What made you put on that first skirt.

Discussion of fashion elements and looks that are traditionally considered somewhat "femme" but are presented in a masculine context. This is NOT about transvestism or crossdressing.
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oldsalt1
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What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by oldsalt1 »

I am sure this has been covered before. But a rehash might be interesting

For myself I was walking past the discount rack in Kohls. and I don't truly know why but an orange miniskirt caught my eye. I remember it was $3 I really don't know why but I brought it home and tried it on and that was my start. I try to rationalize why but I can't come up with an answer
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by beachlion »

Somewhere in the 80s, I became curious how women would experience their clothing. So I ordered a mini skirt. I liked how it felt but I had no intention to go out in public. It was just an experiment. I ordered a few other models and also a stretchy dress. Then I wanted to go full out and ordered high heels, and underwear. I even filled two ziploc bags with a pint of water each to imitate boobs. One night I went on the bike out to a former building site in the middle of nowhere, dressed up and walked around. That was the end of the experiment and afterwards, I dumped the set.
Somewhere around 2005-2010 by accident, I found a guy on the Internet who went to trade fairs and similar events in a quite formal skirt. At first I found it odd but then I remembered my own experience. But it did not trigger my own idea about wearing a skirt. Then I found Skirtcafe and that changed my attitude. From an old pair of jeans I made a crude mini skirt and started to make hikes in the nearby woodlands where they made mountain bike tracks. I liked the freedom (again) and now I will stick to it.
All progress takes place outside the comfort zone - M J Bobak
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Sinned
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Sinned »

oldsalt, sometimes I think that there isn't and answer as to why we wear a skirt. With all the discussions with MOH and her opposition I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. Yes they are comfortable and cool and stylish but they are not the REAL reason. When I find it then I'll let you know. :?
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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oldsalt1
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by oldsalt1 »

Sinned I understand that but can you remember the first time you put one on
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Fred in Skirts »

It was because of medical reasons that I first started to wear skirts and just never stopped. They felt so comfortable and soft against my skin and they did not bind or crush the family jewels. I discovered that most people did not give a hoot about what I was wearing. Now skirts and dresses are all I wear.
"It is better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not" Andre Gide: 1869 - 1951
Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind and the ones that mind don’t matter.
Disaffected.citizen
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Disaffected.citizen »

Well, the first skirt I wore tried on was back in c1996-7. I'm ashamed to say, it belonged to a housemate, whilst she was out. It was out of curiosity and the "urge" then remained dormant until after I got married.

Roll forward to 2006/7 when I separated from my wife; at this point I decided to try out some "alternative" styles. I started with the "traditional" cross-dressing simply because I had no other point of reference. Within the year I'd stumbled across the Skirt Cafe and soon transferred to open freestyle.

That was then, this is now; back in the closet with few opportunities or resources to express myself.
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Caultron »

Some 35 years ago I tried on one of my wife's dresses while everyone else was out. I walked around a bit but the dress didn't fit me very well and I was worried about discovery, so I took it off and hung it back up. End of episode.

During the 20 years before that I'd always wanted a chance to wear a kilt but the opportunity never came up.

Four years ago I bought a utility kilt and wore it is public. Now I go kilted or skirted 98% of the time.

Why this curiosity with kilts, skirts, and dresses? No clue.
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

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Sinned
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Sinned »

oldsalt, not sure if I do remember trying on my first skirt. I''d be in my early teens and I remember trying on some of my mother's skirts, and other clothes, while she was out but I don't remember much more than that. Fast forward a few years and many times during my marriage I tried on my wife's skirts and some dresses and whilst I found them all comfortable they provided a thrill but the desire to wear them as part of my wardrobe just wasn't there. I think what was the trigger was being out shopping in ASDA and seeing a blue skirt in the sale section that was cheap and turning to MOH said that I was going to buy this one. She raised no objection at the time. I tried it on at home later and, like any other skirt addict, my course in life was set. So I suppose it was actually OWNING my own skirt that was the turning point. From then on whilst MOH was asleep I would don a skirt and walk around the neighbourhood late at night/early hours just to be out and about in a skirt and for a while this relieved the tension that was in me. I would often also cycle around and feel the breeze around my legs. I'm sure that anyone seeing me would have thought I was a head case. I had bought many more by this time through ebay and store sales. The first time out in public proper was December 2012 when I went Christmas shopping at a shopping centre on the outskirts while MOH was out. I was nervous as hell in my knee length denim but no-one bothered me. I got a smile from a checkout girl and I'm sure that I projected an air of nervousness. I remember coming out of the first shop and walking to my car and seeing that I had left the keys in the boot lock. Fortunately it was fairly dark where the car was and no-one in the quarter hour or so that I was gone had noticed. It would have been really embarrassing if I'd had to phone someone to pick me up so I could get my spare set of keys or even worse if the car was gone. I was lucky.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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denimini
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by denimini »

My OH Heather bought me a mini skirt because I was always saying "I will do that job in a mini" or "I will be there in a mini" (mini as in minute) ... and then procrastinating.
Insisted I try it on. It felt great and I was immediately hooked and felt resentful that men couldn't wear them ....... until I came to the conclusion that they could.
Anthony, a denim miniskirt wearer in Outback Australia
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oldsalt1
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by oldsalt1 »

That skirt was the first I bought. I never wore it out of the house. I started collecting skirts mostly from thrift stores. When I started going out in them it was mostly late night gas stops or bank ATM my only contact with anybody was somebody passing by going into the bank or a cashier at the gas station. When I finally decided it was time to make contact I was a pile of nerves. I chose a berger king about 20 miles from my house.

I checked the place out 4 times before I made my move. I figured 6 am breakfast would be a good time usually only the drive thru was busy. I am sure you can understand what was going thru my head I mean I was actually going to walk into a place go up to a counter and ask somebody for something.

I placed my order and almost had a panic attack when he said that they were just coming out of the oven it would be just a few moments. Another customer came in while I was waiting . I had to stand there for a lifetime. Probably about 30 seconds waiting for my order. Than I had to have contact with a different person who brought my order up to the counter.

I wanted to run out of the place.
skirtingtheissue
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by skirtingtheissue »

Have related the tale elsewhere, but to recap:

I began wearing women's tops, jeans, and shorts 20 years ago. In 2006, At a naturist gathering, a group of us planned to hike the Appalachian Trail nude on the summer solstice (a tradition). We had to park, then walk to the trail, obviously impossible nude. Our leader had a short kilted skirt which he wore while we were on the public road. I thought, "I could do that!" The following year I bought a plain simple skirt and wore it to get to our traditional hike, and wore it at the gathering when not nude.

During the next few years I wore skirts in private, but also at the annual Gatherings. I also did some online investigating of crossdressing, joined one of those groups, and quite quickly decided I just did not fit in with them, since I never wanted to appear as a woman and found certain elements (wig, makeup) distasteful. But I also found Skirt Café and lurked in the shadows here.

I give credit to the Skirt Café for convincing me that if y'all are out and about in skirts, "I could do that!" So on a nice summer day in 2012 I put on a knee-length green corduroy skirt and strolled around Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass. For the first 60 seconds I was a little nervous. For the first five or ten minutes my thoughts were fixated on "What are those people thinking? Are they noticing? Are they chuckling?" For the next hour or two, all my thoughts were "This is so much fun! This is great! WHY, oh WHY, didn't I try this sooner? I love it!" I never looked back, and I'm in skirts most of the time in warm weather.

So you fine, wonderful folks in the Skirt Café are "what made me put on that first [public] skirt"!!

-----Henry
When I heard about skirting, I jumped in with both feet!
Grok
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Grok »

One day I was looking at the Utilikilt web site. And I had to ask myself, okay, you've looked at the web site, but the store is only a few miles away. Why not do something about your interest? So I drove over to the store and got a new mocker.
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by DonP »

I was reading an article about hiking the Appalachian trail and read that some people liked to hike in kilts. It never occurred to me that I could wear a kilt while hiking and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try one. I bought a hiking kilt from Mountain Hardwear and like it so much that I bought several more kilts from other companies.
Darryl
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Darryl »

I don't recall anything from my youthful days, but we've known we were of Scottish descent and have done some genealogical research. So one day I was talking to a friend about working on my bucket list: which included kilts and bagpipes. :roll:

Every time I said the word "kilt," she would mutter 'skirt.'

Kept thinking about that and was driving home one day and, at a stop light, told myself it was time to fish or cut bait. Not wanting to wait until my kilt arrived and having it on "skirt-wearer authority" that a kilt was a skirt...I turned left instead of right and stopped at the southern-most mall, went into Lane Bryant and ask the blonde sales lady to 'dress me.' "But not too girly."

As soon as I got home, I changed. Oooooh. Whudda thunk? The next few nights I wore my skirts out and about in the yard, at night, in the dark, hiding. And felt the 'breeze between the knees.' Then, having been reading the posts here at Skirt Café I said "this is stupid."

I got dressed and went to the same mall where the Lane Bryant store I'd bought things at was and sat in the Food Court for lunch, enjoyed looking at the girls all the while, walked around the inside of the mall and did some window-shopping and so on. Stopped and ate at Taco Bell on the way home.

The sky was still blue, no black helicopters in sight, no black SUVs following me, no massive police response, etc.

Hmmmmm.

That was a couple of years ago, now.

PS: I must admit that in mid-2007 I started pulling 12+ hour shifts in a network operations center and my occasional bed-time leg cramps got worse, my legs were always tired and a bunch of people I knew in nursing all agreed on one thing: support hose. A couple months after that, the first of three separate doctors saw what I was wearing and said 'that's a good idea, keep it up....here's a prescription...." There was a longer transition from wearing them under pants to wearing them openly with shorts.

When I discussed the hosiery with my mom, her only comment was "if you want to wear it, wear it!"

I guess I took that to heart and applied it energetically. Though of late I've been wondering if she just gave me the 'female' thought on the subject and with my dad already passed on, no other "Trusted Viewpoint (tm)" was available. Worked pretty well so far, though. :D

So I guess I worked through most of the fear-and-trembling and doubt and worrying about what others would say or think with the LAUF gang so when I came here and faced the public wear issues they had been somewhat reduced in size. My previous mantra was "everyone's got legs" ... which may have morphed into something like "there's nothing magical about a skirt/dress, it's just clothing and isn't going to 'do' anything on its own." But somehow skirts were still 'girly' and dresses :shock: were really 'girly.' But somewhere I'd read about sarongs and all the other unbifurcated garments men wear to this day, all over the planet and as for dresses....well, it appears that G-d dressed Adam and Eve in a k'toneth when they had to get out of the Garden....which translates into "a long, shirt-like garment."

Hmmmmmmm. So there! (To the naysayers.) :D

Dear naysayers: how can I obey the Biblical injunction: “Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” - Job 38:3 UNLESS I'm wearing a robe...aka...a...a...a....dress?

See also: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/10/0 ... ted-guide/
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Jim
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Re: What made you put on that first skirt.

Post by Jim »

Darryl wrote: Dear naysayers: how can I obey the Biblical injunction: “Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” - Job 38:3 UNLESS I'm wearing a robe...aka...a...a...a....dress?

See also: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/10/0 ... ted-guide/
Ever try to follow the picture? I couldn't make it work to tie it in front; not nearly enough length. To gird up one's loins is to pull the skirt up into one's belt. In back might work, making shorts, but the more likely explanation I've seen is pulling it up all around, making a mini, which gives one much more freedom of movement than all that fabric bunched between the legs.
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