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.
Discussion of fashion elements and looks that are traditionally considered somewhat "femme" but are presented in a masculine context. This is NOT about transvestism or crossdressing.
Barleymower wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 1:57 pm
It's a nonsense to say men aren't interested in clothes. For centuries men have been massively into clothes.
I said a lot of men are not interested in clothes. I didn’t say all men are not interested. There are men who are into clothes but it’s more a thing women are interested in. Just comparing the size of the women’s clothes department to the men’s in a clothes shop makes you wonder.
I am perfectly aware that men were massively into clothes for centuries but again nowadays a lot have lost interest.
DrF I wasn't having g a pop at you, I can see how it would appear that way.
There is a constant "men are.. , men aren't... ,.men don't... " men are constantly being dictated too about what and how they should be.
It is mostly a media thing, nobody dares challenge it least of all men for fear of any number of accusations thrown or threat of being cancelled.
So many assumptions of what it means to be a man. Men have little choice of how they should be in the media. Luckily for us we can largely do as we please. Unless our families, friends, acquaintances encourage us to conform to their vision of manhood.
Barleymower wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 4:07 pm
DrF I wasn't having g a pop at you, I can see how it would appear that way.
There is a constant "men are.. , men aren't... ,.men don't... " men are constantly being dictated too about what and how they should be.
It is mostly a media thing, nobody dares challenge it least of all men for fear of any number of accusations thrown or threat of being cancelled.
Yeah it is very depressing that men are dictated to about what they should be and what they should and shouldn’t wear. Personally I don’t give a damn anymore what the public think of me when I’m out shopping in skirts, tights, leggings and dresses.
I feel at ease and comfort when I wear a nice skirt or dress and the feeling that leggings or tights give me around my legs is very soothing and therapeutic especially as I have depression and an anxiety disorder. It’s funny but the older I get the less I care what others think.
If more and more men were develop this attitude then what a better world it would be and all this “men shouldn’t wear skirts or dresses” nonsense would be stopped and both men and women can wear whatever clothes they fancy. Women can wear what they want it’s time is men did too.
My name is Arty. I’m a guy with a passion for wearing skirts, dresses and tights and a hobbiest musician and artist.
Mouse wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:38 am
This comes from long ago being taken there to get school uniform bits like grey socks
Kind of ironic Mouse, but as a 15 year old schoolboy some of my first forays across the aisle was under the auspices of good old St. Michael.
My female peers had trevira pleated skirts from a Scots company called "The Perth SkirtnSlack Centre", but much of the other "bits" came from M&S.
In 1970s Aberdeen, M&S was the nearest thing we had to a clothes supermarket, with the anonymity which that offered, the rest of the shops were family run department stores and simply too daunting for a pimply youth chasing forbidden fruits.
Steve
DrFishnets wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 2:38 pm
I said a lot of men are not interested in clothes. I didn’t say all men are not interested. There are men who are into clothes
I am perfectly aware that men were massively into clothes for centuries but again nowadays a lot have lost interest.
Perhaps there are a few men who would like to look dapper, but would not be interested in trying a skirt.
A lot may have lost interest in clothes, because of the Great Renunciation.
Grok wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:00 am
A lot may have lost interest in clothes, because of the Great Renunciation.
We are making this renunciation thingy sound like some great conspiracy to deprive men of the freedom to dress as they please.
It really wasn't so let's remember that because the vast majority of men today wouldn't even have a clue what the word meant, never mind the impact it allegedly had on their sartorial choices
Drab has always been the lot of Joe Blogs and likely always will be, the renunciation just meant the toffs got to spend their hard earned on other necessities like a new sedan chair rather than a gold embellished doublet.
Steve
Grok wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:00 am
A lot may have lost interest in clothes, because of the Great Renunciation.
We are making this renunciation thingy sound like some great conspiracy to deprive men of the freedom to dress as they please.
It really wasn't so let's remember that because the vast majority of men today wouldn't even have a clue what the word meant, never mind the impact it allegedly had on their sartorial choices
Drab has always been the lot of Joe Blogs and likely always will be, the renunciation just meant the toffs got to spend their hard earned on other necessities like a new sedan chair rather than a gold embellished doublet.
Steve
Stevie is there a bit more to it? Yes Joe Blogs has been drab. Was he drab because that's all he had? I think maybe those who had a bit more cash, spashed out on some nice clothes and not necessarily proper wealthy, more merchant wealthy.
Since women have put on trousers without giving anything up (good for them) they have feminised items of male clothing and once that happened men abandoned them. I've read that feminism has been successful because women support each other. Men don't.
I say all of this but basically I don't give a dam why men did what they did. Fact is it happened. The clothes I like would be probably just as much off limits with or without the great renunciation. So I just pluck the courage up and wear the skirts I like and quite often feel a bit sad at the state of things.
BM,
We all know that men are free to choose whatever they wish to wear.
Ok there can be constraints, but all other things being equal,, they can but choose not to.
Ok, but don't then complain about what woman can do with their hard won advantages.
I certainly have many more supportive females than men around me.
Apart from family that is.
As for Joe Bloggs,, in history all he had was drab, Gods, he had barely enough to eat.
He could get himself dead for wearing a colour reserved for his superiors.
As I said no conspiracy, but we have become victims of a habit formed over so many years that it is seen as traditional.
Steve.
STEVIE wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 6:21 pm
Ok there can be constraints, but all other things being equal,, they can but choose not to.
Do they know they can choose? Do they know that - yeah - it's "safe" out there? That if they started wearing that cool bright orange shirt* no one would make fun of them? Or if there was ridicule, it would be short lived, and hidden in some of that ridicule was a desire to be as bold?
I guess my point is, I don't think people realize they have the choice. That there is one. I think they just accept what is because that's all they know is available to them.
Steve, when people are truly free they take advantage of their freedom. You see it in their actions. If the freedom offered is full of traps and pitfalls they won't dare venture into the minefield. That sort of freedom is not truly free, it is a prison without bars. It pisses me off that men strut around in the open prison being all big, brave and manly; sneering and jeering within the safety of the mates then go home and try their wifes skirt on.
I'm not complaining about women, far from it I admire their strength and determination. I agree that on balance women are more supportive than men.
Coder wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 6:44 pm
Do they know they can choose? Do they know that - yeah - it's "safe" out there? That if they started wearing that cool bright orange shirt* no one would make fun of them? Or if there was ridicule, it would be short lived, and hidden in some of that ridicule was a desire to be as bold?
Depending on what team they support, you will find men of all ages wearing very bright shirts. So it is not that men dislike bright coloured shirts, more they need a reason/permission of others, to wear the bright shirts.
Coder wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 6:44 pm
Do they know they can choose? Do they know that - yeah - it's "safe" out there? That if they started wearing that cool bright orange shirt* no one would make fun of them? Or if there was ridicule, it would be short lived, and hidden in some of that ridicule was a desire to be as bold?
Depending on what team they support, you will find men of all ages wearing very bright shirts. So it is not that men dislike bright coloured shirts, more they need a reason/permission of others, to wear the bright shirts.
That’s the problem. There has to be some motive, underlying reason to give them permission. But they don’t need it - they don’t need permission or need to belong to some group. In my mind the crux of the problem is to get other men to see there is a brighter future for them - if they would just take the opportunity.
In the 1960's in England, we had the phenomenon of the Mods - young men who spent a surprisingly high proportion of their probably meagre wages on stylish clothes - sharply-cut suits mainly - in a determinedly competitive manner.
Today, it's to African cities that one should look for really stylish men's fashions; do an image search with the string "Africa stylish men's fashion", or visit different African on-line fashion houses, or consult Pinterest. A lot of the latest styles seem to be long jackets or tunics with tight trousers.
familyman34 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 23, 2024 12:59 pm
Today, it's to African cities that one should look for really stylish men's fashions; do an image search with the string "Africa stylish men's fashion", or visit different African on-line fashion houses, or consult Pinterest. A lot of the latest styles seem to be long jackets or tunics with tight trousers.
Very interesting. I did a google search and a lot of the African stylish men’s fashion is very similar to what I wear with the exception that I wear leggings or very opaque tights instead of tight trousers. For the tops I wear shirt or t-shirt mini dresses as they are long enough to cover my man bulge and I find it extremely comfortable and in my opinion it looks very stylish. It be fantastic if men’s stylish fashion in Africa can spread to other parts of the world including Europe, America and Australia.
My name is Arty. I’m a guy with a passion for wearing skirts, dresses and tights and a hobbiest musician and artist.
I have found M&S in Norwich to be quite limited for Menswear taking up half of the Lower Second Floor. Womenswear takes up Basement, Ground (half is foodhall) and Lower & Upper First Floors. Primark in Norwich is similar with Mens on Second along with Homewares (smaller floor as well to others), 1st is Kids and Ground is Womenswear. Debenhams was even worse for this, Basement was only floor with menswear, G, 1 and 2 were all Womenswear. 3 was Kids and 4 Homewares.
