Is this a gender neutral skirt?

[gender free universe]

Is this a gender-neutral skirt? Adidas is currently offering an adicolor contempo tailored skirt in its online shop.
https://www.adidas.co.uk/adicolor-conte ... N3669.html
What do you think makes the skirt gender-neutral? Is that really a skirt for everyone?

[Stu]

I would wear it - BUT - I wouldn't call it "gender neutral" even though that's Adidas's term. I would call it "unisex".

[Kirbstone]

Looks like it's a wrap skirt, fastening on the 'male' side and it has proper pockets, too. I also like the length and flare and the odd pleat doesn't hurt, either.

Tom

[Coder]

Unfortunately not listed on the USA site. Still, not my exact style, and as Stu says wish they had labeled it "unisex" but perhaps retailers will drop gender-neutral for unisex when the "fad" wears off. IMHO, I think they see dollars in the "gender-neutral" label, and are jumping on the bandwagon. I hope - if this experiment turns out to be financially successful, they'll expand their range.

What I find more interesting - I seem to think there would be occasional "rage" news article when a retailer rolled out a skirts for "men" option. Does this even register on anyone's radar now? Or is it just noise - "oh yeah, another male skirt option"?

Oh yeah - and this might frustrate the ladies - but if you click on a size:

Unitefit. Designed for a gender-neutral fit; order your usual size if you shop in men’s sizes, or size down if you usually shop in women’s sizes.

I'm so tired of letter-sizes on clothes, or singular numbers. I recently imported a British Army Woman's No2 FAD Dress Uniform Skirt, and the tag - the horrors - listed the ACTUAL garment measurements in CM. How dare they use logic to size a garment? And guess what, it fit perfectly.

(sigh - I get that these skirts are elastic, and so have a range - but most of the time XXS-XXL sizing is stupid)

[crfriend]

Unfortunately not listed on the USA site. Still, not my exact style, and as Stu says wish they had labeled it "unisex" but perhaps retailers will drop gender-neutral for unisex when the "fad" wears off. IMHO, I think they see dollars in the "gender-neutral" label, and are jumping on the bandwagon.

The problem here is that they may actually be a bit confused as to what terminology to use. "Gender-neutral" gets quite the bit of attention at the present, but "unisex" also has the problem that it's got a coded meaning that indicates it's put there to "butch up" women and is technically off-limits for men. So, take your pick -- "bandwagon hopping" or genuinely trying to find a new term that doesn't have a coded background to it.

I'm not particularly surprised that the skirt isn't on the US site as I doubt it'd sell in the US because of the macho environment.

I'm so tired of letter-sizes on clothes, or singular numbers. I recently imported a British Army Woman's No2 FAD Dress Uniform Skirt, and the tag - the horrors - listed the ACTUAL garment measurements in CM. How dare they use logic to size a garment? And guess what, it fit perfectly.

Lettered sizes -- if there are no other sizing indications -- are as useless as numeric sizes without the same thing. Market according to actual physical dimensions and let the chips fall there. If some poor soul finds that their waistline is expanding and they need to size up in clothing they might size down in food intake.

A link to your British supplier might be worth a look for me. I'm not overly opposed to importing if something catches my fancy -- and something that has accurate sizing in CM would definitely tick one box for me.

[Grok]

Too short for me, but looks good on either gender.

[STEVIE]

I'd wear it on one simple premise.
I really don't give a hoot how it is described, tagged or which side of the aisle it comes from.
I see most clothes as gender neutral in the first instance and proceed accordingly.
Price is ok but "do not use fabric softener" suggests a fragility in the fabric.
Steve.

[Coder]

A link to your British supplier might be worth a look for me. I'm not overly opposed to importing if something catches my fancy -- and something that has accurate sizing in CM would definitely tick one box for me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313019138790

However - this is just one seller, but at $22 (that included shipping!) was totally worth it as it's my style and will be a work skirt for sure. I don't know the range of sizes for this skirt - there are other sellers but prices are all over the map. Is it genuine? I don't know but it's constructed well.

[rode_kater]

It think it looks nice, I like the occasional pleat. It's also available on the Dutch site, labelled "unisex". They have a size chart so it's just a matter of getting a tape measure and you're done.

Feels kinds expensive, though I guess you're paying for the brand. Apparently you can become a member and get a 20% discount, which I guess gives you an idea of the margins.

[pelmut]

Regardless of price or marketing terminology, the advertisment is a huge improvement over the kind of rubbish that used to appear whenever men were shown wearing skirts.  This looks completely normal and quite smart -- the sort of thing an ordinary man might be tempted to wear -- a far cry from the catwalk pictures of glowering morons wearing ludicrous parodies of unsuitable skirts in tortured poses, which we complained about a few years ago.

[Coder]

Regardless of price or marketing terminology, the advertisment is a huge improvement over the kind of rubbish that used to appear whenever men were shown wearing skirts.  This looks completely normal and quite smart -- the sort of thing an ordinary man might be tempted to wear -- a far cry from the catwalk pictures of glowering morons wearing ludicrous parodies of unsuitable skirts in tortured poses, which we complained about a few years ago.

Totally. It's the kind of advert I could send to a family member and be like, "See, my skirt-wearing isn't weird, Adidas is selling one now".

[ScotL]

What is the difference between the terms “unisex” and “gender neutral” anyway? And why would any of us care? There’s a skirt that has a male model wearing it.

[Coder]

What is the difference between the terms “unisex” and “gender neutral” anyway? And why would any of us care? There’s a skirt that has a male model wearing it.

So long as skirts for men are in a "special" category they have "special" status. Once they have the "men's" label on them, once retailers list a "skirts" category under mens, then I think we'll have other things to complain about . In all seriousness - once that day comes for major retailers, it will signify a major shift in perception, and no longer will a guy say, "well I'm not gender neutral" - they'll have to confront the fact that skirts are showing up on the store shelves in their section, news article will be written ad-nauseum, you'll get guys - maybe rebellious teenagers - trying them because "my parents say I can't wear them". Every male newscaster who needs a quick LOL story will try one on for a lark. 100% of the time they will say, "wow, these are comfortable, but I'm not sure I am ready for this yet.". I'm pretty sure that day is years away, but each time a retailer tries these as an experiment, it's another crack in the wall.

And frankly - if I were a big fashion exec - I'd look at the attention Mark B has gotten, how some of the celebrities have been received, at Tom Browne, other MIS influencers, and figure out how to tap this untapped market. Just think of the gobs of money they could make, and for just a slight retooling of a denim skirt.

[rode_kater]

Once they have the "men's" label on them, once retailers list a "skirts" category under mens, then I think we'll have other things to complain about .

But this is already the case:

https://www.adidas.co.uk/men-originals- ... s-clothing

If you search the men's section and open the filter box, Skirts & Dresses is one of the options. Sure, they're things that also appear in the women's section and they're labelled gender neutral, but that falls under the "other things to complain about".

I think no matter what the retailers do, there will always be a group that thinks it's not far enough. I guess the retailer could list the same product twice with different photos but that's technically annoying.

And frankly - if I were a big fashion exec - I'd look at the attention Mark B has gotten, how some of the celebrities have been received, at Tom Browne, other MIS influencers, and figure out how to tap this untapped market. Just think of the gobs of money they could make, and for just a slight retooling of a denim skirt.

I think they look at the amount of money that men spend on clothing and the amount women spend on clothing. I don't think they're doing this for the money. I don't think there's a huge pent up demand under men to spend a lot more on clothing. Their big problem is how to got women to spend even more money on clothing that they barely wear while at the same time claiming they're being eco-friendly.

[denimini]

All skirts can be worn by any gender ..... just a lot of people don't know that.

To be considered gander neutral (oops that was a Freudian slip) a skirt just needs to be plain, dull and boring enough to appeal to a sterotypical male aesthetic.