This is a comment by Collin on the post “My Son Wants to Wear a Dress“.
I’d say find a decent place where he can wear a dress and let him wear one. I wore one a bunch of times—I thought it was really REALLY cool how when you’d spin around in circles it would “swoosh” out. I also found it awesome how easy it made going to the bathroom. No zippers, no buttons, just up and you’re good to go! With that said, you should probably still have the “boys don’t generally wear dresses and other people may look at you funny because you are” conversation if you want to do it.
I’m sure he is still getting the vibe that you don’t want him to wear one because of the telling him later. Or let him wear one around the house. If I were a more confident man, I would totally rock a skirt as an adult. It’s more comfortable and more convenient than shorts!
Photo credit: Flickr / breahn
“The main problem with dresses on men is that our top half is very often a bigger size than our bottom half. So if a woman is, say, a size 12 (using UK clothing sizes), a similarly sized man might be 14 top and 10 bottom” That’s probably true if you have large shoulders, but not everyone does. And well, you’d be surprised at how many women have large enough busts that it compensates for the average shoulder width of men. As a trans woman, this has never been an issue, and it’s not like I transitioned at 12. I… Read more »
The main problem with dresses on men is that our top half is very often a bigger size than our bottom half. So if a woman is, say, a size 12 (using UK clothing sizes), a similarly sized man might be 14 top and 10 bottom. Thus I find tops and skirts (of different sizes) usually work better than dresses (a single size). But possibly that’s just me 🙂
“Wearing one as a photographer would be annoying as well, getting certain shots means getting on the ground so you might flash the model/public. ” The way parents seem to handle their little girl’s wearing skirts and dresses is to have them wear opaque tights (often white) with it, so even if they flash people, they only see the tights. Then, something goes off and they stop wearing opaque tights except to fight coldness, or as a fashion statement. I prefer opaque (wether its 20 deniers or 100 denier*) to nude tights, which I find rather nonsensical. *deniers measure how… Read more »
Depends on what you do, no way would I wear one when working in the shed (loose clothing = bad). Wearing one as a photographer would be annoying as well, getting certain shots means getting on the ground so you might flash the model/public.
I’m sure there are places that it’s fine though, maybe get a kilt as a compromise for public and wear the dress at certain events if you want to follow more traditional gendered clothing.
Besides to avoid mosquito bites or pretty low temperatures, I think skirts are a lot better than pants, by far. Not pencil skirts though, I want the airyness and freedom of movement, not knee shackles (and I’m into bondage anyways, just not in my everyday-walking-around). To me a dress is just a skirt with a top attached, and the models presented most often for under-10 girls are the most appealing to me. The A-line or even larger-extending skirts, not floor-length, and not rococo style (the big butt-giving ones where you apparently look like a duck) are like that, giving freedom… Read more »
Another reason I’d consider wearing one is the fact that I have fantastic legs!