skirtcafe.org

Hello, kilted and skirted ladies and gentlemen!

I am a woman who is all in favour of your choice of clothing; besides the practicality and comfort benefits, I can't help but notice that men look *great* in unbifurcated garments. (I've been known to ogle entire pipe-bands as they march past in parades.) I raise my tea-cup to you and salute you, for both your style, and your fascinating and civilized forum.

We also have a point of commonality. Personally, I hate wearing pants -- they aren't comfortable to me, and they do the worst for my particular proportions. So I wear skirts pretty much all the time -- to work, to hang around the house, to mow the lawn, to go boating at the cabin... hey, if men can do it, so can I. And sometimes I'm viewed as weird, by other women who wonder why I dress the way I do, what I'm trying to prove, whether or not I believe in equality, and so on. So I have some sympathy with you, though from a different point of view. I've read the comment here more than once, that women can wear "whatever they want"... but walking in those shoes, it's not always quite that simple. Strange world, where a woman can catch flack for wearing a skirt instead of jeans.

Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself. I guess I should add that I live in an urban part of Canada.

It's nice to meet you!

Inertia:
Welcome to the 'Mad Hatters Tea Party' even if we like our latte-coffee by the potted palm in the internet lobby.
Your comments from across the aisle will give the forum a degree of balance and perspective.
So feel free to post anytime.
"KILT-ON"
rm

Inertia wrote:Hello, kilted and skirted ladies and gentlemen!

I am a woman who is all in favour of your choice of clothing; besides the practicality and comfort benefits, I can't help but notice that men look *great* in unbifurcated garments. (I've been known to ogle entire pipe-bands as they march past in parades.) I raise my tea-cup to you and salute you, for both your style, and your fascinating and civilized forum.

We also have a point of commonality. Personally, I hate wearing pants -- they aren't comfortable to me, and they do the worst for my particular proportions. So I wear skirts pretty much all the time -- to work, to hang around the house, to mow the lawn, to go boating at the cabin... hey, if men can do it, so can I. And sometimes I'm viewed as weird, by other women who wonder why I dress the way I do, what I'm trying to prove, whether or not I believe in equality, and so on. So I have some sympathy with you, though from a different point of view. I've read the comment here more than once, that women can wear "whatever they want"... but walking in those shoes, it's not always quite that simple. Strange world, where a woman can catch flack for wearing a skirt instead of jeans.

Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself. I guess I should add that I live in an urban part of Canada.

It's nice to meet you!

Hello, Inertia, and thank you for joining and posting!
It is indeed a "Strange world, where a woman can catch flack for wearing a skirt instead of jeans."
Men tend to forget that women are under almost constant scrutiny by other women, and some men, who constitute the self appointed "fashion police" and are quick to criticize any deviation from what they consider to be the proper dress in any particular situation. So while women can wear "whatever they want", it can be a struggle and take a real independent streak to maintain your own style.

Kris

Inertia said: Strange world, where a woman can catch flack for wearing a skirt instead of jeans.

We have that problem too. Not as much as you do obviously. I've been wearing some form of MUG since I was a baby. My mom had 7 miscarriages, I was the 7th. The other 6 had been all female so when I arrived and managed to live, she had lots of clothes ready for me to wear, ALL PINK... Which she pretty much kept me in until Kindergarten. She actually tried to convince the teachers at 1st grade that I was comfortable in a skirt so she didnt want me to wear trousers. The teachers said, he's a boy he wears pants! After a big to do with the school she put me in pants for the first time in my life. I was VERY unhappy until we moved to a bigger town where Mom found a private school that would allow me to wear a plain skirt in class, they agreed because mom would have opted for home schooling if they didn't. That lasted until the end of the 6th grade. There WERE no schools that would allow that in 789 and 10th grade. So I learned to wear and hate pants and was sorta IN them until 1972 when I was in a movie in the South Pacific where I started wearing sarongs until 1982 when I started wearing skirts at home again. Since 2005 I've been wearing whatever I felt like all the time in public. That's to say, skirts exclusively. MUG = Male Unbifurcated Garment

Thank you for the warm welcome, gentlemen. I am delighted to settle down by the potted palm, and appreciate you guys making room for me. (Any chai tea latte here? I am a tea-freak. )

Since1982, I imagine you have caught as much (or more) flack for wearing a skirt than I have, but not necessarily from the same sources. I have the impression that women are more likely to make encouraging comments to men wearing skirts, whereas it's the men who do the most criticizing of other skirted men. (Obviously I may be wrong about that; it's only what I've read.) Whereas I've really never had a man criticize me for wearing a skirt; it's only women who think I'm being weird for not putting on pants unless I absolutely have to. Maybe each sex is most critical of itself?

Nuts to all this criticality, I say. A person should just wear whatever they want to. And fashion designers should stop creating clothes in proportions none of us can fit into... but that's another rant altogether.

Cheers,

Inertia

Inertia said: I have the impression that women are more likely to make encouraging comments to men wearing skirts, whereas it's the men who do the most criticizing of other skirted men.

You're right and wrong on that one. I get a whole lot more positive comments from women, NO comments from men on the street, they sort of look away as if they might "catch" something. When I do get a nasty unfounded comment it's always from a young girl or woman. Really vituperous loaded with hate type comments. The only thing men ever say is, "Is that a kilt"? or "Why the skirt?" To which the latter gets because it's far more comfortable than trousers and/or "why not the skirt?" to "Is that a kilt" they get nooo, it's a skirt, see any pleats or sporrans?

I go regularly to a Bingo hall near here and I get the most pleasing comments from the older ladies, I mean older than me ladies..I'm 66. Most wonder why more men don't wear skirts. Some even point out that a skirt seems like it would fit a man's nether regions better. I'm quick to tell them it does. As 80% of the world's men already know. Only a few men on the planet don't wear some kind of skirted garment as a regular day to day choice. Men still stuck in the Victorian age. ala the "Penguin look".

"When I do get a nasty unfounded comment it's always from a young girl or woman. Really vituperous loaded with hate type comments."

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; I went to high school with any number of hateful vituperative young girls, who made vicious fun of me and other people who weren't "cool" like they were, and I always wondered what the H their problem was that made them take such pleasure in acting that way. I'm sorry to hear that the species is still active. Geh.

Inertia

Hello, Inertia, welcome to the cafe.

Wouldn't more people look better if they wore clothes they *liked* rather than wearing necessarily what's "in fashion"?

Welcome aboard, ma'am. We're definitely a co-ed forum, although our ratio is a skewed considerably toward the XY side. We hold our XX members in high regard!

Sasquatch

Thank you kindly for the welcome; I appreciate your willingness to have females visit this establishment! You have such fascinating conversations here, from a point of view not easy to access in my daily life; I know a couple of guys who wear kilts for ceremonial occasions, and have seen one fellow regularly on my Saturday (early-)morning shopping expeditions who wears a Utilikilt to the grocery store; but apart from seeing men wearing skirts and kilts at science fiction conventions, where people tend to let their inner selves out for all to see, it's rare to see skirt-wearing men where I live. It cheers me to know there's such an active internet community of men wearing skirts and kilts.

And yes, I agree -- when people wear clothes they love, they look great. I've browsed the photo section of this forum, and all you guys look terrific; it's obvious from the way you carry yourselves that you're enjoying what you're wearing. More power to you.

Cheers,

Inertia

Also a warm welcome to you, Inertia, from me.
Join the few other women at the Cafe.
Much has already been said, which I would also have said, so on with other things....

"And fashion designers should stop creating clothes in proportions none of us can fit into... but that's another rant altogether."
That is a very sound statement which is so true, as most people have arguments with clothing at some time or another in our confection society. I myself wear women's blouses etc, and have a hard time finding clothing which fits me well enough to be bought and worn. I am not unique in that, as also women are not all built the same, or so spindly that they can fit in any clothing. Even women are wearing more and more men's pants, etc because of that very fact. No matter who you are, your clothing must fit, no matter what the label states.

Men also disregard labels in skirts, often stating "women's", as if the skirt fits, wear it.

"when people wear clothes they love, they look great." I do so agree, that "PEOPLE" generally look good / great when they wear clothes THEY love.

Clothing is very often an extention of the person inside, so when budgets allow, we should all dress accordingly, and not as others would wish us to dress.
Once others start looking at others as PEOPLE, and not in particular at Women or Men in the old fashioned sense, then it will be much easier to appreciate what others are doing, ie people born as males, now wearing clothing not generally known as clothing for males. Meaning skirt wearing men.

Inertia wrote:I appreciate your willingness to have females visit this establishment!

A huge welcome for you, Inertia! The guys here are always happy to hear female feedback, I don't think they get to hear it often enough. Though as a jeans girl I won't be dressed like you often, I will eagerly join you for a pot of tea.

Thank you for making a new member feel so welcome! Skirt Chaser (love your screen name, by the way!), I will be delighted to share a pot of tea with you any time, no matter what either of us chooses to wear on any given day. What kind is your favourite? I am myself becoming quite addicted to anything grown on estates in Kenya, and I also have a weakness for Scottish Breakfast, which is probably in no way related to my general tendency to ogle men in kilts and MUGs... And as for chasing skirts.... while I suppose my husband might some day be persuaded to wear a kilt for Robbie Burns Night, if he were to drink sufficient Scotch first, I suspect there's little chance of such a thing ever happening on any other occasion! Ah, well... a person can still hope, and be all in favour of the Cause.

Peter V... thank you for such a delightful welcome. Regarding the way clothes fit us (or more likely, don't fit), I agree with you completely. In my 45 years of trying to find clothing to fit my proportions, I find that the two most difficult garments are blouses and pants. My figure, while not overweight, is apparently not to the proportions preferred by the clothing industry, which means I am not built like a hip-less 15-year-old boy below the waist, nor like a hugely well-endowed Barbie doll above the waist. I can sympathize with you and any other guys here trying to find skirts or any other item of supposedly-female clothing that fits them... because no human being in the world, apparently, of either sex, looks like whatever much of the clothing is designed for! Or if they do, they're very lucky. I once went shopping for evening-dresses with a woman of my acquaintance who had the perfect female figure: long legs, slender waist, good-sized bust, nice hips but not very large... she could have been a fashion model. And in the entire afternoon of trying on garment after garment, she could only find two dresses that fit her, and they were both too expensive for her to afford! It's a wonder any of us wear clothes at all! (Okay, that was part of my rant... sorry! )

Hope you're having a lovely evening,

Inertia

Greetings Inertia and welcome

Isn't it ironic that you feel are sometimes made to feel "wierd" by the peers when wearing a skirt. I am all for freedom too it will take a while to achiev though.

from the Scottish Borders.

Its always good to hear a lady's viewpoint.
I'm surprised though that in Canada you sense any opposition from other women to wearing your skirts. When I was in Toronto, Canada in July of this year I noticed many more women in skirts than I would expect to see here in Scotland, where a lady in a skirt appears to be becoming as scarce as a guy in a kilt or skirt. I thought it might be more difficult for me as a guy to go skirted in Toronto, yet I was able to wear either a tartan kilt or a denim skirt every day during my holiday. The tartan kilt got a small amount of notice and some favourable comments but the denim skirt appeared to be invisible which is just as it should be.