Wearing a skirt on Halloween?

[Bodycon]

The night before Halloween itself I went to a costume party of a younger set of whom I only knew the host, hostess and one of their friends. They LOVED my "Wonder Woman 1984" costume.

The next day was the Miata club's Cemetery Run. Both some of the drivers and the cars dress up. "Ginger" went as herself. Fair enough, about the only thing I could do to make Ginger look better is wash her more often, but that's an exercise in stupidity a this time of year in Oregon. I came in my other Wonder Woman costume (basically a leotard with an older version of WW's look). One of the longer-term members insisted it was the best costume she had ever seen at our annual Halloween event.

I walked away with the best costume prize.

The last time we had that event I went as a stewardess from the "Fly me" era. I don't think enough people got it; they just saw David in yet another one of his dresses, a hat and go-go boots. The prize went to a couple who looked like superannuated, over the hill hippies for their portrayal of Sonnie and Cher.

This post would be so much better with photographs

[crfriend]

This post would be so much better with photographs

I believe that Dave posted a shot or two of the "Fly me" outfit in Pics and Looks. It may take some searching for.

Nobody under the age of about 50 would have understood it.

[Pdxfashionpioneer]

Thank you for standing up for me Carl. I think the commenter was referring to my takes on Wonder Woman.

I just tried to attach one of the photos to this reply and at 771kb it was too large.

Fer cryin’ out loud! I took the pic with my Smartphone. And no, at 1 in the morning I’m not about to go through the mental gymnastics to shrink the photo to fit the limits. Sorry.

Try to imagine the costumes and characters with a MUCH more homely face and a cheap, black costume wig and you’ll probably be pretty close.

For the record, we don’t have many members in the Mt. Hood Miata Club who are under 50. The members who took a close look at my stewardess costume seemed to get it; but I guess it parallels something my ex- often said to me, “If you have to explain your joke, it isn’t funny.”

[mishawakaskirt]

I thought I'd take a moment and resurrect this dead thread.

It's less than a week away

Anyone got any plans? Ideas or other wise?
Are you planning to wear a skirt as part of your costume or not?

As for myself I don't / won't know until almost Monday

I do think I have a great open ended idea for a costume.

"Auto correct Fail"

Shirt and skirt are always getting " mis corrected " on my phone.

Example Siri,
Order me a green shirt and some black pants....
order me a green skirt and some black ants.

Needless to say the possibilities are endless.

[crfriend]

I thought I'd take a moment and resurrect this dead thread.

It's less than a week away

Anyone got any plans? Ideas or other wise?

Being the contrarian type I am I usually show up places on Halloween in male drab.

[FLbreezy]

I don't have anything specific planned, but I'll be wearing a skirt or a kilt for sure. I do have a nice skirt from Duluth Trading I haven't worn around yet that is an autumn themed color, if I can find a properly matching shirt to go with it.

[Coder]

I don't go into the office except on Friday's - this question's been bugging me because it's pretty close to halloween, and I don't want what I wear to look like a costume.

Yet at the same time I want to wear my skeleton cat skirt (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/a-fun-and ... 160577328/). It's a bit floofy for me - my intent was to rework it into a flatter skirt. So I dunno. I'll probably just wear a boring skirt to work on Friday.

[geron]

I'll be going to a party with my wife and will most likely be in my French "kilt" from hiatus-shop.com -- which isn't really a kilt at all but a slim-fitting black skirt.

[Ray]

Nothing. Halloween just isn’t a thing in the U.K.

[Ralph]

This thread is so old I can't remember if I joined in on previous years so I'll toss in my experience quickly and then leave the thread to hibernate another year.

When I was much, much younger I attended a costume party for Hallowe'en. I chose to go as Alice in Wonderland. I sewed the dress myself and borrowed a wig and some tights from my girlfriend. But - I also did not shave. I played the whole thing for comedy, even though my first time appearing in public in a dress was the fulfillment of a lifetime of longing. I sat with my legs spread wide open, scratched in places a lady would never scratch, and flirted with the other ladies. The only one who either didn't get the joke or decided to turn my joke back on myself was a gent dressed as a caveman who grabbed me up and rather forcibly compelled me to dance with him, flinging me around like I had been bonked on the head with his club.

The event served me well, because a few years later when I met the girl of my dreams I didn't want to go into a relationship based on lies and deception. I decided to get all my secrets out in the open then and there, so she could leave while it was still easy and painless. "There's something else you should know about me..." I began. "Remember last Hallowe'en? That's not the only time I like to dress like that."

She has since said it's not her favourite side of me but she accepts it as a quirk just as she expects me to accept her quirks, and we're happy like that. But it all started with the one time in the year when a bloke can dress in ways that would any other time be socially unacceptable - especially in the 70's!

[Offkilter69]

Halloween has long been one of my favorite times of the year for multiple reasons, one being a chance to wear a skirt or dress without judgement and/or persecution. Every year since I can remember I have desired to cross dress for one night, although I have done so only four times over the last 30 plus years, the first being in 1988 in college when I wore a female friend’s denim skirt and threw on some fangs and a wig made out of shiny red streamers. I’m not sure what I was supposed to be, but it was all about the chance to wear a skirt.

The other three times were “more of a commitment” as my SO likes to say, with full female attire and makeup, including two recent years in which we dressed as Sonny and Cher (obviously I was Cher, she was Sonny), and the Addams Family: Morticia (me) and Wednesday (her). Since these costumes were done in consecutive years (I rationalized the Morticia costume because I looked more like Anjelica Huston’s Morticia than Cher), I took last year and this year off to avoid being labeled as liking to “dress up” too much. Had fun as Beetlejuice and will have the same as the Joker, nevertheless. The SO was fine with it, actually suggesting the Sonny and Cher idea and doing my makeup, but consecutive years of it probably bothered her to an extent. A Wonder Woman costume awaits for another year.

What I discovered during these experiences was that it wasn’t about “being female” for an evening, but just enjoying getting dressed up in a fancy dress, a simple joy that men don’t get to experience. There is no suit in the world that is as fabulous as a glamorous dress or gown. In general, women have more exciting Halloween costume choices as well, although just about any costume can be fun for an evening if you’re into it. I’ve never been about hair, makeup, jewelry, shoes (women can have heels all to themselves outside of low heel riding boots), or trying to pass as female (I couldn’t even if I wanted to). But wearing a glamorous bridesmaid dress bought at a thrift store for $8: awesome. I love dressing up for Halloween and being someone else for an evening. Adding female options just makes it even more fun and interesting. One costume rant I do often make is about the existence of feminized male character costumes. A Darth Vader dress costume, a Spider-Man dress costume?! Really? Why? If a woman wants to be a male character, BE THE MALE CHARACTER! Don’t feminize them!

Anyway, back to the original question: I will likely be donning a black utility kilt on Halloween night while passing out candy. The Joker costume is for a weekend party. Just haven’t decided if it’s going to be my Utilikilt leather kilt.

Happy Halloween and “dress up” if you can!

[rivegauche]

I know that Halloween costumes involve humour but I have issues with men dressing as women in a way that mocks women. This reaches its peak in drag, where the men involved are usually gay so there might be an extra element of dislike of women involved. It reinforces the "women are inferior" stereotype and men who wear what is regarded by most people as women's clothes cannot expect to be treated with respect by society unless we also respect the usual wearers of these clothes. When I have gone the whole hog presenting as a woman, women have told me they appreciate the trouble I have gone to to do it properly, instead of taking the p**s. Grayson Perry is resented by some women because he doesn't dress like a real woman, but I think there is a difference with Grayson because he is not mocking women. I admit I would be hard pushed to define why that is different from drag, but it is. I think there is a thin line between the ethics of a man dressing in a way that mocks women and someone blacking up. Why is one unacceptable and the other not? I think the other element of the mockery costume is insecurity - if you are seen to be doing it as a joke you can't possibly like wearing these clothes at home, can you? We are in a strange position as a society when the only time a man can legitimately wear a skirt or dress is as a ridiculous costume on a night associated with witches and ghosts and things that go bump in the night. I have worn dresses at Halloween but just as me in a dress - no OTT make up or accessories. I got criticised for not making more of an effort - but by men, not women. The women remarked how good I looked in a dress - and more or less kept their distance as men in dresses don't attract women at parties, at least not in my circles. My plea is that in our wish to wear the clothes society usually associates with women, we do not do so in a way that degrades or disprespects those who actually ARE women. Society does enough of that already.

[Coder]

I know that Halloween costumes involve humour but I have issues with men dressing as women in a way that mocks women. This reaches its peak in drag, where the men involved are usually gay so there might be an extra element of dislike of women involved. It reinforces the "women are inferior" stereotype and men who wear what is regarded by most people as women's clothes cannot expect to be treated with respect by society unless we also respect the usual wearers of these clothes.

Amen!

[Offkilter69]

I know that Halloween costumes involve humour but I have issues with men dressing as women in a way that mocks women. This reaches its peak in drag, where the men involved are usually gay so there might be an extra element of dislike of women involved. It reinforces the "women are inferior" stereotype and men who wear what is regarded by most people as women's clothes cannot expect to be treated with respect by society unless we also respect the usual wearers of these clothes.

My plea is that in our wish to wear the clothes society usually associates with women, we do not do so in a way that degrades or disprespects those who actually ARE women. Society does enough of that already.

While I agree that women are still largely regarded incorrectly as the inferior sex, and expression of femininity is therefore an expression of weakness, I disagree that drag queens are mocking women. Quite to the contrary, they revere women, and women are actually drawn to them in a non-sexual way. My SO, who is NOT a fan of men wearing skirts, loves watching drag queens. She regularly watches RuPaul's "Drag Race", and judging by the amount of women who attended a local drag queen brunch we attended this past summer, she is not alone in her affinity for drag queens even though she is a very straight female. When I asked her why she likes drag queens despite not liking every day men wearing skirts and dresses in every day life, she said she admires their dedication and total commitment to their craft, stating that it's a lot of work to be a put-together woman, and drag queens respect that.

That being said, drag queens most definitely do not help the MIS cause since most are flamboyantly gay men. While respecting that lifestyle, it's not an association most of us want, including myself. Also, women have to accept some responsibility for their lagging social status. Many women, including my SO, do not like their men to be "feminine" in any way, shape, or form, even if it's just clothing. That's the irony: women will never truly be equal with men until being "feminine", whether you're male or female, is no longer considered a weakness. Women should be promoting the blurring of senseless gender "rules" and roles ON BOTH SIDES, not cherry picking social "standards" that fit their individual agendas and/or beliefs, skirt wearing exclusivity for females only being one of those "standards".

[ScotL]

women will never truly be equal with men until being "feminine", whether you're male or female, is no longer considered a weakness. Women should be promoting the blurring of senseless gender "rules" and roles ON BOTH SIDES, not cherry picking social "standards" that fit their individual agendas and/or beliefs, skirt wearing exclusivity for females only being one of those "standards".

This is spot on brilliant