Out and About -- In the World at Large

[johnb]

The encouragement is my reason for posting items like that; it was other folks reports of the sky staying up and the earth continuing to rotate that encouraged me to be open about wearing skirts and I feel that I owe it to the forum to continue to remind others that what we wear is up to us, we should not let fear dictate our choice of apparel.


Ian.

Whilst the sky hasn't fallen on my head yet, my wife is taking no chances. Yesterday afternoon I suggested going for a walk in what happens to be a relatively out of the way area. I went to put my camo kilt on, but my wife said that if I wasn't going to wear shorts or trousers she wasn't going. Whilst I did think about suggesting that I wouldn't go if she didn't wear a skirt, rather than trousers, that didn't seem a very constructive way to take things forward. So shorts it was !

Today when I went out on my own to meet a friend, I wore the said kilt without any comment from my wife. On the way I went to a local convenience store, and did a load of photocopying, whilst on the way back called in at a tearoom, and then a retail park stationery shop. As Ian says Ian the sky is still up there, and the earth is still rotating. I just need to convince my wife that its all perfectly safe !

John

[Since1982]

Whilst I did think about suggesting that I wouldn't go if she didn't wear a skirt, rather than trousers, that didn't seem a very constructive way to take things forward. So shorts it was !

Way to fold, melt and give up. Before either person even put any article of clothing on. You should go buy her a whip and harness for better mind and body control of you.

[crfriend]

Way to fold, melt and give up. Before either person even put any article of clothing on. You should go buy her a whip and harness for better mind and body control of you.

Don't be so hasty to jump to judgment; there is likely more to this than immediately meets the eye.

It's worth recalling that in most relationships what happens tends to be consensual. Now, sometimes it's a case of a mutually-arrived-upon set of behaviours and sometimes it's a case of "easier to put up and shut up" than cause a ruckus. We do not know the precise case here, so there's no point in demonising one partner at the outset.

Now, as presented, there is a case, potentially, to be made for fear on the part of his wife -- "What will society think of me if my husband wears a skirt?" -- and that, sadly, seems moderately common, mainly because it's us (guys who wear skirted garments) who are "thinking outside the box". That act can be downright terrifying to some, so some sensitivity is required. Not all of us are lucky enough who have partners who know us well enough and who are confident enough in their own position to accept the risk of being seen with a "radical thinker".

The "facts on the ground" tend to indicate that nobody really cares. This facet came up yesterday when I decided to go a visit a bartender friend of mine who used to work at my local watering-hole but has since gotten his own place. The hamlet i live in is a fairly sleepy place, and my sartorial sense seems well-accepted; yesterday took me to Leominster which is considerably more gritty than here, and I seriously contemplated ditching the skirt for trousers -- until, that is, the temperature got up into the low 30s (C) and I would have cooked in the car. So, a skirt it was -- a purple tiered skirt with some mesh and lace trim paired with a blue and purple Hawaiian shirt -- and a bag because this rig has no pockets and I was also carrying the pager from work (which requires offboard optics because my onboard ones are getting a bit stiff with age).

I confidently walked into this decidedly "male" bar (no pretense of "lounge" or "pub" whatsoever), was immediately recognised by the proprietor, plopped myself down at the bar, ordered myself a Guinness (this guy has class, no matter where he goes), and spent a couple of hours "shooting the bull" with him and other customers. Guess what -- there was not one, even a single, comment on my attire. The sky stayed firmly affixed above, the Sun came up this morning (making a returned rooster crow in the back room), and I went to work the same way I've done for the past 30 years, with 1+ of those actively opting for skirts now and then. The ground didn't even shake.

[sapphire]

I think the key to Carl's story is that if you are comfortable and assured in your attire and you masculinity, the chances are more likely that you will just be accepted. Maybe get a polite question or two. Well, that seems to be the case here in Central Massachusetts.

On the other side of the equation, our local great big biker guy with long hair and very many tatoos is equally accepted. He's a total softie under the macho image. He and Carl get along just fine.

[wsherman]

Hi All!
I've enjoyed the posts of this thread. it is always interesting to hear of the encounters as one ventures out into the the big wide world.

Wyo. I used to live in Wyoming out in the west end of the state and know about the good people who live there. It is a lovely part of the world. I've done much hunting and fishing there although that was before I began to wear the kilt. I called Big Piney and the Sheridan areas home for some years before ending up in the flatlands of North Dakota. What part do you call home? If I may ask?

I am of Scots daecent tracing my lineage back to the 1600's so the kilt is a natural for me and most of the time it is what I wear, but I have found that on the hottest of days something like the Mountain Kilt is much more comfortable. My dear wife is very much accepting of the kilt but balks at the skirts beyond the confines of the house and yard. Recently I purchased the ElKommando Kilt and she was concerned about my wearing it in public until she saw the pleats, then it was ok. It's too bad the darn thing is sized too small. When I bought it from Amazon there was no indication that it ran small. Grrrr! I need anXL instead of the Large I've got, so it hangs in the closet. They're not available right now but when nest years inventory comes out I'll be able to get one that fits me.

The kilt I've found is a non-issue with folks and always is well recieved with few exceptions. There have been a couple that have really stood out though.
One was a lady who lives two doors up who told my wife that "She wouldn't let her husband go around that like that as it looked so Gay!" My wife smiled and said we've been married 37 years and I know he's a man." Her boyfriend i'm told said "I thing it's cool!" "grin"
The other is a bit more disturbing though. We have a "Nephew" whose parents are no longer together who told his son all I needed was a bra! The boy is 8 and we've taken care of him since he was born aand I hate for hinto have to hear that kind of attitude. His Dad is a Redneck in the worst sense of the tern. I'n open to suggestions on that one.
Well I'll give it a rest now.

Slainte'
Wsherman

[Kirbstone]

Wsherman,
Re: the redneck Dad......Have you considered using the one meter lasso length of piano wire between two large handles?
Slainte,

Tom K.

[wsherman]

Wsherman,
Re: the redneck Dad......Have you considered using the one meter lasso length of piano wire between two large handles?
Slainte,

Well that's a thought but he's taller than I, so it would be astretch not to nention illegle. LOL! Now sand or such down in his tight jeans on a hot muggy day might do though.

I wouldn't mind it so much but he's teaching his son bigotry and intolerance.
To stay on topic: I''m wering a brown casual kilt with a black shirt and oatmeal colered kilt hose today. The shoes, belt, and sporran are brown. It's an outfit that has always garnered good coments. Quite comfortable.
Slainte'

[crfriend]

Since getting "out and about" is key to having other folks see, and hopefully understand, that skirts work on guys, I'm going to smaelessly bump this thread with descriptions of what I wore -- out and about -- to a couple of local events in the past week or so.

Item one was a "Dramatic Reading" of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, to which Sapphire and I trotted off to last Saturday, with both of us in neo-Victorian garb and me in my long purple walking skirt. Scarcely an eye was batted as I am a bit of a "fixture" in our little hamlet; Sapphire got the lion(es)s' share of looks.

Today, we ventured forth to the Big City to our south and took in a Christmas-themed concert at Worcester's Mechanics Hall, much of which featured the hall's positively magnificent Hook Organ which dates to 1864 and is the oldest operational four-manual organ in the Western Hemisphere. The acoustics of the Hall are phenomenal; when we got there a bit late, when seats were getting scarce, we wound up in what in most venues would be called the "nosebleed section". Visibility was somewhat obscured, but when a flute solo was being played I was able to locate, by ear, the location of the soloist to within under a meter, only to later see the instrument in a bit of a flourish. Garb: black calf-length velvet skirt, black 1860s-pattern waistcoat (with functional pocket-watch as the sole timepiece), teal blouse, (close-to-matching) teal opaque tights, and my usual men's black dress shoes. I received a couple of "up-and-downs", but nothing else. I've been in some darned good halls (Boston's Symphony Hall being a personal favourite), but Mechanics Hall in Worcester is no slouch.

[STEVIE]

I think my reply to this may be rather obvious, see the pics and looks, however, on the outdoors, I topped off with a navy blue jacket. That was no disguise to the red skirt, black tights and plain shoes. On the way in, the jacket remained open , and that seemed to get the attention of a few passers by, no problems arose, so all to the good from my viewpoint. Bear in mind there were a lot of folks, it being rush hour and that, in the main they were too intent on their phones or simply wanting to be elsewhere to pay me any attention.
On a side note, the red skirt is not my favourite, I find that it is too straight for easy movement, but I do like the colour.
A furher note, I do not, nor, wish to own a wrist watch, my time piece of choice is a pocket watch, I received as a gift last year, father's day.
Prior to that I regularly used a Waltham, which belonged to my Grandfather, Father, Me and now my Son. I do also use my phone, though, just not so stylish.
Steve.

[crfriend]

[...]That was no disguise to the red skirt, black tights and plain shoes.

Nothing can disguise a red skirt: they stand on their own, and it takes a very confident bloke indeed to wear one. Kudos to anyone who does!

Red is such an amazing colour. It's certainly not for everybody because it does draw observers' eyes, but if you can carry it well exploit it to the maximum!

Personally, I have three red skirts. One is an old one of Sapphire's that I wish I could find a new version of, but which has "seen better days" and is not not suitable to public wearing; another is the purpose-bought Macabi which I acquired for sailing and have published a few photos of; the last is one of my velvet ones and I've found ways of pairing that with different shirts and waistcoats that are quite interesting indeed. None of these looks are ones that I'd even think of wearing if I wanted to blend into the surrounding scenery.

A furher note, I do not, nor, wish to own a wrist watch, my time piece of choice is a pocket watch, I received as a gift last year, father's day.

Pocket watches, in my opinion rule. I admit to owning a number of wrist-watches, many of which are heirlooms, and two of which I tend to wear for everyday use. All of my pocket watches, save two (one I bought for myself, the other of which was a gift from may father), are heirlooms tracing back four generations, several of which get active use. Having a mildly superstitious bent, I suspect that the eldest one knows its heritage: it has a tendency to stop in my pocket when I'm driving; when last I wore it to the "family plot" where several generations of my ancestors are buried, including its original owner, it never stopped and, furthermore, exhibited amazing accuracy for the day.

Prior to that I regularly used a Waltham, which belonged to my Grandfather, Father, Me and now my Son.

I see you're passing the gift along, and I hope your son appreciates the machine and wears it with pride!

My great-grand-dad's is a Waltham, made sometime in the 1860s I believe. It's a magnificient piece, and the one I wear for the most formal of events. It just needs some repair to keep it from stopping in my pocket -- if I can find somebody who'll work on it and if I don't believe that Tom will mind.

My mobile 'phone is just that -- a 'phone. It's not a timepiece.

[STEVIE]

Hi Carl,
I had not thought of the red skirt in quite that way, it did get attention but I wore it simply to get away from the "drab", our climate is bad enough without dressing to match all the time.
Yes, my son has wore the watch but with formal wear only, which for him is the kilt and prince Charlie accoutrements. Sgian Dubh, pin and belt buckle all contain our crest so they may also get passed down in the fullness of time.
The only thing I know for sure about the watch is that it is a Waltham and was sent here about 1900-1910, a gift to my Grandad from his brother who emigrated in 1896. I don't even know if there any remaining members of his family still alive. It still keeps excellent time with a service from a local jeweller once in a while. I suspect all he actually does is clean and oil the mechanism.
I do use the phone to keep time, when away from my desk but it's old enough not to include a camera.
Steve.

[crfriend]

I had not thought of the red skirt in quite that way, it did get attention but I wore it simply to get away from the "drab", our climate is bad enough without dressing to match all the time.

Getting away from drab is something that I feel is very important. Men have been relegated to drab boring colours for far too long, and I feel it's time to move away from such -- and especially now when the light and weather in our hemisphere is the bleakest.

Any of the vibrant primary colours can work, but not all will work on everybody; one needs to take his own complexion and hair-colour into account when picking a very vibrant colour, and one needs to pair such a garment off with wisely-chosen hues as well so as to not look like a blind man who's had his wardrobe contents scrambled.

Generally speaking, I will usually only use a single piece in an outfit as a bright primary; the rest will be either secondaries that go well, or white or black that go with anything. Grey, of course, calls into the "go with anything" category, but I seem to confine my grey-wearing to a single pair of trousers. Red and purple is a favourite combination of mine; I also use blue and yellow, which is interesting in that those are complementary colours -- that is, they are 180 degrees apart on the colour-wheel; however, it's a very nice pairing, unlike red and green which makes one either look like a Christmas ornament or a traffic-control device.

As a side-note, I wore the grey trousers today at work and got interrogated as to, "What's with the trousers?!" One can't win it seems....

[sapphire]

Oh, they have just gotten used to you. You choose vibrant, elegant outfits and folks have gotten used to that. I suspect, they also enjoy your look. I know I do!!! Usually when you wear trousers, you are either depressed or it is snowing like crazy.

Guys, feel comfortable in your skirted garments. You look great. I haven't posted much about this recently because I've posted so much in the past. But know that I'm still supportive of your efforts.

[STEVIE]

I just had a thought, and It's a tad "off the wall" In the red skirt, my second "proper" outing, I also smoked my pipe. Ignore the skirt, the smoker always gets some attention. I have actually been "verbally" abused for smoking by a crazy cyclist. Kind of wish, I'd been wearing a skirt as well that day. I think of it as the second, simply because of the times and location, counting has now stopped.
Steve.
Thanks Sapphire.

[couyalair]

I have actually been "verbally" abused for smoking by a crazy cyclist. Kind of wish, I'd been wearing a skirt as well that day.

Why? Do you want skirt-wearing to look as weird as inhaling smoke?

Martin
ps : cyclists are not crazy; they do not choose to inhale automobile exhaust.