Wearing a Dress in Public Today

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.
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r.m.anderson
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by r.m.anderson »

Is that the Bank mug shot as you are about to ransack the ATM machine ? LOL ! Well maybe LOL ?
"YES SKIRTING MATTERS"!
"Kilt-On" -or- as the case may be "Skirt-On" !
WHY ?
Isn't wearing a kilt enough?
Well a skirt will do in a pinch!
Make mine short and don't you dare think of pinching there !
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oldsalt1
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by oldsalt1 »

Boy you got that right. The bank is in the heart of town. I wear skirts quite often in town but tonight I have a dress on which is a big step to me.

it was 6:30 Sunday night . I figured I could run in make a deposit and be out in a second.

No such luck I go in put my card in put in the code in when the prompt comes up I say I want to make a deposit.

The slot for the deposit opens up. I start to put the checks in and it closes , The checks would not go in . Than it tells me it couldn't process the deposit and says it is going to return the checks .

The checks didn't go in so there were no checks to return. By this time my fast trip is about 10 minutes long as I am standing there waiting for the machine to finish its cycle so I can redeposit the checks.

Finally I think it burped and a notice came that for security purposes they are going to hold my card and it shut me out.

I have a feeling that whenever they have what they call a security problem with the teller machine they take pictures of their area with their security cameras.
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by Fred in Skirts »

I had one of those damn machine steal my card so I called the banks 24 hr hotline and got a live person and told them what happened. They said there was nothing they could do until the security company the opens and fills the machine came to do the refilling and emptying and that would not be for another three days. I then asked what did they think I was going to do for money in those next three days. No Answer. The next morning I went to the bank and talked to the manager. The machine people were called and came out and opened the machine and not only did I get my card but my money too.
It had already been charged to my account.
"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.
foothill
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by foothill »

I wore a dress to work one day in June to celebrate Pride month. I don't usually wear dresses but it seemed like a good opportunity. This is at a shared work space and the owner pictured with me posted the photo, with my permission, on the company web site, Facebook, and Instagram. All the comments were very positive.[attachment=0]WORK_Dress.JPG[/attachment]
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STEVIE
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by STEVIE »

Hi Foothi
Congratulations on two counts.
That is a very good look that you have got there.
The icing on the cake, you seem to have won a heart for our cause too.
All good
Steve.
Ralph
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by Ralph »

Hmmmm, possibly. But since the occasion was to express support for Pride, that's generally associated with LGBT and the rest of that alphabet soup. I wonder what are the odds the nice supportive lady assumes he's L,G,B,T,Q or whatever?

As opposition to gay/trans lifestyles erodes, society seems to respond more favorably to those folk and they're ok with a bloke in a dress as long as he's in the LGBTQetc. crowd. But just being a straight white male in a dress? Oh no, that's just weird. Or a joke.

*sigh* stupid society.
Ralph!
STEVIE
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by STEVIE »

Hi Ralph,
That sounded a tad pessimistic.
I hear what you are saying but in my own experience only a minority of comments indicated that the speaker assumed that I was part of the LGBT community.
Equally, I'm not bothered anyway. I'm out there, I have presented an alternative mode of dress and made them think whatever.
That's job done as far as I am concerned.
You are correct though, "Society" can be incredibly stupid in all manner of ways. Hope for change is all we have.
Steve.
weeladdie18
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by weeladdie18 »

I am not quite sure how anyone could say that I ,personally , could relate to any particular community or group.
These days I never see any other..... " Men in Skirts " .........or T.V. s . out on the street..

Every day in our muddy winter weather I see folks in green rubber wellington boots.....I wear my green wellies out in my garden
and then go to town wearing wellies with my skirt.....This is not a fashion thing,.... this is just a practicality to keep
my tootsies warm and dry.

With the temperature down to 8 C in the wind chill I often wear my winter knee high zip up boots . With the generally colder
weather I have taken to wearing black Long Johns or female leggings....for practical reasons I wear these garments under
my chosen smart skirt when I go to town....this is all more for practicality rather then style.

I sometimes get my longer full skirts tangled up with the runners from my blackberry bushes .
The solution is to cut back the runners in my garden , rather than change into trousers.........
Perhaps my personal comfort takes priority over the practicality of wearing trousers.................weeladdie
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Caultron
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by Caultron »

Ralph wrote:...As opposition to gay/trans lifestyles erodes, society seems to respond more favorably to those folk and they're ok with a bloke in a dress as long as he's in the LGBTQetc. crowd. But just being a straight white male in a dress? Oh no, that's just weird. Or a joke...
Has someone actually asked you if you're LGBTQ, and then you said no, and then they argued with you?

Or are you just afraid they might?

Or are you afraid you might be and that upsets you?

What's the matter with being LGBTQ?

If LGBTQ became LGBTQM, where M stood for men in skirts, would you be OK with that?

Anyway, all such stereotypes, including straight, are imprecise and arbitrary, so I wouldn't sweat different opinions.
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

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Ralph
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by Ralph »

Goodness, so many questions!

Yes, people have asked me if I'm trans-whatever. When I explained that I am not, they didn't argue; they just smirked like they know me better than I do. No, there's nothing the matter with it. I'm no more or less annoyed at being mischaracterized as gay/trans as I am about being right-handed, or female, or mentally handicapped (all of which have happened at various times).

That's not the point. My point isn't that I am uncomfortable with how people respond to me personally; my point is that if they assume that men in skirts are just trans*, we're not making any headway into "men in skirts" becoming a concept that society in general can wrap its collective head around without leaping to false conclusions, applying stereotypes and prejudices against us, etc.

On a side note, I was also expressing the annoyance that these days society is perfectly OK (with some ever-dwindling exceptions) with men who come out as gay, bi, transgender, or transsexual but still sees men in skirts as freaks. Yes, Stevie, that's extremely pessimistic. Five decades of being marginalized have burned me fresh out of optimism.
Ralph!
STEVIE
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by STEVIE »

Hi Ralph,
I can fully empathise with your feelings of being marginalised.
In terms of weirdness, I now bear more than a passing resemblance to Chris Kringle. I haven't seen a barber since October.
Mistaking me for being transgendered would be an almighty leap, gay would just be a matter of opinion.
Anyway, all we mortals can do is live in hope or die in despair.
Steve.
foothill
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by foothill »

Just to clear things up about my wearing a dress to my shared work space during Pride month. I have been going there for about five years. I sometimes wear a skirt or skort and no one has ever noticed. Everyone there knows that I am a straight married combat veteran of the Vietnam war. I wore that dress on the day we have our coffee social and I made the point that the worldwide celebration of Pride day/week/month began as a tribute to the transvestites/crossdressers/whatever who pushed back against the police during the Stonewall riots in New York City in 1969. They were men who enjoyed wearing dresses and skirts. They were the forerunners of today's LGBQT community. You and I do not have to be the member of any community but we should remember that, no matter what their sexual orientation, it took a lot of courage to resist the police and society in defense of their right to wear the clothing of their choice.
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moonshadow
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by moonshadow »

foothill wrote: I wore that dress on the day we have our coffee social and I made the point that the worldwide celebration of Pride day/week/month began as a tribute to the transvestites/crossdressers/whatever who pushed back against the police during the Stonewall riots in New York City in 1969. They were men who enjoyed wearing dresses and skirts. They were the forerunners of today's LGBQT community. You and I do not have to be the member of any community but we should remember that, no matter what their sexual orientation, it took a lot of courage to resist the police and society in defense of their right to wear the clothing of their choice.
Thank you for posting that. I paints a very humbling perspective for me personally and I would hope a few others too.

I can only imagine bawking at gender norms in the 1960s, during the highlight of so many social issues already taking place. The courage that those crossdressers displayed during such an intolerant and turbulent period in our recent history can not be understated.

It is because of people like those that I am able to wear what I want in the backwoods of Appalachia, mostly unharrassed. I'll probably never have to face the demons they did, because of them.

So thanks again for posting that.

Here's the the gurls! :cheers:
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
STEVIE
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by STEVIE »

Hi Foothill
I would add to Moons' comments.
We have all to be grateful for the ones who paved the way for us.
No exaggeration that we "stand on the shoulders of giants".
I can only hope that I am worthy to carry the mantle forward.
Steve.
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moonshadow
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Re: Wearing a Dress in Public Today

Post by moonshadow »

Indeed... I was just reading the wikipedia article on "the stonewall riots"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots

Read the "background" section....

All I can say is.... Jesus. It's almost inconceivable that this took place under an American flag. This is the type of thing you'd expect in the most totalitarian of states.

Other than that I'm at a loss for words.... God bless them.

And yes, if you read the article, though many of us may not fall in the LGBT group, it is clear that there is no way in hell we'd be allowed to wear our chosen skirts during that period.
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
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