skirtcafe.org

Thank you, gentlemen, for the welcome!

I find my peers are less inclined to think I'm strange for wearing skirts in the summer time -- for instance, Toronto in July usually means heat and humidity, and skirts make sense under those conditions. Our Canadian summers are short, and we cherish them, and dress accordingly. In summer I am looked at strangely for wearing skirts at summer cottages, though, instead of shorts or pants; and for wearing skirts to do yard work; and that sort of thing. But you don't see many skirt-wearing females in Canada on days like today, with the temperature not far above freezing, and the wind howling like heck. In fall and winter I wear knitted skirts of various lengths (longer for very cold weather), and warm stockings. While my fellow females think I must be chilly, in fact I find skirts worn this way to be warmer than pants ever were.

Frankly, bifurcated garments never, ever fit me. I am not overweight, just apparently not proportioned along standard lines; and ill-fitting clothes are just plain uncomfortable and ugly. I think part of the barrier women put up against other women wearing skirts is the perception that skirts mean you're "dressing up", and they may associate skirt-wearing with putting on airs. So I tell them that I find skirts much more comfortable, and pants never fit me, and if they still think I'm weird after that... well, nuts to them. I *am* weird, but not because of what I wear!

Cessna, it's been my experience of my country that there's a lot of regionalism, which means different attitudes depending on whereabouts you are in the country. A place like Toronto has 50% of its population from other places, and there are people from literally all over the globe, who often dress in their various kinds of national clothing, so a guy in a denim skirt isn't going to attract a lot of attention. Wearing it in a smaller city, in a less diverse region of the country, might excite more comment. Then again, it might not!

Cheers,

Inertia

Inertia wrote:... In summer I am looked at strangely ... for wearing skirts to do yard work; and that sort of thing.

For what it's worth, I've been regarded as a bit strange here at SkirtCafe for hiking in a skirt and for riding a bicycle in a skirt. The party line in society is that a skirt is "not practical" for such activities, and many people here seem to buy into this stuff to come extent.

Inertia wrote:... In fall and winter I wear knitted skirts of various lengths (longer for very cold weather), and warm stockings. While my fellow females think I must be chilly, in fact I find skirts worn this way to be warmer than pants ever were.

I find that with a skirt, you can put on more layers without feeling like a stuffed animal, and if you do, you can be quite warm. Ankles are a bit of a problem, as skirts that cover the ankles also drag the ground, but I suppose if I could get used to wearing lined knee-high boots, that wouldn't be a problem.

Inertia wrote:A place like Toronto has 50% of its population from other places, and there are people from literally all over the globe, who often dress in their various kinds of national clothing, so a guy in a denim skirt isn't going to attract a lot of attention. Wearing it in a smaller city, in a less diverse region of the country, might excite more comment.

I live near New York City, and work in the City, and it's pretty common to see women in skirts. In the summer, maybe 1/4 or 1/3 of the women you see on the sidewalk will be wearing a skirt. In the winter, it's less, but there are still quite a few. I think it's because in a place like New York, there's more interest in what you might call "style." By that I mean that people are more likely to dress to create an impression, to stand out a bit from the crowd, which for women includes the possibility of wearing a skirt or dress. Also, there are still a lot of workplaces where women are expected to wear a skirt or even the full business suit. You also see men wearing what you might call robes, especially in areas where there are a lot of black people.

I would believe that the opposite is true away from the big metropolitan areas: that people dress to not be noticed, to not stand out among their fellows. I remember being in a shopping mall on the outskirts of Madison Wisconsin and being amazed at how uniformly frumpy all the shoppers were dressed. Also, I grew up in Richmond, Virginia ("the ante-bellum South"), and while I never lived there as an adult, and don't know how it is now, when I lived there, kids were pretty intolerant of other kids looking "different." When I go back to visit, you can still pretty much tell what social millieu people come from by how they dress.

Inertia wrote: Wearing it in a smaller city, in a less diverse region of the country, might excite more comment.

I live in the Florida Keys, 20 towns with maybe a total of 15 thousand people between them including the biggest, Key West. I wear skirts all the time anywhere I go. I only own one pair of bifurcated garments, a pair of cut offs I wear swimming. Even the female judge who "used" to want to bar me from jury duty unless I wore pants has relented when I got the American Civil Liberties association after her. A simple argument, if women can wear pants or skirts to court, why can't a man? She had no viable reason so I was permitted. As far as there being places I go that a skirt is not reasonable, I go out in my boat fishing wearing one so I can't see anywhere I wouldn't wear one. When I'm sitting in my fishing chair I just tuck the extra material up under me so wind never bothers me. If I'm going shopping or visiting someone in the daytime, I usually wear a denim or khaki knee length straight skirt and if I'm going out at night to Bingo or a party I wear a full or A-line skirt with various underskirts, nicer shirts and Birkenstocks. I like to look nice wherever I go. That's something I never cared about when I was stuck in trousers.

AMM wrote: For what it's worth, I've been regarded as a bit strange here at SkirtCafe for hiking in a skirt and for riding a bicycle in a skirt. The party line in society is that a skirt is "not practical" for such activities, and many people here seem to buy into this stuff to come extent.

I've ridden a bicycle in a skirt, and hiked in one. It's as practical as you make it. The ancient Romans and Celts and Egyptians went to war in skirts, and beat the heck out of their enemies in skirts, so why can't I mow my lawn in one? It's not as though I also wear my best jewellery to do it, like June Cleaver!

[/quote]
I find that with a skirt, you can put on more layers without feeling like a stuffed animal, and if you do, you can be quite warm. Ankles are a bit of a problem, as skirts that cover the ankles also drag the ground, but I suppose if I could get used to wearing lined knee-high boots, that wouldn't be a problem. [/quote]

What a good way of putting it! A stuffed animal, indeed! When it gets really cold in winter time, I break away from my stockings-not-tights preference and wear the heavy knitted tights designed for warmth, and they keep my ankles warm, too. (They aren't as comfortable on the rest of me, but it's a trade-off.) Boots are a good idea too, and I wear them outdoors in winter just because it's cold here!

[/quote]
I would believe that the opposite is true away from the big metropolitan areas: that people dress to not be noticed, to not stand out among their fellows. I remember being in a shopping mall on the outskirts of Madison Wisconsin and being amazed at how uniformly frumpy all the shoppers were dressed. [/quote]

I've been to Madison, and I have to agree with you. But in winter, many people in my city look pretty frumpy, too; at least they look it with their coats on. They sometimes appear more stylishly dressed once they're un-coated, but in the fall and winter Canadians mostly turn into just coats with legs. It's a temperature thing... makes a neat contrast once the weather gets warm, and you can really see people.

Cheers,

Inertia

...Arg... messed up the quoting process. Sorry, that last post looks pretty ungainly!

since1982, I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes boating in a skirt. More people should enjoy the experience!

Inertia