Wearing a Skirt or dress in male mode

[Jeanettew]

Was just wondering why it may be that we have created a defined dress code acceptable for men and women, why should it not be seen as acceptable for me to get dressed in a shirt and tie for work but slip on a skirt, stocking and heels instead of trousers, then not be seen as not a normal dress code going about my work, as think this would feel and look great

[Georgia K]

Well you could start a new trend !! Then it would be acceptable

[Wildaboutheels]

Anyone (man) CAN do it.

You just have to be a "lucky" CDer and live in one of those "special" towns or cities.

[Lydianne]

So many here write this . . and then they don't support when it's demonstrated :straightface:.

- Lydianne.

[Helen_Highwater]

Jeanette,

There are changes happening in regard to what item of clothing is gender specific. However it's beginning with childrens clothing.

A few stores in the UK and hence I suspect elsewhere are now selling childrens clothing as opposed to boys and girls clothing. It's in response to the all little girls are princess's and all little boys are tearaways trend that has pigeon holed the thinking of both adults and their kids. A similar thing is taking place in the toy market with more gender neutral toys.

Why isn't this happening in the adult markets? Because it would take strong minded free thinking males to make it happen and I'm afraid societal pressures and attitudes will prevail. Only once there's a market will manufacturers make things such as dresses tailored for the male physique until then you're going to have to either wear forms or have spare material in the chest area.

[susan54]

I think it is happening slowly, and we are approaching a breakthrough. I went shopping yesterday in a village in the Highlands in a dress, opaque tights and women's flat shoes - no bra, make up, handbag or wig (I had a male messenger bag). No reactions but admittedly not many people around. In one very upmarket boutique the owner said she gets lots of men buying stuff for themselves. This is not a cheap shop so we are only seeing part of the market. This is fairly new - I was the lone crossdressing customer for the upmarket boutiques in the Highlands until recently. I have seen a man in a skirt in the Highlands (definitely not a kilt) and there is an oldish man in Dingwall who wears a long dress. We need a few more public figures to wear skirts or dresses routinely. I think if someone of the status of David Beckham were to ear a skirt or sarong now there would be quite a lot of take up of it by young men. Look at how many men and boys now routinely wear tights to do sports - no big fuss - it just happened. Of course it helps if more of us go out dressed like this to show that the sky does not fall in and then others will feel they can do it too.

[Cheryl T]

That's fine for anyone who wishes to do that, but personally that's not what all this is about for me.
I have to be complete. It makes me very uncomfortable to even think that someone might see me as other than just another woman. Maybe I've crossed some bridge in my life, I don't know. I simply know that I must be all I can be and that MIAD is not for me.

[Wildaboutheels]

I don't know about other countries, but the USA did NOT gain it's FREEdom by whining about it.

NIMBY is often a good battle cry here.

[Beverley Sims]

I wear a skirt and love it, dressed as a woman.

As a man why bother, I don't need to make statements, if I do I would carry a placard extolling my beliefs.

[Heisthebride]

I will on occasion go out to lunch in various states of boy/girl mode. Sometimes, just a pair of heeled booties, sometimes a skirt and tights, the rest of me in boy mode. You can’t expect society to change overnight and you can’t expect it to change if you don’t try to change it yourself. Go out and do it yourself but pick your battles wisely, there is a difference between a small town biker bar and an cosmopolitan hot spot for lunch.

120 years ago it was unheard of for women to wear pants, look where we are now.

[Barbara Jo]

The reason is simple and is rooted in how societies have always viewed men and woman...
Men are considered the the superior sex and woman are subservient to men.

A women dressing as a man is considered a step up while a a male dressing as woman is considered a step down in social hierarchy
So a man dressing as woman must be mentally deficient in some way and is looked down at by society.

"Tom boys" are admired while effeminate man are ridiculed as "sissies"


It's all really that simple.

[Asew]

Being non-binary, I have no problems wearing my favorite thing (skirts) with anything including men's button up dress shirts (or men's Hawaiian shirts). Since we have an unofficial dress code at work such as not wearing t-shirts unless have company's logo on it (so a lot of button up shirts) and no flip flops or sneakers (so typically closed toe women's shoes including heels). Here was a picture I took at work during the summer.

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[Patience]

Are you ready asking why, or do you just want to know why you feel you have to conform to it?

[Krisi]

This subject comes up at least once a month. You may think it's unfair, but in the USA, men are supposed to wear pants, not dresses or skirts. Women can wear either. That's how it is. It's not against the law for a man to wear a skirt but people will think there's something wrong with you. It will affect your job, your family and your social life.

Personally, I sometimes wear a skirt or a dress in public but that's when I'm out as a woman. For me, it's Krisi or Homer, never "Kromer".

[RainbowDash]

Men and women should be able to wear what they want. But the fact is, most people are gonna look at a man in a skirt like he's strange if he goes out in public. An MIAD can do that if he wants, but for me when I dress en femme, I am trying to present myself as feminine as possible. So I gotta dress all the way, wig, breastforms and all.

[Shirley Anne]

We should all be able to dress as we like, but unfortunately men in womens clothing is still not universally accepted especially by males I find, I tend to only venture out late at night but when I do Im fully dressed with full makeup, wig and breastforms. During the past summer I went out in tshirt male shorts and trainers with very sheer sunkissed tights and got no reaction whatsover. I have worn tights daily for the last ten years and Im sure it must have been noticed at some time but never had any reaction.

[Jennifer_Ph]

Start with a kilt if you're scared of being seen in a skirt.

[Wildaboutheels]

Of course they do!

[pob]

I would also like to just casually wear skirts/leggings/heels from time to time without having to worry about being stared at.

The people in the images in this thread confuse me a bit though, there is such a stark difference between top and bottom half with little to no thought about style or complementary colours, I can see why some people on the forums assume this is an attention grab.

I will try to attach a picture of people doing it better (havent done before :P )

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[Miss V]

So many men want skirts to be part of normal male attire. However, nobody want's to be the trend setter :idontknow:

People always post pictures of attractive, androgynous young models and go "See, men look great in skirts!". Yeah, most men don't look like that. Regular looking guys in skirts get mocked.

[phili]

I think the main objection to men in dresses is that dresses are thought of as expressing female/feminine sexual status, not as comfort wear. Granted, there are baggy or plain dresses, but the intent is positively to downplay the sexual attractiveness for women who don't want that. So men are irritated when another an wears a dress because it interferes with the automatic sexual fun of imagining the sexuality of the female woman, and my leave them feeling a little pavlovian- i.e. see short skirt feel turned on. Women don't like it because a man is invading their territory and confusing the program.

A little bit of rational thinking overcomes all this, usually in a few seconds, and if enough of us do it, the automatic associations with female sexuality will be broken. Until that time, it makes people uneasy, as it is messaging an unfamiliar sexual status. Wanting to know if someone is a man or woman, and feeling confident in what that then means for safety, etc. is built in to us.

Being a celebrity crossdresser, for example, doesn't bother people because they understand they are safe and can appreciate the artistic provocation. I try to build in that arena, by wearing clothes that are well put together and visually appealing. So the emotional reactions of people are now split between feeling positive about the look and confused about the beard. After a while they go with the look and everything is fine. They can chat with me and I seem like a normal man, except for this one thing- I'm willing to wear dresses and seem to enjoy it!

So once you are retired and the kids are gone, it is fine for us to step out. Eventually the younger men will have the chance as well. It is paired with women's liberation, by the way. As women come to grips with what they really want, they will make room for us as well.

[Sissy Sandy]

I have wore a kilt a few times
but I wouldn't wear a skirt outside in guy mode
I'm even too scared to go outside dressed as a woman in a skirt

[pob]

So many men want skirts to be part of normal male attire. However, nobody want's to be the trend setter

I will try this at some point, need more confidence :/


People always post pictures of attractive, androgynous young models and go "See, men look great in skirts!". Yeah, most men don't look like that. Regular looking guys in skirts get mocked.

Did you mean my picture? those guys are not androgynous and depending on the place they would also totally get mocked.

I'll post a picture of an older guy looking good as well then :P

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- - - Updated - - -

This thread got me thinking that maybe this is not such a big deal.

Think I can pull this off? --->

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(First picture of me on the forums :heehee: )
No heels yet, baby steps, I still think I would get stares :/

[phili]

Haha POB, you look very sharp- and confident- all the guys will wonder how they missed hearing about the style change in popular mechanics! Don't give it a thought- just do it.