The Importance of Skirt Length

[Pythos]

Chrisj, good job on trying something different. It is always strange to wear something different. Before my friend handed me one of here mini skirts, I had only worn long or knee length skirts. We were going to a goth club, and she handed me a short tight cotton lycra mini skirt, and asked me to wear it with black hose. I of course obliged, put on the skirt with just hose, and shirt, and boots. It was shall we say a learning experience. While picking something up I accidentally flashed her, to which she told me "nice view, but honestly when wearing a skirt like that, bend at the knees", lesson learned.

In that skirt I was very conscious of how near naked I was, as we danced. She had chosen harem style pants, so she was not in the same boat for once.

In the end, I found I liked the experience. I got a very good idea what women go through, both the positive and negative aspects, and feel every guy should to through it at least once. I now love mini skirts (just a bit longer though:))

As far as alterations go, often time good quality stirrup leggings are more expensive than ones with just a cuff around the ankle. I have tried wearing without stirrups of feet, and find the leggings get baggy at the knees and the cuff slides up my leg. So I just put them on, and make my own stirrups, and sew them on. Works great every time. Try the same with the skirts and belt loops.

[Peter v]

It just goes to show what a diverse bunch we are here, I have all ankle length skirts, mostly with belt loops and front fly opening. I have tried mini length and have felt as uncomfortable in them as Christopher does in knee and longer. Though they were not wasted as my Daughter grabbed them with glee and she can carry the look to perfection I am only 5 feet 5 inches and a little overweight, so maybe height and figure have some bearing. I'm currently bidding on a long denim overall dress (closing shortly)

Nice that you said that about the denim overall dress, if there is a well known material with men, it must be denim. And although women's upper clothing has small arm openings, if you are not so well built, the upper part could fit nicely. I rather like the denim overall dresses, Somewhat rugged looking ( denim) and the fact that the skirt hangs by the shoulders must give a realy free feeling, and overcomming practical issues such as having little or no waist / hip difference. No pressure on your waist or belly. Somewhat hiding the unsightly body forms which even a little bit of body fat can give. Also the skirt length can be short, this garment lending itself to that very well.

I think about the denim jeans with a front flap and braces my ( ex) wife and I had in the seventies. Unisex. Why not denim overall dresses for men?

Peter v.

[Peter v]

Right. In the interest of experimentation, I have spent £20 (UK pounds) on three knee-length skirts from eBay - just to see if I look OK in longer skirts.

I hate them. Maybe I have not quite got the right style, but what I have bought, I don't like. Firstly, they fit around my waist - and I am so not used to that. All of my (shorter) skirts sit on my hips - so these new skirts feel very weird. Secondly, to my mind they emphasize my height - and give me a drainpipe shape. Whereas (again, to my mind) a short skirt breaks up the drainpipe shape. Thirdly, they are so big! In volume. They feel like sails - after wearing short skirts. Fourthly - and a practical point - most of my short skirts have belt loops as they are always worn low - on the hips - so I can use a belt to hold the skirt up! These new knee length skirts don't have belt loops - as obviously they are meant to sit on top of the hips in the waisted part of the body - but I don't have a waisted part of the body!

I haven't got any photos that I can show you - as I haven't worn these new skirts out. I'll try and take some indoors tomorrow.

What I think would be alright for me would be a low slung skirt - sitting on the hips - (with belt loops) that came to 3 or 4 inches above the knee. I think I could be OK with something like that - I will just have to shop more carefully.

Hello christopher, have you tried wearing jumpers, shirts or whatever OVER the skirts, and then wearing a wide belt over the shirt / jumper / turtelnek jumper, ....at about the waistline? That's how women wear things here in Holland. It visually breaks the lenghth of the person. There must be slender women somewhere near you, look at how they wear their skirts, they may have a golden tip.

If we men only concentrate on the skirt and not on the rest, we'd better stick to pants. It's the right combination that makes a skirt look great on us and just wait for the compliments from the ladies.


Peter v.

[Peter v]

I'm glad you're experimenting! I think it takes a few tries for anybody to get the feel for what they like and do not like. That is where thrift shops (charity shops in the UK) and discount big-box stores some in handy.

I'm an "ankle length skirt guy". Have to admit I sometimes get distracted when walking longer distances at speed because I'm observing all the different ways the fabric moves. Fortunately I have yet to crash into any lamp posts but it is a distinct possibility.

Seen to many "doctor who" tv series with the DALEKS?

Peter v.

[ChristopherJ]

Since you're still in "experimentation mode", and since you're not out a goodly sum of cash, why not just add belt-loops yourself?

<Thumps head against the forum walls . . . >

Do you know ( I am ashamed to say this) - but I didn't even think of that.

How stupid of me. I can add belt loops really easily. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for all your feedback etc. I will continue to experiment - as it doesn't cost much money if I am only spending a couple of pounds on a skirt to try it out. I would like to get elasticated waisted skirts, as someone suggested, if possible - as they are so versatile. They can be worn high or on the hips. I will also try the baggy pullover look - as I have some great sweaters that would look very good with the right skirt.

Regarding skirt length - I will continue to wear short skirts most of the time - simply because I think they suit my build and I like the look anyhow. Nevertheless, I want to be able to wear other styles as well and I still think (although someone said that it is easy to get wrong) that a just-above-the-knee skirt would be a good style for me to try. Say, about 3 inches above the knee. A short kilt would be good. I will just have to see what comes up on eBay.

[Aloofguru]

[ "If you've got it, flaunt it."

Sadly, not everyone can pull a short-skirt look off; not all of us have the bodies for it, nor the legs. But, this, too, is part of the human experience, and is nothing to be ashamed of -- just pick what looks good and go with that. If that look is knee-length or longer to accommodate "problems", so be it; if the look a 13" mini and it works, so be that. But whatever happens, don't just "give up" and "go bland" -- everybody can look good; it's just a matter of finding the look you're after.[/quote]

Thanks for straighten me out on that. im here to become enlightened
A mini for me is out of the question. with my body type and shape it might look good on my but its not the look i would go for. I tend to be a bit conservitive here.
What did You mean by "go bland" ? in my mind. a man in a skirt couldnt be bland in the eyes of soceity. it would still be differnt.

[crfriend]

What did You mean by "go bland" ? in my mind. a man in a skirt couldnt be bland in the eyes of soceity. it would still be differnt.

The intent was to encourage folks to experiment with colours and fabrics in whatever cut of skirt flatters them; it's all too easy to fall back into the "manly camoflage" of dark blend-into-the-woodwork colours and fabrics. Why settle, for instance, on a plain navy-blue cotton skirt (or worse, denim) when you could do an irridescent royal-blue velvet? Been there, done both, and continue to based on my whims at the time.

[Aloofguru]

The intent was to encourage folks to experiment with colours and fabrics in whatever cut of skirt flatters them; it's all too easy to fall back into the "manly camoflage" of dark blend-into-the-woodwork colours and fabrics.

I see what You mean. I'd be happy to even break into world of Manly camoflage. I lack spousal support even there.

[JeffB1959]

I would agree that not all of us can "flaunt it", body chemistry can't work for everyone, so we do as best we can and wear what suits us best and looks best on us. Not all of us can wear a miniskirt and look good in one, I like to think I can look good in just about any length, from well above the knee to shin length, but that's just my opinion. We all have to tailor the length of our skirts (and maybe colors too) to what will flatter us best.

[sapphire]

Jeff,
You make such an excellent point. Everyone of every sexual orientation has to find the styles and colors that flatter us and make us feel good.

In that regard, the difference between men and women is that women have had more time to experiement. A lot of them don't get it right giving rise to such shows as "Gretta's Got It", "What not to Wear" and "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style"

Speaking of Tim Gunn, his book "A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style" might be a good starting point. The book is directed at women, but his insights into what clothing shapes work on what body shapes and what colors work on which complexions are easily applicable to men.

THere were certain fashion looks from the 1960s that I just couldn't wear because they were made for a body type I didn't have.

As Cole Porter said "Experiment"

[JeffB1959]

Jeff,
You make such an excellent point. Everyone of every sexual orientation has to find the styles and colors that flatter us and make us feel good.

In that regard, the difference between men and women is that women have had more time to experiement. A lot of them don't get it right giving rise to such shows as "Gretta's Got It", "What not to Wear" and "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style"

Speaking of Tim Gunn, his book "A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style" might be a good starting point. The book is directed at women, but his insights into what clothing shapes work on what body shapes and what colors work on which complexions are easily applicable to men.

THere were certain fashion looks from the 1960s that I just couldn't wear because they were made for a body type I didn't have.

As Cole Porter said "Experiment"

I've watched few episodes of "What Not To Wear", and yeah, some of the fashion victims shown showed a regrettable lack of style. I'm probably in the minority here, but it's not nearly enough to simply throw on a skirt with whatever else is in the closet and head out the door, I'm of the belief that a skirt has to be part of an overall outfit that flatters a person from head to toe and makes us look good, otherwise we risk looking foolish while out in public, especially in the case of skirt wearing men who have little margin for error as it is. Style is important, as I've said before, if we look good, then we feel good.

[Peter v]

Jeff,
You make such an excellent point. Everyone of every sexual orientation has to find the styles and colors that flatter us and make us feel good.

In that regard, the difference between men and women is that women have had more time to experiement. A lot of them don't get it right giving rise to such shows as "Gretta's Got It", "What not to Wear" and "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style"

Speaking of Tim Gunn, his book "A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style" might be a good starting point. The book is directed at women, but his insights into what clothing shapes work on what body shapes and what colors work on which complexions are easily applicable to men.

THere were certain fashion looks from the 1960s that I just couldn't wear because they were made for a body type I didn't have.

As Cole Porter said "Experiment"

I've watched few episodes of "What Not To Wear", and yeah, some of the fashion victims shown showed a regrettable lack of style. I'm probably in the minority here, but it's not nearly enough to simply throw on a skirt with whatever else is in the closet and head out the door, I'm of the belief that a skirt has to be part of an overall outfit that flatters a person from head to toe and makes us look good, otherwise we risk looking foolish while out in public, especially in the case of skirt wearing men who have little margin for error as it is. Style is important, as I've said before, if we look good, then we feel good.

You hit the nail on the head. We're not talking male / female, we're talking anybody wearing clothes must get the combination ( of which there are very many possible) right. If it doesn't hurt your eyes, and you feel good in it, you should be all right. There is no one way to dress your self, as everybody is different. It's just that we men must realise that we're not finished when we put a skirt on, but with that comes attention to detail, something which men before wearing skirts most often don't give a Damn about. Once you start getting the feel of it, it is very enjoyable, and makes wearing skirts even more attractive to do. Looking "good " makes you feel good, feeling good shows, people see that and you get compliments back. Isn't it great, wearing skirts? At least we can see beyond the difference of wearing pants or a skirt and WE know we are still the same men we were before, only emotionly richer, being able to express ourselves better and more than before. Still always seen as men in skirts.

Peter v

[ChristopherJ]

I'm probably in the minority here, but it's not nearly enough to simply throw on a skirt with whatever else is in the closet and head out the door, I'm of the belief that a skirt has to be part of an overall outfit that flatters a person from head to toe and makes us look good, otherwise we risk looking foolish while out in public, especially in the case of skirt wearing men who have little margin for error as it is. Style is important, as I've said before, if we look good, then we feel good.

I agree with you completely there Jeff, but for me there are some practical considerations involved - like money!

Men who wear skirts generally need to have two sets of clothes - one set to go with their trousers when they wear them and one set to go with their skirts when they wear them. This is expensive. As I am on a limited income, I am forced to make do with what I have in my wardrobe. So I have to cobble together outfits to go with skirts from clothes that were bought to go with jeans etc. - and so often have to wear an outfit with a skirt that is just about OK - but could definitely look better if I had a different shirt or different jacket etc. etc.

Nevertheless, I do try my best to pay attention to what I look like when skirted. I have sometimes made some awful mistakes (stripey legwarmers!) - but I am learning all the time.

[JeffB1959]

I agree with you completely there Jeff, but for me there are some practical considerations involved - like money!

Well, I'm not rolling in dough myself, I do most, if not all of my shopping at discount stores like K-Mart, but still manage to find nice looking clothes. I feel it's entirely possible to cobble together a decent wardrobe on a budget.

Nevertheless, I do try my best to pay attention to what I look like when skirted. I have sometimes made some awful mistakes (stripey legwarmers!) - but I am learning all the time.

Striped legwarmers? EEEEEEK!! I hope you never posted pics of yourself wearing them! If you did, feel free not to tell me where they are!

[crfriend]

I've watched few episodes of "What Not To Wear", and yeah, some of the fashion victims shown showed a regrettable lack of style.

I've watched [more than] a few of those fashion shows, and am frequently appalled at the outcomes. Even when the "hosts" get someone that's coming on the show that has some really interesting ideas, but can't seem to put them together precisely, they virtually always come out looking like clones with no originality whatsoever -- it's like watching sausage being made. I think the only hope and inspiration we can draw from such shows are the most basic of basics -- what colours go with what, and what shapes flatter certain body types (sometimes).

I'm probably in the minority here, but it's not nearly enough to simply throw on a skirt with whatever else is in the closet and head out the door, I'm of the belief that a skirt has to be part of an overall outfit that flatters a person from head to toe and makes us look good, otherwise we risk looking foolish while out in public, especially in the case of skirt wearing men who have little margin for error as it is. Style is important, as I've said before, if we look good, then we feel good.

Well put. It's also how we carry ourselves whilst skirted. I find I tend to stand up a bit more, slouch less, and generally hold myself with better posture when wearing a skirt than I do when en-trousered -- and that has multiple benefits beyond just looking good.