environment. The only way to make school safe for trans pupils, and safe for everyone to express their gender, is to start talking about gender variance at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Sabah Choudrey(04 of07)
Open Image Modal
Sabah Choudrey helped found Trans Pride Britain, the first trans march in the UK.

They also founded the QTIPOC Brighton Network for queer, trans and intersex people of colour, and desiQ for queer South Asian people in the London/South East area.

Choudrey works for Allsorts Youth Project in Brighton as an LGBT/Trans/POC Youth Support Worker challenging racism in LGBT scenes, providing advocacy services and ‘Unlearning Racism’ training in LGBT spaces.

They also work with Gendered Intelligence, providing support and mentoring for young trans people of colour.

Choudrey speaks out about their experience of being trans and Muslim, as well as speaking at events such as TEDx talks.

In a blog on HuffPost UK, Choudrey explained: “It has always been apparent to me that queerness is not something visible in non-white cultures. This was the history I was told. But this was the history rewritten by those that colonised the land of my mother and father, who criminalised queer in our land, and from then on, queer became synonymous with sin.

“It is no surprise to me that it has taken me three more years to speak publicly about being Muslim and trans.

“We're in a culture that teaches queer people that we don't deserve to be religious. We are taught to put faith only in ourselves because self love is the only love we will feel. Queer people don't deserve faith or hope, because why pray when you're already queer?

Choudrey continued: “What society teaches us about religion is that it's a weakness, and I felt for years that it was being an Atheist that kept me strong. It wasn't until I was in a relationship with an Atheist and I finally talked about my Muslim background did I feel like Atheism had taken something from me I never wanted to let go of.

“Accepting that I am Muslim again has been the hardest part of my journey. Accepting Islam back into my life has been the most challenging part of my identity. It does not feel easy yet. But it does feel true.” (credit:Helen Thomas)
Rebecca Root(05 of07)
Open Image Modal
Rebecca Root is an actress who appeared in the lead role in BBC romcom ‘Boy Meets Girl’, and has also appeared in a range of programmes including Hollyoaks, Casualty and Midsomer Murders. She will also be appearing in the upcoming film ‘The Danish Girl’ alongside Eddie Redmayne.

However the actress is also a qualified voice coach - the only trans person to work as a voice and speech specialist in the UK today.

She runs transgender voice adaptation sessions to help people to find a voice that they feel fits their gender. Her thesis, ‘There and Back Again: Adventures in Genderland’ has also attracted international attention and Root resented it at Harvard University.

Speaking about the benefit of speech therapy for people who are transitioning, Root told the Telegraph: “The voice is more evident than what's between your legs, or on your chest.

"I know some girls [people who have transitioned to female] who just don't care, who really don't mind sounding like what's considered a typical bloke.

"But some say they simply won't talk because they haven't got what they think is the 'right' voice.

"They won't make phone calls, and when they have to go to the shops they don't answer questions, they just mumble something. They're afraid of opening their mouths and that's such a shame."

Root is also a mentor for young transgender people through Gendered Intelligence. (credit:David Livingston via Getty Images)
Fox Fisher(06 of07)
Open Image Modal
Fox Fisher starred in Channel 4’s documentary ‘My Transsexual Summer’ in 2011, which revealed the journey of a number of transgender people as they undertook a range of gender affirmation procedures.

He went on to become the co-founder of My Genderation, an ongoing documentary project exploring gender variance.

Fisher told the BBC: “Not only are we also trans* [written with an asterisk to denote a catch-all term for those defining across the gender spectrum] people, we have our own experience on the other side of the camera, as documentary subjects, on My Transsexual Summer, Channel 4, 2011.

“These factors give us a very unique perspective and we are in a trusted position within a growing community.

“We work alongside many UK and global gender support groups which share our vision of changing public perceptions already clouded by existing media fabrications and negative reporting of trans* people. Although things really are changing, there is a long way to go.

“We make films independently, to humanise the process of transition, to allow the audience to empathise with trans* issues. We provide a platform to consider gender and all its constructs. We aim to provide engaging films on various aspects of being trans* and coming to terms with gender variance."

He is also an ambassador for All About Trans - a project that "looks at creative ways to encourage greater understanding between trans people and media professionals to support better, more sensitive representation in the UK media."

Fisher continues to speak out about the issues facing trans people in the UK.

He also helped to found Trans Pride Brighton and has co-written a children’s book, entitled ‘Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl?’. (credit:thefoxfisher/instagram)
Alex Bertie(07 of07)
Open Image Modal
Alex Bertie is a trans YouTuber who has documented his experience of his transition since he was a teenager.

Although just 20, Bertie has developed a strong following online with more than 150,000 subscribers and over nine million views on his channel TheRealAlexBertie.

In his videos, Bertie describes various aspects of life as a transgender man, including medical appointments, relationships and coming out.

He also provides helpful practical guides on his channel on topics such as buying chest binders, hair styling and coming out.

As well as providing advice and support to young trans people, Bertie also gives tips to people who may have trans friends, family or colleagues, including how not to offend people and appropriate words to use.

He told Ten Eighty magazine: “I’ve actually had a lot of parents talking to me. Like, parents have inboxed me on Facebook, which is so weird. They’re, like, older than my mum, and they’re open to talking about it, which is just amazing. They’re willing to reach out to young people, which I think is really, really cool.

“Some people come to me with queries. They think their child might be going through what I’m going through, and they want to help them with that as much as possible. Other times, they’ve been directed by their kids to come and talk to me, or to watch my videos.”

He added: “I think I do get a lot of positivity. More than I thought I’d get. Now and then, I do get the odd bit of confusion, or some hate, but that’s easily nipped in the bud just by information, just by education."
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip