Dress shopping in Perth (Scotland not Australia)

[rivegauche]

I visited Perth today with a view to visiting some tried and tested boutiques and charity shops. Just a hundred metres or so from the car park, I saw a boutique I had not seen before called Polka Dot.
https://www.facebook.com/people/PolkaDo ... 969026367/

I wasn't wearing a skirt this time as it was too much hassle to change.

The dresses in the window looked like they would cost over £200 so I was pleasantly surprised to find they were £60-£70. The dresses include a lot of simple pullover types that would work for the male body. When I had gathered a few she volunteered to put them in the fitting room for me. I asked her how she knew they had been for me and she said men shopping for themselves (I am not her first male customer even though she has only been open for 2 months) look through the dresses differently, She also said she had asked me what sort of dresses I liked, which allowed for them being presents, and the questions gradually got more direct.

My purpose in posting this is partly to alert MIS to dresses that would work for us, but also to highlight a shop with a lovely owner who is actively enthusiastic about men in skirts and dresses, and gives good advice on colours and styles. She is also quite adept at finding out which men are shopping for themselves! Highly recommended.

[ScotL]

So what kind of dresses work for the male body?

[Ray]

Thanks RG. I’m in Scotland next week. Might give it a try.

[rivegauche]

So what kind of dresses work for the male body?

You could always go to this shop and ask her - this lady knows her stuff. Long-sleeved jumper dresses that are not too shaped at the waist (waist often too high on waisted dresses).

[Coder]

So what kind of dresses work for the male body?

For me, anyways, I've tried on a variety and the following would work if I were to wear one:

Sheath dresses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheath_dress
Get one without sleeves, maybe 1 size bigger, and wear a turtleneck/long sleeve shirt underneath

Pinafore
Lucy & Yak used to make a long version of their dress - I bought one and it's on my list of things to wear this summer. It's essentially one tube short of a pair of dungarees. Wear a fun contrasting shirt underneath.
https://lucyandyak.com/products/mini-pi ... y-cabernet

[ScotL]

You could always go to this shop and ask her - this lady knows her stuff. Long-sleeved jumper dresses that are not too shaped at the waist (waist often too high on waisted dresses).

That she knows how to style a dress for a man is encouraging.

Next time I’m in Scotland, I’ll have to visit. Bit of a commute at the present

[ScotL]

Sheath dresses

Get one without sleeves, maybe 1 size bigger, and wear a turtleneck/long sleeve shirt underneath

Pinafore
Lucy & Yak used to make a long version of their dress - I bought one and it's on my list of things to wear this summer.

Thanks Coder! Very helpful. Be interested to hear how it goes this summer.

[rode_kater]

So what kind of dresses work for the male body?

For me, anyways, I've tried on a variety and the following would work if I were to wear one:

Sheath dresses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheath_dress
Get one without sleeves, maybe 1 size bigger, and wear a turtleneck/long sleeve shirt underneath

Pinafore
Lucy & Yak used to make a long version of their dress - I bought one and it's on my list of things to wear this summer. It's essentially one tube short of a pair of dungarees. Wear a fun contrasting shirt underneath.
https://lucyandyak.com/products/mini-pi ... y-cabernet

I agree with these suggestions. The problem with many dresses is that they don't fit around the shoulders, or look unbalanced up top. Sleeve-less dresses avoid this issue. I'd like a pinafore, but they're kind rare around here. T-shirt dresses work well because they stretch.

The main other thing to pay attention to is the placement of the waist. If the dress narrows at the waist but you don't it gets a bit odd. An empire-waist may look good on many women, but I think on men it's a no-go.

[Coder]

The main other thing to pay attention to is the placement of the waist. If the dress narrows at the waist but you don't it gets a bit odd. An empire-waist may look good on many women, but I think on men it's a no-go.

Yes - I forgot to mention this. They do make "drop-waist" dresses, but you still may have issues fitting up top around the shoulders.

I like the concept of dresses, but very few have seemed like they would "work" for me.

[ScotL]

Yes - I forgot to mention this. They do make "drop-waist" dresses, but you still may have issues fitting up top around the shoulders.

I like the concept of dresses, but very few have seemed like they would "work" for me.

Guess someone just needs to create the men’s dress then eh? Can you have one altered to fit you?

I don’ t know the answer to this but would dresses for younger girls fit men better since they don’t have curves yet. If they just made them bigger?

[rivegauche]

I agree that shift dresses work, but you can rarely get away with a defined waist as in one of he pictures in the link. You can buy illusions patterned dresses that improve the look of your figure but generally I prefer plain colours. I don't really go for that sort of pinafore dress - if you have to wear any type of top under the dress I tend to avoid them.

I also bought some dresses in John Lewis and Sahara in Edinburgh. John Lewis had two linen dresses that will be great in summer. This one by Kin is not shaped and if you simply loop the scarf bit at the neck instead of tying it in a bow it doesn't look feminine.

https://www.johnlewis.com/kin-painterly ... p109714681

I bought this one in Sahara as well as two others in the sale. The first one is expensive but wonderfully loose and comfortable.

https://www.saharalondon.com/clothing/d ... -multi.htm

In their sale I also got https://www.saharalondon.com/sale/explo ... een-bl.htm

I don't get to the Central Belt very often so I had a bit of a splurge - I did the same with books.

[rode_kater]

You can find lot of tips about dresses for men if you search for tips for the body shapes "upside-down triangle" and "rectangle". Yes, there are women who have broad shoulders and narrow waists and they too have to learn what works for them.

[rode_kater]

Guess someone just needs to create the men’s dress then eh?

This is something I've been thinking of. I've looking at pictures of men in dress-like garment in movies and TV and trying to figure out what about it makes them work. The placement of the waist is definitely important, and less curves, more straight lines. It seems simple, but once you start trying to organise actual fabric it becomes quite complicated. It's pity I don't know any professionals.

Though come to think of it, it sounds like a interesting work assignment for students of a fashion academy. Design and make a dress for men in a modern style, that's not so extreme that you could only wear it on a catwalk.

[Midas]

It depends on the shape of the man. If fat with round shoulders and a beer belly it will be difficult, more like a tent. There are plenty of women who are this shape and look appalling in a dress.

On the other hand a reasonably athletic man (who doesn’t overdo the weights) can carry off a lot of dress styles pretty well.

If starting out, it’s best to go a size up on skirt size and to try jersey dresses, as this material has some elasticity and will fit better.

[ScotL]

This is something I've been thinking of. I've looking at pictures of men in dress-like garment in movies and TV and trying to figure out what about it makes them work. The placement of the waist is definitely important, and less curves, more straight lines.

Men in professional movies/musicals/theater wear costumes depicting bygone eras that are for all intents and purposes a dress. I saw the musical Wicked last night and the period clothing for men were dresses. But they looked masculine. I’ve often wondered how they pulled that off. But less curves and a lower waist makes sense. To summarize your brilliant statement, it’s not how many tubes open to the bottom or where a garment begins or ends that defines gender, but the curves that occur as one’s eye moves top to bottom.

Though come to think of it, it sounds like a interesting work assignment for students of a fashion academy. Design and make a dress for men in a modern style, that's not so extreme that you could only wear it on a catwalk.

I’ve always wondered about this. And it seems Thom Browne may actually be on this. Eventually. Although I wouldn’t buy a Thom Browne anything (can’t see paying that much for one piece of clothing), I do love what he’s doing. If this is a marketing strategy of normalizing men wearing skirts by getting NFL and NBA men to wear them, I see great things ahead. Just like how these same men started wearing athletic tights and normalized men wearing these tights under shorts.

I’m still dumbfounded that Juju Smith-Schuster wore a Thom Browne skirt to the SuperBowl and it hardly generated any press. For those unfamiliar with the man, he’s a talented athlete who’s social media and off field shenanigans have rounded up the idiot brigade to harsh on his every move.