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.
i LOVE women's shoes, especially boots. heels rock, flats are easy fun, platforms make me feel like a superhero/frankenstein.
i think most male shoes look clunky, and DO NOT go with most skirts.
besides, we wear skirts & other stuff to break out of the male-fashion doldrums. why wear boring footwear with such amazing clothes?
you know... george orwell warned us!
..................................
"Moderation is a colorless, insipid thing to counsel. To live less would not be living."
Sister M. Madeleva Wolff (1887-1964), CSC
This is very interesting, I have actually worn heels three days in succession, for a few hours per day, in town. It was great fun, ( my feet did hurt, because I am not used to walking on tiptoes. The same heels as on the german youth in a black leather skirt, and black T shirt who was pictured a while back.
I als have another pair of heels, and although they are the same height, feel totally different to walk in, are much more comfortable. The geometry must be slightly different. As a rule, men's type shoes are the best basic shoe form for your health and have the best construction. But they don't always look good with skirts and other outfits. I am constantly looking for ( affordable) shoes which fill the part for me, being more feminine if you like, less lomp as men's, and being comfortable at the same time. No easy task.
As Sapphire stated, there are shoes out there which are deffinately tools of torture. There are however, other shoes that have somewhat less extreme shapes, and are with moderate use no real threat. As with everything, choose wisely and use in moderation, and you will be all right. I love the style of many "heels"but would like to see that same style in heels of let us say, max 5 cm or two inches. Giving expression, but not being extreme.
A man wearing anything other than the general idea that some have of what a man should wear is enough reason to comment about it, for some.
Irregardless of what it is. I believe, that no matter what men wear, skirt / dress wise, they should always try to get the whole picture correct. Being pleasurable to see. When wearing the more outspoken clothing that men generally do not have in their garderobe, or in other words, for some, dressing more femininely, then also the shoes need attention too. Your look has to be balanced.
I tend to think, that if we all did it right, we would all show what person we are by the clothes we wear, or in other instances, how we dress to suit the occasion, with what is at our disposal. In showing who we are, there is never a wrong combination made, as we are all individuals, and we are are all different. Those who fail to recognise that are the ones who have failed to learn, to evolve with their age, they not having learnt the basics of life. The fact that we are all individuals and all should be respected.
I don't respect criminals, but that is logical. We are talking about normal law abiding citizens, wearing other clothing than many regard as the only choice for that gender.
Wearing a beautiful skirt, with your rubber boots is not done.
And we men don't give a hoot when others don't understand OUR choice. that's their problem, not ours.
We men can learn a lot from women, giving examples in how to combine and look good.
Men as men, never pretend to be women unless they do so by altering their faces, and manerisms, you do not have to wear skirts to look a woman, especially as many women wear pants. So all other men wearing any combination of clothes are always men as men, but with this difference, that they are men who want to dress differently. And that can be the reason others may comment on that. So what, any person on earth runs the risk that another person will comment on him, only to make himself look better, which he is not.
I am very happy with Sapphire's attendance here, as who better to give vissions from "the other side" than a woman? Read and learn.
Peter v
A man is the same man in a pair of pants or a skirt. It is only the way people look at him that makes the difference.
i've worn women's shoes (almost exclusively) for close to 20 years, fine-tuning my preferences to the point i'm at today.
we are used to seeing skirts co-inciding with certain other visual cues, so men's shoes or excessive hair will cause mixed signals.
i prefer the visual & tactile input of women's footwear & hosiery with a skirt, it just seems "right" to me.
plus, your stuff is so much more fun
have you ever noticed that women's clothing uses adjectives like fun/sexy/sensual ?
guys stuff uses words like favorite/comfortable/durable ?
so to me this translates into women's clothing is intended to be enjoyed, while men's won't hurt us and will take a lot of abuse.
WHEEEeeeee...............
you know... george orwell warned us!
..................................
"Moderation is a colorless, insipid thing to counsel. To live less would not be living."
Sister M. Madeleva Wolff (1887-1964), CSC
What a great debate! I'm really enjoying this. Lots of different views, yet a thread of commonality and (dare I say it?) respect too mixed in.
I was wearing mens shoes today. That's okay by me - I am male after all, and it was with a mens trouser suit. Again, that's okay. I was wearing 20 denier hosiery in fairness (black to go with the suit) and one thing I noticed was the fabulous comfort of the (mens) shoes. They also looked good too.
Okay - they cost US$250 and I am reluctant to wear them on an everyday basis (my usual ones have worn out - I need to get more) but they do remind me that mens shoes can be fabulous in feel.
SkV -before you interject, I would say that had I been wearing a skirt suit, they would have looked really stupid! But I wasn't; I wore a trouser suit. As is my right of course (as much as wearing a skirt suit - mmm!)
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Which I looked through and saw Dance shoes.
I came upon this shoe, and this is what I mean when I say that a shoe can be elegant, and not have a high heel. I would love to have this shoe.
This style of shoe is very suited to me, as it has a small belt which fixes the shoe to the foot. My heel seems to slip out of shoes (open ladies) very easily without it.
Many if not all of the shoes shown on this site, are in three width sizes, which is really great. for both men and women, it being made for women showing that women also have different foot sizes and shapes, which some shoe manufacturers don't seem to realise.
There may be suitable non extreme women's shoes for men out there, but finding them, then being affordable and of course they must fit your feet, that is not an easy task.
I want stylish shoes, like women's, but made to be comfortable, sensable.
When wearing other outfits, than men's they often are in need of stylfull shoes. men's shoes often don't fit the bill. If you don't have the right shoes, don't wear the rest. like wearing a tuxedo with worn out white sneakers.
Peter v
Last edited by Peter v on Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
A man is the same man in a pair of pants or a skirt. It is only the way people look at him that makes the difference.
Oops, sorry I put this in the wrong section . (I won't mind if Bob reassigns it!) However, I am pleased that it has turned out as such an interesting, logical and mostly unemotional debate. If Sapphire and Barbara ever meet, they could compare bunions, they sound very similar.
Ray wrote:What a great debate! I'm really enjoying this. Lots of different views, yet a thread of commonality and (dare I say it?) respect too mixed in.
I was wearing mens shoes today. That's okay by me - I am male after all, and it was with a mens trouser suit. Again, that's okay. I was wearing 20 denier hosiery in fairness (black to go with the suit) and one thing I noticed was the fabulous comfort of the (mens) shoes. They also looked good too.
Okay - they cost US$250 and I am reluctant to wear them on an everyday basis (my usual ones have worn out - I need to get more) but they do remind me that mens shoes can be fabulous in feel.
SkV -before you interject, I would say that had I been wearing a skirt suit, they would have looked really stupid! But I wasn't; I wore a trouser suit. As is my right of course (as much as wearing a skirt suit - mmm!)
You are very right, all shoes should be good for your feet, and the better men's shoes are. But men's shoes don't always look good, sometimes look awful when wearing a skirt. That's what this thread is about, finding "suitable "shoes fashion wise that are not going to cripple you in the process of wearing them, ( for both sexes. )
Peter v.
A man is the same man in a pair of pants or a skirt. It is only the way people look at him that makes the difference.
Peter v wrote:You are very right, all shoes should be good for your feet,
Agreed 100%
Peter v wrote:But men's shoes don't always look good, sometimes look awful when wearing a skirt.
I've said it before and I'll say it again; it is not that men's shoes look awful with a skirt, the combination simply looks different. Just as a man in a skirt looks odd to the majority.
If people are familiar with something, be it men in skirts or men's shoes with a skirt, it will look "normal" and no one will bat an eye.
If you want to wear shoes for fashion reasons feel free, I won't try to dissuade you, but for your own sake in years to come try to choose shoes that will not damage your feet.
Have fun,
Ian.
Do not argue with idiots; they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Cogito ergo sum - Descartes
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
I've said it before and I'll say it again; it is not that men's shoes look awful with a skirt, the combination simply looks different. Just as a man in a skirt looks odd to the majority.
Seconded.
Not all mens' shoes are clod-hoppers; mens' dress shoes can look perfectly good with a skirt. It's the "heavy" stuff (work boots, enormous trainers, &c) that tends to look "strange". Heels are not a "requirement" for men-in-skirts any more than they are for women. True, mens' shoes tend to be bigger than those in the womens' aisle(s) -- but that's because we have bigger feet; trying to ram big feet into small shoes is a recipe for problems.
If people are familiar with something, be it men in skirts or men's shoes with a skirt, it will look "normal" and no one will bat an eye.
I think that's dead on.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
Remember, if you will, the girls' fashions of the 1950s. For the most part, girls wore flat shoes, with socks, with their dresses and skirts. Remember saddle shoes? Prior to the age of 15, I wore either saddle shoes or oxfords. I did have my "dress up shoes" like the MaryJane style Peter mentioned earlier
Yes, Sapphire, in the 50's is when I got hooked for life on straight skirts. They DID have some rather peculiar customs then though. There seemed to be a contest between the girls to see who could stuff the most petticoats inside straight mid calf skirts and still walk upright AND climb up and down the steps into the schoolbus.. My mom, when I was 9 or 10 wore very full mid calf skirts with up to 8 separate petticoats inside. Most of the so called Poodle skirts were worn like that. :)
I had to remove this signature as it was being used on Twitter. This is my OPINION, you NEEDN'T AGREE.
Story of Life, Perspire, Expire, Funeral Pyre!I've been skirted part time since 1972 and full time since 2005. http://skirts4men.myfreeforum.org/
Most of our fashions up north were to the knee or just below the knee. Slips were worn, but the era of the poodle skirts and petticoats had just passed me.
To tell the truth, I thought petticoats were cool, but when I tried it, my godmother accused me of being FATTTTTT (her emphasis, spit between the Ts to get the effect)
I got into the "terrain following"fashions, influenced by Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady
:) 
. (I won't mind if Bob reassigns it!) However, I am pleased that it has turned out as such an interesting, logical and mostly unemotional debate. If Sapphire and Barbara ever meet, they could compare bunions, they sound very similar.
