Sidmouth Folk Festival

[Charlie]

Mrs C and I attended the Sidmouth Folk Festival on two days last week; the festival runs for a week and can get pricey, hence the two days (I also had to replace the water pump on the car. I wore a boiler suit, first time in trousers this year).
Both days at the festival I wore a gypsy skirt. It was so nice to shower in the morning, put on a floaty skirt and only take it off when ready for bed in the evening.
We contra danced to the American caller Tom Hinds. As I danced down the set, two girls in their 20's said they liked my skirt, and a third said it was practical for dancing and she approved
We were walking into the town and saw another man in a skirt - Pelmut! Later we danced at the same ceilidh (with female partners) so the public saw two skirted men in the same place on a couple of occasions.
A great couple of days out. I felt so comfortable and relaxed; Mrs C and I walked around the town, went into a restaurant and assorted shops and didn't hear any negative comments.
Charlie

[TheSkirtedMan]

What an up lifting report. Thanks. Don't think I've ever heard of two skirted men at the same venue at the same time who could engage with each other although I'm sure it has happened some where some time. The closest for me was in PC World Harrogate in 2014 when as I walked in a staff member said your the second man in a skirt in this store today!

[crfriend]

Don't think I've ever heard of two skirted men at the same venue at the same time who could engage with each other although I'm sure it has happened so where some time.

I've met up with other skirt-wearing blokes on quite a number of occasions, but those have all been arranged. There are several guys in New England who wear skirts and kilts as a matter of course, and at least one that apparently frequents the area where I live as my ex- once commented on seeing a guy in a skirt or Utilikilt. That, however, was quite a while ago.

[pelmut]

Mrs C and I attended the Sidmouth Folk Festival on two days last week; the festival runs for a week and can get pricey, hence the two days

I spent the whole week there, but saved the cost of a ticket by volunteering as a steward. In previous years there have been one or two kilted men at the festival and very rarely any skirted men that weren't just in costume. This year skirts and kilts were very much in evidence, with the kilted skirt outnumbering the genuine Scottish article by more than two to one. Every day I saw at least a couple of men in skirts of some sort, and sometimes as many as four or five. As Charlie said, the whole atmosphere was completely positive and we both felt very comfortable there.

The greatest interest in wearing skirts on a day-to-day basis was shown by two blacksmiths at the craft fair. They had taken part in some historic re-enactment events where they wore a skirted costume and had found it so comfortable that they had been wondering about the possibility of skirts as their everyday wear.

Instead of just admiring some of the skirts worn by the women, I found that it was quite acceptable to approach them and enquire about the materials and the design. I have found this is much easier to do now I wear a skirt myself; it was always met with immediate acceptance and usually followed by an interesting conversation.

[Jim2]

At the contra dances I go to, there are often many men wearing skirts. On Thursday nights in Concord Mass, there are often close to a dozen men doing so. At NEFFA this year, there were two dozen at least. While some are kilts, most are not. Are there not lots of men wearing skirts at other folk events? I wouldn't have thought this is peculiar to where I live.

[pelmut]

At the contra dances I go to, there are often many men wearing skirts. On Thursday nights in Concord Mass, there are often close to a dozen men doing so. At NEFFA this year, there were two dozen at least. While some are kilts, most are not. Are there not lots of men wearing skirts at other folk events? I wouldn't have thought this is peculiar to where I live.

Until recently it has been confined to contra dance in America, I don't know why. About 10 years ago an American contra dance group came to the UK and took part in the Chippenham Folk Festival; the news went around "Have you heard about the American contra group? ...the men wear skirts!" This was said in a spirit of 'how interesting', rather than 'how ridiculous'. Some of the UK ladies confided that they had previously tried to get their menfolk to dance in a skirt, but without success.

It didn't seem to catch on at the time, but there has been a definite increase in the number of utility kilts appearing at festivals since then. This year there was a gender-bender contra, which gave any men who would have liked to wear a skirt the opportunity to do so. I think things are about to change for the better.