Zipping up skirts

[Leslie Langford]

Piggy-backing on kate dresser's "whats the proper way..." thread on how to use the women's washroom when out en femme, I have a similar question:

When putting on a skirt, do you zip it up in front first and then rotate it so that the zipper ends up on the side or in the back the way it's supposed to go? Or do you just zip it up in place, with the zipper remaining where it is actually meant to be? My wife seems to do it the later way, whereas I find that the "zip and rotate" method is more convenient. The only negative is that if you are wearing a blouse or other type of top that is tucked inside the skirt, that action pulls it out of place, and you then have to rearrange it and smooth everything down again afterwards.

Also, who besides me absolutely *hates* back zips on dresses - especially form-fitting ones - where you can't pull them halfway up your back to complete the zipping action overhand because they are too tight at that point? Those types of dresses are really designed in such a way that you need someone else to help you zip up, or else you have to design a makeshift tool (in my case, a length of fishing line attached to an open-ended paper clip) that you can hook onto the zipper tab to complete the operation.

Not so great a situation to be in when you have to do the "Superman in a phone booth" quick-change-to-drab routine when somebody who you don't want catching you en femme comes home unexpectedly .

[Karren H]

I put it where its suppose to go and zip it up... Most women I have polled say the zipper always goes in the back but I have a couple skirts that just don't hang right so I moved it to the side (and mysteriously the tags are in the back??). Lol. They need a tag that says front or back or put your a$$ right here!!

[docrobbysherry]

I suggest making a proper zipper puller, Leslie. One can be made easily using a metal coat hanger. Use a smaller wire attached to the end of the coat hanger wire for tiny zipper openings!
I prefer a rigid puller, as it's easier to UNZIP the zipper when removing my dresses!

Unfortunately, THAT ONE won't fit in your purse!

[KarenSusan]

I use the "zip and rotate" method also. The one time I tried to zip in place, I broke off the zipper tab. When I rotate, I hold my hand between the zipper and blouse so that I don't snag the blouse.

[Kaz]

Swings and roundabouts come to mind. Some people sit down to put on tights/pantyhose... I do it standing up and so do a lot of GGs. Bras... there are front fasteners and back fasteners... it's all about what works best for you.

What works best for you makes the superman switch so much more effective! Practice, practice, practice!

I can lose the lot; bra, forms, tight fitting skirt in 15 seconds... I plan ahead, and have the pile to put on.. etc....

Some clothes take a lot longer to remove than others... I save those for no risk situations and really enjoy them!

[GingerLeigh]

Dresses and skirts weren't made to handle the Herculean efforts a male may exert on the little zipper (unless its a GG requesting assistance). I zip and twist.

Ginger

[Sally24]

I generally zip in place since many of mine are form fitting and not made of a slippery material. I can do the back zip dresses but it takes all of my flexibility!

[Julia Welch]

I don't think there is a proper way ... just a preffered method ... do whatever works best for you.

[Persephone]

Bra hooks and zippers don't seem to be my problem. But the little hook at the top of the zipper? Yep, it looks just like a bra hook, but I always have a heck of a time getting it together. The skirt material always seems to get in the way.

Zip in back or zip and turn? Whatever works for you and that particular skirt.

Side zip pants are another item I always struggle with. The zipper always seems to be just beyond the comfort zone for my arms. Side zip skirts you can rotate a bit, but not pants, especially if they are form fitting.

Still, we're a lot better off than women back in history. The zipper really didn't make an appearance on clothes until the 1900's. Prior to that time it was rows of tiny buttons (like on the backs of some wedding dresses) or your maid sewed you into your gown (yes, really!). In those days Superman would have had a problem anyway as the phone booth also didn't really get invented until the early 1900's.

[thechic]

I just zip in place label always to the back

[AllieSF]

Zip and twist for me, especially with those pesky little hooks. With a skirt I then pull it up inside out over my belly to pull down the blouse and straighten it. Then the skirt goes down to to be adjusted and I am ready to go. I agree on the label, but I have found some that go on the right or left side. Some of those on Express Internacional skirts.

[Michelle 51]

I hook' zip and rotate but as you said it is an pain if you've tucked a top in and I put a run in a new pair of pantyhose the other day when the hook caught as I turned the skirt .Only good thing was it was too high to ruin them.

[RADER]

I zip and rotate myself. Awhile back my wife had this wonderful dress that
zipped in back. I made her a zipping tool; a 24" piece if 1/2 " dowel rod
with an open hook screwed into the bottom. She loved it, I think it is
still around here somewhere, don't need it anymore, dresses just don't come
that way anymore. Just not for us.

[herwannabe]

The preferred female way, from behind, same as the bra I look for the tag and place it appropriately and ziiiipppppppp it up or snap or hook

Michelle

[Dannigirl]

depends on the skirt, I zip and rotate tighter skirts, then just lift up my skirt and pull my blouse back down from underneath, works well for me.

[fran46]

For my money, nothing is more complicated than getting into back-zipper pants. Needless to say, you can't rotate them, as you might with a skirt that zipped in the rear. And unlike side-zip slacks, you can't even see the part of the garment in question, which renders it especially difficult to fasten the little hook at the top. On the other hand, once I've struggled to get them in place, back-zipper pants make me feel deliciously trapped in femininity.

[CharleneT]

I put it where its suppose to go and zip it up... Most women I have polled say the zipper always goes in the back but I have a couple skirts that just don't hang right so I moved it to the side (and mysteriously the tags are in the back??). Lol. They need a tag that says front or back or put your a$$ right here!!

I love the "right here" tag idea !

Karren, some skirts are supposed to have the zipper on the side. A lot of mine are that way. The label is almost always in back ( not always, I have a couple where it is on the side). The one thing about women's clothing that I think is a "rule" is that there are no rules . . .

In general, I just zip it where it needs to be when "on". If you have trouble doing a skirt, wait till you try and zip up a fairly tight dress !! Rotating won't help ya'll then You're going to have to learn to be flexible for women's clothing. On thing that is pretty consistent, is that if there is a side zipper or label etc, it will be on the left side.

[sissystephanie]

I have to zip in front and rotate because I have a problem with my right arm! And I can't do at all left-handed! For those reasons I don't ever wear back or side zip pants! I also have to skip tight fitting dresses with a back zipper. But I do have some pretty dresses that fit fairly tightly with no zipper!!

[joank]

I put my skirts on one leg at a time and zip any way it will work. Roatating does cause problems with tucked in blouses but you can go under the skirt to square the blouse away.

[Kelly Blaine]

zip'n twist
Dresses and skirts weren't made to handle the Herculean efforts a male may exert on the little zipper (unless its a GG requesting assistance). I zip and twist.

Ginger

Tell me. $13 dollars for a new zipper in my favorite skirt.

[Rogina B]

Back zipper dresses are no problem if they are rigged like some of my wetsuits are...with a lanyard!!lol Otherwise[with skirts]it is zip and then orient in the proper direction..

[Rachel Morley]

The only negative is that if you are wearing a blouse or other type of top that is tucked inside the skirt, that action pulls it out of place, and you then have to rearrange it and smooth everything down again afterwards.

Exactly ... that's why I always step in with the zipper where it's supposed to go and reach behind and zip it up. Some dresses can be more difficult but if you're flexible enough it's not much of a problem .... except when your wife insists on hooking the the little hook at the top of the zip and then you're trapped!

[Jorja]

I used to zip in place. Due to an accident where I broke my shoulder a few years ago, I can no longer just reach around and zip like I used to. Now days its the zip and turn or have someone else help.

[Jilmac]

For the skirt zipper I usually zip it in place (side or back), and for those pesky back dress zippers I use a shoelace tied to a small key ring. It really comes in handy for a person with arthritis. The only glitch I've found is sometimes I can't remove the key ring from the zipper eye. Alas, what's a poor girl to do?

[Leslie Langford]

I zip and rotate myself. Awhile back my wife had this wonderful dress that
zipped in back. I made her a zipping tool; a 24" piece if 1/2 " dowel rod
with an open hook screwed into the bottom. She loved it, I think it is
still around here somewhere, don't need it anymore, dresses just don't come
that way anymore. Just not for us.

Sounds like a handy tool, but not exactly something you could easily slip into your purse and take with you into the fitting room when you're out shopping en femme and trying on new dresses . My fishing line/attached hook solution is more practical in that case. Of course, the best solution of all is when an SA offers to zip you up, which happened to me on one occasion. I was so surprised and ecstatic I could almost hear the angels sing...