Introductory Hello!

[Ganesaunine]

Hello to everyone! Occasional lurker and first time poster. I've been wearing skirts for the past seven years now, including (much to my wife's dismay) in public. She doesn't disapprove of my wearing skirts... she's more afraid I'll be assaulted by some disapproving wannabe alpha-male. So far that hasn't happened. During the past seven years I've only had four negative encounters in public, and only one of them was an aggressive encounter, and even that was only verbal disapproval (very old woman screamed 'FAGGOT!'at me in a Walmart parking lot). Otherwise nothing too exciting has ever happened while out be-skirted, and I've even had a few compliments (just a few).

I don't always wear skirts out in public or even at home. Much of the time it depends on what I'm doing. If I'm just taking it easy at home or have some light running about to do, I prefer the comfort of wearing a skirt. If I'm out in the garden if I'm planting, weeding, or harvesting, I have an old brown canvas utility kilt I'll wear. On the other hand if I'm back in my woodlot using a chainsaw to cut down a tree for next winter's firewood, I definitely wear heavy jeans... just the thought of a wind blown skirt hem getting caught in a chainsaw blade gives me the wiggins. Ditto using the tiller to till up a new garden bed.

I've noticed that many times when I'm in public wearing a skirt, I seem to become almost invisible, as if other people (especially in my extremely conservative neck of the rural sticks) are trying really hard to NOT see (looking down or away) the man in the skirt. Anybody else experience that? Oddly enough, I've never been 'misgendered' while wearing a skirt.

I get most of the skirts I own through online resell sites such as eBay, Etsy, and to a lesser degree Poshmark. Most are all vintage. I prefer midi and maxi length skirts in wool, silk, and rayon. I especially like pleated skirts. The biggest issue I have is size. Women's sizes are the very definition of inconsistency and insanity. Fortunately, smart resellers will list the size of the waist in inches, and will even include a photo showing the measure. I've found this is especially helpful (even necesssary) with vintage skirts, where a size 12 can range from 28 inches up to 34 depending on the maker and whether the skirt is a 12p (petite OR plus), or a W (wide?), or R (regular) or any other random alphabetizing.

Most of my skirts are Pendleton. I also have skirts made by Pendleton's Canadian competitor Aljean, a good sampling of UK makers (Burberry, House of Bruar, Aquascutum, Locharan, etc...), and some German fashion brands. I also have a number of Talbot's pleated business skirts... always reliable.

I started wearing skirts after developing an uncomfortable 'man-problem-down-there'... very painful. My doctor at that time suggested not wearing underwear, and if I could do so at work just wear loose baggy shorts (I could). He also suggested that while at home I could wear a robe, wrap a towel around my waist, baggy PJ's, or if no kids to offend and/or the wife didn't mind, wear nothing. I did this for about six months and it helped the condition clear up, a lot! Then one day while shopping on Amazon for dog treats, Amazon showed a picture of a utility kilt in the left hand 'please buy this" panel of their screen. It was cool looking. Black denim, lotsa dangly chrome bits and chains... I took a chance and bought it thinking it was better to answer the door when the buzzer rang wearing a kilt instead of a towel. Kilts... the entry level skirt drug! I was hooked.

Eventually I began to feel that options for men's kilts were somewhat limited and limiting, not to mention expensive, and I started to look for second-hand kilts online. That's when I found women's fashion kilts... longer in length (which I liked), lighter weight, and simpler in construction and in fastening. I began to think that men's kilts were seriously over-engineered not because they needed to be, but because it made them complicated, heavy, and therefore 'masculine' and OK for 'real men' to wear. I stepped on over into the wider and far more fashionable world of what are typically considered to be women's only skirts, and never looked back. I still have about a half dozen or so kilts, there are a couple that are very nice, but in my opinion they just don't fit or wear as comfortably as a well made vintage woman's skirt. Hopefully this doesn't offend any kilted brethren. It's not meant to... I still wear my remaining kilts.

There you have it... my introduction. I hope you enjoyed my skirted ramblings!

[Sepchugang]

A very warm welcome to SkirtCafe Ganesaunine - and yes, I did enjoy your skirted ramblings!

[Mouse]

Welcome Ganesaunine and thank you for a detailed introduction to yourself.



We are all dotted around the world but agree on one thing, that Men should be free to dress as they please. I live in the UK, but I am guessing you are in the USA from your store references. We have many members across the americas who you may be able to link up with.

Please carry on posting and your user name with turn blue. Then when you next log in you will see the whole cafe with more entries in some menus and more pictures.

[yardstick]

Hi Ganesaunine.

Thankyou for the detailed introduction to yourself, your story has many aspects which most of us can relate to.
I think the majority of us here view skirts as an option rather than a default it just varies as to how often that option is exercised as there are always activities where any item of clothing is simply not practical.
Its interesting that your introduction to skirts came via a medical issue, its crazy how people think its ok to wear a towel wrapped around you but change to a skirt and a small sub sector of the population think you have lost your mind when the truth is that its probably the most practical garment for a man.
You are absolutely right with the kilt being an entry level skirt, that air of acceptability as menswear can be the difference between trying it and not for a lot of people and like you as time moves on widenning their choices from there.
Please keep posting and joining in the other conversations.

[Jim]

Welcome, Ganesaunine! Our stories are fairly similar. I started wearing skirts to deal with a rash that wouldn't go away. Problem solved. Then I got to enjoy the look and feel. Then my wife had some sad sexist experiences and I wanted to make a statement against sexism, so skirts (and dresses) are a protest statement of a sort, also. I don't have any trouble chainsawing or rototilling with a skirt; I just wear a solid denim-like material.

[Ganesaunine]

Just made the third attempt to update my location in the profile settings and I hope they are retained this time. But in reply to Mouse's guess regarding my location... yes I reside in the US... northeast Ohio in the semi-rural area just west of the city of Youngstown. Shopping for skirts for men is very limited here, so I do rely on online resellers, and have been more that satisfied with the vintage skirts I've found shopping online. It would be nice if there were shops locally that had selections of skirts for men, but the area I live in is not that kind of place. While I don't feel uneasy wearing skirts in public, I get nervous shopping in a womans clothing store, and besides... woman's clothes sizes are nearly incomprehensible. Even Cleveland, the most sophisticated city near me (64 mile drive) has no stores that feature skirts for men, or at least I haven't found any. I suppose if I live in one of the more cosmopolitan cites on either coast I'd have no problems finding stores that had skirts for men or at very least unisex fashion for for any gender.

I put a link to my 'garderobe' (wardrobe) board on Pinterest under the website heading in my profile, if anybody wants to check out my collection of skirts. I'm going to assume that you have to have a Pinterest account to view it so it might not be accessible to everyone. Pinterest is my sole social media account, and I use it as a glossary of images that I find of interest, and as a way to organize my closet. Otherwise I have no involvement with social media in the US given the current political climate. Facebook asked me to provide three views of my face shortly after Trump took office, and alarm bells went off in my head... so bye bye FB.

[Susie]

[Barleymower]

I put a link to my 'garderobe' (wardrobe) board on Pinterest under the website heading in my profile, if anybody wants to check out my collection of skirts. I'm going to assume that you have to have a Pinterest account to view it so it might not be accessible to everyone. Pinterest is my sole social media account, and I use it as a glossary of images that I find of interest, and as a way to organize my closet.

Hi and welcome Ganesaunine. Your journey is a familar one.
I had a look at your Pinterest page..I hope I have the right one (I'm not a Pinterest expert. I had to create an accoint)..I can see you are a fan of long skirts much like 'freedomforall' who posts here occasionally.

[Ganesaunine]

Definitely prefer long skirts. I'm kinda tall and string beany, so a longer skirt makes me look less like I'm constructed out of pipe cleaners. Also prefer pleats! Glad that link worked... wasn't certain it would. Pinterest is odd; it's not really a social network, it's more a space to set up and organize personal image boards, so it's not quite as popular as a typical social network site. A lot of artists and fans of visual arts use it. Thanks for the interest.

[phathack]

Welcome Ganesaunine,

Kilts are indeed the gateway to skirts.
I still have 5 or 6 hanging in the closet they only get worn when I'm going to a festival where others will be wearing kilts, otherwise I'm in a skirt or dress.

I see you listed up location in Ohio. I'll be wearing my skits in Xenia in mid May at the Dayton Hamvention.

[robehickman]

Welcome Ganesaunine,

Kilts are indeed the gateway to skirts.

Kilts are a type of skirt, just one designed around the shape of a male body.

[Grok]

Greetings!

[Faldaguy]

Another welcome aboard -- although it sounds like you have been a stowaway, train hobo surfer for some while now! As it seems you settled and figured this all out some years back, I'm not sure why you took so long to 'buy an open ticket' --but glad you did.

I too live in what many consider a "conservative macho" land -- and it is in many ways, but decency, respect, and a culture of conflict avoidance pretty much prevents "bad" encounters; and going out with confidence (owning your own style/freedom) seems to handle pretty much everything else. It is a real blessing and boon when our S.O's are on board, despite concerns for your wellbeing or any public negativity that she may fear from your attire, though I suspect by now, she has observed how inconsequential one's choice of clothing is.

If you are not adverse to 'used' clothing (though often new remainders or seconds) Goodwill Stores are a great option. You can buy scads of things for a fraction of what you are paying at online or brick & mortar outlets. Most have changing rooms; or you can buy, take home & return for credit in most. If you are comfortable in your skirts in public, then simply do your shopping for skirts in them -- I think you will find that helps created a clear statement that you know skirts are suitable for men and they are your choice. I've never had even a raised eyebrow -- I suspect most store clothing store clerks have dealt with so-called 'cross-shopping' so often it is not noteworthy in the least. There are several in both Cleveland and Youngstown and likely some other "thrift" shops, but Goodwill's are usually better organized. Some consignment stores often handle a higher end selection of clothing.

Welcome aboard from Ticolandia

[Seb]

[CamperGuy]

Hi and welcome. I've also only recently joined after similar lurking

...including (much to my wife's dismay) in public. She doesn't disapprove of my wearing skirts... she's more afraid I'll be assaulted by some disapproving wannabe alpha-male. So far that hasn't happened. During the past seven years I've only had four negative encounters in public, and only one of them was an aggressive encounter, and even that was only verbal disapproval (very old woman screamed 'FAGGOT!'at me in a Walmart parking lot)...

My wife has similar concerns. I guess that being men ourselves, we are well aware of the two conflicting sides of the way men treat each other - there is that degree of macho posturing, but also the fear of genuinely provoking violence. So women may see the former, but not realise that men are actually very careful around each other and typically careful not to provoke a violent response, given the way men can suddenly see red and react. And that carefulness may be even more apparent if the other man is clearly unconventional, but also doesn't appear weak / timid. So other men may treat a man wearing a skirt with even more care in case he is some sort of nutcase and could snap at any moment . That could also explain men trying to actively not see what you are wearing,

I'm guessing the elderly woman screaming at you didn't consider the above logic - i.e., she knows that social norms protect her from being punched. But I guess she didn't think "hmmm, that man is not following social norms of dress; could it be he also doesn't follow social norms that allow me to insult people without fear of retribution?"

Cheers,
Camperguy.