Skirt Cafe is an on-line community dedicated to exploring, promoting and advocating skirts and kilts as a fashion choice for men, formerly known as men in skirts. We do this in the context of men's fashion freedom --- an expansion of choices beyond those commonly available for men to include kilts, skirts and other garments. We recognize a diversity of styles our members feel comfortable wearing, and do not exclude any potential choices. Continuing dialog on gender is encouraged in the context of fashion freedom for men. See here for more details.
Besides the inauthenticity of being generated by AI, the problem I have with these images is they don't present real people experimenting and developing their own styles - it's just a rehash of what's popular or the typical aesthetic.
I just thought it was an interesting use of technology and I kinda liked the hyperrealism aesthetic on some of the pictures (and I also think it was relevant to the topic of this thread which was in a large part about AI).
I'm (respectfully) struggling a little with the points raised by Coder and ScotL, but I'm tired and maybe I just need to think about this some more. My current outlook on clothing is largely driven by that eureka moment when I read that sex and gender were not the same thing and that the latter is a social construct. I think of myself now as a (largely still closeted) gender non-conformist who sees clothes through a non-gendered lens. Is there such a thing as guy skirts and girl skirts? Should certain materials and colors for clothing (or anything else for that matter) be off limits for a particular group of people?
FranTastic444 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:22 pmIs there such a thing as guy skirts and girl skirts? Should certain materials and colors for clothing (or anything else for that matter) be off limits for a particular group of people?
On question (1), the answer is currently, "No". Full stop. The notion of skirts on guys is nowhere even remotely "mainstream", no matter what the pundits (and how many of those are A(I|S))?
On (2), guys get denim and harsh scratchy fabrics and those alone. Everything else is reserved for the gals. Without exception. Any male who dares to wear, say, velvet or satin, will find himself tarred and feathered for not being "a real man". Again, full stop.
I hate those two statements, but they ring powerfully true in the modern world.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
FranTastic444 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:22 pm
Is there such a thing as guy skirts and girl skirts? Should certain materials and colors for clothing (or anything else for that matter) be off limits for a particular group of people?
No - I don't think so. I think my frustration is around what I see as, erm, unreasonable expectations, unnecessary mimicry, and sexist standards for men and women when it comes to clothes and appearances. I guess I just want people to forge their own paths... and when I see outright mimicry (as the AI generated the photos) it feels regressive. As in, "the only way to wear a skirt is to wear one like women do, to make your legs look like woman's, and wear their footwear". I'm not saying one can't do those things... but it feels lazy/inauthentic.
I'm really not finding the right words to express what I'm thinking.
Coder wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:53 am
No - I don't think so. I think my frustration is around what I see as, erm, unreasonable expectations, unnecessary mimicry, and sexist standards for men and women when it comes to clothes and appearances. I guess I just want people to forge their own paths... and when I see outright mimicry (as the AI generated the photos) it feels regressive. As in, "the only way to wear a skirt is to wear one like women do, to make your legs look like woman's, and wear their footwear". I'm not saying one can't do those things... but it feels lazy/inauthentic.
I have only been doing this for year it takes time to find your own style. However I agree that copying or mimicking women is not the way. We need to find something fresh and new. Trouble is we have to do it with what is already out out there or improve our sewing skills.
