NYT article from 1984
Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2023 10:49 am
Skirt Cafe is an on-line community dedicated to exploring, promoting and advocating skirts and kilts as a fashion choice for men. We do this in the context of men's fashion freedom --- an expansion of choices beyond those commonly available for men to inc
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We cannot deny this doesn’t happen, nor can we deny that it isn’t the predominant mode that “society” associates with men wearing clothes from the other aisle. I truly believe this is because men are so boxed in with what they are “allowed” to wear. I saw a movie from 1913, and the men in that movie were almost indistinguishable from men dressed in suits today. The women? A vast gulf of style between then and now.The show prompted the Times's fashion critic, Bernadine Morris, to pose a question. ''If it's all right for women to wear fully-tailored clothing, why isn't it all right for men to wear skirts?'' said Mrs. Morris at the St. Laurent show. She was wearing a man-tailored Calvin Klein suit, and she answered her own question, more or less: ''Because women are not trying to pass as men. Whereas many times men wearing skirts are trying to pass as women. The answer is somewhere in there.'' But Jean-Paul Gaultier did not agree. ''Wearing a skirt doesn't mean you're not masculine,'' explained Mr. Gaultier. ''Masculinity doesn't come from clothes. It comes from something inside you. Men and women can wear the same clothes and still be men and women. It's fun.''
SSDD, but in this case the second "D" stands for Decade.Coder wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 11:06 am I think this quote says it all:
The show prompted the Times's fashion critic, Bernadine Morris, to pose a question. ''If it's all right for women to wear fully-tailored clothing, why isn't it all right for men to wear skirts?'' said Mrs. Morris at the St. Laurent show. She was wearing a man-tailored Calvin Klein suit, and she answered her own question, more or less: ''Because women are not trying to pass as men. Whereas many times men wearing skirts are trying to pass as women. The answer is somewhere in there.'' But Jean-Paul Gaultier did not agree. ''Wearing a skirt doesn't mean you're not masculine,'' explained Mr. Gaultier. ''Masculinity doesn't come from clothes. It comes from something inside you. Men and women can wear the same clothes and still be men and women. It's fun.''
It is... but a lot of the alternative fashion forums (mostly talking about Reddit) on the net tends to have guys who get all decked out - dressed a certain way. Why is that? Are they the minority? Do they think they have to imitate women completely in both clothes and persona? I gotta think that a lot of CD'ing is due to self-inflicted peer pressure, and the mindset that Bernadine has. I'm not saying she is right - but it's like we (men) are incapable of looking at it from Gaultier's perspective.
Hi Coder,
I do think there has been progress - but it is subtle and doesn't feel like it has had any meaningful impact on our lives. Then again, I look back at a mere 7 years ago, and it's crazy how far things have been pushed - some in our* favor, some against. While where I work has always been very tolerant of people wearing what they want... it never felt like it was possible for me. Granted, I've done a lot of work both here (reading/writing) and other places to further my own courage - so some of my current thinking may be warped to a reality I crafted around myself. But I like to think that going out there, as a guy, wearing a skirt and whatever else... that the conversation we could have or perhaps the "activism" that such clothing might portray - is one of equality, freedom, and IDGAF attitude.
IMHO I think/feel that you meant knowledge instead of courage.Coder wrote: <snip> I've done a lot of work both here (reading/writing) and other places to further my own courage <snip>