skirtcafe.org

Why would you care whether its masculine or femenine? Surely worrying about it being piunk with flowers on or butch blue denim is just as bad as the tyranny against men wearing skirts in the first place. I myself wear whatever I find attractive. This includes heavy denim, leather AND pink. Incidentally I also sport a moustache, and am obsessive about shaving everyday. DO what you will

Rick, I absolutely agree that the point of fashion freedom is that it is your choice entirely to wear whatever you feel comfortable wearing. Nobody here is trying to say otherwise.

It's just that after immersing myself for so long in pictures, ideas and culture of "men in skirts" (including other images of men in makeup, heels, hose, etc) I've started to forget where the cultural lines ARE anymore.

It's something like the way a perfumier needs to cleanse his sniffer by inhaling coffee beans after smelling so many different odors of jasmine, ylang-ylang, musk and pine. After a while you just can't smell anything any more. It was getting that way with me. So I wanted other people to refresh my memory of what was considered masculine, so I could "reset" my compass. Besides, I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss.

To me, masculinity is always about the man himself. Naturally. But even so, recently I've come to understand that isn't quite so cut-and-dried as it appears either!

Well, whatever your slant on gender and whatever your personality, I guess in the end THAT is what will come through in your style. One way or another.

Once upon a time I used to think I was ugly. I used to think that though I was a girl I didn't deserve to wear pretty things. I didn't have pierced ears, and I never wore dresses, and I never wore makeup. I wore slouchy clothes with no color, and my hair was never styled. I have quite strong bones and muscles for a girl, and I'm not afraid of spiders, and I'm very good at math and science, so I started to think I was too "masculine" to be pretty, and settled for feeling proud of how not afraid of spiders I was.

Then one day I decided (just like that!) that I would try being pretty for a while and see how it felt. I bought some clothes that were pink. I bought some jewelery. I bought makeup, and started styling my hair. I swear it was like a scene from that movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"!

I was amazed at how transformed I felt. (I really oughtta be putting this in the Personal Stories area, shouldn't I? Too late.) Suddenly (it actually took about a year or two, but it felt suddenly) I found myself strutting around the world acting like I was hot stuff, catching my reflection in car windows and LOVING the view! I developed a swing in my walk, I started smiling (practically flirting, really) with nearly everyone I met, and I was somewhat shocked and happily surprised to find that THEY WERE SMILING BACK!

Most of my life I've been depressed because I've felt pretty lonely. Hard to make friends. Shy. PAINFULLY shy. Convinced that anywhere I go people won't like me, so why open my mouth? But now I've been developing confidence. I feel really good about how I look. I feel like I'm letting the ME out that I should have let out years ago.

All those years I wasted feeling ugly, I was just playing nasty tapes in my head of shame and ridicule from my childhood, when I was an unloved kid. But that doesn't have to be the way it is anymore. Things are much better now.

Soooooooo.... anyway.....

(scrambling furiously to remember how to get back to the point of the thread)

I think that clothes DO have a masculine or a feminine element to them. I definately do feel more feminine in the clothes I wear today than I did in the clothes I wore before. I used to feel just FRUMPY, and actually used to think if you stuck a beard on me I'd make a better looking guy than girl. But I still wear jeans all the time, which are a 'masculine' garment, no?

And I wear plenty of dark colors. And solids. And even leather sometimes! My skirts are often knee-length, or just below. I rarely (if ever) wear frills. I wear very little lace. I still consider myself to be on the "masculine" side of girls rather than on the "Barbie" side of "girlie-girls". (Does anybody REALLY live there?)

I really want to type more, but I'm out of time. I've gotta pick it up another day. TTYL guys!

Could I suggest that if someone is wondering if a skirt might look feminine on them, the answer is probably yes ?
The easiest thing would be to try it on and then try and have a good objective look at yourself in a full-length mirror..

I could also suggest some 'feminising' features could be excessive embroidery or trim, flounciness, too many flowers - too floral a pattern (big flowers and Asian/tropical flowers can be acceptable - just look at Hawaiian shirts, and sarongs..), too much frilliness or lace...

I too would like to see a move away from certain colours (e.g pink, purple,turquoise vs. blue, green, brown..) tending to be considered as gender-specific - especially as even these will vary from country to country, and region to region..

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I'll second SkirtDude. That's my criteria exactly. All those in favour? Carried!

Third that!

Gotta have the pockets for the junk! I dont care if the skirt is a UK or from dress barn. I look for skirts that are similar to mens shorts (pockets, fly, belt loops, etc...).

On a side note: Last year I found a great skirt at Wal Mart. It was black lightweight canvass with two GIANT cargo pockets (one on each side). The skirt was knee length and flared way out. By far the most comfortable and practical skirt in my inventory. I found a weakness... While carrying a lot of junk (cell phone, wallet, keys, etc..) in my GIANT cargo pocket, I caught the end of a hand rail and ripped the skirt in half! This pointed out a lesson; carry less crap in side pockets that swing.

SkirtDude wrote:Things I personally avoid:

• Floral patterns.
• Pink and purple colors.
• "Owie shoes" aka heels.

This was seconded and thirded, and now one clown feels the need to disagree....

Florals can work on guys and look good, as can pinks and purples. One very sharp combo I wear from time to time is an old skirt of my wife's that's a subdued floral (in a dimly-lit room it looks black, but in fact has red, beige, yellow, and purple in it) that I wear with a purple (almost eggplant-coloured) shirt because the purple in the shirt very closely approximates the purple in the floral print. And pink isn't a sissy colour, either; I used to have a pink dress shirt that I eventually wore out because I wore is so much -- and this was when I had already entered my professional years!

So, don't dismiss the notion of certain colours or certain prints out of hand -- why limit what you're willing to experiment with?! That we lot have the 'nads to challenge the stereotypical gender-based notions of attire in western civilisation should be well enough to teach us to really kick the sides of the box out. They overriding keys (to my mind) should be:

• "Does it look good on?"
• "Is it functional?" (Can I do what I naturally do whilst wearing it?)
• "Is it believable?" (Does it look too much like costume?)

I suspect that if those three criteria are satisfied, then the outfit is an unqualified success. It should be an outfit that the wearer can be confident in, it's an outfit that won't cause sneers from the bystanders, and it's an outfit that would speak well for skirted garments on men.

As far as pockets go, and your mileage will likely vary, I find that hanging a load of "stuff" (pick your own synonym) in skirt pockets seriously disrupts the flow and drape of the garment. Personally, I've opted for the "travel light" option and now carry less stuff than I used to (which can be strangely liberating in and of itself), and what I do carry, I carry in alternate ways.

I'm sure it'll be asked why I tend to raid my wife's wardrobe for some of my looks, so I'll answer that one forthwith. She's a fairly conservative dresser and always has been, and her taste in styles is impeccable. The ones I tend to borrow most often are styles that due to the vagaries of fashion tend to be no longer available or at least damnably difficult to find or are priced through the roof. They're also part of her old professional wardrobe (back when one was actually required, and that she no longer uses) and are absolutely splendid pieces; they are precisely the sorts of skirts that fit my three criteria above -- they look good, they're functional, and they're believable on the male body.

It should be mentioned that I have several skirts of my own purchase; these are all very recent purchases and, as such, reflect current fashion trends, not the "classic" look which I really like. I have three tiered skirts (all bought this year because they're "in") that all work well (one black, one burgundy, and one "eggplant"/purple); I have one long-ish velvet skirt in a royal blue (bought last year, or maybe the year before, I forget), and one ankle-length burgundy one. I like them all, and I tend to wear them all, although I don't wear the velvet one as much as I might because I don't want to crush the fabric down by sitting on it (go figure; I should just accept the crushing of the fabric as the price of wearing it, and if I don't wear the thing, then what was the point of buying it?).

What's the point of all this rambling? I think, in short, it's don't rule out possibilities because of prejudice.

'Nuff said. Cheers!

As far as pockets go, and your mileage will likely vary, I find that hanging a load of "stuff" (pick your own synonym) in skirt pockets seriously disrupts the flow and drape of the garment. Personally, I've opted for the "travel light" option and now carry less stuff than I used to (which can be strangely liberating in and of itself), and what I do carry, I carry in alternate ways.

I agree with that. What is all the rubbish that some people want to carry in their pocket anyway?

I travel light in this respect these days and either carry my stuff in skirt, shirt and jacket pockets - or use a shoulder bag. In this respect, I have just bought a new shoulder bag. It's great - take a look:

http://i15.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/b4/1b/b3c1_1.JPG

If you think I'm joking - I'm not. I like being a bit different - and a guy in a mini skirt, carrying a bag like that is a bit different . . .

ChristopherJ wrote:I have just bought a new shoulder bag. It's great - take a look:

http://i15.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/b4/1b/b3c1_1.JPG

I just took a look at that one, and I would have really appreciated a warning on the content as it darn near caused me to spray beer on my computer monitor. (Where's the "smiley" for "thumbs up!" when one really needs it?) I can't say for sure what, precisely, it was that caused a convulsion of laughter -- it may be the thoroughly malevolent expression of the figure in question or the coincidence of "Men in Skirts" with a "doggie handbag" (with a malevolent expression) -- but I've got to say, "Bloomin' GREAT!".

crfriend wrote: I can't say for sure what, precisely, it was that caused a convulsion of laughter -- it may be the thoroughly malevolent expression of the figure in question or the coincidence of "Men in Skirts" with a "doggie handbag" (with a malevolent expression) -- but I've got to say, "Bloomin' GREAT!".

Heck! That's not just any old dog, for goodness sake! It's Grommit, ain't it?

ChristopherJ wrote:I have just bought a new shoulder bag. It's great - take a look:

http://i15.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/b4/1b/b3c1_1.JPG

Holy moses! That made for quite a surprise! HA! But hey, whatever works for you, my friend!

Heck! That's not just any old dog, for goodness sake! It's Grommit, ain't it?

It is indeed - but it's spelt 'Gromit'. Get it right - or he'll bite your ankles!

I went around to a friends house and she had one hanging on the wall - and my immediate thought was "I want one!"

I like a bit of fun.

ChristopherJ wrote: It is indeed - but it's spelt 'Gromit'. Get it right - or he'll bite your ankles!

Yes, sorry about that! Not being too well up on such modern TV heroes, I spelt it phonetically!

I assume you attended the Wallace & Gromit function at Bristol (You do live there, don't you?) Zoo on Saturday. You'd have gone down a storm, and 'furthered the cause' into the bargain, I'm sure!

I assume you attended the Wallace & Gromit function at Bristol (You do live there, don't you?) Zoo on Saturday. You'd have gone down a storm, and 'furthered the cause' into the bargain, I'm sure!

I didn't - no. I did think of going (it was in Bristol Zoo in the evening) but I had been out all day and was tired, so I had a quiet evening in. Pity - I regret missing it now.

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