Just being lighthearted here, but if your colleague had been an American, I would have generally known what they probably meant. They would have been referring to the stereotype of a queer woman attending (or graduated from) an elite, probably east coast university with a concentration in the humanities, especially critical theory.

That stereotype focused a lot on dress and personal style and hasn't completely died out today, though it's being replaced by newer stereotypes, because ... Well, to a certain degree, that's what your story is about, eh?