Out and About -- In the World at Large

[STEVIE]

I'll echo the sentiments, sair glaid tae hear fae Cessna.
As for the "laughing lady", I reckon she was trying to show off to her male companion. No, it didn't spoil my day and I wished her a civiised good morning after all.
In contrast, I once encountered a whole class of 10/11 year old kids on a school outing. They looked, they smiled and a few giggled. That was fine, I presented them with something "different". They were hastily "shushed" by their teacher but I hope that may also have given her an opening to talk about diversity to them, who knows?
The lady and the kids, if she sets an example, who could possibly be mad at them.
Steve.

[dillon]

Spent most of today skirted in masses of people at the Azalea Festival in Wilmington. Lots of looks, nary a comment. Was in long gray skirt by Merrill with long sleeve Travex tee shirt by Eddie Bauer. Black Sanuk flip flops, toenails a light shade of pink.

[Couya]

... skirt by Merrill ... Travex tee shirt by Eddie Bauer. Black Sanuk flip flops ...

We seem to be getting a lot of advertising recently !

Martin

[STEVIE]

Hi Dillon,
I'm not trying to be combative here and Couya's comment about "advertising" is lost on me because the names mean nothing to me.
A question though, do the brands lend a greater acceptance in your own view or that of others? Would a Walmart or other nondescript item be viewed differently?
Steve.

[dillon]

I do a lot of online shopping for what I feel are good values in clothing, and hardly ever go out to stores, as I hate malls and totally despise Walmart. Additionally, there are rarely things that appeal to my personal tastes in Walmart and like stores, as I tend to go for outdoors-ish styles. Buying those styles from brick and mortar/internet combination chains like REI or from smaller local outdoor provisioners is typically a bit beyond my budget, so I look mainly online. Plus I simply find a lot of the conventional skirts like one might find in a discount store are not designed for my taste. I do think I find a better quality with more consistent sizing/fit from brand names, and I appreciate better fabrics and interesting design that reflects my personality. I still manage to find things at a reasonable price by looking often and buying only occasionally...though I admit I have 3 skirts en route as I write; the first I have purchased in a while. I don't have many other hobbies that I spend on, though. Only kids.

[dillon]

One additional comment: I often state brands as an easier means of describing the outfit, since some may be familiar with the style of particular garments or shoes, or fabrics. Most may not care, but for the few that do, there is Google to get an idea of what a garment looks like. And I took no offense at Martin's comment, though Americans in general wouldn't get a laugh from European attempts at humor.

[Couya]

I could only assume, from the use of capitals, that those were brand names, though they mean nothing to me any more than to Stevie.
Another cross-ocean difference; I don't think many Europeans would bother naming the provenance of their garments -- most of which are made in China anyway, whatever the label may say.

Martin

[Kirbstone]

For my sins, I'm not into advertising at all, but I have had several enquiries from Forum contributors as to the source of some of my outfits, so now more often than not I will state at the outset where I sourced a certain garment.

Tom

[JeffB1959]

Admittedly, I don't come around here as often as I'd like (I'm going to try and change that), but I had what could be best described as an incredible experience on Saturday. I was out for the day in a denim jacket over a magenta mockneck, a 21 inch black denim pencil skirt, black tights, black patent pumps with three inch heels and a black handbag, while having lunch at Chick-Fil-A in Moorestown, someone lightly tapped me on my left shoulder, I turned and found myself facing a New Jersey State Trooper, a Latina in her late twenties, she had a sort of melancholy look on her face and a small, brief smile, in a choked voice, she said that she admired me for being who I was, something her younger brother lost his life for being. A tad puzzled, and at a loss for words, all I could do was thank her for what she said, with tears in her eyes, she pressed a Chick-Fil-A gift card in my hand, thanked me again and left the store. On the back of the receipt, she wrote the following: "Hi, thanks for being who you are. Lunch is on me next time. Have a blessed day."

I could only guess she was referring to what I was wearing, did she think I was gay or transgendered, I had no earthly idea, and she was long gone before it occured to me to ask what she meant. I don't pretend to be anything more than just a middle aged man who enjoys wearing women's clothes and shoes in public, but that one in a million sort of encounter with the trooper left a potent impression on my mind, that I had the ability to stir strong emotions in people, just by doing what I like and wearing the clothes I like, and I consider that to be heady stuff indeed. Even after all these days later, I'm still thinking about that encounter.

[Caultron]

Yeah, that's some encounter!

[crfriend]

That's amazing, Jeff -- a real jaw-dropper. You should feel blessed.

[JeffB1959]

Caultron & crfriend: Yes, the encounter with that trooper certainly made for an incredible experience, one I will always remember. Oh, and here's the outfit I wore that caught her attention:

[Caultron]

Nice outfit and yeah, I bet it's eye-catching.

Do you wear heels often? I've just started and I swear people react to that more than they did when I started wearing skirts, and then tights.

I usually wear utility kilts because of the pockets. At least so far, I'm just not comfortable carrying a bag.

[Gordon]

I would love to wear heels. But so far don't have the where - with - all to do it. Yes I can see where heels would be more attention getting than just a skirt.

[Caultron]

I would love to wear heels. But so far don't have the where - with - all to do it. Yes I can see where heels would be more attention getting than just a skirt.

So far, I've tended toward heels like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9GQ34Q/

simply for the resemblance to men's shoes. I wouldn't call them particularly cheap but they do come in large sizes.

They say that to get your women' s size you add 1.5 to your men's size, then you have to subtract to account for thinner socks. Tights, for example, just don't take up as much space as men's athletic socks.