International Men Can Wear Dresses Day

[Grok]

So, all we can do is just be ourselves and, in the process, be ambassadors for the notion. I don't anticipate any meaningful change in my lifetime. If anything, I see matters getting worse at the grand scale. At the small scale we can win minds, if not hearts. That's where we start. (And, sadly, likely finish.)

Ambassadors, yes, or as I see it-the vanguard. "At a small scale we can win minds, if not hearts." Planting an among the more open minded.

I have a tiny hope that something may gain traction during my life time, if only as a niche thing.

[Yonkas]

Make all the "rucus" you wish bur telling retailers how to conduct their business isn't the demand that will get a response.
Retailers will change marketing strategies when a significant cross section of men demonstrate the demand with hard earned cash.
While the MIS movement may be growing, we are still a hell of a long way from achieving mainstream status.
As I said, the brick wall is a lot harder than a human head and optimism is simply the triumph of hope over experience.
Sadly, I really don't think I will be proved wrong anytime soon either.
Steve.

God this forum has such wet blankets! No wonder we never gain any traction with defeatist attitudes like this!

Look, I am not going to argue with you, or people like you. Nobody sets out to change society by convincing themselves it’s too hard, nor arguing with those, who do.

You might be right, but it doesn’t matter.

Do you think I am not aware of the odds that are against us? Knowing the odds is not what arbitrates my actions. It is my anger and frustration…especially at my fellow men—the ones who claim to support my cause, but never hesitate to do anything but suffocate any spark of action in favor of it.

No, what matters are actions born from pie-in-the-sky ideas, despite the odds. That is how you get change. And I am willing to put myself out there and generate them—even the most inane of them—if only to jog others out of the listless slumber that the many naysayers in this forum keep the rest of us in.

So, if playing an armchair psychologist/sociologist to convince yourself and others you’ll never get anywhere, is your oonly contribution, please, keep it to yourself. We’ve all heard enough of that.

For everyone else, if you have ideas for how to start making significant dents in the armor of the beast before us, please throw them out there. Change begins with you!

[crfriend]

For everyone else, if you have ideas for how to start making significant dents in the armor of the beast before us, please throw them out there. Change begins with you!

Get out there. Be yourself, be intriguing, act intelligent, be confident, and be compelling. Apply the pressure where you can, but don't make a stink or make it "a mission". Be human. It's all we can do -- and it's a handful to manage gracefully.

[mr seamstress]

Get out there. Be yourself, be intriguing, act intelligent, be confident, and be compelling. Apply the pressure where you can, but don't make a stink or make it "a mission". Be human. It's all we can do -- and it's a handful to manage gracefully.

Then you agree there is nothing wrong asking retailers in posting a sign that recognize May 15th as International Men Can Wear Dresses Day and it can advise men to wear one in this recognition? This is my position. By this type of sign customers will notice this acceptance and in time they themselves will start accepting MIS.

[crfriend]

Then you agree there is nothing wrong asking retailers in posting a sign that recognize May 15th as International Men Can Wear Dresses Day and it can advise men to wear one in this recognition?

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the notion save for the fact that you'll be wasting your time and breath. Retailers don't care at the moment because the market segment is so tiny that it might as well be non-existent. The simple math states that there's an insufficient market at the moment -- and that's not going to change until society changes, you know, men and women need to change their attitudes.

[jamie001]

I wonder if the media will cover this event and it will be on all of the TV news stations in America and in the UK?

[mr seamstress]

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the notion save for the fact that you'll be wasting your time and breath. Retailers don't care at the moment because the market segment is so tiny that it might as well be non-existent. The simple math states that there's an insufficient market at the moment -- and that's not going to change until society changes, you know, men and women need to change their attitudes.

You seam to have too narrow view of the market. I might be only male in my community goes out openly wearing dresses and skirts. It's not just us who they have to worry about. They will be starting to worry about those who identify themselves LBGT and their friends and family. We have those who is known as crossdressers and us MIS. Add all of us and everyone else who gives their support and that number comes bigger. I know you are fully aware of these groups, but it seams you are leaving them out in your assessment.
There is a need to start somewhere in planting a seed that MIS isn't going to disappear and MIS isn't the only ones they have to worry about.

I have talk some of those who claim into crossdressing in my community. I have met the person who counsel to LBGT group in my community.

[crfriend]

You seam to have too narrow view of the market. I might be only male in my community goes out openly wearing dresses and skirts.

Look, I'm not trying to stop you in your retail-oriented crusade, I'm just pointing out the hard realities of the matter. Knock yourself out if you wish, but numbers do not lie.

If you're so Hell-bent on the concept then go into business for yourself and try to make a go of it! There have been quite a few who have tried, and the news in virtually all of the cases was rather sad.

Until we get societal changes, things will stay as they are, or continue to get worse the way that they have seemingly done in the past few decades.

[Yonkas]

You seam to have too narrow view of the market. I might be only male in my community goes out openly wearing dresses and skirts.

Look, I'm not trying to stop you in your retail-oriented crusade, I'm just pointing out the hard realities of the matter. Knock yourself out if you wish, but numbers do not lie.

If you're so Hell-bent on the concept then go into business for yourself and try to make a go of it! There have been quite a few who have tried, and the news in virtually all of the cases was rather sad.

Until we get societal changes, things will stay as they are, or continue to get worse the way that they have seemingly done in the past few decades.

We all know the hard realities, though. What we need are ideas, then a plan, then coordinated action--at least those of us, who are tired of hanging around a forum and kvetching about our lot. We don't need naysayers. Nobody's thinking that this would be an easy fight. But, then again, to believe that this is all tilting at windmills, when we can see, with our own eyes, the sea-change society has made for tangential gender-related causes, is to sabotage yourself.

Look, society's changing. Gen Z is the most open-minded generation in a long time. In a decade, nobody's going to bat an eye at gay people holding hands.

But our cause is in danger of fizzling out, because society has equated gender equality with "women can do things that are traditionally masculine, and remain women." and "People have the right to be LGBTQIA." The blind spot, here, as we all know is, "men can also do things that are traditionally feminine, and remain men."

If we don't enter the conversation, and assert our own message, I fear that our cause will be lost. There is a real opportunity, here. All we need is for one of our messages or actions to go viral.

I mean, consider, for example, the "Me too" movement. Regardless of how you feel about it, all it took was one person to come up with the right and medium line to start a raging fire.

At any rate, I agree with mr. seamstress that we are not alone, and we could probably recruit allies from the LGBTQIA community. Hell, the other day a non-binary person came up to me and praised me for taking back the power by wearing what I was wearing (and they definitely understood that I fully identified as heterosexual male).

I also believe that more men than you think would begin wearing skirts if we helped them feel safer to do so, but we aren't going to achieve that by sitting around in forum complaining about how we'll never make a difference.

[Grok]

There have been a very few businesses that have marketed skirts for men, and have survived. (See the Links section). These are small, quite specialized companies. What we can do, besides wearing skirted rigs in public, is support those few companies with our purchases.

[Spirou003]

I just thought about it by reading latest Grok's message: another way of supporting them, if you have in the outer part of your home a big and visible area that could be covered with publicity (ideally located in an animated street), to propose these specialized retailers (who we are happy from their skirt) to display for free a publicity of their business (in the limit of applicable laws). This permits to support these retailers without the necessity to buy something more, and also permits to support MIS's cause. In a way I like to call the "passive action": you do something now, it has continuous effect for a long time afterwards without you doing anything else

[STEVIE]

So, if playing an armchair psychologist/sociologist to convince yourself and others you’ll never get anywhere, is your oonly contribution, please, keep it to yourself. We’ve all heard enough of that.

Yonkas,
I have to decline, I shall speak as I see fit and with no apology to anyone.

Steve.

[Yonkas]

There have been a very few businesses that have marketed skirts for men, and have survived. (See the Links section). These are small, quite specialized companies. What we can do, besides wearing skirted rigs in public, is support those few companies with our purchases.

But this is always how counter-cultural movements go.

You fail, and fail, and keep failing, until people finally start getting the message.

I also believe that selling skirts made for men might not be the most profitable strategy. Part of the obstacle to doing that, I think, is that most men can't conceive that they can look good in a skirt. And worse, this is compounded by the fact that most of us men have never been trained to dress well in clothes made for us. And worse, still, such items made for men tend to be impractically expensive. So, if you just throw a "man's skirt" at them, without offering any guidance for how to dress well in one, and while still expecting them to pay you $150, you're likely not to get enough takers to break even.

I thing a better strategy would be to act as a middle man between clothing lines and skirt-wearing men. After all, as many of us have found, we can construct fairly attractive rigs by mixing and matching items from both men and womens' clothing retailers. I have even found that some "womens'" tops compliment my male body quite well. So, instead of selling skirts made for men, the business model would be to get paid to furnish men with "looks" based on existing clothing lines.

You might, for example, go the route of StichFix, and offer a paid subscription to assemble, and send, a different outfit, or set of outfits every month, based on user preferences/body type.

Or, as another example, you might get companies to pay you to offer their clothing on your own website, by focusing on constructing outfits from existing clothing lines. So, instead of the presenting "modular" way of shopping for clothes, you offer ensembles based on search preference. You could also provide both the options to "Buy ensemble" or to buy individual pieces.

Couldn't we have something like that?

[Yonkas]

I just thought about it by reading latest Grok's message: another way of supporting them, if you have in the outer part of your home a big and visible area that could be covered with publicity (ideally located in an animated street), to propose these specialized retailers (who we are happy from their skirt) to display for free a publicity of their business (in the limit of applicable laws). This permits to support these retailers without the necessity to buy something more, and also permits to support MIS's cause. In a way I like to call the "passive action": you do something now, it has continuous effect for a long time afterwards without you doing anything else

That's not a bad idea. You could put up an exhibit on your lawn with examples of well-dressed, attractive, MIS, and, display "March 31st is International Men Can Wear Dresses Day".

I also wonder if we could have a coordinated flash mob on that day. Inundate retailers with men shopping for skirts/dresses.

Alternatively, you could have like 20 MIS show up to a crowded mall, and act as if they are each independently shopping on that day (but not necessarily for skirts/dresses).

Or, you could have skits. If you can successfully entertain people, that might make them more amenable to your message.

[mr seamstress]

That's not a bad idea. You could put up an exhibit on your lawn with examples of well-dressed, attractive, MIS, and, display "March 31st is International Men Can Wear Dresses Day".

I also wonder if we could have a coordinated flash mob on that day. Inundate retailers with men shopping for skirts/dresses.

Alternatively, you could have like 20 MIS show up to a crowded mall, and act as if they are each independently shopping on that day (but not necessarily for skirts/dresses).

Or, you could have skits. If you can successfully entertain people, that might make them more amenable to your message.

Let me point out you have a tool under your finger tips. We can rate retailers who refuses us to acknowledge us men as MIS. Whether everyone here wants to work in coronated fashion in getting retailers to acknowledge May 15th International Men Can Wear Dresses Day?
The way I see it if retailer refuse to acknowledge us as customers, then they are also willing to discriminate against us as a possible employee.

If we could get an unemployed bloke fill out an application for a job while wearing a dress or skirt and see what happens. There is a good chance these retailers probability would refuse hire an old bloke if he showed up in dress or skirt. This is my opinion.