Great experiences!

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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crfriend
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by crfriend »

Equall83 wrote:I don't wear skirts at work because of them being impractical as neither do women either so for a few days a week it's just trousers.
The "impractical" argument is a myth. There are very few things that cannot be done in a skirt as practically and safely as can be done in trousers -- and most of those have to to with high-speed machinery with exposed components or being around substances that might splatter and do injury (molten metals, acids, &c). The overwhelming majority of the population are simply not exposed to such hazards on a daily basis.
I would'nt mind to go bare leg or at least nude tights more often but UK weather is usually rainy and cold even in summer.
This remains a bit of a bone of contention. Many of us -- mainly elders -- think that being bare-legged is only for the most casual of occasions and one simply does not look "properly dressed" unless some form of legwear is employed; the youngsters, of course, think this is rubbish and that bare legs look just fine and are acceptable anywhere and at any time. And, we'll leave that at that.
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JeffB1959
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by JeffB1959 »

crfriend wrote:This remains a bit of a bone of contention. Many of us -- mainly elders -- think that being bare-legged is only for the most casual of occasions and one simply does not look "properly dressed" unless some form of legwear is employed; the youngsters, of course, think this is rubbish and that bare legs look just fine and are acceptable anywhere and at any time. And, we'll leave that at that.
Well, at 58, I go barelegged practically all the time, especially in spring and summer, even when I'm wearing dresses, I don't think about hosiery until fall rolls around and I wear it to keep my legs warm. At the end of the day, it's all up to the individual.
I don't want to LOOK like a woman, I just want to DRESS like a woman.
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skirtingtoday
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by skirtingtoday »

I too am one of those men who wears skirts when wife is not around. I understand that it is secretive but as has been mentioned above, "out if sight, out of mind" is very much the scenario here.
I feel she does know that I wear skirts outside but we don't talk about it. She does accept that I wear tights and a long T-shirt (which I think looks like a mini-dress) in the house or at least I thought so. Today she commented disparaging "In the knobbly knees contest today" shook her head and said "I don't know!"h :(
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Equall83
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by Equall83 »

Its definitely a matter of a person's choice regardless of age but to come to a person's personal preference I think experimenting is worth a try on different styles.
Be open with your wife though, she may help you find a style that you both like or that at least she'd tolerate being in public. With my wife It was a gradual process over time, I started wearing tights under trousers in public then grew onto leggings and then added the skirt very gradually, I dont really have to explain anything to her, il try a skirt on ask her if it suits and then she'll give her opinion on whether it suits and if not she 'll suggest an alternative, remember women know how to wear skirts which look good.
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Sinned
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by Sinned »

In summer I go around in a short skirt and bare legs. I wear tights when the weather gets colder. As a guide I just think about what I would do if I was wearing shorts and decide accordingly.
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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Daryl
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by Daryl »

crfriend wrote:The "impractical" argument is a myth. There are very few things that cannot be done in a skirt as practically and safely as can be done in trousers -- and most of those have to to with high-speed machinery with exposed components or being around substances that might splatter and do injury (molten metals, acids, &c).
Practicality is often perceived relative to moral, not material risks. As women's fashions became increasingly about framing and presenting women as sex objects, skirts and dresses indeed became less "practical" as they became flimsier and more difficult to maintain modesty in, and less effective as protection from the elements.

As for strictly material practicality, I'm with you 110%. In fact, there are circumstances where a skirt or dress can be safer than trousers. If you spill scalding hot liquid on yourself, it will wick through pants and the pants will hold it next to your skin. Only a tight pencil skirt is as likely to do that to the same degree. Any looser skirt will readily hold the spill away from your body. Women who work in chemical labs are often permitted to wear skirts but not pantihose because the wicking action in the hosiery could hold acids etc. next to the skin and delay removal of the chemical that extra few seconds that makes the difference between a minor cleanup and a serious injury. Skirts perform a function much like aprons in any spill situation.

In case of an accident where one's leg is cut and bleeding and time is of the essence, a skirt would also be better for responders, since they could just push it aside and not have to cut it open to get at your wound.

It must be said, however, that depending on the garment, a skirt or dress could be a fire hazard in a way that no pair of trousers would ever be. Women have been killed by dress fires. This is not a general problem, but particular to specific types of dresses and fabrics.
Daryl...
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by Fred in Skirts »

Daryl wrote:It must be said, however, that depending on the garment, a skirt or dress could be a fire hazard in a way that no pair of trousers would ever be. Women have been killed by dress fires. This is not a general problem, but particular to specific types of dresses and fabrics.
Could you be more specific about which types and which fabrics! :?:
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by skirted_in_SF »

Fred in Skirts wrote:
Daryl wrote:It must be said, however, that depending on the garment, a skirt or dress could be a fire hazard in a way that no pair of trousers would ever be. Women have been killed by dress fires. This is not a general problem, but particular to specific types of dresses and fabrics.
Could you be more specific about which types and which fabrics! :?:
Cottons, especially flannels (which most people wouldn't make a skirt from) catch fire relatively easily. Some of the artificial fibers will melt and stick. I think wool is the most flame resistant. That's what I'm wearing right now, but more because it is winter. 8)
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by r.m.anderson »

Fred in Skirts wrote:
Daryl wrote:It must be said, however, that depending on the garment, a skirt or dress could be a fire hazard in a way that no pair of trousers would ever be. Women have been killed by dress fires. This is not a general problem, but particular to specific types of dresses and fabrics.
Could you be more specific about which types and which fabrics! :?:
Some Polyester space age fabrics - made out of petroleum oil - YES OIL ! No not the liquid stuff but that which is blended mixed with other binders
to create a woven weaved fabric. Get near a source of fire flame and the fabric burns like a lit candle and can be difficult to put out. FAUX leather garments
come to mind. The melting effect can cause burns of 2nd and 3rd degree molding onto the skin making a road to recovery even more miserable as that
melted material needs to be pried away from the burnt skin and then the whole area sterilized with a saline solution before intensive skin grafting starts
to take place.
Most Fire Fighters can attest to this as a victim pulled from a fire is taken by the EMC people to a hospital and burn unit.

If one is doing welding wearing REAL leather pants is the fashionable dress code not the FAUX stuff. Even the sparks can be a real threat especially if leather
skirted - PH nylons tights just light up and hole out melt upon contact - instant distressed costume for club wear !

People who play in and around fire get their pants (and skirts) set on fire - some with nil effect and others with life threatening consequences !
"YES SKIRTING MATTERS"!
"Kilt-On" -or- as the case may be "Skirt-On" !
WHY ?
Isn't wearing a kilt enough?
Well a skirt will do in a pinch!
Make mine short and don't you dare think of pinching there !
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Daryl
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by Daryl »

Fred in Skirts wrote:
Daryl wrote:It must be said, however, that depending on the garment, a skirt or dress could be a fire hazard in a way that no pair of trousers would ever be. Women have been killed by dress fires. This is not a general problem, but particular to specific types of dresses and fabrics.
Could you be more specific about which types and which fabrics! :?:
Not really, but I bet the internet could be. I recall a girl being seriously burnt or killed near us when I was young. I remember that she was wearing a synthetic organza dress that burned hard and fast when some other kid threw a firecracker at her.
Daryl...
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crfriend
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by crfriend »

skirted_in_SF wrote:Cottons, especially flannels (which most people wouldn't make a skirt from) catch fire relatively easily.
For natural fabrics, ones that are relatively open (as in the distance between fibres) are, in general, more prone to ignition and sustention than denser fabrics. Compare flannel and a tightly woven shirt fabric. I have two flannel nightgowns that are reserved for when it gets stupidly cold in New England that both have flammability warnings sewn into them next to the care tags.

Synthetics, because of their chemical origins, tend to melt before they start to actually combust, but once combustion starts can be very difficult to extinguish (because one essentially has a chemical fire on his hands) and the mess of the melting can mean very bad news for the wearer of the garment.
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by moonshadow »

As one of the few members here who's not an office jockey of some sort, I can vouch that there are indeed some occupations, such as mine, where a skirt of any length would be inappropriate. Long skirts would provide safety from scalds and burns but run more the risk of getting caught in machinery and just generally getting in the way while climbing all over these pieces of cooking equipment. Understand that he ovens I work on are big enough for several people to stand inside, you you have to have a ladder to work on a lot of our stuff.

Shorter skirts would be less likely to get caught on things, and generally would not get in the way, but they offer no protection from other hazards like hot fryer oil, and other chemicals that get on my pant legs. In addition there is modesty issues. About a month ago, I found myself having to actually lay down in a hot bar to get a bolt started in a hard to reach spot. As I lay there, my legs, spread and open facing the sales floor. I was in a similar configuration as a woman who was about to give labor.... my crotch right at the line of eye sight with children and people in wheel chairs.... oh yes... I'd have made a few blush for sure... :oops:

Image
Not a good place for a maxi....


All that being said though, I do long for the day when I can attend less "work related" work functions (like our annual ESOP meeting, and the summer company picnic) in a skirt or dress. The ESOP meeting is mandatory uniforms for everyone for whatever reason (some say it's so we know our place.. but we get paid for it so whatever...), the summer picnic is voluntary and "off the clock", and I suppose there is no practical reason for me not to wear a skirt to such an event, other than I just don't feel like dealing with the drama... thus I do not attend the picnic, because I have nothing to wear!

On another matter, at my home-store in Lebanon (where most every woman who works in the deli wears skirts for religious reasons) I observed one young lady who was cooking and wearing a long slender floor sweeper. Not only was she RUINING the skirt by allowing it to drag on the kitchen floor, but she actually tripped on the hem and grabbed the deep fryer in an attempt to stop her fall. She didn't fall, nor get hurt, but I can imagine the numerous was this could have ended worse.

Okay... I get it, you can't tell a woman she can't wear a skirt because... well she's a woman and they're free to do whatever they want, but she just about deep fried her hand... Oh well.... religious freedom and all that nonsense... :roll:
crfriend wrote:This remains a bit of a bone of contention. Many of us -- mainly elders -- think that being bare-legged is only for the most casual of occasions and one simply does not look "properly dressed" unless some form of legwear is employed; the youngsters, of course, think this is rubbish and that bare legs look just fine and are acceptable anywhere and at any time. And, we'll leave that at that.
I myself generally don't care for wearing tights, hose, or leggings under my skirts or dresses, but do so when the weather calls for it. If the temps are above 50 for the day then I go barelegged. Granted, days closer to 50 would call for a longer skirt, late spring through early fall I frequently wear either knee length or higher, or a very thin gypsy skirt. In fact, I've got a beautiful green tiered one that a slip is REQUIRED to wear because otherwise you can literally see right through it, in any light.
This goes for footwear as well. When women started serving in numbers in various armed forces around the world, some level of confusion was had on footwear and whether separate patterns would have to be deployed to fit the woman soldier. It turns out that there wasn't enough of a statistical difference to warrant that and that a boot for a small man would fit and average-sized woman just fine. It cuts the other way as well. Once I nailed the size, it turns out that a female-marketed size 14 in US shoe-sizing fits my US (male) size 12 foot just fine. I just won't put up with anything i can't walk in for an extended period of time; I need to be practical.
This is also true of restaurant shoes that I wear. "Tread-safe" is the brand Walmart carries, and I noticed they are now selling shoes unisex. The box has the mens and womens size on the label. Why? Because they're restaurant shoes, all black, and styled so as not to be flamboyant or push vanity... thus there is no reason to genderfy them. They're practical, dull, black, and boring.... the perfect unisex wear! :roll:
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crfriend
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by crfriend »

moonshadow wrote:Okay... I get it, you can't tell a woman she can't wear a skirt because... well she's a woman and they're free to do whatever they want, but she just about deep fried her hand... Oh well.... religious freedom and all that nonsense... :roll:
I think that in a case such as this, health and safety take primacy over "religious expression". If that woman did manage to deep fry her hand (and likely much of an arm) a lawsuit would have occurred which would have cost the establishment a mint -- especially when it would have been the woman's own fault for not mastering her garments. It's one thing if this happens at home when "pregnant and barefoot", but it's intolerable in commercial settings and I suspect the law allows for that. (Fryer oils can also be an ignition source if there is open flame in the vicinity. Extrapolate that to a worst-case scenario.)

I can see why you eschew skirts in such environs. Not only can I see it, I agree with it. There is a time and a place. 'Tis a pity about the non-hazardous times, though.
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by pelmut »

It's not what you are, it's what you do that determines whether to wear skirts or trousers.

Many times I have crawled under my van, in full view of passers-by, whilst wearing a skirt; but I was careful to make sure it covered me decently. My lathe has its drive motor in the hollow headstock-end support pillar and it is conceivable that the hem of a knee-length skirt could get drawn into the pulley, so I always wear a long skirt when operating the lathe (it also stops swarf from getting into my shoes). For blacksmithing, welding and canal restoration bonfires I always wear trousers because of the fire risk; but I wore a skirt when I worked as the mortar mixer for a canal masonry repair gang when we didn't have any fires.
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Re: Great experiences!

Post by jv88101 »

Good comeback, I'll have to remember that one.
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