A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about about meeting my elderly neighbor while wearing a skirt. In the post, I mentioned that I wore a green “work” skirt whose appearance is overall pretty masculine and I included an older photo of me wearing it. It has a solid color, is made of rough material, and doesn’t flow.
In the post, I commented that wearing this more “masculine” skirt probably affected my elderly neighbor’s reaction in that he likely didn’t react as strongly as he might have if I had been wearing a more “feminine” skirt with a floral pattern that was more flowy. This caused a lot of discussion in the comments, so I decided to perform a little experiment.
The Experiment
Near the town where I live in Southern Germany, there was a large garden fair that took place over Easter weekend. My wife wanted to go, so I decided to take advantage of it to gauge people’s reactions to a man wearing different types of skirts.
The idea was simple: go to the garden fair on two different days and wear a more “masculine” skirt on the first day and a more “feminine” one on the second day. My skirts of choice for this bit of fun were my blue work skirt from Engelbert-Strauss for the first day and my red A-line skirt from Anna Field for the second. I paired both with black, cotton leggings and flat, low-ankle, Converse-style shoes.
The AI-generated picture above doesn’t accurately represent what I wore but rather is more symbolic of my intended contrast between the two skirts.
Day 1
The first day wearing my blue work skirt went off without a hitch. We drove to the garden fair, walked around pushing our son in his stroller, ate some good food and chatted with the occasional person at the stands.
My skirt was not mentioned once. Some people looked briefly, but probably not any more than if I’d been wearing jeans. Given, my baby son gets most of the adults’ attention when we’re out, but even when he wasn’t the center of attention or even with me, my skirt bothered absolutely no one.
People behaved entirely the same as if I had been wearing jeans or work pants. They talked to me respectfully and were just as friendly as you would expect. My skirt played absolutely no role and I have to admit that I went home slightly disappointed that no one had engaged with it.
Day 2
The second day was much more interesting than the first. It got off to a great start as an unexpected factor threw a wrench in the works. One of our elderly neighbors from another house asked if she could join us. My plan was to wear my red A-line skirt which, while it’s a solid color, has a more “feminine” cut in that it’s shorter, brighter, and flows nicely.
I wore the skirt anyway, but the first thing my neighbor did when she saw me was ask if I was really going to wear a skirt to the fair. She has seen me in skirts around the house and our property and has never commented on them before, but she wasn’t comfortable with being seen with me in one in public. Day two was off to a great start.
Since I was going to wear it anyway, we made a deal (which itself was already ridiculous). I was to exit the car first and basically attend the garden fair by myself while my wife and son would walk around with her. We wouldn’t pretend not to know each other and could stop and chat if we came across each other at the fair, but she wouldn’t have to officially be part of a party that included a skirt-wearing man. It was utterly absurd, but whatever.
That wasn’t the only incident, however. The rest of the day once we were at the fair went quite differently than the first one. I actually got comments about the skirt and it seems to have piqued a lot of people’s curiosity. Keep in mind, I didn’t get any whatsoever on day one, so the fact that people were commenting was very surprising.
I won’t go into detail about each and every encounter, but I can say two things with certainty: it was entirely positive and only women said anything. Here are a few examples:
One of the women working one of the stalls complimented my courage for wearing it and said it looked good. Another one from a different stall said that she had seen me in my skirt the day before. Apparently, she had been too afraid to say anything about it, but since I was there again in a different skirt, it seemed like I wanted to make a statement. She complimented me on it saying that more people need to be bold like that. Another woman who was a visitor said it was a gorgeous skirt and asked where I got it. And yet another, younger lady said it was “refreshing” to see a man wearing something radically different.
Essentially, it boils down to a bunch of compliments about it looking good and me having the courage to wear it. I think that is especially true in a rural, conservative area where men’s fashion tends to only vary by the color of the checkers they have on their shirts.
The day ended with my wife calling me saying they were ready to go home. I then absurdly had to go, get in the car first and then the others followed several minutes later. Overall, I had a good time despite the neighbor.
Conclusion
The results of the experiment are, I think, pretty clear. Ignoring my neighbor’s attitude entirely, wearing the more “femininely” cut skirt definitely garnered more attention. I got absolutely no comments or even really any noticeable looks with the work skirt on the first day, but received several on the second day with the red A-line skirt.
Perhaps it was because people recognized me from the first day wearing the more “masculine” skirt? Or maybe it was just more eye-catching since its flowiness (is that even a word?) means it moves a lot more. It could also have been the fact that it was red rather than blue, although it was more of a maroon than a bright red. Or maybe it was just because my son wasn’t with me to distract the adults.
I don’t know exactly, but I do know I had a blast with this experiment. I think I might try a similar experiment in the future, but will reverse it by wearing the more “feminine” skirt first. I could also play around with colors to see if, for example, wearing my black A-line skirt would attract less attention than the red one.
Obviously, there are so many factors that would influence what happened that it’s impossible to come to a definitive conclusion. I can, however, say the following: most people just don’t care or are even encouraging. That is as long as they aren’t a grumpy neighbor who doesn’t want to be seen with you in public.
What are your experiences wearing different types of skirts in public or even in private? Have there been different reactions? What were those reactions? Let us know in the comments below!
Really liked the post and the experiment. Jealous you have such a supportive wife. I normally wear a denim or kakhi skirt just above the knee so they are like shorts…and nobody ever notices! I recently bought a denim maxi shirt that is just above the ankle. I really like the way it looks and how it feels. I wore it this this week shopping – black t-shirt and tennis shoes so a masculine look but no doubt I’m wearing a skirt. Went to several big box stores. Tried on clothes and interacted with several people. Several positive commitment. One younger hipster guy I was standing in line with said “hey man, cool look. Like the skirt”. Two female cashiers said “I like your skirt”. A really good day!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it! I am also very grateful for my supportive wife. She’s helped me through a lot.
It sounds like you had some great experiences with your maxi denim skirt! Those types of experiences really help boost your confidence. I still haven’t worn a maxi skirt out in public, but I rarely wear them in general because I just prefer shorter skirts that end just above the knees.
Wonder if having your wife and son standing next to you vs be by yourself effected the reaction
I’m sure it made a difference. Talking to someone who’s alone is probably less intimidating than talking to someone with their partner and kid.
Cool that you took it into the next level and got what you deserved from wearing a less masculine skirt (how odd is to write it this way), but honestly, I would feel really bad if I had to do similar deal with anybody close to me and “walk” few steps further. I feel like it’s a opposite of being supportive, even if you mention that you still talked to each other about the stuff. Imagine doing same to that neighbour just because she wears trousers or maybe extremely short dress or even “bikini” that you don’t feel confident with or just considering as cringe. Anyway, the feedback you got paid off I hope.
It is a stupid feeling to have to be seperated from your “group” just because of the clothes you choose to wear. It irritated me more than anything though. It was definitely the opposite of being supportive, but then again I never really expected any support from my neighbor. I’m just happy someone her age is generally so accepting, even if only when we aren’t seen together. The feedback I got definitely paid off. I still had a great time and in hindsight, I think the fact that I was alone played a big role as to why I got so many comments which I enjoyed getting.
So… Your neighbor asks for a ride but then objects to the clothing of the person who graciously provides the ride. More, she forces you to be away from your family on what otherwise would’ve been an amazing day. That you showed restraint is awesome. Despite her selfishness, you did the right thing. She would’ve been more against men wearing skirts if you refused. Instead, she’s the one who abused your good nature and hopefully had a discussion with your supportive wife. Next time, perhaps she’s not as unwilling to just be seen with you.
I hope you get to repeat the experiment for many reasons. One, just to wear skirts out and about in a skirt and two, so you can really do the experiment. To make it a great experiment, you should only vary one parameter; the skirt. People will approach a single person more than a man with his family. Especially when it revolves around something “different.” I suspect you should therefore do it alone. Which is scarier but seems you ran that gauntlet perfectly.
Good luck! I’m very impressed with what you’ve do e.
Yeah, it really isn’t right that she did that. It was mostly frustrating for me because it tainted the experiment as you mentioned. I wish I could have repeated it with my family just like before, but that just wasn’t possible given the circumstances which meant that people probably talked to me more than they would have otherwise. I’m pretty sure the second day would have been very similar to the first if I had been with my family in that I doubt anyone would have even mentioned my skirt. Even if someone had, I probably wouldn’t have gotten nearly as many reactions. I hope I get an opportunity to repeat the experiment again soon.
Double Bravos, Alex. As noted by earlier commenters – a tribute to your character in managing the neighbor, as well as your curiosity in running the experiment. Thanks for sharing it all with us (as for me I wore a denim mini at a friend’s solar eclipse party here in rural upstate New York, just few miles from Canada. Closer to your first dy – no comments and no notice that I noticed, even when out shopping. Progress!
It sounds like you had a great experience wearing your skirt to the solar eclipse party! No one saying anything is really the experience I am used to when wearing skirts out in public. It’s rare that someone does say something which is what made day 2 of my experiment so strange. I’m going to have to try a similar experiment again at some point and see if I get similar results.
As far as managing my neighbor goes, it really just isn’t worth kicking up a stink about it. She did that day because she would have been seen with me out in public, but otherwise she is fine with me wearing them when we occasionally go over to their house for dinner, for example. It’s just old fashioned, small-town thinking. People obviously talk here and she is very much so part of the gossip network here which is probably why it was so important to her.