skirtcafe.org

I realize this isn't "ShortsCafe", but I often find articles discussing historical changes to men's dress interesting, if not even relevant, to our discussions here.

https://flashbak.com/i-think-youve-forg ... ty-407244/

A major shift in men’s clothing didn’t happen until after the war, when new fabrics and the rise of American style, with its preoccupation with leisure-wear, radically changed men’s appearances in the 1960s.

I don't know about women's fashion, but I keep seeing a trend in history that for real change to happen with men's styles, it has to have some external force rather than from within. It seems great turning points are wars, revolutions, and big events that shape the world.

Ii think also it can give those of us nervous folk strength to know that men have gone through this before:

A man wearing shorts to play tennis looks utterly normal these days, but in the early 1930s it attracted much derision. John Kieran wrote about Austin in the New York Times that year:

With his white linen hat and his flannel shorts, the little English player looked like an AA Milne production.

Austin actually had to overcome considerable embarrassment when he decided to wear shorts for the first time and it wasn’t an easy decision:

I myself took over two years to summon up enough courage to wear shorts, although for years I had known how much more healthy, comfortable and reasonable they were for tennis. I hovered in my bedroom…putting them on, taking them off, putting them on again, wrestling with the problem of Hamlet – ‘to be or not to be’. At last I summoned up all my courage, put and kept them on, and waring an overcoat to conceal them as much as possible, went out of the hotel to play. My bare legs protruded beneath the coat and I slunk through the lounge self-consciously. As I passed through the door an agitated porter followed me. ‘Excuse me, Mr Austin’, he whispered diffidently, ‘but I think you’ve forgotten your trousers.

Although I should point out there's a picture of a guy in a tunic/dress, so it is relevant, though I don't know the full context. It has something to do with the "Men's Dress Reform Party"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_D ... form_Party

and gaining approval of the kilt[2] as everyday wear for men.

A very good article, and thank you for it. This paragraph should have resonance with just about everybody on this site [0]:

"I myself took over two years to summon up enough courage to wear shorts, although for years I had known how much more healthy, comfortable and reasonable they were for tennis. I hovered in my bedroom…putting them on, taking them off, putting them on again, wrestling with the problem of Hamlet – ‘to be or not to be’. At last I summoned up all my courage, put and kept them on, and waring an overcoat to conceal them as much as possible, went out of the hotel to play. My bare legs protruded beneath the coat and I slunk through the lounge self-consciously."

I know that I have been through this more than once, particularly in the early days.

[0] Substituting "skirt" for "shorts", naturally.

I'm with you there Dennis, with the should I /shouldn't I conundrum, more in the early days. In the end I get fed up with wavering and think 'To hell with it. If they don't like what I'm wearing, tough!'
Charlie

by Charlie » Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:24 am

I'm with you there Dennis, with the should I /shouldn't I conundrum, more in the early days. In the end I get fed up with wavering and think 'To hell with it. If they don't like what I'm wearing, tough!'
Charlie

Thanks Charlie. [And I enjoy your post line too.]

From reading on this site it certainly seems that the vast majority of us had our early trepidations about venturing out in public in non-bifurcated garments. Sadly, some still do. I was having thoughts along this line earlier today, wondering if I was becoming an exhibitionist -- not of the skin, but of color and style. Asking myself if my rather frequent inclination to wear colorful items, or to just be out in public, were legitimate choices for my activities, or if there were some ulterior motives at work. I've always been a bit of a rebel, but sometimes I wonder if my skirts are chosen solely for my taste and comfort, or if there is an element of "in your face" hoping to deliver a message of fashion freedom for men.

faldaguy, I've always had a penchant for bright colours and garments that were not necessarily in accord with the trends at that time. So no change for me then. If you enjoy bright colours wear them. You may brighten up someone else's day.