Play Out: Challenging Binaries in Underwear Design

Entrepreneurs Abby Sugar & Liz Leifer of Play Out Apparel are pushing boundaries and sparking conversations on gender norms through fashion.

For PLAY OUT, queer fashion and gender-equal clothing is not a trend – it is who they are. In their experience, owners Abby Sugar and Liz Leifer have both come to realize that being comfortable in one’s skin is directly related to how/if one is able to authentically express oneself and one’s personality through their style and clothes. Directly related to that, humans are beautiful and multi-layered, and PLAY OUT is committed to showing gender, size, and race diversity in fashion and underwear.

Clothes are just clothes – and anyone/everyone should be able to wear any colors, designs, styles. Whatever makes them feel happy and comfortable and beautiful. For that reason, PLAY OUT offers six styles of underwear and do not use gendered terminology with their clothes. The collection features flat-fronted styles of boxer briefs, bikinis and thongs; and pouch-version styles of trunks, bikinis, and thongs. All the prints or colors are equally available, and PLAY OUT currently offers up to a size 3X in our boxer briefs and are expanding all styles to reach 4X soon.

Part of the brand’s philosophy is to create a safe space and community for our customers to come together. In PLAY OUT’s social media presence, they talk with members of our LGBTQ community about their experiences, about intersectionality, and what can be done to foster understanding and fight discrimination and in-fighting within the queer community.

As a gender non-conforming, lesbian-owned brand, it’s imperative all gender presentations, identifications, and body types are represented on their website, marketing materials, editorials, and social media platforms and brought into the mainstream underwear spotlight. Positioned at the intersection of the current discussion surrounding fashion, gender, and identity, Play Out will not waiver from challenging gender norms and creating kick-ass products.