Out and About -- In the World at Large

[pelmut]

[...]
Oh, and by the way, 'Enery the Eighff 'ad 'ees 'Ead tucked underneath 'ees awrm !

Oh no he didn't! It was Anne Boleyn.

[maninafrock]

Tom
Must admit I do miss having pockets. Unfortunately dresses with pockets are a bit thin on the ground. It's always dresses I wear - a jumper on top gives me the skirt look (I think!). MOH suggests I get a manbag but for me that's a step too far.

Jackie

[Kirbstone]

Jackie,
Having spent a day in Edinburgh which happened to be Graduation Day at various colleges I was quick to note that the 'man bag' there is called a Sporran !

Tom

[Uncle Al]

MOH suggests I get a manbag but for me that's a step too far.

Ahh...A personal mental block. Been There, Done That
I used to wear a bag like a sporran, but the last one I purchased, the "belt" strap wore out.
(Also the fabric lining wore out, then, finally, the leather wore out - all after 20 years.)
I've added a similar color, non-adjustable strap and now carry it on my shoulder.

No Big Deal

It does take a bit of getting used to doing but, it works and my back is quite thankful.
I'm no longer sitting on 'a lump on the hip'. A "regular sporran" can't carry what I need.
That's another reason I went with a shoulder bag(purse)

Just like the cell phone. I wondered WHAT or WHY I would ever need, or want one.

Today, I wouldn't be without one

Uncle Al

[Faldaguy]

by maninafrock » Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:13 am

Tom
Must admit I do miss having pockets. Unfortunately dresses with pockets are a bit thin on the ground. It's always dresses I wear - a jumper on top gives me the skirt look (I think!). MOH suggests I get a manbag but for me that's a step too far.

Jackie

Try a "messenger bag" as a 'half-step' -- they are getting pretty common and certainly will carry everything you need. Less need to co-ordinate the color as well.

As another 'been there, done that' -- all too recently, I understand the added sense of conspicuousness. But you too can overcome! SC members certainly helped me, and you've got a much better partner in your corner with your OH giving aid.

[denimini]

I like pockets but most are not suitable for more than my keys in the right pocket and small change in the left. No hope for carrying a phone, wallet, pen, shopping list, mask, small measuring tape, etc. I purchased a good quality small leather shoulder bag a few years ago and now would not be without it, pantsed, unbifurcated or naked.

[Fred in Skirts]

OK!! Lets take the word "MANBAG" and toss it back into the sea and let it sink to the bottom. There are no such things as manbags!! There are shoulder bags, purses, clutches and hand bags.
The word manbag was coined to assuage some peoples idea of a purse or shoulder bag that a man could carry. BUT they were the same bags that women carry, no different.

So lets get rid of that word in our lexicon.

[JeffB1959]

OK!! Lets take the word "MANBAG" and toss it back into the sea and let it sink to the bottom. There are no such things as manbags!! There are shoulder bags, purses, clutches and hand bags.
The word manbag was coined to assuage some peoples idea of a purse or shoulder bag that a man could carry. BUT they were the same bags that women carry, no different.

So lets get rid of that word in our lexicon.

Agreed. I just don’t get what the hangup when it comes to bags. I have no problem carrying a purse when out and about, and it’s no big deal whatsoever.

[crfriend]

So lets get rid of that word in our lexicon.

Seconded.

[Faldaguy]

Can we get rid of "man-cave" too? And man-spreading, and.... Rarely do gender labels do anything useful, and lot not so.

[Pdxfashionpioneer]

Good Lord you guys, if you keep this kind of chatter up the next you know we'll see men walking around in skirts and dresses ... Great Caesar's Ghost! It's too late! That's what comes from breaking down the gender labels!!!

[Dust]

Try a "messenger bag" as a 'half-step' -- they are getting pretty common and certainly will carry everything you need. Less need to co-ordinate the color as well.

As another 'been there, done that' -- all too recently, I understand the added sense of conspicuousness. But you too can overcome! SC members certainly helped me, and you've got a much better partner in your corner with your OH giving aid.

Other options include a backpack or briefcase. Jacket pockets can also help in cooler weather.

[Pdxfashionpioneer]

in the interests of getting things back on the track of sharing what happens when we venture out the door in our finery I'm adding an addendum to my post about Faldaguy and I getting together.

After we went our separate ways, I drove to downtown Portland (we met up in the 'burbs) to pick up a faux pearl necklace that a jewelry shop had made for me from some heirloom beads Mom had left me. I parked my car in front of the County library* and started walking to the store. While I was hunkered down for Covid, the Goodwill boutique had moved to a larger location so it was now along the way. Naturally, I stopped to do some window shopping just in case their was something I was otherwise unaware of that once I saw I wouldn't be able to live without.

While I was waiting, I heard a sweet, feminine voice ringing out. I turned to see who was speaking, and it was a pretty, blonde lady in electric blue leggings telling me -- now that I had my white, Iman, leather jacket on over my navy blue, silk shirt; tan leather skirt and tan suede boots; along with my navy blue chapeau -- that she "liked my total look!"

A nice additional to a well-timed, sparkling clear sunbreak.


After paying for the stringing, it suddenly occurred to me that I had never verified that there had been enough fake pearls to stretch around my neck. There were.

[greenboots]

Delayed post: last week I had to attend urology for some tests. I had wanted to try out my Tu knitted striped dress but as I had to give MOH a lift, I stuck to the green cord skirt with opaque tights and the F&F boots mentioned elsewhere. A short drive to Wallyford connected with the No. 113 bus to WGH.

No one on the bus or in the street commented. I sat for about 20 minutes in the corridor waiting to be called and no one commented. In the assessment room, the nurse asked a bunch of questions for ten minutes without a second glance. The only odd thing was that when she sent me to change into a gown and pee in the funnel, she hesitated and then said, “you may need to remove your bottom half”, as if she was avoiding mentioning the skirt (or did I imagine that?) Uneventful drive home and no comment from MOH.

[Faldaguy]

by greenboots » Thu Apr 21, 2022 3:58 pm

Delayed post: last week I had to attend urology for some tests,,, I stuck to the green cord skirt with opaque tights and the F&F boots mentioned elsewhere.
No one on the bus or in the street commented. I sat for about 20 minutes in the corridor waiting to be called and no one commented. In the assessment room, the nurse asked a bunch of questions for ten minutes without a second glance. The only odd thing was that when she sent me to change into a gown and pee in the funnel, she hesitated and then said, “you may need to remove your bottom half”, as if she was avoiding mentioning the skirt (or did I imagine that?) Uneventful drive home and no comment from MOH.

Hola Greenboots,
I've mentioned before a time when I was accompanying my wife at a hospital in Portland and one of the nurses asked if what I was wearing was a kilt...clearly it was not, just a skirt and that is essentially what I told her, "no, just a skirt" then, after a moment of being flabbergasted that I had readily confirmed I was wearing a skirt, not a kilt, she proceeded to tell me she "had to ask that way", because a couple of other times when she asked guys about their skirt, they vehemently denied they were wearing a skirt, and got upset. So, my thinking is your nurse was trying to "protect your male sensitivities"!