"NOT IN OUR LIFETIME!"... or maybe?

[softer side]

I'm sure I'm not the only one that sees acceptance growing, or perhaps it's a case of caring what others wear diminishing but I'm slowly moving away from my 'not in my lifetime' mindset. They've been bending the fashion rules for quite some time now but you rarely see what's on the runway hitting the streets.

On a recent getaway spa/shopping adventure with my wife we happened upon a department store Simon's (http://www.simons.ca/simons/?/en/). It's a Quebec based company that has been around for over a hundred years and held a small existence until significant expansion in the late '90s and again in the last four years. The store never hit my radar until earlier this year while online shopping for hosiery and I made it a point to drop into one of their stores.

I was extremely impressed with the styles and pricing but what absolutely grabbed my attention by the throat was the launching of a Unisex Collection. Read more here (https://www.google.ca/search?q=simon's+unisex&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&gfe_rd=cr&ei=em0LWJOGB5Td8gfb-4CACg#q=simon%27s+unisex+collection)about the launch. I'm not in love with their offerings but I hope this gains traction.
267718

And while we're at it, I received this in my email this morning from Addition Elle. I'm sure the text was not implying anything but I bet it takes on a different meaning to crossdressers!
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[ReineD]

It's a nice store, I looked through their website.

They have expansive, traditional men's and women's sections. And they have a unisex section. The long black skirt in your pic is in their unisex section:

http://www.simons.ca/simons/category/c3464/Unisex+Edition?/en/#slide_5

I do think they're wanting to tap into young people's desires to not differentiate socially between the genders, which of course can be reflected in clothing. But, what works in their ads and what might make such clothes appealing to these young people, is the fact that the guy does not try to mask his appearance as a guy (hairy legs and all). And the girl maintains her natural physiognomy so we all know she is the girl, even if she doesn't wear makeup. This is an exercise in the "sameness" of clothing, to reflect the sameness in social roles (work, responsibility for their kids when they have them, and household chores). Young people do not want to shift the whole responsibility for kids and house onto the wife in addition to her work. They don't believe in gendered roles, because they both work and take care of the kids. And so all of this is being reflected in having a "sameness" in clothes, with a departure from extreme femininity and masculinity. The idea is for everyone to meet in the unisex middle, so to speak. It will be interesting to see what percentage of young people will adopt these clothing styles.


Another designer, Jean Paul Gauthier came out with man skirts some years ago, again while not masking the fact that the wearer was male. He also was not attempting to have a feminine look:

http://www.speak-fashion.de/fashion_history/classics/fashion-history-classics-who-invented-the-mens-skirt-2

I posted a link to JP Gaulthier's styles here a few years ago and asked the opinion of members. Most of them said if the skirt was designed for men, they wouldn't want to wear it. They said they preferred buying more feminine looking skirts in women's stores. But, maybe this attitude is changing among our members, I don't know.

[Alice Torn]

I doubt though, that miners, power line workers, gravediggers, (like i was for three years, digging with hand shovels), construction workers will be wearing things different from what they always have... at least on the job. If extremely hard times hit the western world , i don't think fashions will be a big thing on peoples minds. Food, clean water, shelter, and safety will over whelm any fashion fads. Interesting though, that they would have such fashions on display.

[ReineD]

Alice, I'm pretty sure these clothes are marketed to young people who live in urban areas. The store also has all sorts of pants and woodsmen type shirts, and business suits for men who aren't cutting-edge Millenials.

[IleneD]

No man skirts here, darling.
If I'm going skirt, I want PRETTY; the whole package. Bra/panties, blouse, hair, make up, jewelry, shoes. When I get fully dressed to the max I even put on a splash of Chanel to get the full effect.

Yes, its about the clothes but so much more. It's the feel of the clothes. The look. It's about a feeling; a spirit journey that only that dress or skirt provide in femme mode.

[ellbee]

I'm still waiting for "meggings" to catch on... :strugglin

[Dana44]

I have no man skirt either. but at a bar, I saw four men and one of them had a kilt on.

[softer side]

They don't believe in gendered roles, because they both work and take care of the kids. And so all of this is being reflected in having a "sameness" in clothes, with a departure from extreme femininity and masculinity. The idea is for everyone to meet in the unisex middle, so to speak. It will be interesting to see what percentage of young people will adopt these clothing styles.

They want to be unique in their sameness ;)
There will be some enveloped in this style, others that will dabble but I suspect the natural progression will lead to practical/genderless styling that make up the staples in our day to day wear. Sweaters, vests, tees with soft unisex marketing and perhaps a little push on leggings, pronounced block heels, scarves and other accessories for men. The women don't need any encouragement as witnessed by the current plaid craze and boyfriend jeans! Skirts on men (not necessarily for men) will likely see a little momentum but more from Hollywood influence than at the retail level...imho

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No man skirts here, darling.
If I'm going skirt, I want PRETTY; the whole package. Bra/panties, blouse, hair, make up, jewelry, shoes. When I get fully dressed to the max I even put on a splash of Chanel to get the full effect.

Yes, its about the clothes but so much more. It's the feel of the clothes. The look. It's about a feeling; a spirit journey that only that dress or skirt provide in femme mode.

To each his/her own. I dress to achieve ME mode; some days it's a little more femme than others but I always present as myself

[karla2016]

Once upon a time a tried to dress androgynous, leaving doubts in people's minds. Not anymore. Now I'm Karla and my closet is just full of 100 feminine clothes. Not even women's "boyfriend" designs. If I pick a top from my closet I do not want doubts in people's minds anymore, I want to project a hundred percent woman appearance. Of course I don't blame gals that in that stage, because I was there too...
Karla

[Jenniferathome]

"NOT IN OUR LIFETIME!" was right

[AnnieMac]

I actually think you'll see the tunic and leggings look on men soon. It's so unisex and comfy anyway, not necessarily cross dressing

[ReineD]

but I suspect the natural progression will lead to practical/genderless styling that make up the staples in our day to day wear. Sweaters, vests, tees with soft unisex marketing and perhaps a little push on leggings, pronounced block heels, scarves and other accessories for men.

Right, and we already see mass-adopted unisex styles. Students in the eating areas at our local campus present a sea of blue jeans and graphic Tshirts or big shirts! Lots of kids have the same haircuts too, long on top and close on the sides. Both boys and girls have green, pink, and blue hair, they wear the same sunglasses, unisex shoes whether sneakers, leather, or sandals, and they carry the same bookbags or messenger bags.


I actually think you'll see the tunic and leggings look on men soon. It's so unisex and comfy anyway, not necessarily cross dressing

That's the whole point for them. They don't see it as crossdressing.

[CONSUELO]

Fashion is ephemeral and new styles will be introduced over the years. Will young people still go for something like a unisex look? I would not make any predictions. In the meantime, most of us here want to look as feminine as we can and I think we tend to be stuck in various decades depending on when you first began to cross dress. I'm definitely influenced by the 1950's and 1960's and although I buy modern styles the overall look is still determined by the flavour of those times, so I like stockings and corsets and skirts and blouses and pretty dresses.

[ReineD]

Fashion is ephemeral and new styles will be introduced over the years.

This is true, and they are shaped by major world events. For example, wide shoulder pads for women were in vogue during the 1940s (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e4/fb/0c/e4fb0cec01a2b9fa9466d28b14a5915e.jpg), which coincided with Rosie the Riveter (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/We_Can_Do_It%21.jpg), who was a symbol for the strong woman taking care of factory production at home, while the men were away fighting. And again they were popular during the 1970s-80s (http://www.simplyeighties.com/resources/Joan%20Collins%20Alexis%20Carrington.jpg) when women joined the workforce in unprecedented numbers and they began to feel empowered. Remember the song, "I am woman, hear me roar"?

Millenials are the first generation to have been brought up by parents who shared work and family responsibilities, and they do not acknowledge the notion that men and women should be relegated to separate gender roles. This is reflected somewhat in a shift towards unisex styling. That said, I'm sure that Millenials still appreciate their complimentary sexual anatomies when they are intimate together. :)

[TrishaTX]

I think things always get better over time, I know the state of texas is much more open than ever. The groups here are growing and I just feel safer being myself. I am still not totally out and probably never will be , but compered to years ago, I think we are in a better place.

[Rhonda Jean]

I can certainly see this as a coming trend. It's been done before in my lifetime. This isn't even CLOSE to the unisex styles of the '70's. I wore a lot of girl's clothes in Jr. High and High School, including platform heels, that weren't remarkably different from commonly worn boy's/men's clothes. Add long hair, sometimes elaborately styled, and it truly was sometimes hard to tell boys from girls. Pendant necklaces and braclets were common. Perms and chemical straightening came in in the early '80's. Shorts couldn't have been any shorter.

I'm one of those who's not interested unless it comes from the women's department, but I'd love to see these styles get a little foothold. Looks like right now if you give it a "masculine" name, it gives some guys who'd like to wear something feminine an excuse to wear it. Men's nail polish, manscara, men's earrings, getting very young boy's ears pierced. manbuns, very long hair (even among the jocks), websites that sell makeup for men. A limited market, certainly, but there is a market. I think a lot of guys who'd like to experiment with such things just have a real hangup about using women's things. Using women's things repackakaged for men somehow makes it a little more acceptable.

[sometimes_miss]

Well, we've had unisex outfits for quite some time. The only thing is, they were all based on male attire. Girls started wearing jeans & T shirts as a common casual wear in the 60's. Police uniforms are all male pattern, scrubs are male pattern (they do make scrub dresses, but they're very rarely seen in comparison to the ones in shirt & pants styles), fast food uniforms are all pants and franchise design top, soldiers uniforms are all male style, etc.. Flight attendents also almost always wear pants and top, as opposed to dresses (you will still see SOME that wear a dress or skirt, but never on a male).


Using women's things repackakaged for men somehow makes it a little more acceptable.
We saw that attempt with the 'murse' back in the 80's when they tried to market a handbag to men. Didn't go over to well.

Men will adopt whatever will attract women. And avoid like the plague anything that suspect might make them look foolish, or turns women off. For example, in the 80's lots of male musicians adopted feminine hairstyles, make up and tight clothing. But it was only acceptable if you WERE in a band on stage, because it was actually THAT which made the guys attractive, not the clothes. The average bus driver would not be considered hot driving around in his bus dressed like that.

It's virtually always that it's the women adopting the men's type outfits, not the other way around. How does it go? The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[suzanne]

Many years ago, the Phil Donahue talk show did an episode on the introduction of skirts and dresses for men. Phil came on in a skirt that was nothing short of hideous. Guess what? There was no interest.

So now the subject is being revisited. My reaction to the link you posted is "Bleah". The young man might as well have wrapped a bath towel around his waist, and he looks like he's not enjoying the experience.

I think the way forward is not to style a skirt so that it's palatable to men, but make it OK for men to select from what's being made available for women.

[StacyCD]

Personally, I prefer to wear women's panties because they are women's panties. The exact same cut of underwear made for men just won't do it for me. When I wear a dress I want to become a woman not just a man in a dress.

[Lily Catherine]

Police uniforms are all male pattern, scrubs are male pattern (they do make scrub dresses, but they're very rarely seen in comparison to the ones in shirt & pants styles), fast food uniforms are all pants and franchise design top, soldiers uniforms are all male style, etc.. Flight attendents also almost always wear pants and top, as opposed to dresses (you will still see SOME that wear a dress or skirt, but never on a male).

From a solely practical point of view, pants allow for much greater mobility and protection, which is necessary if not preferred in many trades. I wouldn't say the same of a skirt. (As a reversal, I prefer high waisted panties as they're more comfortable, although I no longer have any.)

Along this tangent, I'd argue that most men's clothing design in recent history is inherently unisex. I reckon the tunic-and-tights style is a reversal of the usual direction (women adopting men's cut), though.

Till date, I still suppose that overtly feminine outfits would aid my chances in blending (no word on the Holy Grail that is passing), although androgynous styles deserve the benefit of the doubt nonetheless.

[Rhonda Jean]

From a solely practical point of view, pants allow for much greater mobility and protection, which is necessary if not preferred in many trades. I wouldn't say the same of a skirt.

The makers and wearers of men's hiking skirts and Utilikilts would disagree. I've seen a man in what I suppose was a hiking skirt (That's a thing. Google it!) He was wearing a skirt in an area known for hiking, anyway. Calling it a hiking skirt and marketing it as a tool, so to speak, to somehow improve the hiking experience makes it macho to wear it! To me, it's for guys who desperately want to wear a skirt, but are too far down that worm hole of masculinity to just go buy and wear what the really want to, a woman's skirt. I've also seen a guy in a Utilikilt (at a suburban Walgreens). It looked like it was stiff enough to stand up on it's own. He was this "I'm a badass because I'm wearing this badass skirt" kind of look going.

I, of course, have no way of knowing what goes through people's minds, but I think these kinds of things are marketed to men who really would like to do what we do. They just need a different excuse or justification. I think there are A LOT more guys who'd like to take a little walk on the wild side than actually do it. That's a market in itself.

[MissTee]

I, for one, would wear the male skirt. Mid-length and or kilt like would be my thing. Would not be a fan of that granny dress monstrosity pictured on the mannequin. I could see myself embracing a few more unisex styles. Particularly items that gender blend nicely.

[Kate Simmons]

If we are "trail blazers" rather than followers, we will always be in fashion and in step with ourselves. :battingeyelashes::)

[Krisi]

I won't be wearing a "man skirt", nor will I be walking around town wearing a "murse".

I will be Homer or Krisi. Never "Kromer".

[sara66]

Face it, if it were accepted by every one, I just would be as fun or exciting. I think a lot of us like the feel and look of expressing our fem selves. We live our workaday lives as men and need to exercise of femininity.
Just be because it is marketed to wards men it would not make me want to wear it. I like soft, silky and pretty. I guy mode, jeans and tshirts.
Sara :2c:

[kayegirl]

I do believe that skirts for men will sooner other later become a common sight around town, although they will have to look better than the one at the beginning of this thread. For me the change will come when the skirt is designed and made specifically to fit men. And as for the murses (who thought of that stupid name?), handbags for men have been commonplace in continental Europe for many years now. I bought my first sometime in the 1970s. Any decent shop that sells handbags today, will have a whole range of bags designed for, and intended for men, thankfully not called manuals either.