Where Do we Draw the Line ?

[weeladdie18]

This topic may have been covered somewhere else.......However with the warmer weather more females are wearing skirts " out in the wild "
The issue is when is a style or pattern or colour of a skirt too feminine for a " man in a skirt " to wear ?

Am I correct in assuming that it is safe to wear "traditional summer skirts " as a male summer garment but there is a line where some
Skirts make a "man in a skirt " look feminine or to use the T V terminology ....." Appear as a female "......

The two extremes are that a plain coloured below the knee full skirt may look.... "unisex or male "..... but a pink skirt with lace frills in the
same design , may look deciededly female or feminine .......

I do enjoy wearing one of my A Line skirts with many frills in the hem in the same pattern the basic material.
This skirt was sold as an Xmas Party Skirt for a dinner and dance.....but I can happily ware the garment out on the street.

We do tend to try on clothes from our collection before confidently go out on the street. .....I am trying to explore why some garments
are not entirely accepted out in the wild.

I did wear one free size skirt today with the waist the same size as the hem. ....By adjusting the drawstring I could pull the front waist band out
like a pencil skirt an pull the excess waist to gather into pleats at the rear. Perhaps this is an interesting idea for " the man in a skirt " ...weeladdie

[Rokje]

This skirt my wife thought that is was to short for me to wear.


And yes it is quite short on my butt, but I wear it anyway. I love the skirt so much, it is one of my favourites. Because I'm a transwoman I can wear anything feminin now.

[pelmut]

...Because I'm a transwoman I can wear anything feminin now.

...only anything that is appropriate to your age.  Sadly a lot of transwomen who have begun their transition in their later years don't realise this, they try to experience the girlhood they have missed and then look conspicuous because they wear clothes that are too young for them.

[Sinned]

WL, yes we have had this conversation before and there really hasn't been any agreement. As soon as one of says "this style is too feminine, such as floral patterns" then someone pipes up and says, "no, I wear skirts like that". I have a three tiered skirts that MOH gave me and I thought that there was no way that I could wear them, especially as one of them is a fuchsia colour, then up pops Kilted John wearing those very types. I guess that the degree of femininity is in the eye of the wearer.

[denimini]

I don't think there is a line one can draw - just shades of grey ............ or pink .....

...Because I'm a transwoman I can wear anything feminin now.

...only anything that is appropriate to your age.  Sadly a lot of transwomen who have begun their transition in their later years don't realise this, they try to experience the girlhood they have missed and then look conspicuous because they wear clothes that are too young for them.

I think age appropriate clothing is as bad as gender specific clothing. We could look conspicuous wearing skirts but we still do it.

[denimini]

A lot of apsects of skirt design could be described as feminine, but why?
Floral patterns: so bright and cheerful - like the gardens that men take pride in
Tiered and ruffled skirts: movement and flare - like the spoilers and scoops on macho cars
Frills: softening of hard edges - like that pattern in the black paint around car windows
Bright colours: well look at macho cars again

[crfriend]

I think age appropriate clothing is as bad as gender specific clothing. We could look conspicuous wearing skirts but we still do it.

This is correct to a point, but that point is ill-defined and has a tendency to put folks into situations and boxes that they might not otherwise want to be in.

For instance, I have seen 70-year old women who can rock miniskirts with aplomb, and I've seen 20-somethings who just can't pull it together. To those who can -- and defy the naysayers -- all I can say is, "Bravo." It's nice to see the occasional individualist. The pressure on women, in this case, is even greater than it is for the guys -- and most succumb. That's a shame.

If you've got the body-type for something, wear it.

[oldsalt1]

It has to be "age appropriate" " office appropriate" face it if we were interested in doing what was considered "APPROPIATE" we wouldn't be wearing skirts in the first place.

For all of us it is still a learning process and our ideas should with time and experience improve.

I set up my own rating , My highest rating is that what you are wearing should look natural.

Your size build and yes even your age should all come into play. Your attitude is also important

recently I have experimented with more colorful clothing . I am finding that it just doesn't fit my persona and,

My biggest fear is that I would wear something that makes me look like I just got out of a VW bus with eleven other clowns.

My opinion is that it doesn't hurt to be a little conservative , But if it looks decent and it feels good do it.

[Mercury]

Now that you mention it, I ask myself this question. It's so difficult to know when a skirt is too feminine. I am still early in my skirt wearing, and I am being very conservative right now. I don't want anything too short,too bright, lacy, and I am only wearing solids. As I get more comfortable I know I will loosen up and try other things. I think the line between masculine and feminine is blurry and it changes for the individual and society constantly. I don't think it's possible to give a definitive answer to your question.

[Sinned]

Aw, come on, OS. You don't like bright colours? Some of your best outfits are brightly colourful. And short, but not too short. And you admit that you are not a spring chick any more. Neither am I and I wear short skirts, several inches above the knee and i'm 64 years young. What's age appropriate? I don't know as we don't exactly have any rules like what the women have [0]. We can make up the rules as we go along. As long as I feel comfortable in what I wear when I step out of the door then that's what appropriate. And I do consider as several times I will have thought about several skirts before making my final selection. I think that if I ever have a skirt that I wouldn't be comfortable in then I would get rid of it.

[0] Or haven't????

[beachlion]

First of all, I don't want to draw a line. Not for myself and certainly not for others. I would be busy erasing and drawing new lines all the time.
My system is simple. I took my shorts and morphed them virtually into skirts. In a way I just added the comfort into the morphing formula. And that is what I'm wearing on a daily base now. My shorts were shorter because I want to stay out of possible problem of indecency when wearing skirts. Now and then I do an experiment with color, fabric, shape or length and there it stops. It is just for the fun of it, to make something different and you know you will not wear it. At least not now.

[webboy42]

The place to draw the line is where you're comfortable. For myself, I don't believe I'd ever be comfortable in something with a pattern, though I do think I would be comfortable trying new, maybe brighter, colors, though maybe not pink.

[moonshadow]

Like a few others have said on this thread, I don't want to draw a line, and I suppose the "line" is something that each each of us draw for ourselves individually. I can respect that some members here want to avoid anything feminine, that is what they want to do, and there's nothing wrong with that. I have non-femme skirts, and I have some stuff that's very feminine. Really it just depends on what type of mood I'm in on a given day.

Gender roles like child rearing and who is the bread winner between men and women go back eons, however the issue of what gender, or sex wears pink, flowers, lace, etc is really quite arbitrary and frankly bizarre, especially when we consider that just a few hundred years ago, men wearing garments trimmed with lace and other frills was very common, especially among the nobility. Likewise, even today, men are known for wearing "Hawaiian shirts" which often have flower prints.

I like flowers, I like the beauty of nature, fairies, birds, I like things that are soft and smell good, and I don't think that makes me less of a man. Sometimes I feel "pretty" when I put together an outfit, and that's okay, again I don't feel like less of a man when I have these emotions. I'm not afraid to say I love someone, cry, or show other emotions forbidden to men, and I don't think that makes me less than a man.

I may come off as a sissy crossdressing fruit cake out in public, but I work hard, aim to take care of my family, to be a positive, productive member of my community, abide by the law, stay true to my word, lend a hand when I can, have a hardy hand shake, stick to my ethics and morals, I respect elders, hold doors, help older ladies put their groceries in their trunk, look out for my neighbors, smile at children and attempt to make them laugh, I'll move mountains for my wife and daughter, and in my opinion- that (and a lot more) is what makes me a man.

Clothing style just has nothing to do with it... the "line" is irrelevant.

[weeladdie18]

Perhaps I should reconsider my statements made in my introductory post in this thread ,made some two months ago.
I wear skirts which I consider suitable for a man to wear and remain looking like a " man in a skirt " and not looking like a cross dresser,
Recently I have worn my collection of brightly coloured full summer skirts ......I have tried to draw the line and wear skirts which I consider are
acceptable for a man to wear.....although these skirts came from the other side of the isle.....many of my female friends say that they
like my skirts and my skirt outfits.....the lassies like to see me wearing my brightly coloured full skirts and have not made any comment regarding my wearing of these garments....perhaps there is no line to draw in the style of skirt I choose to wear from my choice of skirts I choose to wear.
Perhaps the art of skirt wearing is to have a reasonable judgement as to what is an acceptable skirt for a man to wear, in the eyes of a female .
Perhaps we are looking for a guideline which does not exist........... ...........weeladdie

[Happy-N-Skirts]

My personal choice is to wear skirts that closely resemble shorts. I wear them for comfort and freedom but also for fun.
I prefer to blend in and not be noticed. I have never had a negative experience while wearing a skirt. I have worn skirts for a few years and I like to wear one as often as possible.