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.
Barleymower wrote: ↑Sat Aug 23, 2025 4:21 pm
Keep it a bit drab and at least knee to start with. Save the sequined, ra ra mini skirt for special occasions. Keep the rest of your attire masculine and never go out disguised as a female.
Come to think of it, I have more or less fallen into this pattern. Skirts are the one unorthodox item that I have worn out and about. (One skirt, though, is a large expanse of scarlet fabric). Everything else from the male side of the aisle, so undistinguished.
Skirts are my particular interest, so that is what have made a conscious effort to wear.
Uncle Al wrote: ↑Sun Aug 24, 2025 9:41 pm
Just my $.02 worth
That two cents just about covers the support that men have for men in skirts Al.
One particular question, in what way is the petticoat disrespectful to those around him?
If anyone is discomfited by the outfit, that won't be the reason.
When all is said and done, one could just as easily say that men have no right to wear skirts, dresses or anything else that society dictates.
There, the whole sorry mess is solved and we can all go home.
Steve
STEVIE wrote: ↑Mon Aug 25, 2025 6:23 pmWhen all is said and done, one could just as easily say that men have no right to wear skirts, dresses or anything else that society dictates.
This, unfortunately, is the way the USA is going at the moment. Anybody who steps outside the tight little box prescribed for them (carefully used there!) are getting likely to accrue criminal charges and potential incarceration.
Right now, it's the trans-* folks who are most jarred by this emergent threat, but it threatens all of us because the enforcers will be from the unwashed masses without the creativity to identify the differences between the classes of men in skirts. So, merely wearing your favourite skirt will potentially put you at risk for arrest and incarceration.
The above is not the immediate case, but is indicative of where the current trajectory will ultimately lead -- and that's a place we really do not want to go.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
Thank you for making this point very clear to ALL members of the Cafe. They need to understand that the limited mindset of the general public influenced by the current political climate will categorize all men in skirts and other feminine attire as LGBTQ+. The damage done to LGBTQ will also flow downhill to us. I believe that they will enact crossdressing laws that will jail men for wearing anything that is deemed feminine by our conservative patriarchal society. CR said it correctly, we are living in a 1950's "Father Knows Best" society with "Daddy Donnie" as "Father". We are doomed! It is only a matter of time.
Barleymower wrote: ↑Sat Aug 23, 2025 4:21 pm
Keep it a bit drab and at least knee to start with. Save the sequined, ra ra mini skirt for special occasions. Keep the rest of your attire masculine and never go out disguised as a female.
Come to think of it, I have more or less fallen into this pattern. Skirts are the one unorthodox item that I have worn out and about. (One skirt, though, is a large expanse of scarlet fabric). Everything else from the male side of the aisle, so undistinguished.
Skirts are my particular interest, so that is what have made a conscious effort to wear.
Grok, I have thought about it some more and my writing above should only be used if you want to keep a low profile. In the spirit of equality a man should be able to wear the clothes he wants to wear.
In discussions with women on the subject they often respond in a sort of disbelief, like what I'm saying doesn't make sense. So wear what you want and people will get used to it.
Barleymower wrote: ↑Wed Aug 27, 2025 12:38 pmI have thought about it some more and my writing above should only be used if you want to keep a low profile. In the spirit of equality a man should be able to wear the clothes he wants to wear.
That only works in places that have open minds and a similar outlook on what life should be.
In discussions with women on the subject they often respond in a sort of disbelief, like what I'm saying doesn't make sense. So wear what you want and people will get used to it.
In Grok's case, attention to local ordnances and laws -- especially laws that regulate appearance and mannerism -- is wise, as is "protective colouration" when he's not in a known-safe environment. The USA isn't there yet, but the days are passing and with each one more draconian laws are being passed to enforce "gender appropriate" appearance. Along with the first such law, will come the first Gestapo arrests and all the abuse of power that the USA is becoming famous for. Caution is warranted in ALL unfamiliar surroundings. (Note that these laws may be passed with little fanfare and the round-ups of "deviants" may come swiftly; do not stick out from the herd! Ignorance of a law is no excuse in the USA.)
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
crfriend wrote: ↑Wed Aug 27, 2025 1:41 pm
The USA isn't there yet, but the days are passing and with each one more draconian laws are being passed to enforce "gender appropriate" appearance. Along with the first such law, will come the first Gestapo arrests and all the abuse of power that the USA is becoming famous for. Caution is warranted in ALL unfamiliar surroundings. (Note that these laws may be passed with little fanfare and the round-ups of "deviants" may come swiftly; do not stick out from the herd! Ignorance of a law is no excuse in the USA.)
Which laws are being passed Carl. Is it restricted to dress codes at work or cannyou be pulled over for wearing a skirt?
Barleymower wrote: ↑Wed Aug 27, 2025 4:15 pmWhich laws are being passed Carl. Is it restricted to dress codes at work or cannyou be pulled over for wearing a skirt?
None YET, as far as I am concretely aware, but a "bathroom law" by illegal extension and over-reach could easily be used to pick up a guy in a skirt for any reason under the sun. The USA is on a very, very slippery slope now and all my analyses don't show any decent outcomes. Anti- trans-* is in full swing, and backwards legislatures seem to be having a field day with it.
I live in a fairly liberal state, so I don't think I personally have much to worry about, but I still have begun (re-)adopting "protective colouration" in the guise of "male drab" if I'm travelling out-of-state or to unfamiliar places where I'm not known.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
One sign in our favor is most of the "drag bans" which have been passed in the US have been struck down or limited in the scope they can be enforced by the courts. (I noted that since of the common categories of anti-trans laws being proposed, "drag bans" are the ones most likely to directly affect our community. That is in contrast to gender affirming health care restrictions [which at least for minors have actually been upheld by SCOTUS], sports bans/restrictions, restrictions on changing gender on IDs, or bathroom restrictions, which would affect us indirectly at most - given that most of us aren't seeking transgender hormones or surgery, seeking to play in female sports, legally change our gender, or to use women's bathrooms.)
Barleymower wrote: ↑Wed Aug 27, 2025 12:38 pm
Grok, I have thought about it some more and my writing above should only be used if you want to keep a low profile. In the spirit of equality a man should be able to wear the clothes he wants to wear.
In discussions with women on the subject they often respond in a sort of disbelief, like what I'm saying doesn't make sense. So wear what you want and people will get used to it.
Thinking back around 60 years, to the 1960s. Female clothing was quite diverse, and generally much more fancy, and vastly more interesting than what we males were confined to. Females had far greater variety, and opportunities, for personal expression.
I think that some males were particularly drawn to certain modes of expression. One male might have a particularly strong interest in jewelry. Another had a particularly strong interest in nail polish. I had a particularly strong interest in skirts.
So different males would tend to have a specific focus on different aspects of the forbidden, depending on the individual.
I think a few males must have been interested in all of those modes.
crfriend wrote: ↑Wed Aug 27, 2025 5:34 pm
I live in a fairly liberal state, so I don't think I personally have much to worry about, but I still have begun (re-)adopting "protective colouration" in the guise of "male drab" if I'm travelling out-of-state or to unfamiliar places where I'm not known.
