Greetings

[Mugs-n-such]

Greetings to everyone. I enjoy reading the various thoughts and so on.
I thought I would just give a brief history of how I came to like MUGs (you could call the skirts). I always like to sleep in nightshirts, because I get rather tangled in pajamas, but the nightshirts you can buy for men are for the most part IMHO rather dorky. So I took to hand-sowing my own, originally making a one piece like a gown, but then finding it simpler and more convenient to sleep in a t-shirt combined with a "lower robe". Since I live in the Bible belt, I really don't wear them publicly, most of the time at home I'm in a MUG though. I'm hoping that our culture will change. I just do not want to be perceived as "gay" and I am not (please insert the usual disclaimer about prejudice here) but I feel that it is really weird that ponytails, earrings, tattooes (?) on guys are pretty much accepted, but not MUGs or skirts or kilts (the latter under very stringent parameters, I feel). After all the Lord Jesus didn't have a problem with wearing a robe, did he? Regards to all..

[Sarongman]

Hi and . Your last sentence has been a topic that comes up here on a regular basis, as most of us have had difficulties understanding the (mostly) narrow mindsets of the strictly fundamentalist minority. I know that, passing two Brethren women, in their long skirts and headscarves, whilst wearing an equally long skirt, the look I got from them would have curdled a whole tanker full of milk As to your choice of sleepwear, I usually wear nothing until the coldest weather and then PJs for the first hour before they become intolerable. Of course, our climate is quite a lot warmer than where most of the posters come from.

[Since1982]

Wait a minit. The Bible belt, isn't that book full of guys in MUGs?

So Sayeth Sarongman: the look I got from them would have curdled a whole tanker full of milk

I've had very similar experiences. In the lower Florida Keys, Summerland Key to be exact, a whole couple of acres of Brethren types live and frequent the Big Pine Key Winn Dixie Supermarket. As I'm skirted all the time, I ALWAYS get "nearly obscene" looks from them whenever we are within 100 feet of each other. But they never say anything, so I just ignore them. This particular bunch of Cult types have been incarcerated a lot for various illegal practices. About 15 years ago some of them went to visit The Florida State Prison at Raiford Florida. They've not left yet, must like it there.

[Mugs-n-such]

Thanks for the welcome and for the thoughts. I liked the comment "the Bible...wait a minute, isn't that a book of guys full of MUGs?" Anyway, not much new here. I just got started on my weekend from work, so I think I'll try and relax and enjoy it. I was a bit impressed with some of the linguistic savvy of some of the people on this site, when that one lady wrote in in French, a number replied in kind! I'm an amateur linguist myself, specializing in French, German and Spanish, currently working on Vietnamese and Japanese. Greeings and thanks to all! GH

[Mipi]

Welcome GH!

Completely agree with you how funny is what is acceptable and what is not... Been sleeping in nightshirt for many months now and the filling is great; nothing is binding you around your body.

[Since1982]

I speak several languages myself...lets see now... Jive, Southern American, Nawleens American, Caribbean English, Key West Conch English...I'd really like to learn more Vietnamese. .

[Mugs-n-such]

I forgot...I'll have a nice big coffee with cream please. To Since1982, Vietnamese is not really that hard to learn, the grammar is simplicity itself, the thing about it that I think is rather hard are the tones and the pronunciation. They use the Roman alphabet, unlike Japanese and Chinese and Korean, etc. Toi muon hoc tieng Viet = I want to study Vietnamese (I didn't put in the tones, my computer savvy is still limited). Back to MUGs, it's nice to know you're not alone, and also encouraging many on this site are married and have kids!

[Sarongman]

One thing we would be interested to know is where you live, apart from the "Bible belt", which could be anywhere in small mind (er sorry- town) U.S.A. or, for that matter, small mind Australia. Though, it's a lottery,as some of the small towns are pretty tolerant and accepting round here, where the original ethnic mix seems to have a bearing on the degree of orthodox, conservative rigidity.

[Mugs-n-such]

Actually, I live in Wichita Kansas, which is fairly big as towns go but not as big as New York, say (obviously). Very, very rarely I have seen a guy in a skirt here, but doesn't happen often. I think it's interesting that in Bhutan (I believe) they have the reverse ethic: Men are expected to wear the Gho in public which is a knee-length dress, oh excuse me, robe, and if they want to wear pants, they are expected to do that at home in private. Some of the Bhutanese men chafe at the restriction on pants, much as we chafe at the restriction on MUGs or skirts or whatever you want to call them....

[Since1982]

Hi Mugs, I see you've been here>>> http://www.kiltmen.com/

If not, theres lots in there about Bhutan and the gho. in the "around the world" section.

[Mugs-n-such]

Thanks, Since1982, I think I'll have a gho...ooh, sorry about the punny side. Seriously, I would like to read about that. Has anyone watched any of the videos about the pirates? Some of them were wearing skirts, or rather, kangas. Bad PR for us Mug types. The pirates around Somalia I'm talking about, in the news lately.

[Since1982]

Somalia, that's part of Africa isn't it? The Kikoy or Kikoi (a wrap skirt similar to a pareo) is the commonest lower body covering on males in about 75% of Africa. I'm sure the Kanga(sp?) is probably similar. Western Europe and the Americas are the stronghold of trousers for men. The rest of the known world is filled with men who realize the comfort of a skirted garment over pants. When those male children are born they dont get stuffed into tubes like we were, they get tossed a piece of cloth and one look at Daddy tells them what to do with it.

[Mugs-n-such]

Speaking of tubes, one of the threads was debating about could there be a dress (I think in terms of robe, but it amounts to about the same thing imho) suitable for men, and I just thought I'd mention..I don't know if anyone here is a fan of Final Fantasy like me, but on the Brady (?) (I think) strategy guide for Final Fantasy XII, on one of the pages where they talk about grimoires, there is a picture of these elderly gents wearing robes (Dresses?!) and they look perfectly natural, and even so masculine I would think a woman would think twice before donning one.

[Mugs-n-such]

Sorry, I forgot...yes, I'm sure it's in Africa, I'm thinking that it's on the west coast near the south, but my geology of Africa is a bit rusty. But I'm 99.99% sure that it is indeed in Africa...

[Mugs-n-such]

Yes Somalia is on the west coast of Africa, it's actually just west of Ethiopia. It's between Ethiopia and the ocean, it looks like to me...
I'm kinda glad I sew my own. One site, I think it was the Anders Landinger site (I may have the name wrong, but the one that was formerly Men in Time) wanted I think about $160 for one of their garments. It may have been $260! Sorry, but now way Jose, I'll sew my own, and if I don't know how to sew, I'll learn. I do know how to sew a little bit, but so far they have mostly all been hand sewn.