By Megan Smith
There’s a certain glow that surrounds Miramar Dichoso when she talks about fashion. Sporting velvet sandals and socks adorned with pearls, the Austin-based stylist and speaker excitedly contemplates what new shade (if any) will replace the millennial pink phenomenon. “People might find forward fashion a little odd because it hasn’t quite been embraced by the mainstream yet. I love wearing socks with open-toed sandals because I love whimsy in fashion,” she comments on her outfit choice. “I get a myriad of looks, some of intrigue and some like, ‘What is she thinking?’ But I always enjoy that.”
A native New Yorker, Dichoso never pictured herself living deep in the heart of Texas. She grew up in the Big Apple, graduated from Hunter College, and studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. “I was originally thinking of pursuing fashion in more of an academic sense,” she shares. “I thought maybe I’d be a fashion theorist, someone who talks about the intersection of fashion with sexuality, race, and gender.”
But a post-graduation celebratory night out at The Clit Club, a sex-positive lesbian bar in New York’s Meatpacking district (which unfortunately closed its doors in 2002), would change that fate. “I happened to look past this column in the lounge area and there she was,” Dichoso says of her now-partner of 18 years, Sheree. “I mustered up some courage and managed to ask her to dance.” Sheree was only in the city on vacation, however, and had to return home to her job as a fashion agency manager in Dallas. Three years later, Dichoso joined her. “It was post 9/11 and I decided I wanted to move—it was just time,” she says.
Miramar Dichoso (r) with her partner, Sheree.
“Dallas was a bit of a culture shock coming from New York,” she adds. “I missed having fellow Filipinos in my life, and trying to find an Asian community that was also queer-identified was pretty tough. I was really homesick at the time.”
A trip to Austin would shift Dichoso’s view on the Lone Star State. “It felt sort of like a homecoming. The first thing Sheree took me to was a book reading held by allgo,” she says, noting how she found a much-needed sense of belonging at the QPOC event. “It was in that moment that I knew we had to move.”
The couple relocated to the state’s capital where Dichoso worked a series of fashion boutique jobs before accepting a position as a personal stylist at Nordstrom. Her passion, she says, lies in working with clients one-on-one. “I love helping my clients develop their own authentic style,” Dichoso says. “I love being body-positive. I focus on a part of [my client’s] body that they really love, then expand from there. Women, especially, can be so hard on themselves. So I love reminding my clients of their beauty and helping them to feel empowered about their sense of style. Because when you feel like you’re rocking what you’re wearing, when you feel confident in your outfit, it allows you to feel more emboldened and to have more fun with clothing.”
“We all have to get dressed in the morning,” she adds. “So it’s a great opportunity to really be thoughtful about what you want to convey to the world about yourself. Fashion is wearable art after all.”
When asked about her own fashion inspo, Dichoso points to YouTuber PatrickStarrr and Instagrammers Gabi Fresh and Nicolette Mason. “These are two women who are curvier and are creating clothing for women sizes 18-plus,” she says of Fresh and Mason. “Gabi Fresh just came out with this amazing lingerie line that is so gorgeous and so needed. It’s so refreshing for a woman of color who is plus-size to have this amazing following on Instagram and then, because of that platform, be able to create her own fashion line—and one that is really gorgeous at that. That’s what I love about YouTube and Instagram—I’m seeing people [in fashion] who look like me.”
“It’s always fun to meet other queer femmes, especially other femmes who are into fashion,” Dichoso adds, sharing that she’s experienced femme erasure in both her personal and professional worlds. “[It’s exciting to meet others] who enjoy the idea of dressing up and who are playful with fashion.”
As for what’s on her fashion radar right now, Dichoso compliments the local mom-and-daughter designers behind Amberleaf, as well as the Austin-based Limbo Jewelry, a boutique featuring eco-friendly and ethically-sourced jewelry inspired by architecture. “What really excites me is supporting local brands,” she says. “That’s one of the main reasons I’m a stylist.”
“I’m also currently obsessed with velvet—I’ve been wearing my velvet booties all summer. Even in the summer in Austin, I love wearing black,” she adds, describing her aesthetic as “New York in the fall.” “My goal is to be the editor-in-chief of some amazing fashion house or a creative director where I can just wear black leather all the time,” she laughs. “I’d be a total power bitch.”
Keep up with Miramar Dichoso on Instagram and at miramardichoso.com. In October, she will be hosting an Austin event in collaboration with Amberleaf. For more information on the event, DM her on Instagram.
