The Dresscode Project
Kristin Rankin has been a hairstylist in Toronto for 13 years. Kristin is the owner of Fox & Jane, a boutique hair salon in the east end neighborhood of Leslieville. Fox & Jane was one of the first salons in Toronto to implement haircuts priced by length not gender. Kristin founded DCP and is a committee member for the East Side Pride Festival and on the screening committee for the Inside Out Film Festival. Kristin is working to eradicate homophobia, transphobia and discrimination according to race, sex and gender in salons worldwide.
What does a “typical” day look like for Kristin?
I have to start with working out and then coffee! Home brew, chemex style. Ha! Well then I’m typically running my butt off because I own a salon and run a Not for Profit. LOL. So mostly being a boss and then an Executive Director, behind the chair cutting hair, Admin stuff and then a dog parent to two ridiculously adorable bully’s, which makes me so happy.
Tell us everything we need to know about The DresscodeProject?
Led by Kristin Rankin, co-owner and stylist at Fox and Jane Toronto, Dresscode Project is working to create a safe and gender-affirming salon space for young trans/queer persons. In communities in which they are often mis-gendered, mis-recognized, bullied or worse, Dresscode gives young trans people the opportunity to share desires regarding their own appearance, which may be labeled by family and others as gender non-conforming. Dresscode seeks to recognize and honour each young trans/queer person for who they are and where they may be in the process of identification or transition, and ensures that support and follow up is provided through partnership with local community agencies.
How can others get involved?
Folks who want to become DCP salons can go to our website and hit the “join us” button, that submits an email and we will get back to you to lead you through the process from there. You can also email us directly with your salon deets and we can get things rolling.
Salon owners can also email about how to start a Gender Free Haircut Club in their city ( it’s our side hustle and it’s amazing)
What was your first job in professional beauty?
The kid of a mom hairstylist. I used to help my mom fold towels, then I would spin in her chair and wait for her. Old school Perms have a very nostalgic feeling for me.
What is the biggest challenge you face in your career/The DresscodeProject?
Keeping my cool! Lol – just kidding. I think making people face change can be a big challenge and I don’t really mean for it to be in their face so much, except that I do?!? It has to be, because things need to change. I’m a Libra and balance is a huge thing for us libras, I think this is where I get it from. Equality = balance in my world. And I just can’t understand why it’s so hard to achieve equality? I mean, I understand it, but think it’s bullshit and inequality is so oppressive and a way for certain folks to keep others under their thumb and that junk has to stop. I don’t want to live in a Handmaids Tale sort of world, so I need to make sure that doesn’t happen. That would be bonkers, but feels like it’s not really something that couldn’t happen if we’re not aware. Ugh, there’s so much here lol
We have always questioned, since before beauty school, why “Mens/Womens haircuts” just aren’t considered haircuts or broken into “long hair” or “short hair” if pricing is an issue. It seems like we’re finally moving forward to gender neutral pricing and categories, but why do you think it has taken so long to do so, and where do you think the hesitation is coming from?
I can only speak from my experience but I think it has a lot to so with the system, how pricing has always been set up to benefit the patriarchy. Gender inequality with pricing doesn’t just happen in the hair industry, it just happens that I’m a hairstylist and so this is where I started. Why? Because they were able to get away with it! But just like other things, people are starting to take a stand and basically say “eff you, I’m not putting up with this anymore”. More and more folks message me everyday asking about how they can change to gender neutral pricing, I think there is hesitation on the stylists side because they think they’ll lose money. We’ve been trained to charge folks who identify as women more!!! In everything and hair is no different.
So it’s hard at first for stylists to accept that now they will charge a women with short hair, less. But what I try to remind them is this, that woman will now come more often because they like their hair short and actually would love to be able to afford to get it cut more often. (versus paying the “women’s cut” price which is usually much higher than the short hair and can’t get it cut as often as a result) so it all balances out. Also, I have to mention this. I can’t say this enough and won’t stop saying it, HAIR HAS NO GENDER! That in itself is pretty self explanatory. So it’s really hard for me to wrap my head around labelling and pricing in a gendered manner. It makes no sense. None at all. It actually has no Gender.
What’s so great about this industry and why?
We get to make folks feel good everyday. It’s like being prescribed a natural high everyday by a holistic therapist! LOL, nothing makes you feel better than when someone goes absolutely mental over how you just did their hair! It’s truly a great feeling! Now take that and times it by 100, because that is how I feel every time I change the look of someone who identifies outside of societies gender norms. To help them get closer to where they want to see themselves is beautiful. We call it helping them “look the way they feel” or the way they have always seen themselves (in their head)
Your job has allowed you to meet a lot of stylists. What one key trait do you think all awesomely, successful stylists share?
Passion. For sure.
Every stylist I meet has passion and a lot of it! Passion for their craft, for their clients , for their industry and the folks they share their Lives with. We are not short on this trait, it’s what drives our creativity and talents. I think it’s the main reason as to why we, as stylists , are starting to significantly change to non gendered hair pricing and so willing to allow Dresscode project into their lives and salons. In one year we’ve created over 160 safer space salons and we are now global. For example when I started DCP I did it by sending salons emails asking them if they would create this alliance with me. A salon owner friend of mine here in Toronto responded within the hour by saying “fuck yeah, I’m in ” her words.
If you were a cocktail, what would you be?
Lol. A Gin & tonic. But not the boring kind, it would have a sprig of mint, a lime and a splash of elderflower just to be fancy! Like Iggy Azalea ( kidding, I don’t know what happened there?) lol but I do prefer Gin !
Stalk The Dresscode Project…
On the social media sites of course!
IG – @thedresscodeproject
The Facebook – Dress Code Project
(The bird) Twitter – @drsscdprjct