Vogue: Men, Skirts Aren’t That Scary—Promise!

[new2skirts]

A great article, but the prices would deter quite a few, when browsing in a thrift shop gets you a variety of styles you can try. The skirts in that Vogue article look to busy, with extra lace or a lot of flounce... the best design for a skirt for guys is a regular jeans skirt, straight knee length

[crfriend]

... the best design for a skirt for guys is a regular jeans skirt, straight knee length

Humbly, I disagree. Quite likely the best design for a guy starting out before he can really get a focus on what his particular aesthetic is would likely be an A-line skirt which won't restrict stride, will be easier of fit, and just generally be more comfortable than a harsh-fabric pencil. Denim is way too far overplayed, so for starters I'd allow for any possible choice of fabric. Denim may be "invisible", but that's because it's merely visual "noise" in an already noisy background.

[Ozdelights]

The best way for it to be not scary is the wearer must be comfortable, that is both fit/feel and looks.

[STEVIE]

the best design for a skirt for guys is a regular jeans skirt, straight knee length

Sorry NTS, there is no "best" design.
The whole choice and range of skirts is open to men, would they but just realise.
It is then up to us as individuals to boldly go and discover all the strange new experiences that each variation may conjure.
Experiment, learn and adapt are really the ways forward and have fun with it too.
Steve.

[Barleymower]

From my own experience. There's a just a few things the new wearer needs to remember.
1. Expensive fabrics most often crease easily and look a mess if you have been sat for a while.
2. If you wear a skirt that is above the knee and sit as you normally would in trousers, there's a good chance your junk is going to be seen. Nobody wants that.
3. Light soft fabrics have a habit of flying up on breezy days. Also moving down stairs at a pace can have the same effect.

[new2skirts]

the best design for a skirt for guys is a regular jeans skirt, straight knee length

Sorry NTS, there is no "best" design.
The whole choice and range of skirts is open to men, would they but just realise.
It is then up to us as individuals to boldly go and discover all the strange new experiences that each variation may conjure.
Experiment, learn and adapt are really the ways forward and have fun with it too.
Steve.

Have to disagree there, not too keen on being "told off" either. My words have been taken out of context, for a guy new to the concept, denim, although common, is something most men are used to (lots more skirts zip up on the men's side), are plentiful in thrift shops / ebay, and may be an easier gateway garment compared to the more expensive kilt, or wildly outrageously priced offerings from the catwalk. Some who are still in the "flowy skirt = feminine" phase of worry may blend in in such a ubiquitous garment if it resembles denim shorts it may calm any anxiety on their first journeys out.

There are a variety of designs, styles, shades depending on the flamboyance / courage of the individual. There are a variety of outfits on Reddit / Pinterest / Instagram, but no style is "better", I was using a term to indicate what might be easier on that initial trip out, be it going to shops, putting out the trash or something else

[Coder]

I think what new2skirts was saying - that for a newcomer, the "least scary"/"best" design is a simple denim skirt. As for the cut - straight or a-line, I think it could result in a heated debate and we could never agree on a specific style.

But I think we could all agree - for the uninitiated, there is likely a hierarchy of skirts that starts off with the traditional kilt, works its way through the utility kilt, denim skirts (in masculine colors), avante garde designs (a lot of the men's skirt designs could be classified this way), and broadens into plaids, then airy cotton prints - the latter being the "scariest" for a newcomer. I liken it to the "boil a frog" approach.

Not to mention - the further you stray from the kilt, the more complex it is to style the upper and lower half. Part of this is due to how we expect skirts to be styled, and part of this is due to the fact that guys have very little practice in styling themselves.

[Barleymower]

I'm not a fan of denim skirts or kilts but.... eek this was my first skirt.

Screenshot_20230205_141713_Photos~2.jpg

It wasn't a kilt though

[STEVIE]

Have to disagree there, not too keen on being "told off" either.

Apologies, for appearing to be "telling you off", it wasn't my intention.
As I see it though, the problem is the lack of room to experiment at a young enough age.
Boys are just herded into the "drab" in a way that girls aren't.
My thought is that if a newbie to skirts gets stuck on denim then he is denying himself a hell of a lot and that is not how I see fashion freedom.
Steve.

[new2skirts]

Have to disagree there, not too keen on being "told off" either.

Apologies, for appearing to be "telling you off", it wasn't my intention.
As I see it though, the problem is the lack of room to experiment at a young enough age.
Boys are just herded into the "drab" in a way that girls aren't.
My thought is that if a newbie to skirts gets stuck on denim then he is denying himself a hell of a lot and that is not how I see fashion freedom.
Steve.

No worries Sadly the dynamic is for girls to look attractive for men, but not vice versa. If men were birds, we'd be the ones in dull plumage, whilst females were brightly coloured Bit by bit, fashion has changed... I remember the years when a man could be ridiculed for a pink shirt... now we have Brad Pitt skirted at premieres, so not just younger generations like Lil Nas X. But away from celebrities making fashion statements, it's a little different, and still daunting, for a guy starting out. But he can start from drab and diversify from there Going on a first trip out in a flowing floral skirt may not be easy as something more utilitarian like a combat skirt with pockets like combat shorts.

Denim, although drab as a gateway skirt might be easier, my first outings were in a denim pencil skirt, I like the fit, but everyone is different. I would have gone for a kilt but they were expensive, but Veletron, a guy who used to post here like Pythos back in the day, had the same interest in skirt styles as me. Everyone differs

[STEVIE]

Denim, although drab as a gateway skirt might be easier, my first outings were in a denim pencil skirt, I like the fit, but everyone is different. I would have gone for a kilt but they were expensive, but Veletron, a guy who used to post here like Pythos back in the day, had the same interest in skirt styles as me. Everyone differs

I remember both of them too, Veletron, was actually at the very first Scottish meet. He lived in Stirling then but I haven't heard of him in a long time.
My very first outing was in a denim straight too, but it was red, my favourite colour.
As you say, it would never do if we were all the same.
Steve.

[Ozdelights]

My thoughts, a new wearer would feel to stand out less if they wore something that mirrors pants they normally wear. I some places kilts are the best gateway, others blue denim and some basic colours. Here kilts and blue denim shorts are very rare so less likely to be 'comfortable'.

We can provide insight/suggestions but the best advice is 'what makes you comfortable'.

[new2skirts]

Denim, although drab as a gateway skirt might be easier, my first outings were in a denim pencil skirt, I like the fit, but everyone is different. I would have gone for a kilt but they were expensive, but Veletron, a guy who used to post here like Pythos back in the day, had the same interest in skirt styles as me. Everyone differs

I remember both of them too, Veletron, was actually at the very first Scottish meet. He lived in Stirling then but I haven't heard of him in a long time.
My very first outing was in a denim straight too, but it was red, my favourite colour.
As you say, it would never do if we were all the same.
Steve.

Veletron also was a member of a mountaineering club (www.ochils.com) and in their gallery between 2007 to 2012 posted quite a few skirted looks with his partner. He uploaded some looks to Lookbook (forerunner to Instagram / Pinterest), and Pythos appears on Reddit quite a bit. Like Mark as in Mark and Eightofninekev, it's probably easier posting where the majority read them or see skirted men out and about in real life. Such platforms are more public (with less scorn and scruitiny) and might encourage more guys to embrace the look. A lot seem to default to denim as well

[new2skirts]

I'm not a fan of denim skirts or kilts but.... eek this was my first skirt.
Screenshot_20230205_141713_Photos~2.jpg
It wasn't a kilt though

Love it! I'd wear that! I had a Black Watch tartan from Oasis, Marks and Spencer also sell a few tartan pencil skirts as well

[familyman34]

the best design for a skirt for guys is a regular jeans skirt, straight knee length

Sorry NTS, there is no "best" design.
The whole choice and range of skirts is open to men, would they but just realise.
It is then up to us as individuals to boldly go and discover all the strange new experiences that each variation may conjure.
Experiment, learn and adapt are really the ways forward and have fun with it too.
Steve.

Have to disagree there, not too keen on being "told off" either. My words have been taken out of context, for a guy new to the concept, denim, although common, is something most men are used to (lots more skirts zip up on the men's side), are plentiful in thrift shops / ebay, and may be an easier gateway garment compared to the more expensive kilt, or wildly outrageously priced offerings from the catwalk.

No, I find that there are very few denim skirts in my local charity shops.

When I was starting out, I bought a good number of denim skirts from at lease 7 different shops, and there was a consequent local lack of such skirts for a few months because I had stripped the supply of them. They have had at least three years since then to get more into stock, but to no avail. (Perhaps there is another early-stage MIS following in my footsteps!)

What I now find most common are the rather unfashionable office-type skirts, mainly in black, that people either have not returned to wearing since lock-down ended with the new casualisation of office clothes, or that people can't fit into any more because of the persistent added weight/waist measurement accumulated during lock-down.