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.
User avatar
Caultron
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 4122
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:12 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Caultron »

Rocketdawg wrote:...I guess it's all a confidence-booster. It makes me want to be able to wear what I want, when I want, and where I want within the constraints of the moment...
Exactly. Sounds like you're doing great!
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

caultron
User avatar
Daryl
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1219
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 4:25 am
Location: Toronto Canada

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Daryl »

Mike wrote:I was at a bar once, shorts and suntan pantyhose on, wife sitting next to me, and a guy asked me if I was gay. I said, "What, because of the pantyhose?" He affirmed, I said, "No, but I have a gay friend and he has a shirt exactly like yours." He got the point.
Man, there are days I wish I were that quick-witted!
Daryl...
User avatar
Mike
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 318
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 12:46 pm
Location: Alto, Michigan
Contact:

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Mike »

Daryl wrote:Man, there are days I wish I were that quick-witted!
Beer helps. :lol:
Mike

Who the hell is 'society' anyway?
User avatar
Daryl
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1219
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 4:25 am
Location: Toronto Canada

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Daryl »

Mike wrote:
Daryl wrote:Man, there are days I wish I were that quick-witted!
Beer helps. :lol:
I'll have to try it someday. :toast:
Daryl...
User avatar
Sinned
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 5804
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:28 pm
Location: York, England

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Sinned »

RD, one thing I have learnt on this site is that there's no really good definition of what is considered femme. Kilted John wears tiered skirts, dresses and knee socks that I wouldn't have expected and totally rocks them as a man. Carl wears long skirts and ruffled shirts and comes out of it totally convincing as a man. Even flowered patterns that I would have said no to have been convincingly displayed. Moon wears patterned skirts. Jeff wears women's things and looks cool. And SD, well he's in a class of his own. These are examples that come to mind so don't worry if I've missed anyone out. This aspect has turned my mind inside out and I just don;t know what to think of as feminine now. Strappy tops I wear routinely now and MOH doesn't moan about them. Even bras cannot be discounted as when we get older we men tend to develop some sort of bust. Believe me on holiday I saw some that many women would be proud of. Maybe I should think of anything a woman wears as being open season for a man. Period.
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.
User avatar
crfriend
Master Barista
Posts: 14431
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 9:52 pm
Location: New England (U.S.)
Contact:

Re: Great experiences!

Post by crfriend »

Sinned wrote:Maybe I should think of anything a woman wears as being open season for a man. Period.
Well, the other way 'round has been the norm for a few decades now, so why not? There's a reason I started using the terms "male-marketed" and "female-marketed"; it's only the marketing distinction that differentiates things -- that and an absolutely opaque and highly-variable sizing tactic for female-marketed stuff.

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.

In short, if something appeals to your personal aesthetic, and you can pull it off without looking outlandish or clownish, then do so. Just make it believable.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
User avatar
Caultron
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 4122
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:12 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Caultron »

Sinned wrote:...Maybe I should think of anything a woman wears as being open season for a man...
Why not?

Wearing a skirt, you've already broken the barrier. Just do a good job of it, and therein lies the rub, because you have to pick, choose, and blend styles from both sides with few rules to guide you.
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

caultron
User avatar
Sinned
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 5804
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:28 pm
Location: York, England

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Sinned »

Yes I suppose so but even so some things such as extreme heels just don't look right yet. And some member's insistence on only wearing female-marketed things seems a bit extreme as well. To give up trousers just because they are male-marketed doesn't seem right to me either. As you say, Caultron, we should choose and pick from both sets to produce the optimum rig for ourselves that looks credible and not like we are trying to look like a woman. Jeff's signature about not wanting to look like a woman but dress like a woman is about as extreme as I would want. As you say, we are as a set making the rules as we go along using women as guides because they have been doing it longer but not necessarily following ALL their rules and doing our own thing sometimes as well. Maybe some things I just haven't got used to yet and familiarity will bleed in over time. Just me having to overcome some rather deep-seated prejudices yet, perhaps. I've come a long way but still have a but further to travel on life's fashion and gender role journey.
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.
User avatar
Caultron
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 4122
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:12 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Caultron »

Sinned wrote:... I've come a long way but still have a but further to travel on life's fashion and gender role journey.
As are we all.
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

caultron
User avatar
tesjolts
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 177
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:31 am
Location: IN
Contact:

Re: Great experiences!

Post by tesjolts »

Rocketdawg wrote:Thanks Jeff! It's been getting cool here so I've been having fun putting some outfits together with a skirt over leggings.
I try to make it less Femme. . More than once I have gotten comments from straight guys saying they wish they had the balls to do it and they would wear a skirt in public too. Gals have commented that I wear the look well. I guess it's all a confidence-booster. It makes me want to be able to wear what I want, when I want, and where I want within the constraints of the moment. Great experiences!
Great to hear Rocketdawg, making your skirted outfit look masculine is sometimes difficult. It's easier with kilts. It's great that you get good comments from other people.

Tes
Equall83
Junior Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:24 pm

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Equall83 »

To me clothing has no gender because it's just material, so a man wearing a skirt (or any clothing seen as feminine) is a
viable option just as trousers (and anything seen as masculine) are currently to women.
Personal preference dictates my style and choice of what I wear and my usual daily appearance consists of black leggings with a mid thigh length or just above knee skirt with either a T-shirt, sweatshirt or patterned button collar shirt, I usually wear tights underneath leggings as they look smooth above the ankles unlike socks which look horribly bumpy and also tights provide extra warmth in winter, footwear to go with my leggings are black Caterpillar boots which are supposedly female one's. In summer on hot days it's black utility kilt, T-shirt and black socks with either black or beige Caterpillar boots. My wife influences my style and has given me confidence the way I dress as she sees clothing as having no gender but she will tell me if she thinks if things no don't match in her opinion.
As for going out and about I have no issue's at all in public, most of the time people don't even recognise the difference or not bothered and at most I get is a frowned look or indirect comment from a much older generation 20 plus years my age in which case i know intolerance and ignorance is indoctrinated into many (not all).
Breaking down the barriers of normality through education is the key for skirts to become mainstream for men, skirtcafe and men in general as an organised group need to get petitions going to retailers and manufacturers and become more present in public spaces either on media such the net or in the community wearing skirts, there needs to be some kind of movement starting.
User avatar
Mike
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 318
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 12:46 pm
Location: Alto, Michigan
Contact:

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Mike »

Welcome to the forum Equall!
Mike

Who the hell is 'society' anyway?
User avatar
Caultron
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 4122
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:12 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Caultron »

Welcome, Equall83! It'll be great having another experienced skirt wearer on the board.

You're extremely fortunate to have such an understanding wife. Are there any occasions where you don't wear a skirt?
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

caultron
Equall83
Junior Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:24 pm

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Equall83 »

Thanks guys

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. 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.
User avatar
Fred in Skirts
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 3988
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2016 6:48 pm
Location: Southeast Corner of Aiken County, SC USA

Re: Great experiences!

Post by Fred in Skirts »

:welcome:
Welcome to the Skirt Cafe Equall83.
How long have you been wearing skirts? I look forward to reading more of your posts. Tell us more about yourself in the introductions area.
"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.
Post Reply