I tend to agree. If I were a gay bloke in my twenties, I'd play hell with as many conventions as I dared, but I'm not, and I cannot push at more than one conventional boundary at a time (or maybe two) without feeling uncomfortable. I am aware of my own automatic mental reactions to the unconventional, even if I can set them aside. If you ever see me out in public in a mini skirt with sheer lingerie and high heels, you can assume that I'm either astoundingly drunk or raising money for charity. (In fact, it would have to be the latter, as I doubt I could walk in heels if drunk!)Dust wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 12:02 pm They're more like "guidelines" than actual rules...
Aesthetic guidelines. Ones that help make an outfit that breaks one of the biggest social taboos (male skirt wearing) look as good (masculine?) as possible, lessening the incongruous nature of the final product. Makes us look as well put together, thought out, and intentional as possible.
Women play with proportions all the time, to look younger, sexier, etc. Sexy, especially, is not what we're going for. I wish we were at a point where men could have that kind of fun, but we're not. And for those with hesitant spouses, such things could spell disaster.
Even menswear that bends the rules a bit to emphasize the wearer's youth gets a fair amount of pushback in some circles. So many of us tread lightly...
As for jacket lengths, I watched some YouTube clips of Irish dancing, in the good old days (before Riverdance) when the men wore kilts for dancing, and the jackets are really quite long, so I think I shall try to worry less about it (and work on my unanswerable logical arguments for persuading Mrs Bookworm)!