We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

General discussion of skirt and kilt-based fashion for men, and stuff that goes with skirts and kilts.
DonP
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We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by DonP »

This site is dedicated to supporting the wearing of skirts by men but I think a greater prevalence of skirt wearing in general would be a good thing. Women seem to prefer pants to skirts for everyday wear so it just serves to make skirts more unusual to see. My wife has many skirts and dresses but almost always chooses pants or shorts. I think I can convince her to wear skirts a little more often but it would be difficult to change her to wearing skirts frequently. I think the more "people" wear skirts, the more they will be accepted in general.
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oldsalt1
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by oldsalt1 »

I agree women don't wear skirts that much. Over the past few months there have been a number of times that I have been an area usually waiting rooms and usually out of the three or four women there only one would have on a skirt. and In many instances I was the only one with a skirt on.
The more people that wear skirts both sexes the more common skirts will become.
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Judah14
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by Judah14 »

On the other hand, I see quite many women wear skirts everyday, even with those wearing some kind of uniform (school, office, etc.) excluded.
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by crfriend »

Most women have jettisoned their skirts in favour of trousers likely for a variety of reasons, some of which are entirely emotional, and I suspect that there's little profit in trying to swim up that particular stream. If we do give it a shot, I worry about a "you sexist pig" backlash that'll only harden their resolve in the issue. This may just be the pessimist in me, but I'd rather focus on getting skirt-wearing for guys accepted than trying to re-hash a decades-old losing battle. Our battle is at least new -- and it's ours.

Stop whinging about what the gals are wearing; you're not going to be able to effect any change; instead, focus on your own aesthetic and style sense.
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by Fred in Skirts »

crfriend wrote:Stop whinging about what the gals are wearing; you're not going to be able to effect any change; instead, focus on your own aesthetic and style sense.
AMEN!! :hooray:
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DonP
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by DonP »

Crfriend, if you can't talk to women without being accused of being sexist, then you probably shouldn't do it. I'm not suggesting you criticize women at the grocery store or on the train. I was suggesting a little closer to home.
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by beachlion »

The guy that started the Dutch Skirtcafe forum went to sewing classes. The lady who gave those lessons was wearing jeans all the time. That guy was sometimes the only one wearing a skirt between the other ladies attending class.
The teacher was more or less forced to wear skirts and dresses by her mother when she was young and therefore hated skirts and dresses. But the forum guy was able to get her into skirts again and after a few months she really liked it.
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by Gordon »

I agree that the majority of women would look better in skirts than jeans and trousers. In fact, since I've been wearing skirts out and about my wife now occasionally is wearing the Skirtcraft skirt I bought for her. I honestly am shocked. She is the jeans and sweatshirt type through and through.

I think some women don't want to look good. Because when they dress up they get the stares and smiles etc from men that they don't want. I think some of them want to be as incognito as possible, to draw no attention to themselves.

I remember stumbling upon a web site with an article that said the same thing. I haven't the foggiest idea where to even look now. It was a few years ago. But it made me pause and think about it. I can certainly understand such an attitude. Afterall, “Men are dogs” ya know.
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by crfriend »

DonP wrote:Crfriend, if you can't talk to women without being accused of being sexist, then you probably shouldn't do it.
I can, and do, speak with women quite frequently and, save for a very few times when holding doors open (where I got blasted for the act) have not had any such problem. I was approaching the matter as a meta-statement not as a personal one.
I'm not suggesting you criticize women at the grocery store or on the train. I was suggesting a little closer to home.
I've tried that. Zero success, even with women I've been intimate with. Hence my conclusion that it's a waste of time. I admit a small sample-size on that count, which I'm actually proud of.

My entire point is that the two sexes are on different paths here. So, the notion of normalising the notion of guys wearing skirts becomes an entirely different thing than trying to get women to wear skirts more often. After all, women wearing skirts isn't (or wasn't) all that unusual -- a skirt on a man, on the other hand, is unusual so the thrust should be to make it less unusual to the point where it's regarded as normative.

As far as the aesthetics go, skirts tend to be more forgiving of the human form than tight-fitting trousers. With all the "body-shaming" that goes on in the feminine realm today I actually find it astonishing that more women don't rediscover the concealing values of skirts. The average human form isn't, after all, the "size zero" prepubescent type that's lauded in the "Fashion world" of today.
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by Grok »

I have looked at fashion threads posted to other forums. One question asked-why don't women wear skirts more?

Most of the responses are by women who describe what they see as draw backs of skirts, with a few women commenting that they like skirts. I suspect that in the future skirts will be seldom worn except by those- male and female-who actually like skirts, the Skirtonians.

A new convention seems to be firmly established-women who prefer two tubes can wear two tubes...and they seem to be the majority of women.
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by moonshadow »

I think we should just encourage people (women and men) to just wear what they want.

Too many people on all sides of the gender spectrum far too often wear that what they don't want to for fear of being a social outcast if they do otherwise.

I say.. to hell with that! :D

I know of many young women who would love to jettison the skirts but they feel they have some moral/religious/etc obligation to wear them. To them I say.. if you want to wear trousers... wear them! It's just clothes.

When we start to say "you should do this" or "you should do that", then we become preachy and generally those type of conversations don't end well.

So go ahead men, wear those pink lacey skirts, go ahead women wear those saggy short pants, wear white after labor day, wear socks with your sandals, etc, etc!

Life's too short to worry about what we wear! Be happy!

Yesterday I went marketing in a long busy gypsy skirt with many different patterns on different tiers. Damn near impossible to match to anything, so I paired it with a black tank and a long light brown cardigan that extended down almost to the back of my knees, and finally as it was pretty chilly I wore my grey hoodie over it and black sneakers.

Did I look like the creepy pigeon feeding cat lady? Probably...
Did I care? NO! :lol: 8)
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by wsherman »

Perhaps, just perhaps if we encourage the women to wear what they want as they want when they want they may intern encourage us to do the same.
The double standard need to die who's got the steak and hammer?
Keep skirting guys the world needs to see that it will be done!
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Edit note: should read: the world needs to see that it can be done!
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by Fred in Skirts »

moonshadow wrote:Yesterday I went marketing in a long busy gypsy skirt with many different patterns on different tiers. Damn near impossible to match to anything, so I paired it with a black tank and a long light brown cardigan that extended down almost to the back of my knees, and finally as it was pretty chilly I wore my grey hoodie over it and black sneakers.
Did I look like the creepy pigeon feeding cat lady? Probably...
Did I care? NO! :lol: 8)
We need to see a picture of that outfit :lol:
I agree that we do not need anymore rules for men or women. We should all wear what we want in what ever combination we like. I have decided that life is too short to not enjoy what we like as long as it harms no one. And the only way we are going to be able to do that is getting out there and doing it!!

Live long and prosper.
"It is better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not" Andre Gide: 1869 - 1951
Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind and the ones that mind don’t matter.
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Pdxfashionpioneer
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

Like Fred said.

Jeepers Carl, you need to move to some other city. Any other city. I can't remember when I was last admonished for holding a door for anyone, male or female. Yeah, I hold doors for other men -- delivery men who have both hands full of packages, men who are with a group, etc. Everyone says, "Thank you." A woman in a wheelchair kicked it up a notch and told me that I proved chivalry wasn't dead with me! Or maybe you should take another look at the glass and see that it really IS half-full.

Here in Portland, women probably wear pants more often than skirts, so what. Yesterday I went to the Symphony in my white silk blouse, black silk skirt (boy they feel nice!) and polyester scarf (how'd the poly get in there?). The lady I was with was in cream-colored slacks and a cream-colored sweater. It cracked her up when she realized she was in slacks and I was in a skirt. I got some bug-eyed looks from some old biddys, which I took to be disapproving. What of it? I enjoyed what I was wearing and was comfortable in it and so should everyone be -- comfortable in what they wear.

But as far as normalizing goes, for sure the more guys who wear skirts in public, the more normal it will become. That may take some of the thrill away, but the safety factor would work wonders. I don't give a damn if Joe Sixpack gets a little freaked out when I pick up the "Transgendered" label because it makes me part of the LGBT constellation that has workplace rights. Once it gets into the standard corporate dress code that it's ok for men to wear skirts and dresses appropriate to that workplace, the walls will quickly come a tumblin' down. And Joe Sixpack will hop on board the train for the novelty of it and not worry about the labels. Generally, they don't. At least the construction types I know. Typically, they're pretty independent cusses so labels don't really matter all that much to them.

So let's stop worrying about whether or not denim or khaki skirts look like shorts. They don't! They look like denim or khaki skirts.

Haven't you had enough of denim and khaki already? HAVE FUN!!! Be a man! Go Big or stay home! Wear your skirts with pride! Especially the real fancy, colorful ones.

And don't forget the safety pin in your collar or lapel.
David, the PDX Fashion Pioneer

Social norms aren't changed by Congress or Parliament; they're changed by a sufficient number of people ignoring the existing ones and publicly practicing new ones.
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Re: We should encourage women to wear skirts more often

Post by crfriend »

Pdxfashionpioneer wrote:Jeepers Carl, you need to move to some other city. Any other city. I can't remember when I was last admonished for holding a door for anyone, male or female.
That was from back in the '90s when I still worked in Boston -- not the world's friendliest city to be sure, but not a Hell-hole either -- and it rather stuck in my craw because one never expects rudeness in return for courtesy. It may have been more of the shock that got my dander up over it.
Yesterday I went to the Symphony in my white silk blouse, black silk skirt (boy they feel nice!) and polyester scarf (how'd the poly get in there?).
For the win! I need to get myself a couple of silk skirts some time; those are wonderful beyond belief.
And don't forget the safety pin in your collar or lapel.
What's the symbolism of safety-pins now? I use those for semi-permanent holds on stuff and anchors for watch-chains in some of my waistcoats, but not for visible adornment.
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