I can wear a dress to work and nobody criticizes me. I’d be really sad if I had to wear pants all the time, they’re just not as comfortable. Let’s normalize pretty dresses for dudes!
Yea, but let’s design some to work on male bodies. Dresses are generally built for female body shapes, and rely on curves most guys just don’t have in order to complete the shape - so we end up looking like Graveyard Barbie in them.
Guys tend to be a lot more oblong, and the overall design would need a rethink in order to actively work with that shape, instead of unsuccessfully trying to compensate for it.
No, I don’t know how to do this.
I was a slutty nun for Halloween and looking cute in a skirt is definitely possible, but man does it take a lot of work to find anything that fits decently. Dresses are simply impossible to find of course because, as you said, the shape is not at all made for men.
Also that outfit made me want to go full f1nn5ter and dress up in feminine clothes all the time lol. It’s so much fun! I’m so down for people to figure out how to make the shape work for masculine body shapes.
I was a slutty nun for Halloween
Just don’t make it a habit.
I don’t know if I could keep that vow.
TBH, I would rather be a slutty nun than a slutty priest.
You better, unless you want to hurt your temples
We needn’t worry, my cloister is hardened.
My first thought when I read op was that trousers are a relative new development.
The Romans made fun of the Gauls for wearing them.
So if you decide to wear traditional Roman dress, trousers shouldn’t be included.
But it’s still designed for men.
Pretty cool how the Romans just took a good idea from a more primitive culture. Guess there wasn’t anyone around to scream about cultural appropriation.
The Romans calling the Gauls primitive is a bit like the British calling the Americans primitive.
True, but for Gods sake don’t look in the mirror.
Took me a while to figure you were referring to native americans, not the current 'muricans
Wait, what? No!
Yeah, well, I’m sorry, but yes viewing the current Merkins as stupidly violent savages is a thing on this side of the Atlantic.
We Europeans on the other hand would never attack someone without reason.
We’ve always had reasons, usually some variation of wanting their possesion for ourselves.
And warning: This post contains sarcasm.
Dudes in parts of Africa and the Middle East have already got it figured out. Djellabas look fantastic on most men. I’d love to see more people wearing them.
More like Robes than Dresses, maybe? Could start with some Indian or Middle Eastern fashions as a starting point…
Yeah, a men’s salwar kameez would make a damn good start, but I don’t want to limit it…
Love my khurta
That does involve pants though. I think something like a sarong is what they were referring to.
It wouldn’t be that hard, I think. Just make it more square on top and drop the accentuating part from the waist to either halfway between the belly button and hips or all the way to the hips. Or you could raise it to chest height and have a long, straight bottom part, more robe-ish.
Consider: kilts.
Consider also: The bahag
Agreed! There are a few enterprising designers out there with cool menswear dresses, but it’s still super niche.
Got a link?
I’ve seen Billy Porter in a gown or two. I’d add a link but not sure how to do that in Voyager / wefwef yet.
Link me too please
You’re coming dangerously close to re-inventing the kilt
A lot of Muslim men wear what appear to me to be long white skirts, especially in the middle east and north Africa where wearing a flowing, loose garment that reflects lots of light is a practical measure for staying cool. I think it’s called a Kandora?
My point is that such garments DO exist, they just aren’t common in the west because of western views of male gender norms and Islam.
Robes like from solar opposites
Honestly, one thing I hate about being biologically male is that men’s clothes all look so goddamn generic.
Oh, you’re wearing a suit. It’s. A suit. I guess. They all look the same.
You’re wearing jeans. And a t-shirt. And they all look basically the same.
Khakis and a polo? You madlad. Well, you and everybody else at the country club. Who all look exactly the fucking same.
The thing that really gets me is, it didn’t used to be this way. You look at pictures of people in paintings and whatnot and men had some wild shit going on. There was variety, if somewhat less, even into the early 20th. But… seriously tell me if I’m wrong here… it feels like we got to WWII and men’s fashion just stopped. Like an entire generation of men put on uniforms and eighty years later we still haven’t completely taken them off.
They don’t ALL look the same. It’s just that the stuff that actually looks non-generic are either super expensive or super uncomfortable.
Or, just bad. There’s nothing generic about Ed Hardy. Most people elect to look generic rather than be caught dead in that mess.
True that! I have some awesome looking denim pants, that are literally painted with colorful paint. I always get compliments from both men and women when I wear them. I also got them basically for free at the store, since no one were buying them.
But, they’re about as comfortable as you would expect denim pants painted with thick paint to be: stiff and scratchy.
or make you look like a stand user
Mainstream clothes for sure, but I feel the same way about mainstream women’s clothes. Waist high jeans, an inoffensively colored top and a vest or blazer. Switch out the jeans for beige linen pants in the summer. Yawn. If you want inspiration for some more interesting clothes in general but men in particular, you gotta look to non-mainstream subcultures. Especially ones that don’t give shit about gender. I hung out with hippies for years and men and women alike are dressed in cool, colorful and interesting clothes. Both genders wear pants, dresses, and skirts. It heavily inspired my style and believe me, I stand out a lot among other women. If you want more variety you have got to look further than what’s mainstream. Because that’ll always trend towards boring and basic.
Even mainstream clothes are better in the woman’s section. I was in Peacocks (fairly small cheap clothes shop - you can see most of what they’ve got by standing near the centre) and you can just tell where the men’s clothes are by the sea of dull, boring shades with not a single thing showing any sign of colour at all, like the brightness is turned down to 1 on the telly. The style differences are minimal. Even the material is just awful scratchy fabric for the most part. Look over to the woman’s section and it’s a sea of colour, many more different styles (not that many, as I said, this is a small cheap shop), and if you touch anything it’s instantly noticeable that the material is much better quality, softer. I don’t get woman who wear men’s clothes - why would you put yourself through that?
There is more variety for sure, but my point kinda was that most people, men and women, don’t really make full use of the variety there is. Almost everyone dresses kinda dull. Women have easier access to special and colorful clothes than men (although the latter can definitely find some if they look for it) and they do use it a slightly more but actually interesting clothing takes a little willingness to stand out that most people simply do not have. Maybe it’s different in other countries though - where I live conformity and not standing out is woven into every aspect of our culture.
What does this have to do with being biologically male?
Aren’t males born wearing cargo shorts and a blue polo?
I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. I think what we should do is learn how to sew. I already bought a sewing machine but I haven’t had time to learn how to use it. Hopefully I will be able to learn the basics in the few work-free days I will have in the summer. My point being, we (men) need to take fashion into our own hands and start designing what we want to wear.
I (woman) have been learning to sew for a while mostly due to the indignity of never having pockets unless I put them in myself. But I also took the plunge and made my husband a novelty Christmas shirt last year and honestly even though it seemed like it would be terrifying it was surprisingly straightforward! Now he can have all the ridiculous colorful shirts he wants.
Basically I’m saying yes, learn to sew, it’s bloody brilliant.
Thanks for sharing your story. Now I’m more excited to learn how to sew
And they are only available in about three colours - black, dark blue and grey. yawn
Not sure about other places but most women around here wear clothes that are mostly the same as well it’s not exclusive to “masculine” clothes
Tbh, I just want to blend in… but of course be as pompous as you want!
Some workmates and I petitioned our boss for the return of 70’s office shorts during over the course of one hot summer, to no avail.70s? Those are just summer work clothes in Australia.
Oh man I wish, I was stuck in shoe length cotton blend for three years of my life and I dreaded February coming around
But they’re so classy and adorable! Your boss is a monster.
I can barely contain myself
That what happens when the shorts are too short
Those are some ridiculously short shorts, especially on the left. How is he not hanging out the bottom?
Don’t get me started on shorts. Modern shorts which go down to the knee - what’s the point?!
Oh look, I know what hell will be like now.
There were so many adventurous men’s fashions in the 70s - I like watching old shows like Columbo partly because of that. It feels like we lost a lot going into the 80s and beyond in that respect - I’m glad to see men trying more diverse clothing now.
Those only work if you also have the 1970s sexual-predator combover and/or pornstache as well as a The Mask necktie.
As a man I never considered pants to be uncomfortable. They are the perfect mix of range of motion, hiding the private parts. and support. Dresses, skirts, and robes seem like a nightmare to wear. You either restrict your range of motion or have to constantly worry about showing your underwear. And I would wear boxer briefs underneath by choice anyhow, so I still end up wearing pants.
I think the bigger issue is that most of us men are too lazy to look for different kinds of pants and end up wearing the same stuff year-round. Which can indeed become uncomfortable due to changes in temperature. But that issue wouldn’t be fixed by having access to dresses or robes. As again, some would either be too cold or too hot.
I used to have a pretty intense not-like-the-other-girls fase in my teens, and I never wore skirts or dresses, and felt the same way you do. Then I got over that internalized misogyny and started experimenting with clothes a little, and the first time I put on a dress it was like a hallelujah moment. The most comfortable thing in the goddamn world. They do not restrict your movement at all, that’s only a problem if you wear knee-high pencil skirts of stiff fabric. In colder seasons you wear leggings under them which are equally comfortable. It was so incredibly comfy I did a complete 180 and it took me 10 years to wear a pair of pants again, and that’s only because the waist high mom jeans in style now are so loose and non-restricting. Any other style of pants I won’t touch with a 10 feet pole.
But how do you sit in an office chair with your feet on the seat, like I do, in a dress?
No, I refuse to sit properly.
Light? That you?
He’s got a case to solve, don’t bother him!
You mean L? Light was Kira, L was the guy who sat crouched like a goblin.
From experience: as long as the dress is nice and roomy you can sit as prawn-like as you want.
Wear a long enough dress and you’ll be fine. You could also wear a skort (which is a skirt/dress with shorts built in underneath, but from the outside it just looks like a regular skirt/dress) or just wear shorts or leggings underneath. You’ve got lots of options!
Anytime you want to try it with a bath towel you might realise she’s right. The only thing creating a problem is when it falls off.
The towel falling off just makes it more comfortable.
Comfortable but not socially acceptable atomicorange. Damn society >_>
What are these magic cooling pants you speak of that are acceptable in a professional setting? Or are you British and think we are talking about undergarments? We are talking about trousers.
Nah no pity here, we got pockets best thing in the world you should probably feel more envious really
I’m gonna design a dress made of nothing but pockets out of pure spite.
Hell yeah, finally someone fixing the real problems of the world
Look up the Patti Pocket Skirt. You’re welcome.
While your at it, can you also design some business cargo shorts?
Business in the front, cargo in the back?
Lol sounds like you’re describing a well dressed person with a phat ass
slaps pockets you can fit so much junk in this trunk!
LMFAO that is actually incredible!
Jokes on you, my dresses all have pockets
All my dresses have far better pockets than most pants, too.
I knew a woman who often wore dresses with pockets.
A friend has a degree in fashion design and her senior project was a clothing line that you ordered by measurement instead of men’s/women’s sizing so it was supposed to fit a person not a gender.
So cool!
I think those are called kilts, and some of the cooler ones come with pockets (just like the cool lady dresses.
I’ve worn a kilt to participate in Scottish heritage festivals and the Highland Games. It’s a far, far better garment than pants or shorts in hot weather and super comfy in general. Pants are great, but for just hanging around and casual wear kilts are amazing.
Utilikilts (the ones with pockets) are awesome, but with a traditional kilt you can accesorize with a nice belt and sporran (the little pouch in front).
All in all, I’d be really happy to see more kilts and similar garments in day to day men’s fashion.
I personally don’t like utilikilts because the sort of folk who wear them at faire aren’t always the most savory, but I fuck heavily with a traditional tartan and a sporran.
Where are you getting lady dresses with pockets?!
I wouldn’t mind dressing in tunic+toga.
Link?
A toga is my go too outfit when I can’t be bothered to get dressed to walk around the house, I just grab a blanket and drape it over myself.
A few summers ago I brought up the idea that men should be allowed to wear shorts to the office if women can wear dresses and my boss literally laughed in my face. We work in a small-ish office and are not client facing so who tf cares what we wear? A while later they made a whole big deal about us being allowed to wear jeans to the office ever day (vs only on Fridays) you could hear a pin drop at the staff meeting. It was painful but satisfying to watch. Fuck those assholes…
At least if men wore more skirts and dresses then manufacturers would add pockets.
Always thought this guy was a boss!
Completely agree. While both pants and dresses have their pros and cons, it should be everybody’s own choice which one they want to wear. I hope that this is something that will change over time.
Boxers-while-working gang rise up.
Pants are optional when entering my house however underwear is mandatory lol.
A lot of comments here are not wrong. Men’s clothing in general doesn’t have a lot of variety. 4 different colors of the same style shirt or more doesn’t count as variety. Look in a big box clothing store and you’ll see that the women’s section is almost always 2 to nearly 3x larger.
Im pro men wearing whatever the f they want. Im not pro shaming men wearing pans to promote men wearing dresses
