In a world where social perceptions severely limit what we constitutes men’s fashion, Danny shows us one man who has become a saboteur.
I’m all for folks that want to build their own masculinity/manhood as they see fit. And I am especially for it when one is building their masculinity/manhoood in ways that go against what is generally “accepted” as being masculine/manly. Which is why I’m really liking His Black Dress*.
Enter Michael Spookshow. Michael describes himself as a “spooky boy in a skirt that loves alt fashion”. Last year Mr. Spookshow started his blog for the purpose of promoting men’s freestyle fashion. What is freestyle fashion you ask? Let us see what Michael had to say on that in his introduction post from last August:
The purpose of this blog is to promote men’s freestyle fashion. This means men wearing skirts, dresses, heels, & other items currently viewed as acceptable everyday fashions for women only. This is not about crossdressing, any more than the modern woman crossdresses when she wears jeans & a t-shirt. It’s about style without arbitrary boundaries based on gender alone, and about men having freedom of expression in fashion.
Considering how men are limited in terms of what we are allowed to wear and still be acceptable I like this idea of freestyle fashion. At a quick glance most people would probably just presume that Mr. Spookshow was taking a walk on the “other side” by wearing clothes that have been traditionally been women’s only territory. But if you look closer I think you’ll see that he is trying to say that when it comes to fashion and gender there should be no “sides” in the first place.
*I want to take a moment and tip my afro to Clarissa for pointing me in the direction of this interesting site.
This post originally appeared at Danny’s Corner
Photo courtesy of Ollie Crafoord
Considering A Womens Fishnet Footless Tight…
[…] re kneelength shorts that tapered to the knee and tights ( in the manner of bree […]…
@ Jameseq: “In the crossdresser ‘hierarchy’ *snorts*, i am at the bottom as i wear women’s clothing without looking liking a woman.”
Me too. But I keep finding there are more of us than ever I thought 🙂
hey man, best wishes for yr new reddit forum
cheers 🙂 — though it’s not in truth mine; it was set up by a guy under the name Winterlong.
http://www.reddit.com/r/MaleFemme/
…is the link for anyone interested.
Funnily enough i came across his site a few days ago. i like some of his stuff. and he is well built so he can wear lots of styles that i can not. Im very thin urrgh, and i have a cocktail glass silhouette Im in Cardiff, Uk which like other port cities – prides itself on its hardman, tough guy image. And the men are ‘a bit tasty'( tough). They like a fight. Until the last yr or so, fights would regularly break out in the night clubs zones of the city centre. To nightclubs, around the city centre,… Read more »
OMG you’re in Cardiff! I’m sure there was more to your post then that….but that’s what caught my eye. 🙂 And naw, my accent is the same. I don’t think I could really adopt a geordie accent accent anyway. 😉 I’ve just started to use some of the phrases, and especially when using the American version changes the meaning…so thus trousers. I also say zed instead of zee now…too many people asked me what I meant by “zee.” I can’t tell if they were being obtuse, or if they actually didn’t know what I meant. Anyway…I think the UK is… Read more »
That Ive encountered more women than men expressing ridicule or disapproving looks( like a bad smell is under their nose) was a complete surprise to me. I was only expecting the hostility to come mostly from men. I want to add that a smaller and equal number of men AND women have also smiled broadly in approval. I had worn headbands to nightclubs that seemed to cause mirth equally from young men and young women. Then I wore women’s stretch jeans, blk leg warmers and chelsea boots out one day. I passed two men as they stood outside a pub,… Read more »
Most people dont usually continue staring when i gaze at them, even men twice my size usually divert their eyes – which is an odd experience, as in men’s clothing i have to ‘move out of the way’ of bigger men. [snip] On the rare occasion men are laughing they will stifle their laughter if i look at them, even if they are much bigger than me. Im very thin, 6ft and i think 140lb. In men’s clothing Im used to deferring/’moving out of the way’ of ‘bigger’ men. i spoke loosely, by using the term bigger men. I meant… Read more »
If we’re honest, skirts are much better than pants for men because they keep the boys cool. It just makes sense!
In antiquity, crossing many cultures and continents, men didn’t wear pants as these didn’t exist yet — they wore robe-like garments; long and loose-fitting with sleeves. And army men, samurais and gladiators wore armored skirts. Men wore their hair long, tied in braids and in buns. Were they less of man because of these outer appearances? I don’t think so.
Men wore their hair long, tied in braids and in buns. Were they less of man because of these outer appearances? I don’t think so.
Bloody Hell, I actually agree with one of your posts.
5 star posting, Michelle
LOVE THIS!
When I was a kid I remember wondering why I could wear trousers but a boy couldn’t wear a skirt. It’s really never made much sense to me.
trousers – hehe, youre becoming a Brit Heather 😉
Has your accent started to change also?