I disagree. As a very thin guy, I often wear women's tees and sweatshirts because the equivalent male apparel wears like a box. People rarely ever notice. Usually, I get complements on how well the clothing fits.

I am a hetrosexual,and i for one would welcome mens attire
to be skirts tights high heels and all things frilly ,for too long men have got very few options,idream for the day when this will happen ,as at the moment i have to keep this practice away from my family and freinds,as im sure people will just think im gay or a transvestite,well if thats the case so are women.

A very well written and perceptive article.
What Dana says is correct, men wearing womens clothes are socially unacceptable.

Unfortunately, when most people hear that a man is wearing a skirt, their imagination conjures up the image of a bloke in a flowery frock.
However, this is not always the case and there are some skirts being designed for men that actually look quite masculine, although quite expensive.

So the options for the man who wants to break the mold and try a skirt are to buy from the womens dept.

Now as women tend to be shorter than men, the pants can be easily shortened, If the pants fit round the seat, then there will be plenty of room on the waist.

Reverse the situation and womens pants are frequently too short for a guy, if they fit round the seat, then the waist is going to be too small. Should the guy buy a skirt that is a good fit on the waist, then the seat will be baggy.

Also the "ooh" factor kicks in, as in , doesn't she look sweet in those oversized clothes!

BUT, there are some brave guys out there who are prepared to ignor the remarks and ridicule and go for it, In my humble opinion, some of them look quite good

As Dana says, in a hot environment a skirt is much more comfortable, I sometimes wear one myself, Very comfortable and my wife won't speak to me, so a double bonus!

Do a web search for men in skirts, you may be surprised at what comes up, or take a look at http://www.bobclops.co.uk

This article is dead on. I have written several articles and have been involved in several photo shoots depicting this exact theme. I try to convey the idea of fashion freedom to the photographers and I think they get it when i hear "yeah! great concept. Like your idea" and all the while they're thinking. "yep. another crossdresser."

It's about time men start taking a risk and try a new look other than pants.

I just don't like the frumpy look of the new leggings trend though. I wouldn't even go out in a pair of leggings that look like "casual only at home clothing". The look needs to be more sporty / athletic - a more polished look to go out in public. You don't want your man to look like he is borrowing his moms faded cotton leggings or is in a really tight pair of track pants. Yuk.

Kilts and tights are OK as long as it goes with a pair of boots. Now men even have their own pantyhose and full foot tights to go with man skirts and kilts and shorts.

Change is good Donkey!

Jenn

I (male) am from Germany and I visited Florida for 3 weeks. Together with my girlfriend I was shopping in some outlet malls and tried to find something for myselfe. No chance to find something nice. Jeans with holes, splodgy (dirty) and most Tee shirts in XXL. I am a very thin guy and all men's cloth I tried on looked uglily. I do not want to offend anybody, but the style was mor for Construction worker.

Different to myself my girlfriend found many nice tees and jeans. Two years ago we also visited Florida and whent for shopping, but at that time it was much easier for me to find something nice.

My impression is that in US the gap between male and female fashion is getting bigger compared past years and compared to Europe today.

This was an interesting article, but unfortunately it was a bit too predictable in its dismissiveness of the notion of men wearing anything other than trousers.

Done well, a man wearing a skirt looks precisely like a man wearing a skirt; he doesn't look silly, doesn't look like a homosexual, and certainly does not look like a crossdresser. Of course, if not done well, he'll come across looking downright silly, and this is the biggest pitfall when constructing a "look".

Face it, most men haven't much of a clue of how to put together a coordinated outfit; we've got it easy in that regard -- chuck on a shirt and a pair of trousers and that's pretty much it. Just look at what men are "allowed" to wear: it's almost universally dark or drab colours (except for shirts which can be light and drab), and unflattering loose cuts. This combination pretty much removes the need to be careful when coordinating pieces, so most men have "lost the knack" for doing so. Making matters worse, the last time when men actually had access to "fun" clothing was in the 1970s, a decade now, sadly, reviled for its fashion sense.

So, what's a bloke to do if he wants to put some "edge" in his wardrobe, have some fun with it, or just be more comfortable during the summer months? First off, he needs to understand that most people simply don't care what somebody else is wearing unless it's really jarring to the senses. Secondly, he needs to be supremely confident in himself, and project that. And finally, he's got to learn skills that most men have long forgotten -- how to combine and coordinate colour, how to combine shapes and fabrics, and all the while, he needs to do this in a way that doesn't look like he's trying to be something he isn't. It is possible -- sometimes difficult-- but possible.

So, don't dismiss the notion out-of-hand. If you're a guy, try dark solid-coloured skirts initially; they go with most shirts, just the same as your trousers do. Once you get over the initial shock, you'll discover that they're really very comfortable and, in most situations, just as practical as trousers.

True that women have more clothing choices than men and they readily dip in to our wardrobes and pick any item of clothing they like .Where as we are confined to trousers and shirt this is a disadvantage or is it?
Women have vast wadrobes and yet have nothing to wear they spend hours trying find the perfect outfit and have you seen two women at a party that have the sane dress on?
where as us men have the easy option of trousers and shirt.

As a married, heterosexual, monogamous male I would love to see more choices in men's fashion. The sea of khaki and navy that mascarades as men's fashion is simply hideous. The mere fact that all, repeat _all_, men's lower body garments are bifurcated is like something from bizzaro-world -- from an anatomical point of view, it makes no sense to trap men in trousers or shorts.

Is it some kind of cruel joke, or is it a bad dream that I can't wake from?

The state of men's clothing is so poor that it makes me hope and pray that reincarnation is a fact and that my next life will be one where I can wear more than jeans and trousers with a nice button down.

Ick.

I have to agree with this article.This double standard in fashion has to stop.A few centuries ago men wore skirts,dresses,leggings,stockings,tights,purses,lace,silk,bright coloured clothing,makeup etc which are nowadays associated with womens fashion.In regards to "gay",I have to say that since women wear "our clothes",no one calls them "lesbian,mannish,butch"..etc.They can wear anything they want and never be labelled as "crossdressers" at all.
If men try to wear traditional "womens clothing" we are labelled as gay.It has nothing to do with being "gay".It has everything to do with a form of rigid conformity to intimidate society by supporting and imposing a status quo of a narrow definition of masculinty with regards to dress,appearance and behaviour.
There are a lot of stereotypes,cultural baggage and prejudices which are biased towards us-we are up against a lot of odds here.If we don't organize ourselves to fight for fashion equality,then our right to wear whatever we want will be lost forever!.

Dana, thanks for a reasonable and well balanced article, however I'd like to ask you how "Women's clothes" are defined; when I buy a garment it becomes man's clothes or does it somehow retain a mystical female quality because it was bought from the "wrong" part of the store?

I frequently choose to wear skirts both when at home and out and about. I have had many interesting conversations with people as a result of this but a few people have argued that it is wrong for me to wear a skirt though a kilt is OK. How does a few pleats change the gender of an inanimate object? Others have said that I should not wear a kilt because I'm not a scot, that's just narrow minded response to the conditioning they received as children and have never bothered to consider since.

I guess the acid test for you, Dana, is whether, if you had a young son, you'd ever consider dressing him in a skirt or dress rather than the ubiquitous jeans?

How about a follow up based on getting a few guys to spend a week dressed in skirted garments and seeing how they get on? You never know, you may be seen as the instigator od a new fashion trend :-)

Have fun,

Ian.

When we say "men can't wear X", don't we really mean "few men have had the nerve to wear X"?

At any given time, there are all sorts of "fashion rules" that are loudly declaimed by the current know-it-alls, and it seems like people everywhere feel that the sky will fall if you break one of them. Usually, it only takes a few years before a large enough group of people starts breaking one or the other of these "rules", and suddenly there's a whole bunch of people whose group identity lies in breaking that rule. Consider "punk," "goth", etc. For that matter, when I was young, one of the rules was that you didn't wear blue jeans in polite company -- they were for dirty, outdoor work only.

So what is it that prevents men from wearing tights, or skirts? All it takes is for men to have the nerve to try it, and discover that the sky won't fall.

I've tried wearing skirts, for example (as have some of the other people who have replied to this article), and generally speaking, the people you meet generally don't say anything at all. If you go folk or contra dancing, you'll probably even see other men wearing skirts. The few comments I've gotten have been curious or positive. And it's great for getting women to talk to you!

I notice that NBA players are starting to wear tights, and they're not getting laughed or booed off the court. (At least, not as long as they win games.)

So don't wait for the know-it-alls to change their "rules." The only way things will change will be if men take matters into their own hands (and wardrobes.)

Men arise! You have nothing to lose but your [fashion-] prison uniforms!

I couldn't agree more with what you say about double standards here. I have been crossdressing since I was 12 years old and have always wished I didn't have the social stigmas against going out in public like women can. I would love to be able to go out in public wearing a skirt or a dress but because of social considerations, wear these items only at home. I am like the businessman who wears pantyhose underneath his suit pants on Wall Street. I wear women's underwear and hosiery exclusively because they are some of the few items I can publicly wear without anyone noticing. I do admit though, that I fully agree that if enough men came out and started doing so, we could change our culture's attitudes in a short time. I recently started wearing silicone padded panties which give my bottom a noticeably feminine appearance, and even though I initially felt self-conscious about it, thinking everybody was looking at my new "rear view", I've gotten used to it and have never heard any negative comments. This helps me appreciate that enough men coming out would solve the problem.

a dishdasha is masculine :)

I have often wondered why it was when I walk into any clothing store, be it a Target, Hot Topic, J.C. Penny's or whatever, the selection for mens' clothing is always paltry in comparison in to the womens' clothing.

Now I can't say I have the worlds greatest fashion sense; but one has to wonder if part of that is due to the lack of any choices for men to express themselves in this regard.

I walked into a Target the other day and noticed about 2/3rds of the clothing were for females. Of particular note, the females had two good sided walls of bathing suites, as well as several racks with them. (Summer is coming in after all). There were single piece suits, as well as two piece suits, all with differing cuts, patterns, and colors. Were as the men had all of two small racks to bathing suites; all of which felt like they were made with the most uncomfortable material I've ever felt in my life! None of them were of a cut I wanted (I wanted a knee length short, it seems like something I should be able to find in the mens bathing suits, right?) A lot of them were in drab colors, and simple patterns. They're bathing suits, they should be in bright colors and bold patterns! Give us a choice in the cut too, if a guy wants to wear something like a speedo, let 'em. If they want to wear a short short, or a long short, let 'em, but if the only choice is the same mid-thigh cut, I feel limited.

"Cropped (belly) shirts are gross on guys", why is that? Its okay for a guy to not wear a shirt at all, but if you only cover part of your body its gross? That doesn't make sense to me. Oh, but its "okay" if you're working out. What!? Why only then!?

"You must wear pants (or shorts)", the Greeks and Romans wore togas, the Scoots have Kilts, and those not much more than a specific type of skirt/dress, and they didn't have a problem with it, why should we?

Now a female skirt just isn't going to fit a male the same, our hips are built differently; but this shouldn't prevent manufacturers from producing skirts specifically tailored to a man's body. I know that I've seen more of these lately (some of the look really cool actually), and I hope to see more guys wearing skirts made specifically for them.

I often feel jealous that girls are allowed to flaunt their bodies, and express themselves with their fashion; if a guy does anything like this he's considered a weirdo or gay. I recently started wearing more "outrageous" clothing because I really felt that if anyone gives a hoot about me, they'll come and talk to me, and get to know me. I've had way more positive experiences with this than bad. In fact, I can't even think I've had a bad one yet. I suspect that anyone who thinks that my dressing is grossing them out they're steering clear of me, and that's their loss, not mine.

LETS HAVE A COMMING OUT DAY WERE IS OK TO WEAR A SKIRT OR DRESS TO WORK
WE HAVE A BLUE JEANS DAY WHERE THOSE WHE WEAR JEANS TO WORK THEIR BOSSES MAKE A DONATION TO THE LOCAL CHILDRENS HOSPITAL AS SO MANY DOLLARS PER HEAD
WHY NOT LETS GO PUBLIC RADIO AND TV AND HAVE ABLAST

it is so true.. mens clothing needs a real shake up, more variety, tight tops, loose tops, short and long jackets, kilts, leggins, tights, heeled shoes, yes remember the 70's, men had heeled shoes then!, that's retro now I guess.

It only needs the majority of men to do it and it will be accepted, it happened when men started wearing ear rings!, no one takes a second look or calls them gay now!

So please get a life and get some new fashion out there.

HI my name is Jeff, I am a 49yr old str8 married man who has had a passion for boots since I was 12. I found when I was in my 30's I had the confidence to begin wearing boots, everyday! First it began with wearing fancy cowboy boots, always with my pants tucked inside the boots, Some look for a guy who has never been on a horse lol Later as years went on, began adding more extreme pairs. Showing up on public wearing platform boots and womens boots. When I say womens boots, I mean as extreme as you can get. Thigh highed spike heelede boots, go-go boots with chunky 5 inch heels and side zips to the knee. I get alot attention as you all might image but thats fine.
Point is, life is tooo short, just be yourself, live the way you all want! :)
Jeff Bona, Selbyville, DE

As a 60+ married, heterosexual male I find female clothing to be much more interesting and fun to wear. The only male clothing I ever wear is underwear, a few shirts and hats (quite often berets from the ladies dept.). All of my other clothing and footwear comes from the "other side".

I only wear female pants and shoes (mostly Mary Jane's, thus my name) and socks. They look much better and fit better, I believe. Very few people are the wiser but I do get many, many smiles, especially from all the young women I meet out in public and I have to believe it's because they like and approve of my "look" whether or not they know exactly why!

I have quite a few short pleated skirts and skorts that I also wear when the weather is good and my friends have become very comfortable with my dressing choices. In fact, they are often disappointed if I don't wear a skirt or mini-kilt!

Mary Jane Boy

Well, nicely stated and opined, a well-balanced examination of the notions and 'standards' that our Western culture has adopted and become entrenched in.

At the risk of sounding sexist, frankly one of the problems is that women simply are shaped differently. This is but only ONE of the reasons for the much greater 'variety' of clothing styles and designs. And it is also a bigger problem as well, women then must determinine if this or that looks right, hangs or flows right, isn't too baggy, etc. With males, the male figure tends to be very 'standard' and of a highly uniform shape. (We are built more like tree-trunks!) This is one of the reasons for the more 'limited' range of fashion styles for men. And also the reason why men must then pay extra attention towards the creation of different styles that will actually fit and 'hang' right on the male physiology.

The fundamental crux of the issue here really points to what our culture has determined as 'gender', rather then sex. The feminist (or female equality) movement naturally has generated a bit of a backlash or 'vacuum', leaving men somewhat puzzled, disoriented, and likely a bit 'left behind'...

The problem is confounded when sexual values or 'taboos' become associated with styles and implied meanings.

So then, women in pantsuits do not generate nearly the degree of 'social distress' than men in dresses... And in our rather 'non-inclusive, close-minded' Western mindset, difference is equated with distrust, disdain and the attitude of 'why would you NOT want to look like us??? Is there something WRONG with you?"

Mostly, I feel, due to the intrinsic male INSECURITY that our Western culture has generated based upon income and earning potential. The concept of the 'working man's uniform' really came about during the industrial revolution where the men went off to the factories and 'offices', and the suit and tie became a way to socially 'level the playing field'. It is THIS playing field that has created the social institution which dissuades males from ever stepping outside the 'box' or exploring more creative, expressive and frankly more COMFORTABLE ways of covering oneself.

And we must also realize that any 'movements' or 'actions' which appear to challenge that social institution are going to be met with cautious distrust rather than inclusive progress.

There are, however, signs that at least SOME change is occurring -- the rising popularity of the male kilt for example. This classic male clothing item is experiencing a bit of a renaissance, making it's appearance in various modernized formats. Likewise, particularly among the younger set, snug pants, tops and close-fitting styles 'normally' found among the female fashions are being adopted by young males -- particularly close fitting 'girls' stretch jeans.

We are at a crossroads in Western culture. As we find ourselves entering into the whole 'globalization' process, we MUST examine ourselves and our motives in order to see if certain 'standards' are outdated, and would the adoption of more 'flexible' options only allow people to feel more expressive, rather than appear as a challenge to the 'established' insecure status quo.

What happened to my post? "Men in Heels"

hi, id just like to say that there are a lot of men who wear pantyhose and shorts in public.i'm one of them and find it quite comfortable.i even keep my legs shaven.

some companies now make pantyhose for men but they are only available online.

I was just directed to this article today... almost a year after it's original publication. I felt obliged to add a comment regarding the author's assumption that any male that wears anything feminine is automatically gay. It's a common misconception but I would like to correct it so that the misconception is removed from collective mindset. The percentage of men who cross dress to one degree or another is estimated to be in the 5-10% range. The overwhelming majority (90%+)of these are heterosexual. The 'problem' is that the gay 'Drag' contingent are the only reference point that most people have with 'men in feminine clothes'. The cross dresser is behind closed doors because he knows the social stigma he will face by appearing in public. He will even hide it from his spouse because she will first ask "Are you gay? Do you want the operation?" Things seem to be changing slowly with the assistance of the internet. Instead of believing that they are alone and freaks, cross dressers are finding they have lots of company and if they do a little searching, can find thousands of personal pages that tell stories much like their own and support groups to get them out of the closet and out the door. Please put the 'Drag" idea where it belongs.... in the gay community alone. They were gay first and then got into drag. The cross dresser is hetero and likes the styles, textures, colors, and multitude of options available in women's clothing. To make it socially acceptable to go out and participate in society, he adds the wig and prosthetic breasts. Many would cheerfully just wear the skirt and heels but then you'd be the center of attention anywhere you went. Society really needs to loosen up on this one. :)

Bobbie