Absence and Box Pleated skirts

[janrok]

Around the house my Macabi is my favourite skirt for a distinct reason: I am on diuretics! It is up or down within a second; try that with a jeans button and zipper.
The maximum load in the pockets is one anklet in each pocket; I start the day barefoot and put socks on whenever I go out.
Jan.

[STEVIE]

S.S.
I'd agree that I share your "foible".
For me, it's a simple preference that I like a definite fit around my waist.
I guess I can say that down to dumb luck, I'm a 12-14 U.K. size and that still leaves ample choices.
Oddly true for skirts but not for trousers, 32 inch waist guy size can mean a restricted choice, oh the hardship.
Steve.

[Sinned]

I am a diabetic so my weight tends to yo-yo between a 14 and an 18 so elasticated waist skirts are ideal for me and I have a few of them. So I can wear any size between 12 and 20. My smallest is an 8 and largest 22. And they all fit, pretty much. Now trousers cause me a problem in this area.

[Departed Member]

I appreciate the explanations on the sizings and such of the elasticized box pleat skirts I mentioned in the other thread. I contacted the seller of this particular skirt http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Box-Pleat ... 3f267c05ab and she said the size un-stretched of the XXL is 34" while it can stretch up to 60".

So, I think I will order and have it shipped to my new UK address I will be moving into next week.

Thanks!

[Sinned]

Ptblly, Just a word of caution - if the XXL can stretch up to 60" then I think that you'll find that the smaller sizes will accommodate your normal waist size. I fancy that the XXL will be far too big on you so maybe you should just order your normal size of 14 or 16 or whatever. There is a chart in the advert giving the sizes. Don't forget that the waist sizes shown are the minimum sizes and the maximum sizes seem to be very generous.

[Departed Member]

Ptblly, Just a word of caution - if the XXL can stretch up to 60" then I think that you'll find that the smaller sizes will accommodate your normal waist size. I fancy that the XXL will be far too big on you so maybe you should just order your normal size of 14 or 16 or whatever. There is a chart in the advert giving the sizes. Don't forget that the waist sizes shown are the minimum sizes and the maximum sizes seem to be very generous.

Yeah, I thought about that and was gonna order an XL (16-18) but I decided on the XXL just because I wanted the extra room in the hips and legs; I didn't want it to be too small or tight in those hip/leg areas. I'm a 42" waist with 58" hips, so I just wanted to be on the safe side, just in case. If it swims on me I'll return and order an XL. We'll see by next week. I just hope the family I'll be living with will be ok with me wearing skirts. I already hinted at it to them, telling them I typically wear kilts, lavalavas, or other such skirts, but I don't know if I should tell them I have skirts made for women but not overtly "feminine" per se, or just play it by ear, so to speak.

[crfriend]

I thought about that and was gonna order an XL (16-18) but I decided on the XXL just because I wanted the extra room in the hips and legs; I didn't want it to be too small or tight in those hip/leg areas. I'm a 42" waist with 58" hips, so I just wanted to be on the safe side, just in case.

This is another thing that's useful for guys -- order based on the hip size not just the waist. If the thing can't clear your hips you won't be able to put it on (which kind of makes the whole proposition pointless), but, conversely, if it's wider than your hips when properly supported at or near the waist, then again it's kind of pointless as it'll fall off.

I've got a 36" waist and 42" hips, and a US 14 seems to fit pretty well.

I just hope the family I'll be living with will be ok with me wearing skirts. I already hinted at it to them, telling them I typically wear kilts, lavalavas, or other such skirts, but I don't know if I should tell them I have skirts made for women but not overtly "feminine" per se, or just play it by ear, so to speak.

Play it "by ear" at first. The fact that we sometimes have to buy garments made for women is down to the simple fact that not a whole lot of skirts are made exclusively for men. So, there is precisely no shame in that -- it's merely expedience and adaptability on our part.

[Sinned]

My waist and hips are much the same at 36" so a 14/16 is good. I pretty much buy the items that fit, that I like and in the colours that I want irrespective of which side of the isle they are displayed on. For brightly coloured jeans/trousers then the male isle just doesn't cut it. To a certain extent the same with t-shirts and tops as well. I increasingly look to the female isle. When shopping in ASDA/Tesco and any other large store she asks me if there's anything I need, pointing to the male section. I have a quick gander, and I mean fleeting, see the sea of boring blacks, blues etc and say "No, not a thing."

Ptblly, I'd play it by ear.

[Departed Member]

The fact that we sometimes have to buy garments made for women is down to the simple fact that not a whole lot of skirts are made exclusively for men. So, there is precisely no shame in that -- it's merely expedience and adaptability on our part.

I agree 100%. Whether its made for men or women means very little to me and should mean very little to any reasonable person ("he who hath a brain, let him use it/think" is a lost saying by Jesus Christ from the New Testament I always like to joke). If men's skirts were in more supply and were cheaper, then I would be buying those. However, they are not as we all know, and those that are extremely expensive and are usually made of materials I'm not a fan of. I like the lighter materials. Kilts are great, but the material gets a little too heavy now and then and I like to switch to skirts made of less material. Bottom line, I use this explanation when explaining to people why I wear skirts made and marketed for women. Some get it, some don't want to get it. Clothing is clothing, and aside from perhaps female and male undergarments made specifically for the bodily features of the specific genders/sexes, there's really no such thing as "female" and "male" clothing in my mind. But this is preaching to the proverbial choir.

And Sinned, I agree with you too; whether it comes from the "male" aisle or "female" aisle makes little difference to me, except that people do judge you if you are on the "wrong side" of the aisle, which always affects my emotions (the illogical and unjust judging, that is). I tend not to like too bright of colors or flashy patterns, except tartan, tapa/Polynesian, or Aloha/Hawaiin patterns. It's quite interesting that everywhere in the US, the drab, solid colors of mens clothing is the norm, except when it comes to plaid/tartan, and then on the West Coast and further out toward Hawaii, the Aloha shirt patterns, which are as loud as can be, even for men.

It's also interesting that in Hawaii, the Aloha shirt is considered appropriate formal wear, but on the mainland, it's only seen as fun, informal wear. I don't get how something can be appropriate in one geographical location but not in another, except that a dictatorial, illogical society declared it that way.