Do folks notice or not?

[robert]

Hi jjjjohanne

So nice to see you here on skirtcafe. I hope you enjoy staying here, and I look forward to read your stories about going out skirted.

[6ft3Aussie]

On the subject of do people notice, my experience is a yes, but carry on with their business, maybe take a second look, or no, either they've got plenty on their minds and you don't register in their minds.

You can be in a crowd of people but later not specifically recall a particular person, unless of course there's something particularly unusual about that person.

The other day I walked into the local shopping centre with my wife, wearing a singlet and sarong (it is a strikingly masculine print on that one) as it was a hot night, a young couple walked out as we walked in, the girl gave me a bemused look, but carried on out to the carpark. That was the only reaction that I, or my wife noticed.
Walking out, we walked past 3 or 4 people who were walking in, they were engrossed in conversation and never appeared to see us as we walked out.

On Anthony's scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not noticed and 10 is can't miss you, I'd say the average response is around the 1 to 3.

I have never had anyone make a comment, positive or otherwise to my face, while wearing a utility kilt or sarong like the one I was wearing the other night.

[Caultron]

...I have never had anyone make a comment, positive or otherwise to my face, while wearing a utility kilt or sarong like the one I was wearing the other night.

That's too bad. But keep at it, keep refining your style, and the positive comments will come.

[denimini]

...I have never had anyone make a comment, positive or otherwise to my face, while wearing a utility kilt or sarong like the one I was wearing the other night.

That's too bad. But keep at it, keep refining your style, and the positive comments will come.

No comments, could be considered positive in itself as it indicates that men wearing skirts is being accepted as normal or at least not antagonising anyone enough to make a derogatory comment. Do we ever get positive comments when wearing pants or shorts? A positive comment about a skirt could be rather patronising; "Oh you look good in that (unusual item of clothing for a man) skirt". If we are bolstered by a good comment then should we be influenced by a bad comment to the same extent or as most suggest here just ignore them?
I am always pleased for members here who get positive comments in public and, judging by the pics supplied, well and truly deserve them due to the exceptional style. So are the positive comments necessarily due to wearing a skirt?
Just hypothesizing ......

[Caultron]

...A positive comment about a skirt could be rather patronising; "Oh you look good in that (unusual item of clothing for a man) skirt"...

There's some truth to that. But until skirts for men become usual, it's better than criticism.

[dillon]

I hope people notice, and that it challenges their conventional belief system. If not, how will this community, and the community that resists bigotry, in general, ever progress?

[Caultron]

I hope people notice, and that it challenges their conventional belief system.

Amen.

[Pdxfashionpioneer]

As much as I like compliments ... okay, you beat it out of me, I live for them ... the people I hope and fully expect notice us are the most important ones, men who haven't yet dared act on their hearts' desire to go out in public skirted. I know they notice us because I was always on the lookout for them before I took the plunge and still keep my eye out for them. (In fact, I saw one at Fred Meyers about a week ago. I couldn't imagine why he was wearing sandals and no hose in the dead of Winter on a day when it felt like the dead of Winter. I probably should have tried to get in front of him so he could see there are alternatives that will keep his feet warm.)

Acceptance, I believe, is pretty much there. It will be clinched when we are all secure enough to go out in public in our skirts so the fellows who haven't come outside yet can see us and witness that we get treated like anyone else.

[JeffB1959]

I was out and about yesterday in the outfit below, I came across two black women in their late 20's who took notice of me, one of them said, "You sure look good, baby!" Now, I think it was all about the complete image: jacket, skirt, tights and heels that got me noticed by those women who responded in kind because they liked what they saw. Admittedly, it's not often that I get compliments as people are often too wrapped up in their own lives and affairs to pay a middle aged man in women's clothing much if any attention, but when someone takes enough notice of me to give a compliment, it makes me feel great because all my hard work to look the very best I can had paid off.

[partlyscot]

Do I want to be noticed? I think, somewhat, yes.

How often do I get noticed? That's trickier. I think that there are many times my clothing is noticed, but people don't quite know what to make of it, so out of politeness, they say nothing and try to pretend they saw nothing. When I am wearing a more colourful, festive, or formal style, it is more obviously meant to be noticeable, so they feel more comfortable saying something. Possibly I'm fooling myself and it's the other way round, and they are reluctant to say anything about my other outfits because they don't like them?

jjjjohanne, do you think that some of the negative response from your earlier trips were due to your visible nervousness? I have had a co-worker tell me that one reason she thought I get so few comments is that I just carry on with business as if it's nothing at all to wear a skirt.

[Fred in Skirts]

Wow Jeff another great outfit!! I am slowly building up my closet to be able to make good looking outfits. And to the question do people notice.... YES THEY DO!! but some are too shy to say anything, others worry that they might get slugged and others are just too busy to stop and talk. But they all notice!

[Darryl]

Holiday so I slept in a bit, then decided to use my Taco Bell gift card.

With a base of a long-sleeved red turtle-neck tshirt and beige support hose I pulled on a blue oxford dress shirt, open at the neck and a black midi with black women's style tennis shoes and pulled on my grey blazer. When I got there and placed my order a tall black guy came over with questions about my kilt, saying he wanted to get one.

I did say I'd just pulled a long skirt on when I headed out the door but he just kind of brushed past that. Then I told him they came in both solid colors and the clan tartans. That the really good ones were hand-made in Scotland and might run around $800 each, while my favorite supplier (Stillwater Kilts) had "best" for about $90, "better" for about $52 and "good" for $30. About then our orders came. Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Maybe I'll go back next week about the same time....

[Kirbstone]

The current problem for us on this Eastern side of the 'pond' is the carriage costs and customs levy on goods imported from the US. Added to this is the strong dollar which is now nearly on a par with the Euro.
I forget the actual figures, but a recently bought Sportkilt (which I like) cost US$ 86, (Eur 80) with carriage of some 35 EUR and a customs tax levy on arrival here of about Eur 22 as well. This makes buying from the US a tad expensive. Against that a 'leisure' poly-something kilt from a Scottish supplier costs about EUR 50 with nominal carriage costs, VAT included.

Jeff, A Fine Look and you present such a formidable figure that I dare say few people would venture a disparaging remark. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and just from me, feel flattered!

Tom

[jjjjohanne]

jjjjohanne, do you think that some of the negative response from your earlier trips were due to your visible nervousness? I have had a co-worker tell me that one reason she thought I get so few comments is that I just carry on with business as if it's nothing at all to wear a skirt.

I will give two possibly contradictory answers:
1) Perhaps I noticed more reactions because I was nervous and was paying attention to everyone in my area.
2) Or, perhaps my notion that people have grown more accepting of things like a man in a skirt since the whole equality thing on Facebook and then Caitlyn Jenner, and then the gay marriage legal changes in the U.S. It seemed to me that after the Facebook thing happened (where people put an equal sign on their profile to say they supported gay marriage), people stopped telling the person they were with to take a look at me. There really seemed to be a change in public behavior.

Also, call me "Joey".

[denimini]

Walking down a busy street in a country town that I was travelling through, I past a woman and kids sitting at an outdoor table. My mini skirt must have been near eye level for the kids and a few steps past I heard "Mummy look at that man!". I didn't slow down or stop to hear the response but made me smile as kids are quite uninhibited.