As girly as it gets

[Juan]

I understand this forum is about men wearing skirts in "a masculine context", that is, not about "cross-dressing" or about trying to "pass" as women, but rather about us wearing un-bifurcated garments as legitimate menswear. Nevertheless, I really think that the afore mentioned "masculine context" is getting more and more blurry as years go by.

More and more "feminine" features are now socially acceptable for males (like long hair, earrings, and bold colors) just as almost every single "masculine" garment you can think of has become part of the womens wardrobe. A day might come when the term "cross-dressing" will become obsolete. Regardless of your biological sex, you'll wear a "power-suit" if you need to project self-assurance, competitiveness, boldness; or you'll wear laces, frills or delicate flower-patterns if you feel unassertive, submissive, fanciful or simply particularly creative. Or you'll dress in whatever clothing is appropriate to your trade: a female mechanic should wear denim overalls, but a male baby-sitter can show up in an ample, colorful blouse and pink leggings!

As always, creative artists live ahead of their times: Fashion designers are already experimenting with that possibility, and, as it frequently happens when creative imagination is unleashed, things tend to go the extremes.

Take the utmost feminine article of clothing, for instance: the brassiere. There's obviously no need for us males to wear a bra, because (most of us) don't have anything to fill it with. It's a ladies only stuff. Right? Well... there's also an aesthetical aspect to that undergarment, which is frequently ornamented with attractive laces and macramés. A male breast is also very appealing, and that charm can also be enhanced. I've seen strapless tops (at times not covering your belly) in several runway shows (I remember some stunning ones by the late Alexander McQueen). Even if they are manfully sewn in thick denim, raw linen, or black spandex, what are they if not "male-bras"?



So, there's no need to worry. This is not becoming "transvestite" forum. On the contrary... it will become less and less so by the hour.

[crfriend]

More and more "feminine" features are now socially acceptable for males (like long hair, earrings, and bold colors) just as almost every single "masculine" garment you can think of has become part of the womens wardrobe. A day might come when the term "cross-dressing" will become obsolete. Regardless of your biological sex, you'll wear a "power-suit" if you need to project self-assurance, competitiveness, boldness; or you'll wear laces, frills or delicate flower-patterns if you feel unassertive, submissive, fanciful or simply particularly creative. Or you'll dress in whatever clothing is appropriate to your trade: a female mechanic should wear denim overalls, but a male baby-sitter can show up in an ample, colorful blouse and pink leggings!

Some of this has come at a price, and, moreover, a lot of the notion seems to wax and wane -- at least when it comes to guys trying to express themselves with what they put on their bodies. Long hair has followed that trend, as has heeled shoes, tattoos (no, I don't have any), and other assorted body-piercings (I haven't any of those, either). Most, if not all, of the above are "out" in what passes as "conservative western society" (at least where I live) which, in effect, means that earrings on guys must be no more than studs (or none at all), tattoos must be covered when at work, heeled shoes simply are not available in men's sizes, and long hair -- whilst technically accepted -- is rather frowned upon.

The above having been said, I sport a waist-length hair (albeit thinning up top as I enter my next half-century) wear skirts very openly -- including at work -- and I actively modify my attire to suit the audience I'm expecting. If I'm trying to drive home a strong point, or am trying to "sell" something, I'll opt for the "traditional" "grey man" look so as not to draw attention to me but rather the point I'm trying to make (recall Sapphire's commentary on garb when she was invited to testify on Capitol Hill in Boston). If I'm in a strong position and I'm still trying to make a point, or even woo another party into certain things, I'll very likely opt for a skirted "power look"; I have done this to good results at work pairing off silk skirts with neckties, dress shirts, and waistcoats. For everyday looks, I'll wear my more casual skirts and, in the summer, Hawaiian shirts, or dress shirts. The potential range eclipses what I had in my "toolkit" when I was constrained to trousers only.

Take the utmost feminine article of clothing, for instance: the brassiere. There's obviously no need for us males to wear a bra, because (most of us) don't have anything to fill it with. It's a ladies only stuff. Right? Well... there's also an aesthetical aspect to that undergarment, which is frequently ornamented with attractive laces and macramés. A male breast is also very appealing, and that charm can also be enhanced. I've seen strapless tops (at times not covering your belly) in several runway shows (I remember some stunning ones by the late Alexander McQueen). Even if they are manfully sewn in thick denim, raw linen, or black spandex, what are they if not "male-bras"?

Have you ever tried to do laundry that's contained a brassiere in it? The blasted things tear up everything else in the wash, and what they don't tear up they get ensnared in or tangled around! I wish the designers of the blasted things would give up on hooks and go back to buttons or forward to zippers.

I'll have to admit that the "male bustiere" isn't something I'd wear; for one, I suspect it's look daft on my frame and, second, the fur I have up top is as patchy and (seemingly) moth-eaten as that which I used to have on my legs (which I now keep down with heavy machinery). For me to wear "strapless" garments (or anything that'd bare more than a touch of shoulders or back, would mean removing the growth, and I can't reach those spots. Personally, I draw the line at having somebody else remove hair.

So, there's no need to worry. This is not becoming "transvestite" forum. On the contrary... it will become less and less so by the hour.

Thanks for the occasional tweak on the nose, sir. It possibly helps keep us in line, and even if we occasionally recoil from the runway imagery puts our brains in gear. For that, I thank you.

[SkirtedViking]

So, there's no need to worry. This is not becoming "transvestite" forum. On the contrary... it will become less and less so by the hour.

For me transvestite is a man(the term is not applied to women nowadays) using fake parts on his body and putting fake name.If a guy is wearing just the "female" garment,the shoes or accessories THIS is fashion equality - see women and their "masculine" apparel for reference.