Opinions wanted on skirts for men

I only recently discovered this board after a college friend recommended it to me. It is really awesome and so many cool people here. I love reading all the articles and messages.

I am a fashion design student and I want to get some opinions from everyone here. I find men wearing skirts a really sexy look on guys. Not in a cross-dressing sort of way (like dressing the guy up as a woman) but just as an alternative form of clothing.

A couple of totally hetero guys have been willing to go out with me to restaurants, clubs on dates etc in different skirts that I have picked out for them. They have ranged from sarongs to very short skirts.

As part of a project for this year, I am thinking of designing a range of skirts for guys. Skirts that girls will really find appealing on their men, and skirts that guys will be willing to consider wearing.

So, I am looking first for some opinions in general on the whole idea of skirts for men. What do you think? Do you find it sexy or not? What sorts of skirts do you think would look best? And what do you think a guy should wear that would go well with his skirt? I found it difficult in the past to match a typical guys footwear with a decent looking skirt, the same with shirts.

Thanks

Stacy

it sounds a good idea something different. i wasnt to be a fashion designer and model am worken on da modelling bit at the moment because am only at secondery school at the mo so i cant go 2 any fashion colleges or nufin i want 2 model my own clothes. GoOd LuCk On YoUr IdEa

Brent, Kerry thanks for the feedback!

Brent, I appreciate your honesty :). I don't think most of the male population is ready for skirts just yet, LOL, but I enjoy trying to develop something that is more on the cutting edge (pun intended). Could I ask in your case - is this because of pre-conceived notions/societal norms that skirts are just for women, or is it because you just don't think they would be comfortable or your taste - I accept not all women even like skirts!

Kerry, thanks for your encouragement and good luck with your own goals.

Stacy

I find nothing sexy about any man in a skirt.
Do I think they will go over here in the United States----NO

i love it!
i am a merchandising student (soon to be) and i love that idea... id love to help you with that...

I'm Brent's lady, and I can tell you that (like most men), he simply finds it too "femmy" to ever wear a dress. Even if society accepted it more he probably wouldn't wear a dress.

Myself, it doesn't do that much for me.
I do know that several of my girlfriends would love it if guys wore dresses. It seems to me that many women would like to get their men to try wearing a dress but that the men resist that notion.

there is a yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HikingSkirts/
about non bifurcated garments for men and women. macabi makes a hiking skirt for either sex. also, in the contra dance world men have been wearing twirly skirts for years. they have lots of advantages I can see. still looks weird tho :)

I couldn't even imagine my boyfriend in a skirt. I can't even get him to wear soft colors, like ligheter blues, or even more festive colors like orange or green. He is so lame.

you mean mini skirts? that sounds good on men

their cute little butts lol

Stacy:

Your idea sounds really cool. I don't dress up as a woman but have wondered in the past why it is perfectly ok for women to wear just about anything guys do, but it is taboo for guys to even wear feminine colors. Is this a hold-out from the ages when women were regarded as inferior?

I'd be interested in hearing more about your escapades in public with guy friends in skirts. I'd love to volunteer if you're looking for any.

I think the best design for a 'masculine' skirt would be a denim one, yeah denim, tough looking! They probably should no be too tight. I think a shortened button down shirt would look good with the right skirt.

I think thats WAY HORRIBLE ! I'm sorry if im being rude but I dont think that it would ever ever ever become popular in USA. I think that guys will go as far as pink or purple shirts here or there but never ever skirts or dresses.

Can i ask you something? why would you want your man wearing a dress or skirt dont you wanna man that seems like he can protect you and be masculine? i dont know about you but its GAY to me. It is nature for a man to masculine and the girl to be feminime dont try to change it. I think if you want your man in a dress then you can have that in the privacy of your home, out of public.

I would also find it amusing to see a really skin adn bone guy to be wearing a dress. That would be horrible. Not to mention a body builder or a muscular man wearing one.

I have no problem with men wearing skirts, so long as they shave their legs first. Women have to shave their legs to wear skirts, so men should, too. If men wear high heels, it doesn't bother me. *shrugs* Congrats to them if they can walk in the things, as I can't and I am a woman :-P ! I also have no problem if women wear boxers, or suits and ties, if they wanna. Old-fashioned gender roles are too confining :-( . What fun is life if we can't change things up and play with gender roles and expectations?

NO, NO, NO. We don't want no skirts. Sorry.

My wife would like it if I wore a long dress at home once in a while, but I haven't yet!

Many of the "supporters" on this thread might think im a bit*h for saying this, but Im just trying to be real...so heres my opinion...ohhhhh hell no!Its not your idea that I say that to, I give you credit for being bold and original,Its the concept in itself--just thinking about it actually being a norm in society(something i hope it will NEVER be).you can call me shallow, but I wouldnt even be seen with a man in a skirt.I wouldnt check out a man in a skirt(he can be a supermodel..still not sexy)..I wouldnt even TALK to a man in a skirt...WHAT A TURNOFF!!UGH!!Its not sexy-its fruity... If I were walking in public and saw a man in a...say for instance,a cargo miniskirt- I would think it was a joke. I would automatically assume he lost a bet. Or that he's gay. Or Scottish. ha... Theres nothing I love more then for a MAN TO BE A MAN and he cant do that in a skirt.

I know what you mean Sara, I know I am not interested in wearing a dress or skirt, but wearing a dress or skirt is only considered unmasculine in certain cultures.
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In many parts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, men, (especially men in rural areas), wear long dresses. It is a cultural norm there. These men are hetrosexual men, many of them with wives and children. Their women don't find it weird at all that their men wear dresses.
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The men in those societies wear different types of dresses than the women there wear, the men's dresses are less feminine than the women's dresses, but they do wear dresses, usually long dresses.
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In western and European society in previous eras there were men who wore dresses too. It is only in the past couple of centuries that western men quit wearing dresses, and it became exclusively a female thing to wear.
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Fashions do change. Traditionally western men wore long hair. Then for awhile they cut their hair short. Then along came the 1960s and 1970s and many men grew their hair long again. These days in the early 2000s you see men with both long and short hair and no one thinks much about it. A man can be masculine with either long or short hair.
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The same with women. Many very feminine women wear short hair, as well as long or medium length hair. My wife is a great mother and wife and a very feminine woman, and she wears ultra short hair.
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Fashion trends are determined by the societal or cultural norms of the moment.
These days a woman can wear long or short hair, a dress or slacks, and be considered feminine.
A man can wear long or short hair or even earrings and be considered masculine.
But in our society if a man wears eye makeup or wears a dress or a skirt, that is considered effeminate on a man. That is just the way it is these days.
But who knows? Twenty years from now that could change. Then again maybe not.

It wouldn't bother me if men if wore something more skirt/dress like but I find men in drag to often be silly or grotesque. While I don't come across them in my normal life I think men in kilts, tunics or other traditional clothes look neither silly nor grotesque - just culturally different and I think it would only take a few minutes for it to look normal if more men did it.

But then again, I don't really care what men wear.
I've only recently figured out that I'm gay so I can't say that it would particularly turn me on either.

The reason I am writing here at all is that I have recently been experimenting with gender bending fashion, trying to figure out what feels natural for me. A number of people have commented that women can wear pretty much anything and that men can't. While I believe this I don't really understand it. I'm not talking about work - where fashion may be dictated by actual rules - but just out in public where people are on their own time.

From my perspective, men just seem like a bunch of sheep, afraid to do anything different. God forbid someone doesn't like your outfit. Is that so much more more tragic to a man than a woman? I have been told that I "look like a guy" at times (mostly by my mother) and I see that as no big deal. Why is it so terrible for a guy to look a tad feminine? Whats wrong with girls/women? I don't mean to be critical. I'm just trying to understand it. I also don't understand why some of the straight (I assume) women seem so repulsed by a guy looking feminine to them. Sort of seems like a weird self loathing to me. Again, I'm not trying to critisize. I'm just trying to say I don't get it and I'm hoping someone can explain it to me

Cheers,
Bronwyn

Bronnie, It's different being a man than a woman that is why.

While some people are still prejudice against lesbian or bisexual women such as yourself, there is more prejudice against gay men, that is why most hetrosexual men (even fairly "progressive" hetrosexual men like myself), don't want to be associated with the "gay" thing.
Having said that, I am confident enough in my masculinity, and look masculine enough, to wear long hair and earrings, and no one ever accuses me of looking "gay" or "effeminate".

I think you understand it much more than you know. I mean, it's still considered an insult, after all, to say someone "throws like a girl". . . Even as far as we've come in today's society, women are still seen as weak and inferior in a lot of ways. That's why it's so unthinkable to so many people to see a man in a skirt, because to them, it makes him look weak.
Part of it is also the stereotype of homosexuals going against gender type. Someone sees a man in a skirt or a woman in a short, spiky haircut and thinks automatically that person must be gay, whether it's true or not. A lot of people, unfortunately, are still uncomfortable with homosexuality, so they don't like to see what they perceive as people flaunting their gayness in public.
Another part of it is how many people still cling to old-fashioned gender stereotypes. The stereotypes have already been chipped away when women started wearing pants or short hair, or when men started wearing long hair or earrings. All those changes were met with resistance at first, just like we're seeing here. But just like those other changes, if men are gonna wear skirts, they'll wear them eventually, and the more society tells them not to, the more they'll wanna do it.
Oh, and the women might also feel threatened, as if men wearing skirts will take away one of their unique traits or special privileges. A lot of women take pride in being able to wear whatever they want, when men can't.
Have I just about covered it all?


[QUOTE=bronnie] It wouldn't bother me if men if wore something more skirt/dress like but I find men in drag to often be silly or grotesque. While I don't come across them in my normal life I think men in kilts, tunics or other traditional clothes look neither silly nor grotesque - just culturally different and I think it would only take a few minutes for it to look normal if more men did it.

But then again, I don't really care what men wear.
I've only recently figured out that I'm gay so I can't say that it would particularly turn me on either.

The reason I am writing here at all is that I have recently been experimenting with gender bending fashion, trying to figure out what feels natural for me. A number of people have commented that women can wear pretty much anything and that men can't. While I believe this I don't really understand it. I'm not talking about work - where fashion may be dictated by actual rules - but just out in public where people are on their own time.

From my perspective, men just seem like a bunch of sheep, afraid to do anything different. God forbid someone doesn't like your outfit. Is that so much more more tragic to a man than a woman? I have been told that I "look like a guy" at times (mostly by my mother) and I see that as no big deal. Why is it so terrible for a guy to look a tad feminine? Whats wrong with girls/women? I don't mean to be critical. I'm just trying to understand it. I also don't understand why some of the straight (I assume) women seem so repulsed by a guy looking feminine to them. Sort of seems like a weird self loathing to me. Again, I'm not trying to critisize. I'm just trying to say I don't get it and I'm hoping someone can explain it to me

Cheers,
Bronwyn
[/QUOTE]

Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I find it just so damn sexy!!!  Good Job woman, I hope to see more men wearing skirts in the future!!  It's always been my favorite!!  I love kilts, but also saw some very nice ones on gothic online store for men.  I want my man to have one!!   It' s just very nice and different!!! 

Hi Hi:

Skirts for men. "Give me a break".  No disrespect to anyone, but there are already enough feminine men out there.  I for one would really like to meet a "Real old fashion guy". 

I want a guy that does not want to wear my skirts or dresses.  Come on, is it to much for me to want a man to be a MAN.   I am woman enough for the both of us.

I know girls, I can be a real witch somtines.  Hay, its one of the bennies to being a woman.

Botton line - NO SKIRTS FOR MEN. (Except Scotty on Star Trek).

Susan

Hi Susan

Yet again I agree with you.

My bf is an outdoors kind of guy and I certainly wouldn't feel the same way about him if he started wearing skirts! Definately only room for one feminine person in this relationship.

Sarah

no offense.. but the whole idea of guys in skirts is grosser than gross... whats wrong with normal pants?

Hello

  I am a hetro crossdresser . And having had some experience in the wearing of skirts and other feminine attire ,,,I say why not ? Shirts are comfy and can be an interesting alternative to the usual drab mens styles

 

                                                     Jean Ann

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b239/Jeanann_/jeanannScott ish.jpg

 

OOps trying again !

 This is aScottish Aboyne National Dance outfit

 

                                      Jean Anm