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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
While I can appreciate the freedom of boxers, I don't like the gentlemen down below wandering all day long. A nice mesh boxer-brief is where it's at. If I were rich, I'd have a full set of the Saxx Quest Ballpark™ Pouch boxers - those are my go-to for travel days. Sadly, they're also $30+ a pair.
Yes. But. Not sexual nudity. Nudity is fine in itself, but the fact that most people see it as sexually explicit, sexually suggestive, or an actual sexual activity, is the problem. Consciously I am for this, but subconsciously I'd still react to nudity as sexual (as most other people), because I've not yet encountered enough non-sexual nudity to get used to it. It's like going to a beach - at first it's "niiice sexy bodies", but on the second day it's like "meh, people making it hard to get to the water". It's the novelty.
I have 4 kilts and wear them to work when I want to, almost as a dare to management so I can retire off a lawsuit. Utilikilts and Verillas have great kilts with pockets for workin' men that like a pretty skirt.
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.
Not trying to shame anyone. I feel sad that men seem to have fewer choices is all. I’m pro-pants, and also pro- skirts and shorts and dresses and jumpsuits and strategically arranged utility belts.
Here's a little secret. We have all the options in the world. No one is stopping me from wearing a skirt or dress.
I just simply don't want to. I love pants. I think they feel great. Adds another layer of protection for my balls.
You don't have to be sad for anyone.
Edit: just to add... just underwear is not enough for me. Just like some girls don't like it when their boobs bounce around, I don't like it when my balls bounce around.
Pants help keep them in place. Gotta take care of those. My entire bloodline depends on it.
Dress code standards most places. It's frustrating watching the women at work with skirts and tank tops while I'm dying because we're not allowed to wear shorts or sleeveless shirts.
Your body, your choice. If you really don't like hair you could shave it. I hope you can learn to love your knees, you've got 'em for the rest of your life.
My boss made it very clear that while the pictures in our dress code handbook are of the general gender stereotypes, doesn't mean we are holding people to that. As long as you are business casual it doesn't matter how you represent.
They are insanely comfy BUT you're gonna want to have things tucked away down there. If you walk into the wind...I've never felt so exposed in public in my life.
I may be in the minority on this, but I wear pants to work every day, even in the summer, and it doesn't feel uncomfortable.
I just like wearing my jeans, and if anything, I've gotten more flak from friends about not wearing shorts enough
Men, let me introduce you to sarongs. My cousin was roommates with a Ukrainian guy and after he tried wearing it he basically got converted. He bought a dozen to be brought back to Ukraine. With the conflict going on I hope he's safe now.
I agree. There should be a turn back to the robe-like garments that are used by everyone in certain cultures. It's comfy and it looks regal as fuck. And with the heat waves we've been getting we are gonna have to adapt to our environment where we can
Agreed, 100%. I grew up in a hot area and worked in offices where long pants were the standard. I was always jealous that ladies could get all that ventilation and I was stuck with boiler pipes on my legs.
I tried to use this argument with a boss during the summer, when she told me shorts weren't "professional"... She didn't bite when I pointed out the variety of "professional" female vs male attire, and that no summer male alternative to pants exists. I pointed out the skirt she was wearing during that scorching day as an example.
But I worked primarily in the field and none of my Clients nor their care facilities cared, so joke's on her and I wore what I wanted anyway. Dressed in pants on days I went into the office or brought Clients to one of my (former) organization's facilities.
But I am totally okay with this trade-off given that men's clothes actually have pockets! I'll sweat my balls off in exchange for functional pockets any day..
I don't think skirts are gender for me personally (cis man), but if it wouldn't draw any extra attention to me, I'd consider trying them.
Maya Kern's skirts have pockets that can fit a Nintendo Switch in them. Consider the pocket possibilities if they made "men's skirts" (or just reasonable pockets for everyone). Imagine... Being able to adjust how you're sitting without your remote car keys setting off your car alarm.
It was funny when I came to work at clients offices with suit except a tshirt instead but still jacket.
My client came in with shorts and tshirt. We sitting next to each other was hilarious. Next time i came in with a mote casual long trousers and tshirt no jacket. My colleagues still came with suits but I stopped
As a man I appreciate your concerns. However, in my country the problem is much larger on the women's side as female professionals are struggling for their rights to wear trousers in professional settings. The recent progress? The lawyers just got allowed to wear pants instead of skirts only.
Why the fuck is this something that must be permitted in the first place? My rights to wear a kilt can wait until women can wear pants.
No need for dresses. Just make baggy cargo pants (and cargo shorts fo those of us who , unlike me, like shorts) fashionable and business code compliant.
It already exists and is called a sarong. That is a traditional Sri Lankan dress for males that slowly went away after western colonization. Bonus fun fact: Arthur C. Clarke used to rock this style.
That's a vetti, yes? There's a tiny difference in that a vetti is an open cloth whereas a sarong's ends are sewed together. So a sarong is a closed loop.
India wears it all; be it dhoti, lungi, or the mundu. And we wear both the lungi (aka sarong) and the mundu (the unstitched sarong) at half-mast with full pride, never mind our thunder thighs and skinny legs.
Now if only someone could take away the rice belly and the mosquitoes, both women and men would be happier.
Tbf, regarding dresses, skirts and other gowns: Your legs never get pinched, you can just fold your legs up under you when sitting down, as a guy you can just lift it up to pee and don't risk getting your member stuck in the zipper, as a girl, if you have the proper underwear, you don't need to take of your pants, many long skirts actually come with pockets or you can mod pocket slits into them and wear historical pockets under them, you can have them in any length, some pants lengths are silly, skirts allow more air ciruclation, just wear them made of the weather appropriate material...
But honestly, as a guy who grew up doing late High Medieval Living History (about the time of Friedrich II of the HRE), dresses are frigging lit. Just pull it over, secure with your belt and pouch, put on your shoes, if it's cold get your cape. DONE. Go out there and look like the Anti-Christ, King of Jerusalem and "principum mundi maximus"
I wear a kilt. It really is more comfortable than pants.
I actually remember seeing a blog post, too, showing a fashion line of skirts for men. Not for cross dressers either (but no judgement if that's you). It was marketed as a style that still made the men appear masculine. I forget the brand name, but I was intrigued.
I'm a woman and I'm confused as to how you find dresses and skirts comfortable. They're a pain in the ass, uncomfortable, look terrible on most people i see in them and pants are way more comfy if you buy the right ones. And most offices are freezing cold year round anyway.
I love to wear dresses! Unfortunately the social stigma is still strong, even in progressive environments. I’d love to see a world where dressing is not a gendered matter.
ong you get used to it after a while. it would be cool tho if it was socially acceptable for dudes to wear dresses. sun dresses look really comfy during the summer time.
I've almost stopped wearing shorts completely. Except for swimming. I now wear UPF sun protected pants and sun hoodies most of the time outside. Hate sunscreen but hate being burned more. I've watched my dad get a lot of potentially cancerous moles removed. I'm trying to prevent that
Not me, I wear comfy loose shorts all summer. They are so loose and comfy that my dong can be seen flopping around as I walk. I imagine it's somewhat close to what a dress might feel like, and it's very comfy in the hot months.
I've often complained about how females have so many more options for clothing than men. Men get shirts and pants. You can choose to have long or short sleeves (same with pants). You can accessorize with a belt too! maybe a watch if you like. Beyond that uhh, that's all you get lol
An underrated aspect of dresses (IMO) is that it's all one garment - no deciding which shirt goes with which pants - it's all one thing. Of course you still need to choose other things like shoes, but it feels refreshingly simple to just have one garment. I guess you get the same benefit with jumpsuits but people wear those less.
Jumpsuits make bathrooming more complicated. I absolutely love dresses for this reason 😁 and you can pair them with just about any style of shoes from sandals to sneakers to boots to strappy heels!
I always say this! I don't understand how some women DON'T wear dresses. There's nothing better on a hot day.
A few years ago I was in a music video from a local band were I was dressed in drag. A skirt and a light shirt. It was one of those very hot summers and we'd be basically dancing in a basement in the video. I was happy like a little princess, jumping around between takes while everybody was sweating their balls off.
They’re a bit on the pricy side, but I like Figs or Cherokee Infinity. I’ve been told CodeNxt is the same material as Figs but half the price; I would try those. Figs actually started making casual clothing as well now.
A few years ago, back in the Netherlands, the male bus drivers of a certain public transportation company were forced to wear long pants by their 'managers'. Their female colleagues had a more comfortable uniform with a skirt. As a protest, a number of male bus drivers started borrowing the uniforms of their femaile colleagues. HR gave in. Good.
Pants are cool and all, but having to shave almost daily just to keep up appearances is worse. Women can go ages without shaving their legs (some don't even grow hair on their legs, so they don't even have that), and nobody will notice. For a guy, you're basically a bum off the street if your facial hair growth is like 2 or 3 days old. You might have that sweet spot where a day or two of growth looks "rugged", but it only lasts for a few minutes and only in the right lighting, then you somehow cross over into looking like a pathetic alcoholic.
I already see more men wearing skirts in summer and it brings me so much joy.
I've said it before and will say it again; clothes don't need to be gendered. If something looks good on a woman it will look good on a man too, and vice versa.
Been wearing a kilt for years. I will never go back. Pants are tight, restrictive, and lack much needed ventilation. And let's be honest, they weren't designed to accommodate the male anatomy. Much better to have a kilt and enjoy the breeze between your knees.
at any previous job I would agree, but I work in a datacenter now that is not only quite cold, but also has lots of strong sources of blowing air that could be problematic with the wrong dress. Whenever I go to renfest I wear my kilt and fucking love it though.
Don't feel bad for us. I like my pants. Even on a blistering hot day at work they keep me safer from burns and cuts and when I'm out hiking in jeans I don't have tick problems
Why would matching socks be an issue with shorts but not kilts? Also, have you considered wearing sandals or just buy a dozen of identical pairs of socks?
@atomicorange I've been kilt-only for two years now and the very idea of ever having to wear trousers again is outright horrible.
I've also tried skirts, dresses. and women's things in general but holy crap most of it is just wildly uncomfortable and not remotely functional. The entire Western clothing industry is caught in a serious rut
I’m all in favor of this. Now we just have to get everyone else on board. And like others have said, find dresses that actually look good on men. I (m) have been trying out dresses for a while and finding something that looks good on me is a challenge.
I prefer shorts or capri pants over pants and dresses. So much more comfy, and I don't have to worry about showing someone my junk by accident, while still getting that nice air flow of comforting relief.
I've got some nicer looking golf type pants that work really well in the heat. IT's been over 90 for months already, and i'm in Canada where we're not used to this being here for so long. I'm pretty much dri fit from head to toe when it's over 23c now and it's at least as light and flowy as a dress haha.
To all the men saying they're comfortable enough in jeans / chinos / whatever... you should TRY wearing a dress in a hot summer. There is a little bit of adjusting to get used to it, but after that damn they feel amazing. Women are so lucky to wear these whenever they want to.
You can of course decide you're comfortable enough in whatever, but an informed decision is always the better thing.
I personally strongly prefer pants but I support those who don't want to wear them (as long as they're wearing a dress or something in public). At home though, you do you, whatever.
I have dresses and skirts but rarely wear them because they don't feel comfy for me at all. I have to pay extra attention to how I sit and walk and that adds extra stress to my day for me. I do like to wear something loose when I'm home, though, and wish I could wear that outside more often because it's much more comfy than tight, neat clothes.
Sometimes I feel like going full on kilt, but those things are quite thick, all things considered. Might help to aerate the crown jewels, but I'm not too sure if the overall experience wouldn't still be on the warm side.
Kilts are generally made of wool, and wool has a bad reputation. Or maybe a warm one. Wool is actually really breathable and a great year-round fabric, better than cotton. I suppose how it’s made (how tight the weave, etc) could be a factor, but look into it sometime. Wool has a lot going for it as a very versatile material. I knit and the coolest things for me to wear on hot summer days are things I’ve knit from 100% wool. Mainly tank tops with loose stitches, so yes there’s more airflow, but the structure of wool fiber itself is just really breathable and nice. Naturally wicks sweat so it dries quickly, doesn’t tend to retain sweat smells and can have anti microbial properties, so rarely needs washing. I’m a big fan of wool lol
I like wool, no problem with that. Was just of the opinion that kilts are made from actual felt, and so dense that there's hardly any air movement coming through.
Guys generally wear skirts or kilts in protest. We had a guy at work (US) wear his kilt a lot in the summer, as intended btw, as a protest for allowing shorts in a workplace that doesn't face customers. He got reprimanded exactly once. He is Scottish in ancestry and the kilt was real, although he also had one that looked like cargo pants too with pockets all over it.
It's pretty fucking rocking having "man" privileges overall. I'd say this one evens it out a bit. I'm work from home and usually am in just shorts and it's fucking awesome.
I'd love to try, but my legs are hairy and I'd hate to walk around with my underwear exposed, it's like walking with your fly open but like worse. Idk how girls do it but i respect that.
Don't feel too bad. Whatever the occasion it is acceptable to wear trousers. We can wear the same thing 50 times to 50 events and society won't care
Proper fitting ones are also very comfortable. While the range of men's clothing at supermarkets and bigger clothes stores is generally a lot less than women's clothes, specialised men's clothes shops and tailoring is much more common for men than women.
It just takes men a much longer time tomdoscover clothes that fit. Late 20's when I discovered it, and early 30's I have found what fits, and dye it to suit what colour I want!
I for one am sick of hearing about "women's winter" with this. You are wearing a tank top, a short skirt, and sandals Janet. I have to wear long pants, a long-sleeve collared shirt, socks, and closed-toe dress shoes. Stop complaining. At least you get to be comfortable outside.