Breeze Around The Knees
In politically-charged fashion news:
Why yes, since you ask, I am reading the Guardian. Specifically, a piece by Mr Phineas Harper:
Possibly because it tends to look contrived and rather silly, even when celebrities do it. A contrivance that suggests, not so much a high-minded “dismantling” of “gendered fashion,” or “a small step towards gender equality,” as Mr Harper would have us believe, but something closer to tedious self-absorption. The kind of thing one might expect from a disingenuous, noodle-legged Guardian columnist, say. But apparently, this craving for attention, for being the skirt-wearing star of any social gathering, will somehow liberate British women from their supposedly grim, downtrodden existence.
Those of you with an urge to behold Mr Harper in a skirt – complete with tights, trainers, and dickie bow – can do so here. A second ensemble, featuring a bold leaf print, also awaits your applause. Readers are welcome to say whether the word panache – favoured by Mr Harper – is one that comes to mind. Though it occurs to me that the author’s own carefully curated fashion statements rather solve any mystery as to why said garment hasn’t been widely adopted by the menfolk of the nation.
Despite this setback, further attempts are made to entice male Guardian readers into the realm of “floaty Toast midi skirt combos,” including:
Because every man, in every household across these islands, wants to be complimented on his skirt.
And,
Or perhaps the thing being signalled is something else entirely. Like insufferable twattery.
“Normal men” is an inadvertent admission.
His sister sounds like an insufferable twat, too. Runs in families. Time to joke again about the ginormous douche gene?
…it’s still vanishingly rare to see normal men wear normal skirts day to day.
I think he needs to look up the meaning of “normal” to find out why.
Like insufferable twattery.
Which in this case is synonymous with “This is how I compensate for a complete lack of personality.”
Notice what makes skirts cosy in winter is not the skirt but the tights worn under them. Which do not go well with thick leg hair.
You seem – how shall I put this? – awfully knowledgeable.
I’ve mentioned before a big family barbecue – one summer, a few years ago – at which a niece and her boyfriend brought along a schoolfriend, a rather delicate-looking chap wearing Doc Martin boots and a colourful, floaty summer dress. He was obviously expecting some kind of reaction from the assembled normies, being so immensely genderqueer or genderfluid or something. But aside from a few initial raised eyebrows, nobody much cared. People just got on with having a good time.
There was a distinct sense of disappointment on his part, of our having failed to be scandalised or provoked in some way. Despite, initially, quite a bit of flouncing.
Which is kind of the point with Mr Harper’s advocacy of male skirt-wearing. It isn’t about “dismantling… gendered fashion,” or taking “a small step towards gender equality.” It’s about the rest of us not appreciating the tediously needy attention-seeking.
Which do not go well with thick leg hair.
That the author doesn’t depillitate in some manner is likely a sucker bet.
Again, I’m seeing a level of expertise I hadn’t anticipated.
Again, I’m seeing a level of expertise I hadn’t anticipated.
It doesn’t take expertise to reckon that someone who thinks male “panache” means dressing like a peacock run amok in an ornamental flower garden at a clown convention instead of, say, Cary Grant or by all the tailors of Savile Row, probably renders himself non-hirsute.
It’s a close shave, there…
*ducks*
I’m afraid I don’t know what a “dickie bow” is, thus I am also afraid to click and find out. Hopefully this is just one of those cute British terms/expressions like “stepping out to suck on a fag” that you Limeys have fun with to observe the Yanks’ reaction. But why take the chance?
You know, it used to be quite common for men to wear dress-like clothing: the chiton, toga, etc. For that matter, his namesake the biblical Phineas would have worn a simlah, the approximate Israelite equivalent. Eventually people found the “barbarian” style of trousers a heck of a lot more convenient.
So, far from being bold or transgressive or whatever, all this Harper fellow is doing is harking back a couple of millennia. Well, why stop there? How’s about he starts going around in furs like Ötzi?
A dozen comments and still no references to the Scotts. Interesting…
This has been the general trend of how to deal with these and other similar situations but I honestly believe this avoidance approach is a big part of the problem. The traditional response to such a situation would be, and actually has been more appropriate and effective over the long run. It’s just become totally unacceptable. For some reason…
I saw the Grauniad article …. One word comes to mind …. k-i-l-t….
See also, give us a tug on that fag, mate.
[ Muffled sniggering. ]
There have long been a few cross-dressers/trans/etc in some of my social circles. I have pretty much ignored their sartorial nonconformity and simply joined in whatever conversation was taking place. (I was very aware that these people were psychologically damaged in various ways, but felt that was no reason to be unkind to them.) But now I am being told that it’s no longer enough that I speak courteously: I must also publicly celebrate their choices and always use whatever pronouns they now demand. A bridge too far.
Thing is, a kilt isn’t coded as female. It isn’t generally perceived as ladies’ wear. Mr Harper is much more interested in the cross-dressing aspect. Which will apparently liberate British women from their grim, downtrodden existence.
Looking back, I was an astonishingly naive 14 year old nerd: Jokes in Bored of the Rings such as “up jumped a narc brandishing a huge faggot” went right past me.
Now, as a Mature and Sober Minded Adult, I would never snigger. What?
This. Fashionable transgression. And then we are ordered to applaud.
I have met a number of men who wear what they call utili-kilts. Also with some claims that this is much more practical than pants, but maybe they just want to be Scotsmen. 😉
Sartorial choices: around here, leggings (yoga pants, tights) are big for women. It shows off their ass..ets wonderfully. You never never see a cross-dressing man in leggings. Why? That is “what makes a woman”. But of course in leggings you can obviously see that this chap does NOT have a female rear end or legs. So they choose long dresses to hide their deception.
To ease WTP’s link-clicking anxieties.
In All Creatures Great and Small Siegfried Farnon berates Tristan when he sees the dickie bow that Tristan plans to wear to a formal dinner: “worn by waiters in seedy Italian restaurants” and “no brother of mine will be caught dead in such a thing” whereupon he tosses it into the fireplace.
It seems as if Mr Harper needed a Siegfried in his life for multiple reasons.
The only men who look good in skirts are men in kilts, specifically Scots. As the article states, all others look contrived.
He’s getting compliments because people think he’s Trans or a They or some such fad idiocy and don’t dare be the last one clapping.
And skirts being warm in winter? Maybe if you wear woolen leggings under and the skirt comes down to the ground. Otherwise – hell no. It’s also hard to look like much of anything in long woolens and skirt, unless you’re a male twig, or Twiggy.
Alternate explanations: 1. He only gets those compliments in excruciatingly woke settings. 2. He is not getting compliments.
I recall attempts by New York fashion designers to persuade men to wear skirts.
Or maybe merely to get publicity by being outrageous.
Ah. A kind of bow tie. But what makes it ‘Dickie’? I don’t think Nixon ever wore one but…I suppose there are a number of other Dicks. I’ve been misnomered in that regard myself once or twice…or…
I do recall a few attempts by New York fashion designers to persuade men to wear skirts.
There’s a reason many women, especially active or sporty women, or in northern latitudes in general, stopped wearing skirts when they didn’t have to anymore. They’re a PITA. The recent trend to ditch pantyhose isn’t doing most women any favors, appearance-wise. I hate the things, but they do help you look better in a skirt, especially as you get older.
Men in kilts though…very much yes!
[ Fetches spray bottle of iced water. ]
Wiktionary is your friend here:
I assume this is why those silly things Howard Wollowitz wears are called dickies.
Don’t trust Wiki. Wiki lies.
I think we can be fairly confident when the topic is non-political.
But if you want to check your printed dictionaries I’ll be happy to read what you find.
Oh no! Incoming!
It was this kind of thing that provoked the American Revolutionary War. Tax on tea was a relatively minor consideration.
It does seem likely Harper’s mother is wondering where her portieres got to.
Portieres? Wiktionary says that means gatekeeper. I’m confused.
A portière is a hanging curtain placed over a door or over the doorless entrance to a room.
aelfheld: Heh.
It was a joke, Francis. And an excuse to reference a movie that amused me.
Everyone clear their browser history.
I didn’t tell you what YOU must do. I am merely suggesting the oh so uncomfortable, Overton Window moving suggestion that maybe, just maaaaaybe, our acceptance of such behavior, without any pushback whatsoever, is a problem. I am not TELLING YOU SPECIFICALLY what to do. You inferred that. It certainly would be inappropriate and awkward, not to mention stupid and beating a dead horse for EVERYONE present at such an occasion to make an issue of it. I am merely suggesting that perhaps…PERHAPS mind you, that should someone present at such an occasion think of a moderately sufficiently witty or even otherwise appropriate…dressing down (?) of such a person, that the person who actually does speak up not be denigrated as a…dick.
If there was a better way to get this point across without having to write a bloody TL;DR post full of apologies and qualifications, please let me know. I admittedly am not the most elegant language person, especially when vocal inflection is not an available tool. But I am willing to learn.
Heh. What timing. We just checked into an airbnb in St. Augustine last night that has a very light, white linen over our entrance door, along with the three others in this little quadraplex. Of course we also have a proper physical door. But walking around the neighborhood in the morning I noticed similar on a few of the residential homes in the neighborhood. Is this a new fashion trend? I have used them myself to replace a couple of bifold doors to closets. Hate bifolds. Maybe I started a trend.**
** Another joke…ok, “joke”. Probably not my best but then again, no refunds. Credit note only.
Per Wikipedia: “It is known to have been in use in Europe in the 4th century […]”
So . . . it depends on your time scale.
I was in a hurry so I didn’t follow your link.
And don’t call me Francis.
Um, no. My comment had NOTHING to do with you telling me what to do. It was all about what leftists are telling me to do–demands which I am unwilling to accede to.
Ah, sorry. My misunderstanding.
Heh. When looking for the clip I posted from the Stripes movie, I ran across the scene at the beginning where Murray’s GF is leaving him. Word for word, joke for joke, second for second, it’s one of the funniest scenes in a movie, book, or TV show that I know of. The whole movie was great but that scene has stuck with me for…decades. I quote it often, mostly internally because some of the lines are a bit esoteric out of context. Maybe because each line hits my particular set of humor senses but…and as I recall, the critics dissed the movie when it first came out. In fact, just checking my memory I found this from the always reliable WaPo.
[ Fetches spray bottle of iced water. ]
[fans self]
Thanks – I needed that.