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Sinned
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Sinned »

Pete, whereas skirts are not really a problem for men the same does not hold true for dresses. Dresses are made for the female shape with boobs, narrower waist an wider hips. Our broader shoulders, lack of waist and narrower hips mean that a fit up top will make the bottom half not so much a good fit. Still, there are some here that wear dresses successfully so it can be done. What I am saying is, experiment but don't be disappointed if you can't succeed with them. I try and have found a dress or two that look reasonable but an awful lot that look dreadful on me.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
Stevej180
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Stevej180 »

Pete07 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:03 pm
Any UK peeps recommend any good stores for skirts? I’ve mostly been checking M&S, very, H&M, NEXT. But like atm it’s still more formal/AW casual stuff. Any ideas when more summery stuff will be around? I would’ve thought by now, but maybe Covid delayed it all.
Hi Pete - thanks for the great updates, and congratulations for the huge strides you’ve made!

A shopping tip: went to Debenhams near me yesterday - they’re basically having a massive closing down sale until the end of April with 40-70% off everything. They had two whole floors of women’s fashions so a massive choice of cheap clothes to sift through. If you’re in reach of one, you’d almost certainly find something there...

Steve
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skirtingtoday
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by skirtingtoday »

Thanks Pete07 for your reports on the first day st the office wearing a skirt.
In many ways it was very similar to my first times skirted at work.
I had on a white shirt (it's not a tie office) and a black Skirtcraft skirt which sits just above knee-level with black tights and normal mens black shoes.
I had looked at the "office dress" part of the employers code and all that stated was that you had to be neatly turned out. (Ie no distressed jeans or scruffy/dirty t-shirts nor beach shorts!)
Most ignored it but one asked "Special occasion?" "No, just felt more relaxed and comfortable." The directors said nothing either though there may have been a couple of second looks from the technical staff.
I also saw my sister for lunch that day and she applauded my outfit too.
On another occasion, I had on a beige 17" skirt and a fellow at the bus stop commented that it was nice weather for shorts. I pointed out that it was a skirt to which he replied, " even better!" Him and his wife and I had a good laugh at his comment!
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" - Winston Churchill.
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" - Joseph Goebbels
new2skirts
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by new2skirts »

Pete07 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:03 pm So, here is a 3 week update. Been exclusively wearing skirts but in work and outside of work, apart from a couple of occasions where it wasn’t quite practical and I wore jeans.

Really loving how confident I actually feel. Like at first it felt almost like put-on confidence as to not show weakness to others but now I feel it is part of me.

No real comments except from a few questions etc but everyone I speak to has been great. Got shouted at by some drunk randos the other day but idk what they said as I had my headphone on listening to music.

Problem is I not can’t stop looking online for more skirts. I also want to try dresses but worry with my body shape, broad shoulders, that many in shops won’t fit that well.

Any UK peeps recommend any good stores for skirts? I’ve mostly been checking M&S, very, H&M, NEXT. But like atm it’s still more formal/AW casual stuff. Any ideas when more summery stuff will be around? I would’ve thought by now, but maybe Covid delayed it all.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone here for your stories and replies, they were all so helpful.
Pete,

Zara have some great skirts (I'm in one of their denim pencils right now), and Pure skirt company (can be found on ebay searches, I'm a size 10-12). Wardrobes is a decent corporate skirt seller (Pencil skirts are my go-to for work, I had the puzzled looks too). I'm in London, where are you in the UK?

Boden do some cool summer skirts, and Mango. Warehouse do some decent stuff, but watch M&S as the quality is a bit iffy (wrong linings in shift dresses was an issue for me).

Post a pic or two of your look 8)
Formerly Kilty / Joe Public etc...
Skaterswaltz
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Skaterswaltz »

Hello Pete.
Congratulations. You prove confidence is key. The 'shorts are good, skirts are better' comment is a great one for you. In all of this there is humour too. We wear skirts for the feel-good factor. Fun and laughter epitomise that.
Well done.
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hillaryskirt
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by hillaryskirt »

Pete you are fast becoming an ambassador for skirt wearing to the office. (Where office working still exists.)
I was amazed and impressed to read your account. The word bravery springs to mind.
Me? I just can't do it, I kind of mince about at home with the odd 'try on' just to prove to myself I'm still a bona fide skirt cafe member, which I believe I am.
But that's all I can do apart from having lengthy conversations with 'some very good friends' about it all. They seem to be so patient with my reticence to really be who I feel I am in this regard although it's not all about clothes and I have been able to be myself in many ways and express my trued identity but I'm a work in progress.
Mind you we all are.
The funny thing is if you walked into the office now in trousers folk would drop their jaws and probably now ask you - "What's going on mate?" :wink:
"The past is never dead. It's not even past." - William Faulkner.
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JeffB1959
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by JeffB1959 »

Pete: I've been suitably impressed with your adventures at the office where you work. I must say you have done very well, keep up the great work! As for wearing dresses, they can be very much a hit or miss proposition since, as others here have already said, those garments weren't made for me. I wear them myself on my public outings and they're fun, if you manage to find something that fits you, go for it!
I don't want to LOOK like a woman, I just want to DRESS like a woman.
Pete07
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Pete07 »

Thanks everyone for the replies. Thanks for the recommended sites for stuff, i've placed a few orders and got some new skirts now. My skirts to trousers ratio is now about 5:1 LOL Although i'm only wearing jeans once a week to a place with lots of much older people I can't be bothered to get involved in conversations with about something they are likely to never understand.

I have been so much happier and confident now i'm wearing skirts everyday and seeing that there really aren't any bad reactions. Enjoying refreshing my wardrobe and creating different outfits. Bit expensive at the moment though with essentially changing everything up.

Now onto dresses, I ordered a couple online just to try out, but as people mentioned they really didn't fit well, far too much fabric in all the wrong places.I wonder if i'd be able to get one tailored if I really wanted one for a special occasion but for now i'm just going to stick with skirts. I think because I have a bigger waist, (38-40inch) I buy UK size 20 skirts, it's a bit harder as it pushes me towards plus sized dresses for which I guess women also have more in the chest area if they're slightly bigger.
hillaryskirt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 12:55 pm The funny thing is if you walked into the office now in trousers folk would drop their jaws and probably now ask you - "What's going on mate?"
Someone I know saw me the other day when I was in Jeans and they were very confused LOL Was quite weird, but a nice reaction that showed how much the skirts have been accepted. I'm almost more nervous now when I wear trousers/jeans somewhere as i'm worried people will thing Skirts was just a fad or something and i'm not fully committed to it. But really I just want the freedom to wear anything I want to.

I'll post some pics in the other forum a bit later.
Coder
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Coder »

Also check out Seasalt Cornwall - they are on the high end, but can be had for a decent discount on eBay used or even new.
Pete07
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Pete07 »

Coder wrote: Sat May 01, 2021 2:26 pm Also check out Seasalt Cornwall - they are on the high end, but can be had for a decent discount on eBay used or even new.
Thanks, I just checked their website and they have some really nice stuff. As you mention a bit more pricey that some places but they look really great.
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Sinned
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Sinned »

Pete, if they see you in jeans/trousers just say that you never intended to wear only skirts, you wanted to incorporate them into your current wardrobe so that you could have additional choice in what to wear and when.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Pdxfashionpioneer
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

I mostly wear dresses and for my size have always had broad shoulders.

Your best bet is to go to what you blokes call charity stores or off-price stores (stores that sell new goods and sell them at deep discount because the manufacturers sold them way below wholesale because they were out of season, overruns, etc.) and TRY THEM ON before you buy them. Trust me, you will not be the first man to have gone to any one of those stores to buy a dress. Even if you turn out to be the very first who showed up at that particular store or the first that sales associate worked with, the fact is your money is as good as anyone else's. And that's the name of their game; making money.
David, the PDX Fashion Pioneer

Social norms aren't changed by Congress or Parliament; they're changed by a sufficient number of people ignoring the existing ones and publicly practicing new ones.
rode_kater
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by rode_kater »

I can second the charity shop (or whatever you call it) approach. I've literally tried on dozens of dresses before finding a handful that worked. Patterned t-shirts dresses (I think) work because they just follow your shape rather than trying to make another one. But the only footwear I feel go well with them is my sandals unfortunately, so it needs to be pretty warm.

The other dresses I think work pretty well are sleeveless. You get something similar to a tank top effect, which can work well with broad shoulders.

Dresses with a strong shaping tend you squeeze you into a shape you're not, which doesn't look or feel good imho.
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Pdxfashionpioneer
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

Dresses with a strong shaping tend you squeeze you into a shape you're not, which doesn't look ... good


As they say in the Westerns, "Smile when you say that pardner." (cf. my photos sprinkled throughout these categories)
David, the PDX Fashion Pioneer

Social norms aren't changed by Congress or Parliament; they're changed by a sufficient number of people ignoring the existing ones and publicly practicing new ones.
New-in-Skirts
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by New-in-Skirts »

Welcome from the heartland of America. Enjoyed your posts so go out thee and keep on enjoying your skirts.
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