We’re about to say “bye, 2015”. It’s been the year of ADELE, of music comebacks (we lost count of how many bands “came back” this year)and of political crises. It’s been also the year of men’s dresses and skirts becoming a thing. Would you consider sporting a mini at work?
We first saw them on the runway and slowly they’re taking the streets. Still, though, the female/male stereotypes consider this trend (if we even call it a trend) as a provoking, feminine turn of the menswear. Which is kind of weird, if you think that only in the so-called-western-world, skirts are not an option for the guys. Not to mention that within the “western structures”, the priests and the monks are practically men in dresses and the traditional costumes of some countries consider skirts as very masculine and dynamic (for example the Scottish men in their kilts and the Greek tsoliades in their fustanellas).
It’s two days ago that I’ve seen a man in a skirt being treated like an alien. Three guys were actually making fun of him. In BERLIN of 2015. Cool, huh?
Are men in skirts the new women in pants?
Probably not, but doesn’t it worth a thought? I mean, we’re far from getting over the sexism. Talking from a completely rational perspective, after all the sexes do exist and will always exist. There is male and female genitalia and we can all tell whether we see a female or a male body. There is pressure from the society that you have to like, be and act accordingly to the body you were born into, which is a completely different story. There are people who feel trapped in a body that they don’t feel good with and, therefore, they decide to modify it. And there are people who feel more than fine with the sex id they were given and so proud that they become the living stereotypes. We’ve seen all the above. Everybody has a story to cite. But since we break it to the core, why do we still care about the clothes?
We’ve created this hypocritical bubble, with borders and rules. We all love to complain about it, but we do nothing to bring the change. We support the magazines that tell us how to look better, we follow people on our social media channels that we secretly hate because the life they live appears to be perfect and we live in a shit-hole. We admire a beautiful, extravagant piece of clothing on a model, but never consider to sport it because, you know, “where to wear it?”. We prefer to envy other people, instead of stepping out whatever we might call “our misery”. We prefer to judge and even mock a let’s-call-it different outfit we spot on the street, instead of applauding the individuality.
The thing is that when women started wearing pants made a statement. They were banned from wearing pants. Men are not banned from wearing skirts. A man in a skirt is not a statement – it’s an option. And if they want to put them skirts on, let them f***ing do so!
The Do’s and the Dont’s
This is 2015. A woman in pants is no big deal. A guy in a skirt is someone you’d point your finger at. A guy in a skirt is a story that you will share with your co-workers during lunch break.
Somewhere in the world a girl is convinced that having a girl squad that’s coordinating outfits means being a feminist at heart. Somewhere in the world a boy wore a longer t-shirt at school and his schoolmates called him a “sissy”. My boyfriend two weeks ago was sort of bullied by a couple of teens, because of his skinny pants. They said he was wearing “tights”. Well, what if he was wearing tights! Or is it that the femininity and the masculinity of an individual are 100% hanging from what we’re wearing? Give me a break!
Stereotypes are imbued in our system and cosmo-theory. The people who dare to try something new are thinking forward. They’re “ahead of their era”. What does that even mean? Dude, we’ve got so many complexes that one hour therapy every fifteen days won’t make it better.
Young people consider themselves more modern than their parents and grandparents.Chronologically, that makes sense. Why do I have the feeling that we’re way more conservative than we think we are? Why do I have the feeling that we’ve become bitter and small-minded? Why do we bring up the stereotypes on every, single talk?
We always wait from someone to tell us what’s right and what’s wrong. We want to look like our neighbor. I invite you to look around. Most of the women around you have painted, fat eyebrows. Most of the men around you have a long, perfectly groomed beard. Now try to find somebody with a unique, personal style. That’s what I’m talking about. Get rid of those stupid magazines and start thinking about how do you want to look like. Forget about trends and fashions – they come and go, while you’re always there, evolving and changing as you’re growing older. Express yourself and broaden your mind. Why try to look like each other when we’re blessed with diversity?
Instagram |@Pohlandson
Conclusion
Dear all,
We should let people express themselves and think twice before we sting with our stinger.
If a guy feels well in a skirt, heck yes, he should sport it. A piece of clothing doesn’t proclaim who we are. That’s kind of a simple thinking, isn’t it? Too sad that many of us do not really get it.
Why are there unisex pants and not unisex skirts? Why is it ok and cool for a girl to be a tomboy and have a boyish haircut, but a man cannot wear a skirt?
Some people will always be more daring than others. Some people will always match pieces of clothing in a master way. Think of Björk or of Michael Jackson. Think of Madonna. I’m not saying that we should all look like performing in Vegas. But maybe we should go a bit easier with the whole judging thing. Let’s just always remember that the clothes don’t make the man. It’s what we carry in your head and your heart. Let’s wear what pleases us, not what they tell us it’s cool or normal. Let’s be open to new things. Let’s try new things and be confident. Let’s step out of your comfort zone.
Let’s be playful. Fashion is fun. Styling is fun. Why bother what other people wear when we could all use a bit more fun in our lives? I don’t know about you, but here at NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION we applaud the individuality and therefore, we’d like to see more men in skirts.