Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

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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oldsalt1
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by oldsalt1 »

I think that anyone man or woman wearing a robe or a full length tunic out in public would draw a great deal of attention.

Please I am not being racist but the long tunics which I think you are referring too are usually worn by certain ethnic groups. When I see someone wearing this type of garment , I would look at the face,

to determine the ethnicity of the wearer. Maybe this is racist but my reaction to the person would be determined by the results of this observation
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Kirbstone
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by Kirbstone »

...and if they're of a certain persuasion and female you won't get a look at their face, either!

Tom
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skirtingtheissue
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by skirtingtheissue »

weeladdie18 wrote:As a " Man in a Skirt " for many years , I find it interesting that many of my friends share my doubts concerning wearing dresses in Public......Perhaps this is because we have no experience of going out on
the street as a " Man in a Dress ", thus we have no confidence in dressing in this different style of attire....
The latest thoughts on becoming " a Man in a Tunic or a Robe " might be a greater success for me...
I used to think the same way -- "I've loved skirts, but dresses? REALLY?" I thought that was just too radical! Well, I thought about it and bought a plain denim shirtdress and found that works for me very well!

So I'm going to tread lightly on the Dresses path and see where it takes me. Just as with skirts there is a great continuum from plain to feminine. I don't have much confidence wearing strappy or sleeveless affairs -- doesn't really work for me -- but I do like feminine touches and next Spring will check out the dress sections as well as the skirt sections. And robes and tunics aren't my style so I don't think I'll go there.

-----Henry
When I heard about skirting, I jumped in with both feet!
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Sinned
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by Sinned »

MOH gave me some dresses very early in my skirting history. They are mostly black or dark blue, sleeveless, which I prefer, and ones that she considers too short for her. Some of them are short and hark back to when she was a lot younger and more carefree. Now she considers them too young for her, the very reason I consider them right for me. I have started wearing them around the house when she is absent. I am slowly getting used to them although it will probably take me a lot longer to venture out ion them. Even though they are fantastically comfortable, somehow the difference between a skirt and top [0] and a dress is of at least an order of magnitude. I know that some of you wear dresses out and encounter no problems, and if I were to wear a dress out I would probably meet the same reaction, the major impediment I KNOW is in my own mind. I know that but the lifetime of conditioning is so difficult to overcome. Plus, I think that MOH is really expecting me to get into dresses as part of my descent into wanton femininity and I don't want her to be proved right. Mrs Always. The conflict is always difficult but I can live with this and not lose any sleep over it.

[0] even a girly one.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Pdxfashionpioneer
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

weeladdie18 wrote:" Just go for It " ......weeladdie
I was originally going to send this train of thought as a PM to Weeladdie18, but I realized there are plenty of other members who may need to hear this as well.

I see a lot of agonizing over what is accepted and what isn't, how there's a double clothing standard in our Western culture, how awfully unfair it is, and OMG!!! what if someone mistook me for a trannie or a gay or a God knows what???

If you resemble that remark whatsoever, do yourself a favor and look in Pics and Looks at JeffB's photos, Mark as in Mark's, Robert's, Oldsalt1's, SkirtDad's, even Kilted John's for that matter. I'd say me too, but I get the impression that lots of you don't quite know what to make of me. Then read the narratives of our outings. All of us do NOTHING to disguise the fact that we're wearing clothes from the women's department. None of us get any flak for it. Amongst us we have documented loads of favorable responses from the public at large. We're scattered all over the US and Europe so it can't be that we happened to wind up in some weird outlying bubble of acceptance.

Conclusions: Our world has changed over the last 10-15 years. People are a whole lot more accepting. As a great US President put it one time, referring to a lot more dire and impactful situation, "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. Irrational, unreasoning fear." As Nike put it, with the exceptions of where our actions will impinge on our jobs or on our families, "Just do it."

I make the exceptions for job and family because both are so valuable and so much an integral part of our identities that they deserve the extra thought and attention nearly all of us give to them. But even there, the Dear Abby (Or was it Ann Landers?) standard applies, "Are you better off with (it) her or without (it) her?" because a whole lot more of your identity is wrapped up in your desire to wear skirts than you may realize.

I had no idea how much of my own identity is wrapped up in my clothing choices -- or perhaps my willingness to make them choices, rather than prescriptions -- until I made skirts and dresses part of my daily wear.

To paraphrase Karl Marx, "Trousered men of the Café, proudly and openly wear your skirts and dresses in public! You have nothing to lose but your chains!" ;)
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: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by weeladdie18 »

I would agree with Dave P D X...... We are all travelling down the same road between our own
moving goal posts at different speeds as our experience and our personal confidence grows.

....We are unlikely to meet any of our friends from the Skirt Café in our travels.

How we choose to dress is our personal individual choice.... Today I knew I was likely to get
wet in the rain showers , so I went back to wearing my male clothes and my summer skirt,
bare legs and knee high flat soled leather boots...My light weight summer skirt would have dried
under my car heater if I had been caught in a shower. I was out in a temperature of 12 C and fortunately avoided the rain. Another pleasant and uneventful day .
...Stars and a waxing moon this evening
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by crfriend »

weeladdie18 wrote:We are unlikely to meet any of our friends from the Skirt Café in our travels.
Once in a while our circles intersect, and if we're very lucky it's not just a lat/lon intersection but also a temporal one. From this is this stuff that magic is made from.
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john62
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by john62 »

Also in Australia, well at least three of us.

John
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by weeladdie18 »

Dave , Thank you for your thoughts addressed to me...one of the general problems is that we cannot
get... " off the peg skirts and dresses "... in the normal male sizes....in our male outfitters.
This is a constraint on our fashion freedom

We are forced to cross the isle to gain our freedom...but then it is not our freedom as we still have
to face the community, our employers and our families.
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by weeladdie18 »

[quote="Pdxfashionpioneer"]As Jeff's tagline puts it …

I mostly wear dresses, all kinds of dresses, including florals, though not ruffled but only one tiered and that doesn't include the bodice. No one has treated me as anything but a man.

I have had a few people double check how I identify myself, but only because they were trying to be considerate.

The first time I wore an evening gown to an event, the organizer thanked me for wearing it because she was trying to raise its formality and felt I was setting the fashion pace.

So, as Jeff said, if you see a dress you like, for whatever reason, buy it and wear it in public! As a lady friend of mine put it, "Dresses are so damned comfortable!" No waistband cutting you in two.

And wear it with pride! Don't hide it under a jacket, unless it's chilly or completes the outfit, or a shirt, why would you want to do that?

Thanks for your comment, Dave.
When folks ask me why I am wearing a skirt or a dress, I will explain that I am wearing the latest male fashion.

I will clarify this by claiming that I am wearing....... " A Retro " ......however can the latest fashion go backwards in time ?
Last edited by weeladdie18 on Wed Jan 02, 2019 8:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
weeladdie18
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by weeladdie18 »

Pdxfashionpioneer wrote:
weeladdie18 wrote:" Just go for It " ......weeladdie
I was originally going to send this train of thought as a PM to Weeladdie18, but I realized there are plenty of other members who may need to hear this as well.

I see a lot of agonizing over what is accepted and what isn't, how there's a double clothing standard in our Western culture, how awfully unfair it is, and OMG!!! what if someone mistook me for a trannie or a gay or a God knows what

Perhaps one of the most serious social problems to face us in 2019 , is that any of us could become an ethnic minority
in our own family home in our social community and seriously consider relocating whilst being a " Man in a Retro ".
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by STEVIE »

If anyone makes any assumption about you based on what you are wearing, that is a problem for them alone.
If you are comfortable and happy it's easy, "don't give a *****"
If you feel otherwise, just stick with the flock and nobody will even look once.
Steve.
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by weeladdie18 »

Thank you for your comment Stevie ; it has been suggested that "skirts for men " will not become fashionable for men until
more men chose to wear their skirts......

I am waiting for the day when man will not have to cross the gender isle to buy his skirt off the peg......

When we look at the World "out in the wild " we see that the majority of females are wearing trousers.

When will we , the male , ever learn ?.................weeladdie
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by weeladdie18 »

I am just going out as a " Man in a Skirt ".....It has been suggested by a female friend that the " Man in a Skirt " is good for a laugh....

Perhaps this is a positive and radical way of thinking....Often ,this style of attire is just another non event ......
for another day in a chosen lifestyle........weeladdie
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Re: Men in Traditional Summer Dresses

Post by STEVIE »

Hi Wee Laddie
I disagree with your chum if she simply means that men in skirts are only good for a laugh, That has connotations of derision.
I certainly agree that some level of humour is vital when we challenge fashion norms as we do.
As for specific skirts for men, they are available at a price. A price which is quite absurd in my opinion.
Up until now, crossing the aisle has served me perfectly adequately and will hopefully continue to do so in the future.
As for growing popularity, that will be down to the serendipity and fickleness of fashion.
Steve.
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