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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JohnH
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Re: Dresses?

Post by JohnH »

Whenever it rains, a lot of times my cat goes outside and gets thoroughly drenched. Then she comes is through the doggie door and climbs into bed with me. You haven't lived until you have a wet cat snuggling up to you.

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pelmut
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Re: Dresses? (Slightly O.T.)

Post by pelmut »

JohnH wrote: Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:03 pm Whenever it rains, a lot of times my cat goes outside and gets thoroughly drenched. Then she comes is through the doggie door and climbs into bed with me. You haven't lived until you have a wet cat snuggling up to you.

John
Many years ago a lodger asked me to look after his cat for the weekend. During the night it had an attack of diahorrea but stood in its dirt tray and did it over the edge. Then it must have walked through it, wandered into my bedroom and decided to do a tightrope balancing act along the top of the headboard of the bed.

It lost its balance and landed squarely with all four slippery damp paws in my face.  You haven't lived until you have had a diahorrea-covered cat fall on your face in the middle of the night.
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mishawakaskirt
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Re: Dresses? (Slightly O.T.)

Post by mishawakaskirt »

pelmut wrote: Tue Jan 10, 2023 10:43 pm
JohnH wrote: Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:03 pm Whenever it rains, a lot of times my cat goes outside and gets thoroughly drenched. Then she comes is through the doggie door and climbs into bed with me. You haven't lived until you have a wet cat snuggling up to you.

John
Many years ago a lodger asked me to look after his cat for the weekend. During the night it had an attack of diahorrea but stood in its dirt tray and did it over the edge. Then it must have walked through it, wandered into my bedroom and decided to do a tightrope balancing act along the top of the headboard of the bed.

It lost its balance and landed squarely with all four slippery damp paws in my face.  You haven't lived until you have had a diahorrea-covered cat fall on your face in the middle of the night.

That is some thread drift dresses, night shirts to cat diahorreia.

I love night shirts , particularly the men's flannel ones for fall and winter.
I have been wearing those since my child hood.
More recently I have come across some rather long knee length t shirts, I guess they are technically t shirt dresses. I just wear them as a night shirt. Wife doesn't seem to have noticed that the t shirt is knee length. I don't find it something I would wear out in public as a dress.
Too short and too thin to be secure out in public in it as a dress. I have tucked it into trousers and gone in public to run errands and such.

Ah the joys of pet owner ship. No cat diahorreia fortunately.
But just as bad, as a teenager we had a cat and the early morning hours I got up to go to the bathroom. In the dimness of dawn I squarely put my foot in a puddle of our cats vomit. Thinking about it t some 30 years later still about made me gag a little.

Diahorreia, vomit, turds hair balls, all what fun.
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Jim
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Re: Dresses?

Post by Jim »

Midas wrote: Wed Dec 15, 2021 8:50 pm I have seen a lot of comment to the effect that men are the wrong shape to wear dresses. Up to a point this is correct but I don’t think it is for a lot of men.
I bought a new dress for about a dollar at the thrift store a couple days ago. Unfortunately, they still have the COVID policy of not allowing one to try things on, but I took a few measurements with a tape measure and it seemed OK. Getting it home and trying it on and it still looked fine.
DSCN3356s.jpg
Then I tried lifting my arm and it felt like it would rip under the armpit. I think I am the wrong shape for this dress, but no big loss trying.

DSCN3357s.jpg
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moonshadow
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Re: Dresses?

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Jim wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:15 pm Then I tried lifting my arm and it felt like it would rip under the armpit. I think I am the wrong shape for this dress, but no big loss trying.
That's the problem with dresses... they never seem to fit quite right.

And we assume that it's becasue dresses aren't made for males, and maybe that's so, but on the other hand, almost every top and shirt I own is labeled "womens" and they fit fine, so I can't understand what gives here..?
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Re: Dresses?

Post by rivegauche »

I discuss skirts and dresses a lot with women. A lot of these women regard skirts and dresses as uncomfortable and generally avoid wearing them except for formal occasions for exactly this reason. Though most of the criticism is levelled at dresses the same comments would be made about pencil skirts or very long skirts and most (not all) women over 30 tend to have issues about wearing short skirts. Much the same about heels - worn only when really necessary. So the posh dress in the wardrobe only gets worn once every couple of years. Because of this attitude, many (again, not all) women are genuinely mystified by us CHOOSING to wear these clothes when we don't have to. Though there may be a bit of a fit issue with our broad backs or shoulders, I suspect most of the time it isn't us, it's the clothes. There are obviously other women who 'get' our preference for skirts or dresses on hot days or wearing a dress because it make us feel good. Chacun a son gout. You just have to look at the design of dresses women tend to wear in less formal situations - no zips or tailoring or tight skirts - just a simple pullover or button-through style, often also loose. I had one ex who usually wore skirts but detested tights and slips and could not understand why I volunteered for what she saw as torture.
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Re: Dresses?

Post by Grok »

I believe that some women are Skirtonians, but most are not. The ones who are not may have trouble understanding male Skirtonians.
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Re: Dresses?

Post by pelmut »

moonshadow wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 2:21 pm
Jim wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:15 pm Then I tried lifting my arm and it felt like it would rip under the armpit. I think I am the wrong shape for this dress, but no big loss trying.
That's the problem with dresses... they never seem to fit quite right.

And we assume that it's becasue dresses aren't made for males, and maybe that's so, but on the other hand, almost every top and shirt I own is labeled "womens" and they fit fine, so I can't understand what gives here..?
You choose the size of a skirt to fit the waist and downwards, you choose the size of the top to fit shoulders, arms and chest, but the two garments don't have to have exactly the same size number on the tag.  When you buy a dress it is all one size and the ratio between the top and the bottom is designed to fit women, who have narrow shoulders and thin arms, compared with men.

The trick is to go up a couple of sizes above your skirt measurement when buying a dress, then take in the waist with a belt if necessary.  Last Summer I was looking for a Little Black Dress in a charity shop and explained to the assistant that I wanted one that fitted me but didn't make me look the shape I really was.  She laughed and said "I wish" - but then, to the surprise of both of us, I found just what I had been looking for.
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Re: Dresses?

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pelmut wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 5:52 pmThe trick is to go up a couple of sizes above your skirt measurement when buying a dress, then take in the waist with a belt if necessary.  Last Summer I was looking for a Little Black Dress in a charity shop and explained to the assistant that I wanted one that fitted me but didn't make me look the shape I really was.  She laughed and said "I wish" - but then, to the surprise of both of us, I found just what I had been looking for.
That's frequently a comment made by the gals if they're being honest -- because women's "standard sizing" isn't anywhere near "standard". I know that dual-sized dresses used to be available because my late ex- had to make use of them because of her size when she was young. She was broad and busty at the time, and fairly slender below, and the dual-sized dress solved many problems for her. When dresses became functionally obsolete and increasingly hard to find, the dual-size was one of the first things phased out, although likely incorrectly. She brought the idea up to me as a possible solution to my issue (broad shoulders, powerful arms, and a fairly narrow lower section) and found the things to be unobtanium unless you wanted to have one made to measure, which at the time would have cost a small fortune.

Nowadays, there are places that will make to fit -- so long as you can provide accurate measurements. I've got one dress by Sumissura that's a delight, and two from eShakti that are very nice indeed -- and they were affordable purchases. The bugaboo in that process is the measuring. It's virtually impossible to accurately measure one's self so one needs assistance from a friend. There's also the issue that "ease" isn't typically added to the provided measurements, so in the case of my Sumissura dress I cannot wear watches as I didn't measure around the watch when I was measuring myself and specified my wrist circumference which was duly manufactured to the millimetre. So, no watches. Also, if ordering something in a cotton, one must beware of shrinkage -- especially for "long-throw" sections like sleeves and skirts (if long). On my long eShakti dress, which is a cotton poplin, the sleeves are now (after shrinking) 3/4 length, and the skirt no longer can be considered "full length" but rather "ankle length". Food for thought.

Moral: If you're going to go custom, get help in measuring and add a bit. If it "hits the fan" one can always have a skirt hemmed up a bit! (Hint: Shrinkage in the torso area with a jumpsuit presents other problems. I have a long torso.)
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Re: Dresses?

Post by Uncle Al »

Personally, I prefer a raglan sleeve on a dress, not a traditional sleeve.

I've purchased some dresses from Haband(.)com and found I could've gone 1 size smaller due the generous
fit of the garment. It has nice, large pockets and the sleeves are proper length to take the chill off.
When standing, the length is about 5 to 6 inches below the knee which helps when sitting.
Image

Next is a 3/4 sleeve dress. Again its about 5 to 6 inches below the knee.
Problem is - No Pockets :(
Image

and then a sweater dress which I haven't worn yet.
Image

The material of the garment is very flexible and doesn't ride up when reaching up for something.
I saved a bundle as these are on clearance. The total cost of the 3 items was much
less than the shipping charges but, the products are well worth the wait on mailing :D

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Re: Dresses?

Post by Ralph »

Uncle Al wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 9:49 pm I've purchased some dresses from Haband(.)com and found I could've gone 1 size smaller due the generous
fit of the garment. It has nice, large pockets and the sleeves are proper length to take the chill off.
When standing, the length is about 5 to 6 inches below the knee which helps when sitting.
Al, could I trouble you to get actual measurements (I'm specifically interested in waist and shoulder-to-hem) and the label size for those dresses? Interestingly, when I browsed all their dresses the three you posted are the only ones that held any interest for me. I guess we have similar tastes!

It's worth noting that they are offering deep discounts on much of their inventory at the moment.
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Uncle Al
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Re: Dresses?

Post by Uncle Al »

Ralph,
I'm 6'2", around 250LBS. I have a 50" chest and 46" waist.
I ordered a size 2X but after wearing, I could've gone with a 1X.
I won't be able to tell any change, until the items have been washed.
The material is very soft and flexible. Easy to wear.

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Re: Dresses?

Post by Ralph »

Uncle Al wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:18 amI'm 6'2", around 250LBS. I have a 50" chest and 46" waist.
I ordered a size 2X but after wearing, I could've gone with a 1X
Oh, excellent! We're almost exactly the same size, then (chest may be a wee bit smaller, but waist is spot-on). I'll try the 1X and let you know how it works out.
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Re: Dresses?

Post by Uncle Al »

Ralph,

Scroll down on the page to get the measurements
as they are towards the bottom of the page.

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Re: Dresses?

Post by Midas »

I take a size 12 in a skirt and 14 in a dress. But the size is only a guide and there can be a good deal of variation in the fit, even within the same brand.

Recently I bought a dress that was tight around the top, but otherwise okay, so I returned it and tried the next size up. While the bottom half worked, the top was too big, so that one also went back and I had to give up on it. It was a pity because it really was a nice dress.

This was an exceptional situation as most 14s I buy fit perfectly.
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