Women not in skirts

[denimini]

Picking up from comments in other threads and not wanting to hijack them:
In Australia and I gather from comments in other Countries, the majority of women now do not wear skirts, even in summer. In shops, in womens wear, there is a lot more rack space devoted to pants and shorts than skirts.
I wonder why most women are not wearing skirts in summer, which they can do without breaking any conventions, and particularly light and floaty ones that are so cool and comfortable. Is it just changing fashion or some indication of wanting greater personal physical and/or visual security (of an extra row of stitching)? I doubt that it is visual modesty with many young women, wearing shorts that reaveal far more than a mini skirt would.
At the rate women are giving up buying skirts we will be running out of choice soon for new skirts until it becomes more fashionable for men - and then a limited choice of grey, brown or tartan in knee length only, until those restraints are broadened too. At present I find more variety in charity shops, but the ratio of pants to skirts is about 3 or 4:1 and 10:1 when including menswear.
It is almost a novelty seeing a woman in a skirt and then they probably think I am admiring them but often I am lusting after their skirt, still acknowledging that it would look better on them than me.

[Couya]

When I worked n the charity shop locally, there were two racks of women's trousers, one rack of skirts. I was upon the cash till, so saw that women were buying trousers. After a month, unsold clothes were thrown out, and it was the skirts that remained unsold. Luckily for me, I had the chance to try on a few beforehand.

Women do wear skirts in Spain, but mainly in summer. In France, it is trousers all year round, but skirts or dresses for special occasions.

Martin

[dillon]

I think there is simply an anti-feminine undercurrent in the female side of society, where toughness and, to some extent, bitchiness, is seen as necessary for success. The abandonment of the skirt/dress is a symbol of that. It is perhaps male society that has driven women from their traditional garments, once the prerogative to compete became available. I think that sadly society is still telling women, and especially that women are effectively telling each other that the pathway to success begins with the renunciation of feminity. And the skirt or dress is still being seen as purely feminine.

[johnb]

I wonder why most women are not wearing skirts in summer, which they can do without breaking any converntions, and particularly light and floaty ones that are so cool and comfortable. Is it just changing fashion or some indication of wanting greater personal physical and/or visual security (of an extra row of stitching)? I doubt that it is visual modesty with many young women, wearing shorts that reaveal far more than a mini skirt would.

I've not been able to figure this out. The few that do wear the light floaty type of skirt, or dress, do look a lot cooler on a hot day.

John

[Caultron]

..I wonder why most women are not wearing skirts in summer, which they can do without breaking any conventions, and particularly light and floaty ones that are so cool and comfortable. Is it just changing fashion or some indication of wanting greater personal physical and/or visual security (of an extra row of stitching)?...

I think it's just changing fashion that'll come around again in a few years
.

[moonshadow]

I think there is simply an anti-feminine undercurrent in the female side of society, where toughness and, to some extent, bitchiness, is seen as necessary for success. The abandonment of the skirt/dress is a symbol of that. It is perhaps male society that has driven women from their traditional garments, once the prerogative to compete became available. I think that sadly society is still telling women, and especially that women are effectively telling each other that the pathway to success begins with the renunciation of feminity. And the skirt or dress is still being seen as purely feminine.

Sad... but most likely accurate to some extent.

While the ratio of women wearing skirts vs trousers is probably 1:50, still in small town of say.... 10,000, that's still a round figure of 200 women wearing skirts at any given time. And those 200 women LOVE their skirts just about as much as we love ours, and they are just as passionate about them. I notice the box stores like walmart and K mart generally don't carry much in the way of skirts, you have to go to a women's clothing store....

There's a small department store chain around here called Magic Mart that seems to have a diverse selection at various points during the year. Nothing like Good Will, but still more than the other department stores. The Good Will's around here seem to have at least one 30 foot rack of nothing but skirts. The one in Christiansburg had three racks that looked to be about 30 feet each of nothing but skirts. But then again, the ratio still stands, while there were a lot of skirts, half the store literally was women's trousers.

But I don't anticipate skirts disappearing all together any time soon. There will always be little tarts that want to show off in front of the boys, and there will be, for a while anyway plenty of fundamentalist women who think they'll burn in hell for wearing trousers. So for now I think skirts are here to stay.

[crfriend]

But I don't anticipate skirts disappearing all together any time soon. There will always be little tarts that want to show off in front of the boys, and there will be, for a while anyway plenty of fundamentalist women who think they'll burn in hell for wearing trousers. So for now I think skirts are here to stay.

An interesting problem with the above scenario involves the sorts of styles likely involved. In the first, the "little tarts" will be wearing micro-skirts -- which are "hunting tools" in essence -- that really aren't suited to most men's physiques (or at least the physiques of those of us in "adulthood") and in the second we're dealing with more the notion of a uniform -- another culture's uniform -- than a simple matter of aesthetic style.

As is sometimes said, "We shall see what comes to pass."

[partlyscot]

All I can say is, I'm glad I live in Calgary. Still quite a lot of skirts around, not as much at the moment, with well below freezing temperatures, but quite a few. Maybe it's that hemline association with money thing, if so, we'll see what it's like now the oil industry has taken such a kicking.

[Judah14]

Here in the Philippines while many women wear pants, many also wear skirts, and it is not just because of religious obligations. The weather makes skirts ideal though others wear shorts.

[dillon]

But I don't anticipate skirts disappearing all together any time soon. There will always be little tarts that want to show off in front of the boys, and there will be, for a while anyway plenty of fundamentalist women who think they'll burn in hell for wearing trousers. So for now I think skirts are here to stay.

An interesting problem with the above scenario involves the sorts of styles likely involved. In the first, the "little tarts" will be wearing micro-skirts -- which are "hunting tools" in essence -- that really aren't suited to most men's physiques (or at least the physiques of those of us in "adulthood") and in the second we're dealing with more the notion of a uniform -- another culture's uniform -- than a simple matter of aesthetic style.

As is sometimes said, "We shall see what comes to pass."

We don't need to prejudge why women wear miniskirts. Do we think we have purer (less sexual) motives than them? Live and let live...

[moonshadow]

But I don't anticipate skirts disappearing all together any time soon. There will always be little tarts that want to show off in front of the boys, and there will be, for a while anyway plenty of fundamentalist women who think they'll burn in hell for wearing trousers. So for now I think skirts are here to stay.

An interesting problem with the above scenario involves the sorts of styles likely involved. In the first, the "little tarts" will be wearing micro-skirts -- which are "hunting tools" in essence -- that really aren't suited to most men's physiques (or at least the physiques of those of us in "adulthood") and in the second we're dealing with more the notion of a uniform -- another culture's uniform -- than a simple matter of aesthetic style.

As is sometimes said, "We shall see what comes to pass."

We don't need to prejudge why women wear miniskirts. Do we think we have purer (less sexual) motives than them? Live and let live...

Hey, I'm not hatin'. I don't care what they wear. Girls wear short skirts to attract the boys and boys chase girls in short skirts. Doesn't really matter, statistically girls going to be with someone else eventually, and boy will be paying child support.

Either way, no skin off my a__. Let em' chase their own tails till their hearts content!

[moonshadow]

But at any rate.... from where I live, I can't see skirts disappearing any time soon. Honestly, there are just too many women around here who wear them. And I'm not just talking about ultra mini's or Pentecostal/Apostolic potato sacks either.... I've seen some pretty cool stuff out there. I'd just love to know where they're getting them.

[Caultron]

I see women wearing skirts more often in dressier situation rather than casual. But I'm sure skirts will come around again in the fashion cycle.

[Gregg1100]

I must be lucky. Been married to my wife coming up to 47 years this year and never seen her in pants- never will. She does not even own a pair. Hates them with a passion. Women can suffer with nasties developing in nether region as men do, apparently, due to heat.

[Couya]

The only good advice my wife had from a doctor was when one finally suggested she stop wearing trousers to avoid developing candida (fungus) problems in the vagina. From then on, no problems (for either of us!).

Martin