Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

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.
Faldaguy
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1122
Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2020 5:09 am
Location: Costa Rica

Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by Faldaguy »

Milos comment in another thread ---
by miloshlavka » Mon Jan 04, 2021 1:51 pm

Yes, these skirts can seem a little too feminine, but they are comfortable. I think their feminine look doesn't matter much, at least for wearing at home.
--- prompted the question: Have you got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

I've got skirts I don't wear often, or I wear for selected time, activity, weather, or are just a bit too short/risque for all but home or 'private' -- but I think I've only got one that I've not worn at all --- a new Straight, brown, 17" stretch rayon from International Concepts, list at $80 but bought on deep discount that has bold Gold and White sequin patterns over most of the front -- very "club" flashy. I wear most anything from crotch to floor length, plain to floral or wild patterns, most styles, fabrics and weights -- with little regard for their "feminine" or other appearance -- but somehow this skirt has hung in my closet for a few years without getting the light of day. How about you?
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by moonshadow »

I'm not really "afraid" to wear anything, though there are days when I don't want the added attention that certain garments generate.

As for modesty, I have a few skirts with hems just above the knee by a few inches. I have discovered this is the limit to what Jenn will allow generally.

But truthfully I stand in agreement with her anyway... I don't have the guts to wear a "mini-skirt"...
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
STEVIE
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 4187
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:01 pm
Location: North East Scotland.

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by STEVIE »

Hi Guys
The short answer is no, I don't.
It is rather like having a thousand skirts to choose from, pointless.
What good reason can there be for hanging onto a garment that will never see the light of day?
We all seem to have a good estimation of the charity shops.
Let it go to the one of your choice and be satisfied that it has done some good.
Steve.
User avatar
Jim
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1551
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 1:39 am
Location: Northern Illinois, USA

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by Jim »

I shared a picture of this dress before. I keep it for laughs, not wearing outside.
sew-cute_2c.jpg
I still wonder how what looks like a design for a little girl fits an old man!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
Sinned
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 5804
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:28 pm
Location: York, England

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by Sinned »

I don't have any skirts ( or dresses ) that I'm afraid to wear but I have some that I wouldn't wear out of the house. For example, I have a pink skirt with dark pink hearts, elasticated waist that is very, very short ( think SD short ) and I ain't into wearing skirts that short outside. So it's not fear, it's consideration for other's feelings ( MOH's for one ), manners and propriety.
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.
User avatar
denimini
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 3224
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:50 am
Location: Outback Australia

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by denimini »

I have some micro skirts, less than 11", that I would not wear in public. I will wear them around home and if someone called in that's OK as I am on my own turf.
Anthony, a denim miniskirt wearer in Outback Australia
User avatar
JeffB1959
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 2218
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:19 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by JeffB1959 »

That would be a "nope" from me. When I buy a skirt, it's for the express purpose of wearing in public.
I don't want to LOOK like a woman, I just want to DRESS like a woman.
rivegauche
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 541
Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:05 pm

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by rivegauche »

I am with Sinned on this one. It is nothing to do with being afraid - it is a matter of propriety and taste. I have very few skirts shorter than 21" and I hardly ever wear them even at home - I don't really see the point of going that short. I did once wear a 15" one outside (as a man) but with very thick tights and knee-high boots. I have other skirts that I wear for fun such as a flounced cotton print maxi which looks AWFUL but is fun to wear - I wouldn't ever let anyone else see me it. I have over 1000 skirts and there are probably only 5-6 I would describe as unwearable in public. Most are in good taste. I also crossdress and have been given a row by women for not wearing a shorter skirt because I have the legs for it, so now when I go out dressed as a woman I often wear a short dress, but if the skirt of the dress is more than a couple of inches above my knee I will wear opaque tights. Though I wear skirts in public as a man I tend to dresses when dressed as a woman, but really the same rules of length and taste apply to both. And which ever gender I am presenting, my taste does not involve flounces, frills or lace, and I am not keen on satin or heart or animal prints - again it is a taste thing. I like to look classy in any of my clothes, and have had colour and style consultations for both gender presentations. Apparently I should wear either 21" skirts or skirts >34" but nothing in between. However I often wear pencil skirts between the two lengths (more often in guy mode).
User avatar
r.m.anderson
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 2601
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:25 pm
Location: Burnsville MN USA

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by r.m.anderson »

For me it would be not so much being afraid to wear a certain skirt -
but more of wearing that skirt with the associated accessories and proper co-ordination.
Certainly would not think of wearing a costume befitting of being labeled a court jester -
a kilt and a blouse of two opposing tartans etc.
wearing a horizontal stripped skirt with a vertical design blouse.
Wrong color for the occasion - and not wearing WHITE after USA Labor Day eck stupid rule.
Wearing a mini-skirt showing way too much PH tights legwear and a flash of skin - what was I thinking of ?

Yet I would buy that skirt to wear another day to wear with something else -
Sometimes finding that jewel gem in a sale that doesn't come around that often - seize the moment.
Often that skirt may have a mate with a pattern color that works well with other things in the wardrobe -
A 2fer or BOGO sale for instance.

I would never buy a skirt to wear in the shadows - the dark of night - just to hang in the closet - well maybe
to wear once to a costume (Halloween) party - or - perhaps to rework the sizing to fit (a work in progress).

Of course if you are SkirtsDad and being blessed to have a constant inventory at hand to liven the scene
but then I don't think that there is the FEAR factor to worry about.

2nd thoughts about that skirt - simply re-gift it or re-purpose it to charity - or - the devil made me wear/buy this ! 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 !
Big and Bashful
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 2921
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:51 pm
Location: Scottish West Coast

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by Big and Bashful »

Several, bought through curiosity.

Thought process has been known to go as follows:
Wine is nice,
watch a film or youtube video and see something, maybe a hobble skirt, maybe a skirt with train, maybe a hoopy something,
think: Hmmm, I wonder what that would be like?
Later that day/drink; Ooh look, my computer with an internet or EBay on the other side,
If I see one that might fit, order one,
When it arrives, either it fits or it doesn't, if it does is it wearable, comfortable, amusing or not,
If it doesn't fit right, either try again or give up on the idea.

So I have a selection of skirts I don't mind being seen in, and a few which I would be very embarrassed to be "caught" in.
I am the God of Hellfire! and I bring you truffles!
User avatar
Pdxfashionpioneer
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1650
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:39 am
Location: Portland, OR, USA

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

I have two sequin skirts; one is VERY short, the other is even shorter. The stupid part is that I bought the shorter one after I already had the barely wearable one.

But it seemed like such a great idea at the time ($5 at Goodwill and it looked like it would keep my private parts private.

Well, I pounded down 2 splits of prosecco while home alone on New Year's Eve. About halfway through the first one I thought I would put on the obscenely short skirt, but pair it up with my silver sequin top.

I'll probably get rid of both of them because cute as they may be, the skirt is just simply unwearable -- It's not just that I can't sit in it, I'm not convinced I can even STAND in it -- and the top just kin of hangs on me. I'd have to have a figure rivaling Jayne Mansfield's for it to even approach my sides. let alone fit.

It's a shame; they're both cute, but if I can't wear them, they're just wasting closet space.
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.
User avatar
crfriend
Master Barista
Posts: 14431
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 9:52 pm
Location: New England (U.S.)
Contact:

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by crfriend »

Pdxfashionpioneer wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 1:07 pmIt's a shame; they're both cute, but if I can't wear them, they're just wasting closet space.
There's the crux of the matter.

I have a similar problem at the moment, but rather than it being a vertical problem it's a horizontal one -- I've lost so much weight I've dropped at least one full size and some of my really really nice skirts simply fall off me at the moment and are irreplaceable. I can likely have them taken in a bit, but what happens if I gain the weight back?
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
User avatar
Pdxfashionpioneer
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1650
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:39 am
Location: Portland, OR, USA

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

Make sure they don't cut out the excess fabric, but instead have them retain it in the seam allowances. That's why good quality clothes have such generous seam allowances.
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.
User avatar
crfriend
Master Barista
Posts: 14431
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 9:52 pm
Location: New England (U.S.)
Contact:

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by crfriend »

Pdxfashionpioneer wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:42 pmMake sure they don't cut out the excess fabric, but instead have them retain it in the seam allowances. That's why good quality clothes have such generous seam allowances.
That's a great idea! Thanks.

What I may do is explain the need and the (hopeful) need for reversal in the future.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
Coder
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 2649
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2019 4:40 am
Location: Southeast Michigan

Re: Got a skirt you are afraid to wear?

Post by Coder »

I bought a used skirt listed as a size 8 - but it didn't fit me, which was really strange. When I looked at it closer someone had darted the waist - removing the two darts brought it back to the correct size. There was no permanent damage to the fabric, and that may be an option as well. Darting isn't perfect - for instance it may not reduce the hip width, which if too wide will also look funny.
Post Reply