Thanks to Pinterest and Google, fashion is blurring the lines between his and hers at a record rate. Women are wearing oversized watches, men’s pants, shirts, hoodies, and even copying men’s underwear styles. But what happens if a man decides to press the line into skirts which are socially accepted in most developed countries as “women’s wear”? Continue reading
The picture you are looking at has two garments shown – on the left is a women’s size 9/10 skirt and on the right, a men’s size 32/32 pair of blue jeans. If you were to describe this photo to anyone, what captions would you use?
Some that come to mind for me might be, “In love”, “Chillin out”, “Life’s good”…or how about “Unisex is best”. Those clean shaven legs on the left actually belong to me – a 47-year-old male and the beautiful toes on the right in the “men’s” apparel belong to my gorgeous wife.
With the shape and size of our bodies, we could easily swap clothes and reshoot the photo and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference – yet by western culture standards – I’m the one who is considered cross-dressing. So please, step back – look at our Western and European societies, and ask yourself, “What’s WRONG with this picture?”
-Kelly (Murray) Taylor-Faye
On average, women have a choice three times over men when it comes to shirts, shoes, pants. Equal choices when it comes to business suits and blazers, Six to one on undies, swimwear, and sportswear. Plus skirts, dresses, and leggings. Cuts and styles abound on the women’s side of the store while stepping across the aisle will result in a handful of conservative variations like, “Do you want a blue t-shirt or a red one?
Designers can’t be blamed as it’s a social issue – not a fashion one. Does any man talk about how often someone else has worn the same outfit? Yet this is common for women. A social norm for women is to try their best to appear like they have a boundless number of clothing options, stand out in the crowd, and for sure to never show up dressed the same as another woman. (Please, someone comment to let me know if I’m blowing smoke out…well, you know).
Society, however, has taught men to become vanilla beans. Pastel shades of blandness hunkered down to 52 shades of…the same thing. They are free to enjoy expressing themselves (insert sarcasm here). Option 1, 2, or 3 – anything else and your masculinity may be challenged because after all, men are known to be tough – so tough they’re afraid of standing apart from the rest of the pack.
Somewhere in time, men have become pussies when it comes to expressing themselves. They’ve gone from “wanting to be seen” to “wanting to blend in”. From holding styles that women want to “how many ways can you wear one shirt?” Have men’s testicles shrunk so much over the years that they are scared to stand out? Women spend hours a day trying to be memorable (again – please correct me if I’m speaking out of line here). I believe there are many men out there who care about their body, hair, skin, nails, clothing, and even makeup but are too afraid of rocking the boat.
For myself, I’ve spent 45+ years trying to fit in only to realize that I don’t – I believe I’m not alone in this journey. I believe that there are a lot of guys out there who want to not only feel good about how they look and what they wear but also to be memorable and to make a difference in the world. As long as you always “fit in”, no one will ever remember you. So my challenge to you is to figure out what makes you tick and run with it. Hop across that imaginary fence between “gender” clothing and be you! Check out the women’s section of the store – you might be surprised by how many incredible well-fitting clothing options exist there…and who knows – perhaps one day that fence won’t exist and clothing styles won’t define ANYONE’s gender, strength or values as a human being.
– Kelly
Men Wearing Skirts 