Hello from Cardiff. UK

[Sepchugang]

Hi, Before introducing myself I'd like to thank all those who contribute to Skirtcafé as it has helped me a lot to know that there are other like-minded people who are so willing to share their experiences - as someone who travels a lot I appreciate too the international makeup of the site.

I guess my experiences are similar to many. My first memory of wearing a skirt may be a bit different though. I was ten and on a school trip for a week with other members of my mixed primary school class. One of the teachers decided to organise a cricket match, boys versus girls, and to even up the sides a couple of us boys were put on the girls' side. To play the part I wore a skirt borrowed from one of the girls. Even though I didn't properly realise it at the time I think I've been hooked ever since as the freedom it gave just seemed so natural. For many years I wore my wife's skirts when she was out but was very much in the closet and no one knew. I am happy and confident as a man and have no wish to pass as a woman. As I've become older I seem to care less what others think so early this year I bought a denim skirt and wore it at home. My wife was initially very confused and asked why I hadn't talked to her about it beforehand but said it was OK at home but she'd rather I didn't go out in public wearing a skirt. Since then I've bought several more and wear a skirt at home most days. She sometimes makes a comment, e.g. "you look a bit silly" but basically accepts it. Now that the weather is getting colder I also wear tights and she accepts that too. I live in a relatively small community outside Cardiff in S. Wales so what worries her about me going public is what her friends will think rather than any concern for me as such. On holiday recently she took some pictures of me and inadvertently showed one to her sister-in-law who asked why I was in a skirt but didn't seem bothered by it. When she was told that I found it more comfortable her husband (my wife's brother) commented that he could relate to that. On one evening my wife borrowed one of my skirts and wore it to a restaurant so I'm hoping that in small steps I will eventually be able to go about locally. What is important to me now is that I don't wear women's clothes anymore. They may have a label in them saying 'women' and be a size 14 but I have bought them myself so they are my clothes and live openly in my wardrobe.

I'm looking forward to hearing the views of others and hope I will be able to make some contributions of my own.

Sep

[Uncle Al]

Grab a cup, pull up a chair and have some fun in the various discussions
Just don't pour out any left-over coffee/tea into the Potted Palm

Uncle Al

[MrSoapsud]

Hi Sep
Greetings from NW Wales. I'm one of the group on here with wives who disapprove. I have been out in a skirt a few times on my own and have even worn one to work a couple of times. No-one else seems to mind...

[Barleymower]

It's a common theme with men on the group. That is their wife does not approve. I understand the predicament and I have posted, read posts and spoken personally to men who's wives have shown their disapproval in varying degrees.
However truth is truth and the truth will out.
1. Women have fought for the right to dress as they choose. It is the height of hypocrisy to deny similar rights to men.
2. If you told your wife or any women what they should and should not wear. They are liable to become very annoyed!
3. Part of being a man is to know your own mind and make your own decisions regarding your life. You have every right to dress as your choose. It's your decision.

That said. I bought my wife more nice clothes (skirts) than I bought myself. I have a femmine side but I do not have feminine mannerisms. I reassured my wife (if you get my drift) that nothing has changed and I'm very much still her husband.

[Sepchugang]

Many thanks to Uncle Al, MrS and Barleymower for the welcome. I appreciate that most (all?) the issues faced by newcomers have been addressed (often several times) by others on the site in the past and there is an excellent archive of knowledge and advice to delve into, so your welcome and the empathy shown are much appreciated. MrS, your own introduction "De-Lurk" received some good replies which addressed the issue of 'unsupportive' wives and the three 'truths' listed by Barleymower are exactly that - true!

One thing I would like to ask is, unlike in the summer, where the air can flow freely around bare legs, how do skirtcafe members wear their skirts in winter? I guess there are several possibilities. 1. Keep your legs bare and suffer the cold; 2. wear longer (midi or maxi) skirts; 3. wear tights or leggings or 4. wear stockings or hold-ups to keep the air circulating around the manly bits. Maybe there are other solutions too?

Sep

[Uncle Al]

I appreciate that most (all?) the issues faced by newcomers have been addressed (often several times) by others on the site in the past and there is an excellent archive of knowledge and advice to delve into - -

how do Skirt Cafe' members wear their skirts in winter?

In an odd way, you've answered your own question. This topic has been covered multiple times but,
to me, it seems like people don't want to take the time and RESEARCH the topic in our archives.

(I've gone from a Card Catalog to Google for research. We have a 'search' function at Skirt Cafe')

Evey person on Skirt Cafe' has faced this "problem" and overcome it to their satisfaction, heeding
the advice that other Cafe' members have given.

There isn't a simple answer as most members live in different climate regions. Read what other members
have done to fight the cold. Read the magazines to see what/how women fight the cold. Ask your female
friends/relatives what they do to fight the cold. Observe your surroundings and what people are wearing.

As usual, multiple answers due multiple sources - then YOU contemplate the answers and make your own
decision. You might not get the desired result on your first attempt. That happens to us all
Skirt Cafe' members are all graduates of T. & E. (Trial & Error) University.

Main thing is HAVE FUN with the adventure of Men In Skirts/Kilts

Uncle Al

[Fred in Skirts]

Sepchugang asked how do we handle cold weather on our legs. Well as someone who wore shorts exclusively before skirts, I have not done anything different. While I live in South Carolina we do get freezing weather and I also traveled to visit my daughter when they lived in Denver and Omaha during the winter. (Think snow and ice a lot of snow and ice.) I did not have any problems with the cold on my legs, so did not do anything different.

How ever when flying I wear compression stockings to keep my legs from swelling up and making it difficult to walk.

My advise to you see what you can handle and make it work for you!!

Fred

[Sepchugang]

I've had two very helpful and thoughtful replies to my question about what others wear (if anything) to keep their legs warm when wearing a skirt in winter - but the replies are very different. Of course, searching through the archives will provide the answer. I mentioned that I did this in my last post when I looked at the helpful responses about the common problem of unsupportive wives in MrS's own introduction. Looking for responses to what others wear on the legs also provides many useful answers, mainly obtained (with the help of 'search' by ploughing through the 3365 responses in "Out and about - in the world at large". So, yes, the site is a wealth of information and advice but one of the problems I have, and I suspect some others, is that we are on our own and do not have (m)any others we can talk openly with about our skirt wearing. Even using our eyes and observing how women cope is not that easy as almost all the women in my part of the world no longer wear skirts but wear jeans or leggings/jeggings with a jumper or tunic in winter. If we just rely on researching the archives because our questions have already been asked before then the benefits of the 'cafe' part of Skirtcafe become a bit redundant as it becomes more of a skirtlibrary. To receive an individual reply from Fred in Skirts who has taken the time to respond with his own experiences, even though he has probably written this many times before during his long history of being a member of the site, means a lot to me.

Sep

[crfriend]

So, yes, the site is a wealth of information and advice but one of the problems I have, and I suspect some others, is that we are on our own and do not have (m)any others we can talk openly with about our skirt wearing. Even using our eyes and observing how women cope is not that easy as almost all the women in my part of the world no longer wear skirts but wear jeans or leggings/jeggings with a jumper or tunic in winter.

The paucity of skirt-wearing women these days does make observation and noting tactics rather difficult, but lots of it also boils down to what used to be considered common sense (even if women did get taught about it when they were girls):

1) Longer skirts
2) Heavier skirts
3) Legwear (e.g. tights of assorted weights)
4) Heavier undergarments (e.g. petticoats)

Properly tricked out, skirts can be vastly warmer than trousers during Winter. The main genius is keeping dry, because once one gets wet when it's cold the game is up!

[pelmut]

[...]
Properly tricked out, skirts can be vastly warmer than trousers during Winter. The main genius is keeping dry, because once one gets wet when it's cold the game is up!

A waterproof overskirt is fairly easy to make if you have some left-over lightweight tent material.

[crfriend]

A waterproof overskirt is fairly easy to make if you have some left-over lightweight tent material.

All well and good if the wetness is coming from above. In these here parts in the winter, it more easily comes from below when the hem gets wet from the slush and half-snow that we get now thanks to "Climate Change". That can be just as lethal as it wicks upward.

It used to be that we got proper snow in New England. Nowadays we get what Virginia was getting 50 years ago. This is also evidenced by wildlife from "down south" moving northward over that time frame. Thus the prevalence of "tropical" mosquito-borne diseases here today.

[Kirbstone]

I travel along the M4 to visit UK-based family fairly regularly, bypassing Cardiff and haven't seen Septugang signposted yet.

An Irish welcome to this little throng. MOH is a non-believer and throws my skirts out whenever she finds them, which is a pain, but after 54 years things aren't going the change here overnight.

Recently, visiting old friends on Tiverton I was plied with a stunningly lovely Welsh beer brewed somewhere near Cardiff. Can't remember the name, but it came in squat bottles. You could do worse than crack open one of those under that potted palm.


Tom

[Uncle Al]

The paucity of skirt-wearing women these days does make observation and noting tactics rather difficult, but lots of it also boils down to what used to be considered common sense (even if women did get taught about it when they were girls):

1) Longer skirts
2) Heavier skirts
3) Legwear (e.g. tights of assorted weights)
4) Heavier undergarments (e.g. petticoats)

Properly tricked out, skirts can be vastly warmer than trousers during Winter. The main genius is keeping dry, because once one gets wet when it's cold the game is up!

I would add one more item
4) Layering.

Since I don't own any petticoats, I've worn 2 skirts at a time, granted a shorter skirt was under a longer skirt.
(Think knee length, then mid-calf length and finally ankle length.)

The climate I live in doesn't have the need for many petticoats and other heavier undergarments.
I have COLD/FREEZING temperatures about 2.0-2.5 months of the year.
This 'hermit' stays home

<-> <-> <-> <->

A small bit of my history -
Back when I was starting to wear Kilts, my wife was supportive. When I branched out into skirts,
she became reticent. She was afraid of what other people would think/say/do. That was struck
down when we went shopping at an out-door mall. [This happened over 25 years ago.] She hoped we
wouldn't run into anyone we knew. That lasted all but 5-6 minutes when we saw one of her cousins
daughters, and friends. We chatted normally but, my wife couldn't hide her feelings. She blurted
out "he's wearing a skirt". They all agreed that in the summer heat, it was the coolest solution.
After that experience, she fully supported my choice of clothing, even getting some things for me.

When I say "heat", this past summer was very long and hot 54 days in a row of over 100°F temperatures.
(That's 37.7° C.)

<-> <-> <-> <->


Back to layering. Just as you wear an undershirt to help keep you warm, then add a sweater(jumper)
and heavy overcoat, the same concept applies to the lower half of your body.

Tights Think of them as long underwear, they just come in different colors

Main thing is - create a heat retention boundary around/over your lower body.
A couple of skirts will do wonders for keeping your legs warm.
Just don't get the skirt hems wet.

Uncle Al


P.S. - Have fun in your learning experience. Maybe your wife will help - who knows

[Sepchugang]

Thank you to everyone who has made me welcome to the cafe.

Recently, visiting old friends in Tiverton I was plied with a stunningly lovely Welsh beer brewed somewhere near Cardiff. Can't remember the name, but it came in squat bottles. You could do worse than crack open one of those under that potted palm.

There are several good local breweries around Cardiff. Arguably, the best is The Vale of Glamorgan Brewery based in Barry. One of my local pubs sells one of their draught beers called 'Paradigm shift'. A rather apt name, as it would seem that a paradigm shift is needed in Western society before men wearing skirts is accepted as being perfectly normal.

Sep

[Faldaguy]

Thank you to everyone who has made me welcome to the cafe.

Recently, visiting old friends in Tiverton I was plied with a stunningly lovely Welsh beer brewed somewhere near Cardiff. Can't remember the name, but it came in squat bottles. You could do worse than crack open one of those under that potted palm.

There are several good local breweries around Cardiff. Arguably, the best is The Vale of Glamorgan Brewery based in Barry. One of my local pubs sells one of their draught beers called 'Paradigm shift'. A rather apt name, as it would seem that a paradigm shift is needed in Western society before men wearing skirts is accepted as being perfectly normal.

Sep

Indeed: Here is a picture I posted a while back with a sign off my recumbent bike that reads: "Subvert the dominant Paradigm" -- wearing a skirt of course.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ak4aLDeb0TMMhkNGJA7 ... _?e=HDml2t