Beginner's Guide question + introductory post

[talon2mech]

It's nice to know that someone else has been going around town without any major problems for years now. I usually do stay away from the bad parts of town, since I can get everything I need in other areas anyways. I personally wouldn't carry around a weapon with me anyways, even if I could. I bet I'm still a couple of years too young for that anyways, but as long as I stay out of bad areas of town I shouldn't have any gang related troubles.

Not usually an issue here. Luckily Albuquerque is a fairly liberal place with open views.

If you are feeling broke and looking for a good place to buy a skirt try the Buffalo exchange on Central near UNM.

BTW here is my typical skirted attire...

[Sashi]

Whoa! Sashi, I love that tiered skirt you linked to. And I don't even usually like red that much. Now I want one...but I'm reluctant to spend $99 on it.

...

Good to see you here...I thought I was the youngest member of this board (I'm 20) and it seems like most of the members are much older than I am.

Oh wow, so there are people near my age on here. That's actually pretty surprising, cause I was popping around various profile pages and most people are much older than me, at least by a decade on all the ones I visited. Would be interesting to see the masses of younger people adopting skirts, eh? Hmm... I guess that would make me the youngest one now, right?

I usually don't like red either, but for some reason that one just fit in with my likes perfectly. Of course, until I really see how skirting works out for me I'd not care to drop that much money on a skirt. Once it's become more a part of my attire I'd definitely want to look that skirt up again though.

Not usually an issue here. Luckily Albuquerque is a fairly liberal place with open views.

If you are feeling broke and looking for a good place to buy a skirt try the Buffalo exchange on Central near UNM.

BTW here is my typical skirted attire...

That's nice to hear. At least that should make things easier for me when dealing with the general public. Family on the other hand, other than my sister, will be a completely different story. Thanks for the store tip, I'll have to browse through there sometime. Nice picture you have there. Where is that at? Looks like a nice place to go to... well, at least in the summer. Too cold to be going out to places like that right now, at least for me.

At least it doesn't seem like I'll be having any trouble shirt-wise, since everything I wear is pretty casual. Although I probably do need some more shirts as my current collection is not only starting to wear out but really doesn't have enough colors to go with most skirts. When you just have basic blue jeans (I'm lucky to have a very nice pair of bell bottoms) and a couple of sports shorts (like basketball players wear), you really don't need to think about matching things up too much, as most things will just fit. At least it will give me an excuse to pick up more anime and faerie shirts :ninjajig:

Well, I don't want my sleep schedule to get messed up again, so night everyone.

[Don]

So, is there? Is there some single source that gives tips out for beginner skirt wearers? I know there are tips on some aspects (namely how to deal with opposition), but what about all aspects?

Wow, one could write a book on this...

I think that one KEY tip would be to understand the nature of the public reaction. My own experience is that the response of the public is INVARIABLY one of "fascinated delight". I have noticed that people - especially women - tend to respond to me far better while I'm skirted than not... I've been stopped by an interested gentleman and we had a lengthy - and positive - discussion on the whole notion! Often, I've opened the question with other people - frequently showing them the various websites - and the reaction is one of thrilled support. To the question "should I buy one?" the answer is INVARIABLY "absolutely". To the question "Should men be permitted to iunclude skirts (and dresses) in their wardrobes, the response is "Of course! Why not?"

It also helps to understand the nature of the opposition. While anyone would accept the rational arguments, there are a couple of hundred years of momentum to overcome, and it's difficult to turn that on a dime. This IS a crusade, and not everyone wants to join it, regardless of how they might feel about the concept. Our families need to know that they ARE NOT being threatened. The authoritarian, bureaucratic organizations around us have a vested interest in the status quo and an absolutely MORBID fear of the free thinker who doesn't salute smartly and march in step. They CANNOT lead the way, and must be dragged kicking and screaming into the brave new world. They will accept it, of course, as soon as they sense that it is in their interest to do so.

Skirtsmanship is a subtle art, and it DOESN'T exist in a vacuum! Rather, it's one piece of a larger puzzle. What message are you trying to send? What do you want to say about yourself? Personally, I've always delighted in being something of an iconoclast, a guy who swings his own axe, an eccentric who has a very strong sense of his own masculinity and a passion for "thinking outside the box" (I hate that cliche!). A men's skirt is appropriate on me; it might be less so for "the man in the grey flannel suit", for the corporate drone who sold out to the establishment early on...

Like God and the devil himself, the elements of skirtsmanship are "in the details". They are subjective and a question of personal taste and philosophy. If you want to delve deeper, this is probably the right place!

[iain]

Wow, thoughtful post, very readable. I must admit my best experiences with strangers have all been while in a kilt or skirt. The feeling is one of personal honesty, as for a change I am not viewing the world through some refraction of it in my own mind, and am just myself.

Sometimes strangers will stop to talk, out of the blue, while never once mentioning the clothes--it's very strange, like there's just a connection which would not be apparent if you were in the usual camoflage, but which should be there between people in a healthy society, if each is stating their individuality honestly, and without a big fanfare, just being themselves.

My only hesitation is that sometimes I prefer being camoflaged and passing unnoticed, being habitually an observer. But on the days when I felt up to it, they were far and away the most exciting and memorable of my whole life. I guess that is saying something: I didn't exactly blaze a trail of revolution but I did something. That, and the fact that people in my own circle all know and appreciate it makes me feel a lot more secure about their genuine friendship, and feels a thousand times better than if I'd never done anything about it at all.

[DrWu]

I usually don't like red either, but for some reason that one just fit in with my likes perfectly. Of course, until I really see how skirting works out for me I'd not care to drop that much money on a skirt. Once it's become more a part of my attire I'd definitely want to look that skirt up again though.

Only problem is, who knows if they'll still have it then?

Here's someone on eBay who sells a lot of interesting skirts. I've bought a couple from her.

http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSe ... =3&frpp=50

At least it doesn't seem like I'll be having any trouble shirt-wise, since everything I wear is pretty casual. Although I probably do need some more shirts as my current collection is not only starting to wear out but really doesn't have enough colors to go with most skirts. When you just have basic blue jeans (I'm lucky to have a very nice pair of bell bottoms) and a couple of sports shorts (like basketball players wear), you really don't need to think about matching things up too much, as most things will just fit. At least it will give me an excuse to pick up more anime and faerie shirts :ninjajig:

I've noticed exactly that...I have a couple t-shirts which go well with the skirts I have. But I'll need to get more of them. Conveniently, I have a couple of interesting second-hand clothing stores near me.

The question then is what to get. Different colors of t-shirts are fine as far as they go, but that seems kind of limited. We shall see.

It's interesting. I wasn't really interested in clothes until I started wearing skirts...now I'm starting to be.

[howard h]

My own opinion on shirt tucking is:

a) Tuck only if you are wearing nice belt.
b) Favour shorter shirts if you are plumpish like me otherwise you will look like a slob.
c) Wear either casual shirts or Ghillie (Robert Burns type) shirts.

I also have an opinion on Sporrans, which is, in general, don't bother with them - use a shoulder bag or a belt pack instead, or even better a skirt with secure pockets.

Kilt and skirt tolerance in the South of England where I live is very high so long as you stick to fairly affluent areas (I guess this is the same everywhere - avoid places where men define themselves by aggressive masculinity). I get fewer comments here than in Scotland, strangely.

once had my pleated leather kilt on without a sporran, and someone asked where it (the sporran) was, so I pulled out my wallet and said "here". End of conversation.

[Bravehearts.us]

There was a man with a long beard walking down the street. Another man saw it and became curious so he asked the man, “excuse me sir, but when you sleep at night do you sleep with your beard under the covers or over the covers?” The gentleman thought for a minute and answered, “Gee, I don’t know.”
That night as the man laid in bed he first put his beard under the covers and it didn’t feel right. He then put it outside of the covers and that didn’t feel right either. So he cut it off.

Likewise, if you concentrate on other’s opinions of whether your shirt looks better under your skirt or outside of it you may get so many different answers that you become uncomfortable with all of them and quit wearing your skirt all together. The real name of the game is; does it feel and look right to you?

My best advice that I’ve given before is to pick up a pleated plaid skirt from a thrift shop. It will resemble a kilt and it will help you to feel a little more comfortable going out in public. You can always start your transition after you get some experience.

[binx]

Pleated plaid shirt....? That might attract attention.

binx

[Sashi]

Only problem is, who knows if they'll still have it then?

Here's someone on eBay who sells a lot of interesting skirts. I've bought a couple from her.

http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSe ... =3&frpp=50

You have a point there. Hopefully they will, since I'm out of money for anything for several months anyways. Thanks for the link though. She has some really interesting things there. Those velvet renaissance dresses actually stick in my mind more so than any of the skirts I came across, although that may change as her stock changes.

I've noticed exactly that...I have a couple t-shirts which go well with the skirts I have. But I'll need to get more of them. Conveniently, I have a couple of interesting second-hand clothing stores near me.

The question then is what to get. Different colors of t-shirts are fine as far as they go, but that seems kind of limited. We shall see.

It's interesting. I wasn't really interested in clothes until I started wearing skirts...now I'm starting to be.

Well if you only wear blue jeans, you really don't have to pay attention to what else you are wearing as everything goes with it. But once you go with skirts you really have to think about it some unless you want to get some awful clashing combination. I'm hoping to pick up some skirts sometime that go well with my two faerie shirts (one is medium-light green and the other is a light blue).

There was a man with a long beard walking down the street. Another man saw it and became curious so he asked the man, “excuse me sir, but when you sleep at night do you sleep with your beard under the covers or over the covers?” The gentleman thought for a minute and answered, “Gee, I don’t know.”
That night as the man laid in bed he first put his beard under the covers and it didn’t feel right. He then put it outside of the covers and that didn’t feel right either. So he cut it off.

Likewise, if you concentrate on other’s opinions of whether your shirt looks better under your skirt or outside of it you may get so many different answers that you become uncomfortable with all of them and quit wearing your skirt all together. The real name of the game is; does it feel and look right to you?

My best advice that I’ve given before is to pick up a pleated plaid skirt from a thrift shop. It will resemble a kilt and it will help you to feel a little more comfortable going out in public. You can always start your transition after you get some experience.

I really like that story, and the point that goes with it. That's some pretty solid advice you have there. Thanks! Actually, a pleated plaid skirt is one of the first kinds I want to pick up, particularly one made primarily (or even totally) out of rayon, as that is one of the most comfortable fabrics I have ever laid my hands on.

Pleated plaid shirt....? That might attract attention.

Hehehe, now there's an interesting image.

Well, I have to get going though. I'm still fighting this accursed sickness that has plagued me for the last two weeks. I guess it's a cold or something, but it's really sucking right now.

[Bravehearts.us]

Join the crowd. I’ve had the same crap for the last month and tonight I have a terrible headache from it!! It’s hard just looking at the computer screen.

[DrWu]

Rayon is indeed excellent. I have a couple t-shirts made of rayon, and one skirt. Linen is another good fabric that you don't see too much.

What's a faerie shirt, by the way? It sounds interesting.

[Sashi]

Nothing special, just a shirt with a faerie (or multiple ones) on it. I love shirts with images on them, but it's hard to find good ones for adults that have the image on the front. Most of my shirts are still anime ones. I'd love to get shirts with various colors on them as the design or with various flairs to the physical look of it, just for variety's sake, but you can't really easily (if at all) find things like that in men's clothing. *sigh* Being male really sucks when it comes to clothing choices, eh?

Linen though? What's it feel like? All I've ever really worn is denim, polyester, and cotton, so I don't have much experience with other fabrics.

[iain]

If you're looking for image shirts, there's a brilliant t-shirt I got at the Hendrix exhibition/auction at the Marquee last year. It's designed by Ron Wood, and it's black with Hendrix in shades of brown and beige. I wore a kilt to the exhibition and I remember it felt great to get a shirt that would go with it!

You can probably get one from Ron Wood's web site but I forget the URL--easily found probably. It's such a classy image and lots of kilts have black and beige in them, so it goes with most things.

The exhibition itself was ok--a couple of his guitars, lots of photos, with some of his film clips playing on the walls, but mainly seemed to be bits from the late Noel Redding's wardrobe--all a bit morbid to see a dead man's shoes in a glass case.