skirtcafe.org

ChristopherJ wrote: I have just bought this pair:
http://rimages.drct2u.com/content/image ... x_huge.jpg

I think those are going to look great on you, Chris!

ChristopherJ, the stlye looks good. I like. Only buggaboo for me is the white trainers. Somehow it just looks incomplete to me. Like you are planning on putting on different shoes, but those would be too painful to wear all the time. Though I will say, with the leg warmers, they do somehow work, in an athletic sense. Perhaps like under the skirt and shirt you have on a leotard and tights, and are headed to an aerobics class.

The long coat thing, and some of the critiques you have gotten. I think the look is good. The color choice is bold enough.

all in all, a good look.

I like the boots, need a piccie of you in those instead of the trainers.

ChristopherJ, the stlye looks good. I like. Only buggaboo for me is the white trainers.

I know, Pythos . . . I know.

I have had loads of people (women mostly) who have told me that the trainers and socks thing doesn't look very good.

It is all a result of not being able to get decent footwear very easily that goes with a skirt. However, I have now got two good pairs of boots for the winter. Because I like to wear tights or leggings, boots (calf length or knee length) are the only thing that looks OK.

Women can wear trainers with a short skirt and it looks alright - but my legs are too skinny to get away with that so I tried to wear some thick socks to break up the leg line - but it didn't work very well. I've got a couple of pairs of black trainers - and they look better (the ones in the photos are a light beige by the way, not white).

I think that shoes are the biggest problem for men who wear skirts - it is just so hard to get it right.

Women can wear trainers with a short skirt and it looks alright [...]

No, it doesn't, and it never has. It's a "look' that's evolved because women have been required to wear silly shoes that don't work properly for everyday (i.e. I can walk in them to get from point "A" to point "B" without tottering) wear. Whilst I agree that the look is positively ghastly, I cannot for an instant fault the ladies for adopting it. But that does not necessarily excuse us lot (blokes) from committing a faux pas.

There's got to be something that "works" well; I just can't put my finger on it at the moment.

[...]but my legs are too skinny to get away with that so I tried to wear some thick socks to break up the leg line - but it didn't work very well.

It may come as cold comfort, but I suspect that we shouldn't tied to the same standards as our lady friends. And, even if we were, the "heroin chic" of Kate Moss (and imitators) should put pay to the notion that slab-sidedness (a male normal) can't be "fashionable". I see no reason why skirts cannot work on even the most "drainpipe-shaped" physiques.

I think that shoes are the biggest problem for men who wear skirts - it is just so hard to get it right.

Yes, that's a problem at the moment. I also have no answers to the conundrum. Personally, I just wear the same shoes under a skirt that I would wear under trousers. (It's easier, and cheaper, that way.)

The problem is that the shoes that work best with skirts tend to be silly shoes that actually are bad for the feet: too narrow, no arch support, flat toe boxes and pointy toes. Most men's shoes have round toes and deeper toe boxes but, unless they are dress shoes can head toward clunkiness.

There is one company that does manufacture some women's
styles that are a compromise between silly shows and sensible shoes. That company is Mudd.

Some of the styles could work for MIS without looking to femme. For example, I have two pairs of 3 inch heeled lace up dress shoes, one in a black oxford style and the other in a brown wingtip style.

I have a third pair in a round toe, deep toebox, 3 inch heel variation of the "Mary Jane" style

Lastly, I have a pair of sandals from Mudd that are natural colored rope and tie up the calf, but they are probably to femmme for most men's tastes.

For men who wish not to wear heels, I like the look of a guy in mens dresss shoes with hose, either sheer or opaque.

No, I am not trying to "masclinize" my wardrobe, I just have special needs feet that limit me to what I can wear without pain.
Diana

Also chris, how about black trainers. That could work much better. I personally wear boots with all my stuff. Shoes never work that well, except with leggings in "athletic mode"

I wish I could find more choices in footwear, that do not look silly to me, or the general public, alas, for guys that is most difficult.

Personally, I just wear the same shoes under a skirt that I would wear under trousers.

Me too. And for me that means trainers - I have 7 or 8 pairs. But they don't really look right with a short skirt - although they look absolutely horrific with a long skirt - in my opinion.

I will continue to wear trainers with a skirt sometimes. But not often. And I will try and stick to black trainers with dark leggings.

Personally, I just wear the same shoes under a skirt that I would wear under trousers.

Me too. And for me that means trainers - I have 7 or 8 pairs.

I suppose it all depends on context. I'm a cheap bastard (I make no bones about that), and have one pair of shoes that I wear every day, and I wear 'em until they're no longer servicable (Sapphire, I'm sure will be happy to provide additional fodder on this theme ); I also wear 'em under both trousers and skirts. They seem to work.

I will continue to wear trainers with a skirt sometimes. But not often. And I will try and stick to black trainers with dark leggings.

How 'bout light coloured trainers with the textured legwear? That might actually work reasonably well.... You never know -- that's what mirrors are for (or digi-cams if you don't have access to a full-length mirror).

Hi there, I think that kooking at the whole picture is very important, and shoes are one thing that makes or breaks the whole thing. It is terribly difficult to find shoes woth a "finer", slender line instead of the chunky men's shoes. As most attractive shoes have a high heel, or a hourglass shape heel, they are not such a suitable shape or height for already long men. Somehow not enhancing the men's total image as with women.

I'm looking for fitting shoes for skirts, which I have in all soorts. Finding shoes which fit the slightly lager than the woman's foot is even harder. Now that more men are wearing other skirts than just skirts which are seen as "men's "skirts, there is a greater need for neat casual shoes, with a men's foot size fiting, which fit in well with the freestyle combinations.

For the rest we should look very good at what the women do to combine clothing, not specifically to which clothing, but more as to why it works, and what tricks they use, like wearing turtle neck sewaters over a skirt, having no belt in the skirt, but wearing an oversize belt over the sweater at waist height, thus breaking up the length effect. It works. Also watching colour combinations, coloured top, then watch what colour tights ( pantys) you wear. and of course, which shoes, or now here in the Netherlands, riding style boots. We don't have to imitate women, but we can certainly learn from them.

Peter v.

I wear prety much the same things with skirts that I wear with kilts. That is tee shirts. polos, dress shirts, and even a sport coat or kit styled jacket. Footwear is anything from black socks and dress shoes to sandles, including boots and scrunched down socks.

All,

I just wear leather pumps in a classic woman's style, with medium to moderate heels depending on the mood I'm in.

As for up top, I just choose a man's top that coordinates well with my skirt and pantyhose. The enclosed picture is a typical example.

Cheers,

John

That looks a bit as if you are just adopting a female clothing style, John - rather than creating a style of your own as a man wearing a skirt.

Christopher, here's what I sometimes do... Currently am wearing the same skirt, but am wearing black cotton kneesocks with gray wool cableknit kneesocks over them. No shoes or boots at the moment.

-J

Hi Christopher J,

My look is indeed very feminine...from the waist down. From the waist up, however, it is 100% guy. If the picture had been taken to show only my top half, no one would have guessed that I was wearing a skirt, pantyhose and heels lower down.

I really enjoy dressing this way, and it definitely is unique.

John

Hi John, Your look is indeed a bit feminine, but I think
it would not seam so if we saw a head to toe shot. It does
work well, [ one man's opinion ]. Besides, there a lot of
people who would kill for your legs!

John