Can a skirt ever look masculine

[JeffB1959]

Speaking just for myself, I have ZERO desire to have my skirts look masculine. All of mine are as feminine looking as they get: prints, patterns, bright colors, long and flowing styles, none of which smacks of masculinity, and that’s good enough for me. Because I wear women’s tops and shoes with said skirts, I see no reason to deviate from that theme, that makes me happy.

Whew! That's a relief to read. I was beginning to think I might have wandered into the wrong place and bared my soul for naught!

It really is interesting to read about all the different preferences and motivations here though. My tastes won't be everyone's cup of tea, but no sense in joining a community like this if i'm not gonna lay it all out there.

Hey! Don’t be afraid to swim against the current to voice an opinion you feel is just and worthy of expressing. If everyone here possessed a hive mind mentality like the Borg from Star Trek, this place would be dreadfully boring. Heck, even though this place is devoted to men in skirts, I’ve been partial to wearing dresses exclusively on my outings for the last few months, something I’ve been up front about, and people still like me. It’s the variety of viewpoints that keeps things here fresh and upbeat.

[Fred in Skirts]

BouffantBelle wrote:
Whew! That's a relief to read. I was beginning to think I might have wandered into the wrong place and bared my soul for naught!

It really is interesting to read about all the different preferences and motivations here though. My tastes won't be everyone's cup of tea, but no sense in joining a community like this if i'm not gonna lay it all out there.

Hey! Don’t be afraid to swim against the current to voice an opinion you feel is just and worthy of expressing. If everyone here possessed a hive mind mentality like the Borg from Star Trek, this place would be dreadfully boring. Heck, even though this place is devoted to men in skirts, I’ve been partial to wearing dresses exclusively on my outings for the last few months, something I’ve been up front about, and people still like me. It’s the variety of viewpoints that keeps things here fresh and upbeat.

The Cafe is just the place to open up about our love for wearing skirts and dresses. We do so for many reasons, Mine is for comfort and the freedom of movement they give me.
So don't be afraid to express your viewpoints and ideas. We may not always agree on them but we always want to hear them. This is the only place I feel comfortable and safe expressing mine.

Fred

[dressedbrewer]

IMHO, absolutely. It depends on the skirt but I don't see why no skirt could ever be considered masculine. There are many countries where men regularly wear clothing not too far from a dress, but these would never be considered feminine. Pop over to Scotland and I wouldn't consider male kilts being feminine, with or without the sporran.
Likewise with the hakama in Japan. and there are other countries where male skirt-like clothing are part of male culture and not considered feminine because people accept that those pieces of clothing have no impact on masculinity or femininity.

Not too long ago tight jeans wouldn't have been considered masculine but now they are available on both sides of the aisle and people no longer associate tight jeans with femininity.

Whether or not a skirt can appear masculine depends on whether or not the observer starts from a position of clothing having any impact on masculinity or femininity.


.

[Midas]

No skirt or dress, whatever the style and colour/pattern, is masculine (or feminine for that matter).They are clothes and do not have a gender.

Whether you look masculine or not is about you and the way you conduct yourself, not what you happen to be wearing.

[Coder]

No skirt or dress, whatever the style and colour/pattern, is masculine (or feminine for that matter).They are clothes and do not have a gender.

Whether you look masculine or not is about you and the way you conduct yourself, not what you happen to be wearing.

This rings true to me too. I do want to add, though, certain clothes or styles are coded feminine - and that can brush off on the wearer.

[BouffantBelle]

No skirt or dress, whatever the style and colour/pattern, is masculine (or feminine for that matter).They are clothes and do not have a gender.

But certain clothing does soften or harden your image, which can have an effect on how you're perceived by others. Women can get positive results from softening their image, men generally cannot. Can't reason with instinct.

[crfriend]

[... C]ertain clothing does soften or harden your image, which can have an effect on how you're perceived by others. Women can get positive results from softening their image, men generally cannot. Can't reason with instinct.

Well, why are women continually "hardening" their image if they get positive results from softening it? That sort of flies in the face of expectation.

Men can soften their image, too, but the result usually winds up in the vein of "an iron fist in a velvet glove".

I make heavy use of fancy fabrics like velvets, satins, silks, and lace -- and I don't pick up any guff about "being soft". And, in a hilarious twist, I was always drawn to the Abba song "Head Over Heels" where the subject of the song is a strong-willed woman "... running the gauntlet in a whirl of lace." The image appeals to me to this day, but women in fancy attire are a thing of the long-distant past, so now I'm the one "... running the gauntlet in a whirl of lace". There's a nice symmetry in there.

[BouffantBelle]

Well, why are women continually "hardening" their image if they get positive results from softening it? That sort of flies in the face of expectation.

Because modern women perceive greater benefit in hardening their image, and reinforce this notion to one another, regardless of it's merits.

Think about why traditional male and female attire took the fork in the road that it did, and the qualities each expressed at the time. Female attire to boost their natural charm, because of course at that time they were reliant on men, male attire to project authority and capability.

Authority and capability. The very traits modern women are generally striving to adopt. And likewise, men wearing skirts will be perceived as us attempting to adopt traditionally feminine traits, either consciously or unconsciously.

This I believe is why some people react so viscerally to us, without being able to articulate why they find us offensive. It's instinctual. At least, that's my take.

[crfriend]

This I believe is why some people react so viscerally to us, without being able to articulate why they find us offensive. It's instinctual. At least, that's my take.

I would be hesitant to call it instinctual, as that's getting a bit too close to the actual biology to explain what's in play. I suspect the real driver is sociological, and what's considered "common" or "normal" in the modern day and time -- because humans are notoriously sloppy about actually studying the historical record, and revert to what they "know".

Take a look at male fashion in the Italian Renaissance, or in Elizabethan England. Heck, look back only a little ways to the 1960s and '70s when the last gasp of the "male peacock" drew its last breath before being smashed by the neo-con takeover in the 1980s. Skirts on guys were being experimented with in that time-frame. So, this is nothing "new".

Right now, we seem to be gripped in the stranglehold of machismo -- with both the men and the women trying to be "more macho than everybody else" and it's become a status thing. It's a dead-end of course, and it'll sort out in the long run (if there is a long run, mind), but it's going to be a long hard slog.

The upshot is that men and women rely on one another more than anyone cares to admit, and that's not good, because if we cannot function as a team things are going to get fairly dire.

[jamie001]

Hopefully we can stop worrying about if a skirt looks masculine because we don't need to look masculine. The skirt doesn't need to look masculine and neither do we when wearing it, We need to get past these masculine/feminine concepts and wear what we like. If the skirt fits and you like it, wear it! It's that simple!

[BouffantBelle]

Hopefully we can stop worrying about if a skirt looks masculine because we don't need to look masculine. The skirt doesn't need to look masculine and neither do we when wearing it, We need to get past these masculine/feminine concepts and wear what we like. If the skirt fits and you like it, wear it! It's that simple!

It's a nice thought. But the reality is that how we present ourselves will always have an effect on how we're perceived, and the respect (and opportunities) that are afforded to us as a result.
We live in a society, for better or worse.

[Myopic Bookworm]

I have just listened to an interesting BBC podcast on "How to be a Man", which although it does not mention skirts, addresses historical shifts in perceptions of masculinity and what is considered masculine in style and colour. It is hosted by Rylan (gay TV personality) and in the episode I heard he was talking to Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (interior decorator noted for flamboyant style but not gay). Maybe worth your time if you have access to BBC Sounds.

[Faldaguy]

Hopefully we can stop worrying about if a skirt looks masculine because we don't need to look masculine. The skirt doesn't need to look masculine and neither do we when wearing it, We need to get past these masculine/feminine concepts and wear what we like. If the skirt fits and you like it, wear it! It's that simple!

It's a nice thought. But the reality is that how we present ourselves will always have an effect on how we're perceived, and the respect (and opportunities) that are afforded to us as a result.
We live in a society, for better or worse.

I have to side with Jamie on this one. Breaking the prescribed 'masculine/feminine' barrier is for me a key part of the message I am trying to deliver. You may gain some deference based on your façade; but respect is much deeper and does not depend on appearance. Nor should we extend much 'respect' to those who are so shallow, narrow-minded, or un-thinking that they deny you opportunities accordingly, as that helps perpetuates the shallow as a virtue. Don't judge a book, or a man, by his cover!

BouffantBelle I believe sees his skirts more as a work of art, than as utilitarian clothing; and indeed it would be hard to wear such items without turning heads and screwing up minds -- which may be useful; but the image of man in one driving a bulldozer might genuinely raise questions about his sanity! However, neither the works of art nor the denim skirt alone command respect or derision. BB -- I suspect you still harbor fears of 'what others might think', and I hope this cafe can help you surmount those, mostly unfounded, fears.

[dressedbrewer]

Hopefully we can stop worrying about if a skirt looks masculine because we don't need to look masculine. The skirt doesn't need to look masculine and neither do we when wearing it, We need to get past these masculine/feminine concepts and wear what we like. If the skirt fits and you like it, wear it! It's that simple!

It's a nice thought. But the reality is that how we present ourselves will always have an effect on how we're perceived, and the respect (and opportunities) that are afforded to us as a result.
We live in a society, for better or worse.

I have to side with Jamie on this one. Breaking the prescribed 'masculine/feminine' barrier is for me a key part of the message I am trying to deliver. You may gain some deference based on your façade; but respect is much deeper and does not depend on appearance. Nor should we extend much 'respect' to those who are so shallow, narrow-minded, or un-thinking that they deny you opportunities accordingly, as that helps perpetuates the shallow as a virtue. Don't judge a book, or a man, by his cover!

BouffantBelle I believe sees his skirts more as a work of art, than as utilitarian clothing; and indeed it would be hard to wear such items without turning heads and screwing up minds -- which may be useful; but the image of man in one driving a bulldozer might genuinely raise questions about his sanity! However, neither the works of art nor the denim skirt alone command respect or derision. BB -- I suspect you still harbor fears of 'what others might think', and I hope this cafe can help you surmount those, mostly unfounded, fears.

The cafe is a great support but I don't think 'what others might think' is always unfounded. Those with young kids for example need to be cognisant if what their peers will think and what bullying they might be subjected to

[BouffantBelle]

the image of man in one driving a bulldozer

Good grief! I think I'll leave that kind of manual labor to the ladies, they're better dressed for it.