"much ado about nothing?"

[wsherman]

Good-day All!

My wife were in conversation the other day and I mentioned something about skirting and her reply was a bit of a thought proboker. She said : "If you really believed that men can and should wear skirts as everday clothing choice you'd just wear one and not make a fuss about it. I mean you don't go on about wearing trousers do you?" She made her point with me. I've been thinking about that exchange since and the question comes; do we overtalk the subject Are we really leading by example like we believed the veracity of our message? Do we "Just Do It" like the old Nike add proclaimed?
Yes I know that what we want is going against the grain and that tends to dampen our zeal but I remind you that when women began to wear trousers they were ostrasized , arrested, put away like they were insane, yes and some were even assalted for making the choice to dress differently. In some ways I think we as men who want to go about skirted as men have an easier time of it because of the women who pioneered the way to their own freedom in fashion.

Does our talk overpower our practice or to put it as the Bard Do we make "much ado about nothing"? After all it is just a bit of clothing, right?

Let me know what you think.

Slainte'
Bill & Sir Brinkley the Exubrant

[Gordon]

I think you have a valid point to a point. But think about the situations of both events (women wanting to wear pants and men wanting to wear skirts). There was no such thing as the Internet back then. If there were I'm sure there would be a forum called Pants Cafe or by some other name. And just like today I'm sure there were some women who thought those wanting to wear pants were crazy.

[crfriend]

Does our talk overpower our practice or to put it as the Bard Do we make "much ado about nothing"? After all it is just a bit of clothing, right?

I think that sometimes we do overanalyze the concept and that sometimes our own talk confuses us. Rationally, we know that a skirt is just another piece of clothing; emotionally, however, we're hamstrung by the far that do donning that "other piece of clothing" we'll get ridiculed (which nobody likes, mind) or worse.

From a practical standpoint, and I have a decade of experience in it, mind, the "Just do it" notion works -- if one can conquer his fear, and I think it's fear that's the dragging anchor. If one worries that he'll get the snot kicked out of him for wearing a skirt, don't wear a skirt where that might be likely to happen (very few places, I'd posit). If one worries that he'll be ridiculed, recall the old adage of, "Sticks and stones {blah, blah} but names can never hurt me.", and go about your business. If one is worried about employment situations, recall that first and foremost, what one does when off the clock is immaterial to the employer unless it's outright illegal; a bloke putting on a skirt and having a cold one in a local establishment is not illegal in any jurisdiction I know of.

I have found that it's ultimately down to confidence and presentation as an entire complete human being. If you're scared or nervous, folks pick up on that; if you are confident that you are doing nothing wrong folks pick up on that, too. Don't make yourself nervous. Don't be scared -- certainly not of imaginary shadows.

"Analysis paralysis" is a very real phenomenon, and it keeps a lot of things from getting done. Every once in a while, one needs to pluck up the courage and just give it a go. if it works, great; if it doesn't look to see what went off the rails and fix it. Have the strength to get up again.

[RichardA]

I nearly got kicked out of X marks the Scott forum, as I got fed up with
I wore my kilt out to dinner
I went out for a walk in my kilt
I drove my car in my kilt
For goodness sake it's only an “article of clothing”, some were not happy, but that is all that it is, the same as a skirt.

[Caultron]

...For goodness sake it's only an “article of clothing”, some were not happy, but that is all that it is, the same as a skirt.

Some people just have no sense of humor.

[r.m.anderson]

I nearly got kicked out of X marks the Scott forum, as I got fed up with
I wore my kilt out to dinner
I went out for a walk in my kilt
I drove my car in my kilt
For goodness sake it's only an “article of clothing”, some were not happy, but that is all that it is, the same as a skirt.

But Richard - you had the unmitigated gall to challenge the formal kilt reich "Xmarks" !
There is and was no other form of clothing except the KILT - amen !
Even an inkle of doubt was enough for Xcommunication - heresy at its finest.

So is it more noble to wear the kilt or not to wear the kilt ?
Don't answer that least a Spanish Inquisition be convened !

Humor me at best - I choose to wear the Kilt on MY TERMS !

[Sinned]

In IT Support, when working in a reactive mode sorting out some problem or other, we each had a baseball cap with the letters "JFDI" on it ( stands for Just Fckng Do It". In other words do what you have to to get the system right again and pick the pieces ( paperwork ) up afterwards. Ah, memories.

To a certain extent, MOH not withstanding, I find that wearing a skirt is now just as natural nowadays.

[Couya]

Although I do clock in to read here most days (and enjoy your company), I often feel there is much more soul-searching (bla-bla!) than needed and not enough getting out and doing it. I'm probably the only regular male skirt-wearer in a 1000 km radius, but so what? I'm happy dressing as I do, and if other people round here are not so happy seeing me thus, that's not my worry.
I can say that I would probably be happier still if I noticed other men following my example, but that has not happened yet!
On the positive side, being able to write here about our skirts could well be a first step for many men on the way from bla-bla to adopting the unbifurcated style. This would be less likely to happen without the Café.
Martin

[Caultron]

...I'm probably the only regular male skirt-wearer in a 1000 km radius, but so what? I'm happy dressing as I do, and if other people round here are not so happy seeing me thus, that's not my worry.
I can say that I would probably be happier still if I noticed other men following my example, but that has not happened yet!...

Good going and great thinking!

As to the 1000km radius, that's a big area for there to be no others. Where are you centered?

[Milfmog]

I'm certainly within a 1000Km radius of your Grenoble abode, but I suspect that the 1000Km comment was more a figure of speach than a statement to be taken literally...

Have fun,


Ian.

[Couya]

I'm in Malaga most of the time now, so a large part of the circle mentioned will be made up of Mediterranean or Atlantic waters -- no skirts there, that's for sure. To the south is Morocco, and I can well believe the only male skirts that have been seen there were mine.
As it happens, I received a message a few years ago from a fellow about 100 km from here, saying he wore kilts or skirts. I replied it would be fun to meet, but never heard another word. Three different Spanish kilt-wearers turned up on the Kiltforum, and I had a few e-exchanges from a Catalan who had fallen in love with Scotland and kilts. Lost touch again, unfortunately. The last one, Petit Homenet, has some good pics on Flickr.
In the rest of Spain and Portugal, there are a few Scottish ex-pats that don the kilt about once a year, but I'd be prepared to bet they don't show themselves on the streets.
Going further north beyond the Pyrenees however -- and beyond the 1000 km radius, there are just enough skirted Frenchmen to have formed an association -- HEJ (hommes en jupe), and when you get to Normandie (a stone's throw from GB already) you'll find kilts and bagpipes galore.
From pictures I see on internet outside the Café, it seems that young Brazilians are the most likely to don a skirt -- uma saia, they call it -- but that is way beyond my 1000 km!
Martin

[Kirbstone]

.......and speaking of the Bretons in Normandie sporting 'kilts & bagpipes galore'......Galore is a direct English language adoption of the Gaelic (or Gallic) 'go leor', meaning plenty of.
Another often-used example is the word 'Smithereens', Gaelic for little pieces. Any word with '..een' on the end denotes the diminutive.

Lecture over. Btw., It's mighty windy for kilt wearing up here just now, with force 10-11 everywhere except Sea area Trafalgar, and That's down your way, Martin.

Tom.

[Charlie]

I'm in Malaga most of the time now, so a large part of the circle mentioned will be made up of Mediterranean or Atlantic waters -- no skirts there, that's for sure. To the south is Morocco, and I can well believe the only male skirts that have been seen there were mine.

I walked around Casablanca (Morocco) wearing a sarong when we visited on a cruise ship. Zero reaction as usual.
Charlie

[Couya]

I walked around Casablanca (Morocco) wearing a sarong when we visited on a cruise ship. Zero reaction as usual.
Charlie

No reaction in Morocco?
That surprised me a lot; Casa must be getting very sophisticated.
I've always found that Moroccans react, comment frown or giggle far more than anyone else.

Once in Marrakech a taxi driver had to pull in and stop when he realized what I was wearing; he was convulsed with laughter, unable to believe his eyes. I had on a t-shirt and a plain cotton twill wrap skirt.

Martin

[Couya]

Yes, Tom; Trafalgar is not so far away, and it's pretty blowy down here too. My kilts have been flying about quite uncontrollably when out on my bike! Gales predicted everywhere, it seems.

Martin