Out and About -- In the World at Large

[STEVIE]

Martin,
I did not base my assessment of his psycholigical condition on his transport choice!
Picture this, if you can.
It is about 8:15 a.m. on a wet day on Aberdeen's main street. I am calmly waling along, smoking my pipe and generally minding my own.
I actually have acute hearing and catch " Hey you F*******G SMELLY B******D". I looked around and saw the guy on the cycle and decided it was not aimed at me. However, a few seconds later he overtook me and repeated his jolly little epithet.
My conclusion: This is not the behaviour of a "rational being" , as a vulnerable road user, he was paying way too much attention to me for his own good. It would have been no better if he had been in a car, except greater potential to kill an innocent bystander. If he had been a fellow pedestrian, well, that may have got a lot more interesting.
Now, who said I wanted smoking to be as weird as being a guy in a skirt?
Try this, there were skirts for men for a long time before trousers, yet society decided it's wrong! There has been smoking for a long time and now society has decided it's wrong. Please do not go on the "passive" arguement, I have heard it all.
On that note, I'm not sure that I want to justify the earlier post any further.
Steve.

[crfriend]

My takeaway from the encounter with the bicyclist would have been, "intolerant git" and I'd have left it at that.

Interestingly, I was struck by a bicyclist a number of years ago in Boston, and the idiot just took off. I've got a pretty good arm, but by the time I found a suitable projectile the idiot was out of range. It takes all types to make a world and, sadly, altogether too many of those types don't understand civil society.

[STEVIE]

Hi Carl,
That was pretty much what I would have thought, if he hadn't made such an effort to repeat himself.
Steve.

[crfriend]

[Intolerant git"] was pretty much what I would have thought, if he hadn't made such an effort to repeat himself.

Call it, "observation verified" and be done with. Stupid gits come in all shapes, sizes, and types; the only thing that ties them together is the moniker "stupid git".

I was discussing my "encounter" with Sapphire a few minutes ago, and mentioned that for all my being an outright atheist I happen to believe in karma; the clown that struck me and rode away will have done that to others, and I surmise that by now he's "met his match" whether it's a suddenly-opened car door in his path or somebody who happened to be faster than I (there's always somebody faster/smarter/whatever than you in the world). Life goes on.

I think it took about ten minutes' work to polish out the tire track across the top of my right shoe. In the grand scheme of things, that's not much.

[Dale]

While going into Walmart the other day, this older lady was giving me a very disproving stare, althought she did not say anything. So far the only bad response I have gotten wearing a skirt in public. I was wearing a blue leather skirt that split the knee, pastel blue shirt, black tie, tweed sport coat, and black oxford shoes (well shined). Most people don't seem to pay any attention, or don't care. If look could kill, that lady outside walmart would have done me in, at the same time she was wearing a pair of blue jeans, and what looked like combat boots.

[crfriend]

If look could kill, that lady outside walmart would have done me in, at the same time she was wearing a pair of blue jeans, and what looked like combat boots.

That sounds like jealousy to me; you likely looked better in that rig than she could possibly have -- and she knew it.

The main issue here is that if we're going to attire ourselves "outside the norm" then we must occasionally expect some level of disapproval. Interestingly, it seems that with time the number of disapproving "incidents" seems to be dropping. I view this as an encouraging sign.

[ChrisM]

Thought it was time for another update.

I was in Washington DC last week, and upon one occasion I wore a skirt in the bar of the Hyatt Regency Capital Hill. It turned lots of heads, and had the wait staff flocking to serve me, so they could look at my attire. My clients didn't think two thoughts about it, they have seen me skirted many times. But I do try to dress more conventionally when meeting with, say, the Lobbyist, or the Federal officials.

Now that I am back at school, and the semester is over, I am skirted at work every day. Yesterday was a knee-length black linen skirt with a bright red Guayabera-style shirt, but worn tucked-in. Today is a bit cooler (65F) so I will wear a mid-calf skirt.

We have hired one new faculty member and he had never seen me skirted before, so he chuckled and made a few of the usual remarks, but the other faculty and the technicians in the workshop all just take it with nary a comment or raised eyebrow.

All the best,

Chris

[crfriend]

Due to the way that the calendar worked out this year I got today off from work and will get Monday off as well. Monday is still a couple of days off, but I took advantage of today to wander off to our local Senoirs' Center with Sapphire to partake of "Wii Bowling". Sapphire has written about the level of acceptance I have with the elders of the town -- especially the ladies, which is always nice. But, we went elsewhere as well.

Once "bowling" was done, Sapphire and I sallied forth unto the local supermarket to gather fixings for our upcoming lasagna feast on 2011-12-25 (we make it all from scratch, with homegrown bits whenever possible). Shortly before entry to the marketplace we encountered an ex-teacher who commented very favourably on my rig (ankle-length purple skirt, dark purple dress shirt, and red double-breasted waistcoat) and was curious if I was "dressed up" for something. The answer, of course, was "No. This is what I usually wear." which was greeted with some enthusiasm.

Acceptance is out there. It just takes confidence to find it when "out and about".

[john62]

These last few weeks I have been skirted while doing the weekly shopping and today while doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Some people noticed, most paid no attention, as others have observed, so in Melbourne Australia to wear a skirt and get no reaction seems to be the go.

John

[Tassierob]

I have been to Melbourne about 6 times in the last 2 years including a trip to Box Hill for an opperation and have never worn trousers while there, only kilts, and I have always felt very comfortable.
My wife sighted a man in a business jacket and tie wearing a Utilikilt last time she was in the CBD so there are a few of you out there

Rob

[john62]

In the last 4 or 5 years I have only seen one guy in a skirt, that was in the casino.

John

[MrUtopia]

My first trip out and about. I went for a walk this afternoon wearing a polo shirt, knee length cotton work-wear style skirt and work boots (the same as my normal working day clothes but with skirt instead of shorts). I walked about 1.5km along a light density retail strip of a main road, past hardware store, beauty shops, video shops and grocery shops. Not a lot of people around, but enough to make me nervous. Many cars driving past and crossed the road several times. I was comfortable enough to want to do more tomorrow, busier area, more people. My aim is to get comfortable enough that I can wear a skirt out and about more often (and to spread the work, men in skirts is coming). If I do get out tomorrow, I will try to attach a picture here.

[Tassierob]

My first trip out and about. Not a lot of people around, but enough to make me nervous. Many cars driving past and crossed the road several times. I was comfortable enough to want to do more tomorrow, busier area, more people. My aim is to get comfortable enough that I can wear a skirt out and about more often (and to spread the work, men in skirts is coming). If I do get out tomorrow, I will try to attach a picture here.

I think we all started feeling the same way...nervous. But it gets way better with time when you come to see that most people take no notice or just don't care.
After 5 years kilted I feel funny wearing trousers. my wife thinks I look funny too I actually went to an event that required trousers a couple of months ago and a friends wife said to my wife, "What is different about your old man...pause...I know, it is the first time I have ever seen him in trousers"

So keep it up but be warned it is hard to go back!

Rob

[Mugs-n-such]

I just thought that I'd put in a quick little comment that I wore a tan mid-calf skirt to the Perks (a local coffee house) and nobody seemed to notice much, but I think they are getting used to seeing me there in a skirt (though I sometimes wear pants, sadly). Tomorrow I need to help a friend pick up his car from Hays, about 200 miles from Wichita, so I think I'll wear a below-the-knee denim skirt with pockets. See what reactions I get away from Wichita.
Crfriend, I think that's interesting and cool you make lasagna...my brother in Oklahoma City usually makes lasagna from scratch at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We like it way better than turkey! Peace.

[crfriend]

'Tis the "Holiday Season", and in these here parts it's usually expected that one finds time to go and make merry with one's friends, both old and new. And so it came to pass that I left work a little early yesterday to head into the Big City to the east to quaff a few cold ones with old friends.

My skirts are now well accepted by these blokes, and others in somewhat wider circles, but it's the attention I seem to attract from the ladies that is, shall we say, "odd" to me. I am not a "ladies man", never have been, and never will be; I'm "taken" after all, but I will say that my skirts do attract some attention, and from the womenfolk it's been universally positive.

Yesterday was going to be cold and getting colder (we started off at about 5C and descended over the course of the day to about -5C) and there was a wind getting up. This means heavy in my book -- my ankle-length purple "walking skirt". And the thing wanted to lift in the wind. Heavy tights are a good thing this time of year!

To the point, I received two glowing comments on my garb yesterday.

One was from the woman who staffed the parking-lot kiosk at the western terminus of the tram-line into Boston and who, in broken English, quizzed me about my attire. She wondered whether it was a religious thing (it isn't) and then followed up with a very cheerful, "it looks cute". (English is not her first language, so I took "cute" as a compliment.)

The other, more forceful and approving, was at the bar I met up with my old pals at. I had just visited the loo to "pay the rent" on the beer, and was fairly well put upon (politely, mind) by a young (by my standards) lass who was just enthralled by my rig to the point of asking for a picture to be taken of the two of us (by her male companion). I assented good-naturedly, but am still amazed how a skirt can turn an otherwise rather unremarkable 50-something bloke into an object of interest.

The best gem of the evening, though, was hanging out with my old pals, and getting into a very worthwhile discussion about photography with a professional photographer who also showed up that we know. Before next summer, I have every intent to recommission my old chemical cameras and take up the mantle of photography again; it's been too long. And I have some good clues on where to get up-to-date work done on my elder gear (the newest one is 25+ years old) and possible recalibration work done on some of the older ones still.

But the comments from the gals yesterday will still warm my heart for some time to come. Who knew I had it in me?