What's going on?

[Helen_Highwater]

The other day I was out in the city in drab. It's pushing 30c here most days so I'm in flipflops, shorts and a cotton short sleeved shirt.

Waiting on the station for my train I started to observe the GG's on a watch and learn basis as all good CD'ers do. What struck me was the number who were still in tight skinny jeans, had thick black tights on or other items that I'd rank as cool weather wear.

There was a noticeable lack of sun dresses, cami tops, all of the things that I'd have chosen to wear on a hot day. Hardly a bare leg in sight. Hell, one woman was even wearing a scarf. Not some flowing chiffon number but a knitted scarf!

The world has gone mad!

[DaisyLawrence]

It kind of depends where you live Helen and where these GG's are going. No sun dresses allowed behind the till at the supermarket or cashiers desk at the bank. Where I live, at this time of year at least 80% of the GG's out on the high street are tourists and whilst 23c is about normal (when inland is 30c) I can assure you the majority of the happy holidaymakers will be in sun dresses or other suitable light and exposing clothing. You need to move! Go down the beach and there are no jeans in sight, you may even see me in a sundress (although that may not make your day)

[Stacy Darling]

Sounds as they may just need a few pointers Helen!
Stacy!

[phili]

I had the same experience, Helen, on the boardwalk in SF, and again at a high end busy mall where stylish clothing should have been the norm. BORING was the rule. Drab. Dresses and skirts are so rare that they are now an object of interest.

I think what is going on is that women aren't focused on dressing in ways that draw attention to themselves. I'm guessing the #meToo movement has sensitized everyone to avoid showing skin in a way that might be interpreted as flaunting the sensuality and freedom that was once their province but ended up drawing the wrong sort of attention.


The whole thing is seriously interfering with me playing catchup and wearing dresses out- not only am I a male, but no one else is doing it! Then when I wear cute shorts and femme top I look like a gay femme, which gives the wrong message. It would be hilarious if it weren't my life.

So my gambit now is to try to hit the sweet spot of interesting, elegant, dresses that are justified by the interesting styling and unique look on a mirl.

[Queen Bridget]

It's the opposite where I am.

In my current workplace, all the women are wearing thin summer dresses. Every day is torture. I'm seething with jealousy

[alwayshave]

I was out last night in the city it was 95F (32C) and women were in short dresses, shorts and cute little tops.

[Tracy Irving]

Since the summer heat arrived, I am seeing more women wearing skirts than I was in spring.

[Sarah Doepner]

I had the same experience yesterday as well. I was in guy mode, shorts & aloha shirt and checking to see what the ladies were wearing to the grocery store, thrift shop and fast food stop. There were lots of skinny jeans, black Capri pants, loose calf length jeans and lots of tee shirts in 95 degree temps. I saw several women wearing shorts, two women wearing shorter skirts and one in an ankle length cotton skirt. I didn't go out in the evening, but I'm sure much of that had changed, but daytime wear didn't look cooling at all.

I wondered if it was for convenience, maybe not wanting to shave legs or maybe a little bit of body shame that their legs weren't those of models or athletes. I'd hate to think it was the latter, but wouldn't be surprised if that was the case for many.

[DIANEF]

My wife and I were out shopping in Ashton-Under-Lyne yesterday Helen. I saw quite a few women in very summery dresses, and many long flowy skirts with sleeveless tops. Even my wife, who very rarely wears anything but trousers, put a skirt on. I saw almost no one in tights.

[Angela Marie]

I wear a pair of soft leggings in the summer. They are not too hot and very comfortable.

[Jean. Ann]

Here in Texas is really hot Phil .
Most women have gone to shorts of varying length . And relatively thin or bare tops
I did see one young woman in a Black and white print Maxi Dress at breakfast . She absolutely stole the show . Everyone looked and smiled

Jean Ann

[Pat]

What's going on is women are choosing their own clothing for their own reasons just as you do.

[Lydianne]

I'm wondering how you reconcile writing this in this thread:

The world has gone mad!

for this reason:

There was a noticeable lack of sun dresses, cami tops, all of the things that I'd have chosen to wear on a hot day. Hardly a bare leg in sight. Hell, one woman was even wearing a scarf. Not some flowing chiffon number but a knitted scarf!

while you wrote this:

One other indicater is while there are many older GG's who have great figures, dressing in short skirts is not something they do unless say involved in a sport. So I say observe and emulate. Learn from the masters (mistresses).

in this thread: https://www.crossdressers.com/forums...=1#post4257319

But regardless, it's just different women wearing different things on a hot day just like different women would wear different things on any other day .

- Lydianne.

[Stephanie47]

I live in the Great Pacific Northwest. Western Washington State. The overnight temperatures go down to the low 50's. If marine air is coming in from the coast it can be rather chilly in the morning. It is usually the warmest later in the day.....around 5 PM. Pants in the AM, shorts in the PM. It seems the sundresses have to wait until the morning temperatures are in the high 60's see the light of day. Same with sleeveless tank tops. There are a lot of transplants from California around here who think the weather is down right cold. Of course, when you come from the land of triple digits temperatures a high of 70 during the summer is cold. We like it that way.

[Helen_Highwater]

Thanks all for your replies and I'll be the first to defend a woman's right to wear what they want to. I was just staggered that now we finally have some decent weather a lot of especially young women have continued to dress like it's November. There's a saying; "There's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing". The other side of that would seem to be in good weather, dress to match the conditions.

It seemed to me growing up all those years ago it was understood than in winter it was okay to wear dark clothing. However in summer you wore lighter colours as they reflected the heat. Dark colours are just like a heat sponge and so avoided it you wanted to stay cool.

As for the notion that women are rejecting skirts and dresses as a response to the #meToo movement I find that prospect somewhat depressing. It means GG's aren't claiming their rights, they're giving them away. Surely they should be saying I wear this because it makes me both look and feel good about myself so I do it for me not you the onlooker.

Also perhaps we here view dresses and skirt wearing as a symbol of our desire to be feminine when in fact wearing a dress is simply one of the more comfortable types of clothing for a summer's day. When I was in the world of work I had to wear trousers and I can remember dying to get home and get into shorts so I could cool down. And I guess this is at the heart of my observations. The fact that so many who could have opted for shorts or other clothing most suited to the weather conditions were still in their regulation jeans and legging which let's face it, are designed to show off curves. Isn't it an indicator that GG's are still dressing for show, for fashion and not their own personal comfort.

[Bobbi46]

Helen, I never cease to be amazed at the way some people " bundle" themselves up in clothes on the hottest of days, in town today was an exception, 33°C! so most people I saw were dressed for the hot weather.
it all comes down to peoples personal likes on that day as we ourselves are, and what we are most comfortable in being in and in being seen in.

[Teresa]

Helen,
I assume you are talking about Manchester ? Some scaremonger spread the rumour again that it always rains in Manchester !

I'm really loving this at the moment , to go out in just a skirt and Tshirt, no tights or stockings and comfy wedges ( I still can't believe I'm not wearing stockings ! That's something else I've had to eat my words over !)

[Beverley Sims]

It takes time for Mad Dogs and Englishmen to acclimatise.:-)

The change in weather is a bit sudden you know.

[char GG]

I can only speak for a small amount of GG’s who work in air conditioned spaces that are so cold in the summer that they have to bundle up. That’s how my work environment was! Burrr!!!

[Teresa]

Char,
I wonder how many people suffer more from aircon problems than just accepting it's hot and live with it !

My wife would always switch the aircon off in hotel rooms because she was too cold and couldn't stand the noise , she would often take jackets and cardigans to work because of the aircon problem ! It does beg the question why does it have to be so cold ?

[VS Fan]

Exactly Char! I lived in southern FL long ago, and it'd be 90+ outside, but the AC inside would be set to 65!.... I'd always ask... why did these northerners move down here to escape the cold, and then make it cold inside!!

[sometimes_miss]

I can only speak for a small amount of GG’s who work in air conditioned spaces that are so cold in the summer that they have to bundle up. That’s how my work environment was! Burrr!!!

Our work a/c thermostats are set on 70 in areas where the employees are very busy, so that makes it cold for anyone just standing or sitting, inactive. Otherwise the employees will be dripping with sweat. Then add in, if your work position is near a vent, you will feel a breeze as well, making you colder. And we don't always get to choose our spot, so being stuck there can make it seem freezing if we cannot escape the breeze.

My wife would always switch the aircon off in hotel rooms because she was too cold and couldn't stand the noise , she would often take jackets and cardigans to work because of the aircon problem ! It does beg the question why does it have to be so cold ?

It's usually NOT 'so cold'. It's just that the inactive people feel cold, especially women with bare legs.
AFA hotel rooms, lots of people prefer to sleep in a cool room. I, for one, sleep in a 68 degree or colder room, otherwise my sinuses close up and I wind up with a sinus headache in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep for hours when my sinuses clear up. This is even made worse by having allergies, so as the a/c also filters the air, that helps, too to make it easier to breath and sleep. If it's cold, I can sleep through the night.

Exactly Char! I lived in southern FL long ago, and it'd be 90+ outside, but the AC inside would be set to 65!.... I'd always ask... why did these northerners move down here to escape the cold, and then make it cold inside!!

They move south to get away from FREEZING cold. Not to get away from 72 degree Fahrenheit air conditioned air. I'm in the process of moving south myself, also to get away from the freezing cold. While the cold doesn't necessarily bother me, the ice on the ground does, as with my arthritis, eventually I would wind up falling and breaking something as I cannot recover quickly enough from slipping on the ice as well anymore.

[Teresa]

Lexi,
Sometimes you have to accept certain people feel the cold more than others , no matter how active they are . I feel the cold far more in my feet and legs especially at night , so much so I can't get to sleep ,

[sometimes_miss]

FWIW, I see lots of young, slender women wearing long sleeves/long tights and other things that would make me sweat my butt off, so it's pretty clear that they won't wind up as hot as us older fatter people are.
I noticed this phenomenon first with NBA players long ago; the young rookies were able to run up and down the court for much of the game without becoming overheated, while the older players were very quickly dripping with sweat. Watch the ladies professional tennis players; lots of the younger ones, especially the teens, appear to not break a sweat for a very long time into the tournament, even though they're clearly exercizing quite a bit.

[susan54]

I can't do this Farenheit stuff. If there is air con you can bring extra clothing such as a scarf or cardigan (if female) so it is always possible to feel warmer. Pity us cold-adapted creatures who have difficulty getting cool enough - you can only remove so much clothing without HR getting involved. So long live air con. Personally I would wear skirts in warm weather given the choice ... but in working hours I am not. Now I must get the air con in my car recharged. Genuinely mystified by the women who wear trousers or leggings on really hot days. I look at the women in floaty dresses and just experience envy - they look SO comfortable compared with those of us confined in trousers.