Hello from Western Australia

[AussieRich]

Hello, first time poster here. Based in Perth in Western Australia and seem to have a similar story to many of you - started wearing skirts/dresses on secret as a kid, hid it and so on. Now in my late forties and with the encouragement of a best friend, starting to be more honest about it. Have been wearing sarongs around the house and in public for a couple of years now, but actually wore a full length black pleated skirt in public on a trip to Sydney recently which felt great after all these years. Am slowly going to broach it with my wife in the next month or so - who I know will be resistant. My kids will be fine…. Anyway, nice to meet you all.

[ScotL]

Hello, first time poster here. Based in Perth in Western Australia and seem to have a similar story to many of you - started wearing skirts/dresses on secret as a kid, hid it and so on. Now in my late forties and with the encouragement of a best friend, starting to be more honest about it. Have been wearing sarongs around the house and in public for a couple of years now, but actually wore a full length black pleated skirt in public on a trip to Sydney recently which felt great after all these years. Am slowly going to broach it with my wife in the next month or so - who I know will be resistant. My kids will be fine…. Anyway, nice to meet you all.

Welcome - and nice to meet you as well.

My personal advice is to talk with her about it before doing it in front of her. SOs hate surprises like that.

Also, May start with a kilt. It’s an approved skirt for men.

Interesting you have a best friend who knows but not your wife. Who is he/she? Lifelong friend? We all need BFFs

Good luck

[Ozdelights]

Welcome here. I'm sure you will find good company here. You are so right about similar stories and we can all share.

[rode_kater]

Hello, first time poster here. Based in Perth in Western Australia and seem to have a similar story to many of you - started wearing skirts/dresses on secret as a kid, hid it and so on. Now in my late forties and with the encouragement of a best friend, starting to be more honest about it. Have been wearing sarongs around the house and in public for a couple of years now, but actually wore a full length black pleated skirt in public on a trip to Sydney recently which felt great after all these years. Am slowly going to broach it with my wife in the next month or so - who I know will be resistant. My kids will be fine…. Anyway, nice to meet you all.

Welcome! W.r.t. the wife, a common experience is that they're less upset by the skirts than the fact you hid it from them. That can be really hard to explain, no easy answers here. Good luck!

[AussieRich]

Thanks all for your warm welcomes and comments

[TheRod]

Fellow Perthian here (NOR). I've been wearing skirts, kilts and a few dresses for 20 years or so. Never had any negative issues with others, except for quizzical looks occasionally, and many inquiries from both men and women about how to get the utility kilts in particular. I buy skirts from Op Shops at bargain prices. Dress are problematic as they are usually too tight around the upper body when the rest fits.

[6ft3Aussie]

Welcome to the Cafe, Aussie Rich, from a fellow Aussie, but not from Perth, but Brisvegas, 3600km and two time zones to your east.
I usually wear things like utility kilts, sarongs etc, just too comfortable especially in the tropical part of our summer, but still the most comfortable even as we slide into our autumn.

As for your wife, I'd talk to her, and don't hide it, but let her know. As others have said, you could start with a utility kilt, and include sarongs, but hiding it will potentially catch her off guard especially if she was to find something that she was not expecting.
I'm pretty sure that If my wife either saw me in a dress, or fund one that she'd ask questions, and may not be too happy, but she's very accepting of me in utility kilts, sarongs etc, and she actually quite likes it when I fold my sarong to make it shorter!! She prefers me to wear a sarong around the house particularly.

When you wear a skirt, sarong kilt etc, yes you may get a few second glances, but 99.9% of the time it will never be anything more than that, I have had a few comments but only from women, and never a negative interaction.

There's a few of us Aussies floating around here so make yourself at home.

[AussieRich]

Fellow Perthian here (NOR). I've been wearing skirts, kilts and a few dresses for 20 years or so. Never had any negative issues with others, except for quizzical looks occasionally, and many inquiries from both men and women about how to get the utility kilts in particular. I buy skirts from Op Shops at bargain prices. Dress are problematic as they are usually too tight around the upper body when the rest fits.

Hey there, thanks for replying, I’m SOR - I’ve noticed in my little patch of the world a few guys starting to wear skirts and dresses around the place, which gives me confidence- as has wearing sarongs to the shops.