Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Pants 10, Skirts 0



By Gina V

Back in the late 70’s, if myself and/or my chums ever had occasion to hear Billy Joel’s “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” on the radio, upon the hearing the line “a bright orange pair of pants” we could not suppress a schoolboy snigger. At the time “pants” was not another way to describe trousers for us Brits, but rather referred to what laid beneath. 

Not only was it acutely embarrassing for most to mention one’s unmentionables back then anyway, but the male vogue (for want of a better term) of that era was Y-fronts – which were somewhat unflattering to put it mildly!

It took a while for the word to enter our vernacular in the manner Americans used it. Probably (and not coincidentally) at a point where women were starting to wear trousers as often as they did skirts and dresses. And as such, the definition of “pants” implied they were a fashion option, as opposed to the traditional stuffy old things that men had no choice in wearing.

Even now in our “civilized” society, a man cannot wear a garment from the waist down that doesn’t have some form of division between the legs. Despite the efforts of French fashionista Jean Paul Gaultier and English football superstar David Beckham (among others) to offer an alternative that is actually better-suited to the male physique, resistance has remained rock solid. Even 20 years on, the latter is still ridiculed for once daring to wear a sari-style skirt in public!

It is the opposite case for women now in that their traditional garb of skirts and dresses have become (other than for more formal occasions) practically extinct. As a means of proving a point, while visiting the local supermarket at dusk on a mild autumn day, I decided to note what the first 10 women I saw go inside were wearing – with the above result. What were my thoughts on that? To use an appropriate contemporary British slang word for something that is considered rubbish: pants!

One of the fascinations for me as a crossdresser has always been to wear things that have been placed out of my reach simply because of the nature of my sexual organs. As a personal protest against being condemned as a man to wear trousers for life, I resolved that whenever possible, my femme alter ego would not pull on a pair of the damned things, And yet, many of my trans-sisters now seem more than happy to don them in preference to a skirt or dress in what I assume to be an attempt to femulate the woman of today.

I am aware that pants are more practical than even the most easily-worn skirts. But other than that or being some kind of women’s liberation statement, I still don’t understand why the latter are now shunned. In fact, where I live it has gotten to the point that if you happen to see a woman under pensionable age in a skirt while out and about, you can almost bet your bottom dollar it will be a member of the local Hassidic Jewish community!

What I find particularly concerning about all this is if I ever choose to live permane,ntly as a female in this day and age, then (other than changing my religion) unless I wore a pair of pants I would stick out like a sore thumb. And ironically be more at risk from unwanted scrutiny. 

If I ever did decide to bite the bullet in that regard, then I would rather they were in styles and fabrics that had a bit of flair and style about them and as such as those black skin-tight wet-look ones that have been fashionable the last couple of years. But then I would probably attract just as much attention than if I wore a skirt or dress. If not more so!

And just to add insult to injury: most if not all those women entering the supermarket had trainers or suchlike on their feet as well. Much like the aforementioned David Beckham’s Missus (see her quote on the right of the Femulate site), my view is that “flats” are for living in – not wearing! But that’s another story.




Wearing Nine West
Wearing Nine West



Marie Sunshine, a Halloween femulator
Marie Sunshine, a Halloween femulator

21 comments:

  1. No one has mentioned that a loose skirt can be extremely comfortable under the right conditions
    Lucy

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  2. Marie looks too comfortable to be a part timer,,,Happy Halloween sis! Trina

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  3. Agreed, on many levels. One reason I cross dress is to feel feminine. And I have to wear "trousers" in Guy mode, so why wear them in Gal mode? This becomes tricky only when getting together with my cis gender girl friends for coffee or whatever. I want to be in a skirt, they want to be in pants (yoga or jeans, usually). So the choice is do I also put on leggings and sneakers and fit in, or do I get out my jean skirt and comfy wedge heels and risk standing out? One time I was going for walk with one gal and showed up at her house in a skort and sandals. She was dressed for a run (leggings, sneakers and hoodie), but she looked at me and changed into jeans and nice top. We have actually talked about my fashion choices and (more importantly) the WHY behind my choices. As a result, I usually go with standing out - and they are becoming OK with that. Because that's what friends do.

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    1. julie: as women who can otherwise wear pants/trousers to their heart's content without anyone batting an eyelid, i find it somewhat sad that your chums have no apparent consideration to put on a skirt or dress when meeting up with you, so you might more-comfortably fit-in as "one of the girls". as opposed to either feeling like the odd man out (in more ways than one), or a male version of "victor/victoria" i.e. a man dressing as a woman dressing as a man"! perhaps you could mention that, the next time you see them for coffee or whatever?

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    2. Gina: In all fairness, my Sister Friends (as we call ourselves) are very supportive. When we have gone out to dinner or brunch or to the casino, they dress to the nines - knowing that I will, too! And if I am the only gal in a skirt, no big whoop. As an actor, I usually have a "back story" for Julie whenever I go out. Going grocery shopping? Well, I'm the business woman stopping off to pick up a few things on my way home from the office! I have learned that if I am confident in my appearance, others accept it.

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    3. julie, thanks for suggesting to me what might be the best way of dealing with this conundrum. which is:

      unless i want to take the risk of standing out and being seen as some kind of transgender freak, then the answer is to dress like a woman when real women feel inclined to so (as opposed to dressing like a man), and don't bother at all otherwise. which (other than working in a white collar environment - something i have no intention of doing anytime soon) rules out most everyday situations such as doing the shopping, etc , instead only on nights out or other special occasions. in other words: basically carry on with what i have been doing as a semi-out transvestite for the last 20 years!

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  4. Looking at the pics above i think that the feature of the modern woman are the high heels

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  5. In an era when creepy old men feel free to "grab 'em by the p****y", trousers are much safer for us gals to don than are skirts. I'm just saying.

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    1. i can't speak for elsewhere, but in the UK i would suggest (as much due to "operation yewtree" as anything else) that the "dirty old man" is now as extinct a species as the skirt-wearing woman?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Yewtree

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    2. Was referring to the current U.S. President. Sigh.

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    3. please excuse my ignorance: although a non-national, like many i have read and heard that the current most powerful man in the world has been accused of many things by his many critics (such as his stance on the "bathroom bill"). but i was not aware he had any kind of reputation as a sexual predator!

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    4. blimey - he's even got his own (lengthy) wiki page dedicated to the subject! sadly though, despite that it didn't seem to hinder his path to the presidency...

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  6. Pants, panties, bloomers,knickers...
    Brits vs Yanks--
    Two nations separated by a common language!
    VELMA

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  7. I know what you mean. I in M&S (Marks & Spencers) recently and I realised there was no dresses, skirts anywhere. I managed after a search found 4 dresses in the whole place! I ask you, who are the crossdresses?

    What is world coming to, no style, no glamour, no wonder we the chosen few, are the only upholders of true femininity!

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    1. as a mature lady of refinement, i am fairly sure that my dear old nan bought the majority of her wardrobe from marks & sparks. but what i am pretty certain of to my recollection is that in the four decades or so we were on the planet together, not once did i see her in a pair of trousers. so regarding carolyn's sorry tale: if she hadn't have been cremated, she would surely be spinning in her grave!

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  8. The Paradox of Pants

    I have long thought that clothes for men and women are the opposite of what is practical or comfortable. Consider that the hardest (literally) most reinforced seam known to clothing is the "male" crotch seam placed near to the most sensitive part of the male anatomy. For added comfort, let's add a set of interlocking iron teeth for good measure. The Scots knew something when they invented kilts; as did the Romans with their togas. If one of the sexes is built for a center seam around the hips it is most certainly women and only women. If you think otherwise I won't argue with you, but you explain to me the popularity of the thong.

    Here's the rub (terrible pun). If you're goal is to femulate, how do you reconcile wanting to step out and present en femme while maintaining a style of garb that is plainly out-of-step with current fashion? Women want to wear pants for a number of reasons known to them very well. That's the fashion and to "insist" otherwise while maintaining that one's skirts or dresses are the only feminine approach is contradicted by those we seek to emulate. Nowhere is this style insistence more noticeable than when one of us is in the mall--not only in a dress, but with hose as well. As a sales associate at Nordstrom said to be a few years back, the only people buying pantyhose any more are crossdressers. Don't get me wrong, I too like my legs in hose, but if I step out I emulate a woman--a pretty skirt still yes, but no hose. And if the situation calls, pants are just fine because they're fine with every woman I know and seek to emulate.

    It's neither what's on, nor what's underneath, but what's inside that counts to me. The rest is simply fashion.

    Best-Susan

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  9. i contributed the vintage pic for this article, but the credit for the contemporary one goes entirely to stana. and what a masterstroke that was! even by pants standards, the ones featured there are seriously ugly - to the point where i was wondering if MC hammer has made a comeback?

    and as for the tops: the sleeveless ones (or "vests" as we brits used to call them) make it quite obvious that the models are not wearing bras underneath. but even if they had the strapless variety on, i would be very surprised given they look like they have "moobs". that is apart from the one second-from-right, who is more flat-chested than the average overweight man of today. i suppose i should be grateful that they are not wearing doc martens, etc. on their feet as well. but even though they have ladies' heels on, they are all clumpy to at least some extent (the black platform stillettos being the best of a bad bunch). and thus not exactly appealing to one of the old-school such as myself.

    in summary: if that is the way modern women are being coerced into looking, then no wonder cross-dressers are queueing up to fill the vacuum that has now been created.

    as for my lament about now not being able to pass convinclingly in public as a woman unless i wear a pair of strides: some of these responses have made me question that perhaps i am looking at this from the wrong angle. so rather than being a trans version of king canute trying to hold back the trouser tide, maybe instead i should just wear skirts and dresses as a man from now on?

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  10. I recently went to a few big department stores to buy a midi skirt. I wanted a skirt for the fall season. BUT none of the stores I went to had any skirts, and they sure did not have any dresses. I commented to my friend that the only way I can look like a modern woman is to dress like a man, UGH.
    Jocelyn

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  11. It is difficult to comprehend what is driving women to wear pants. I'm sure majority of men would prefer to see women's legs framed by skirt and heels with a nothing but stockings cladding them. So are women not interested in dressing to appeal to men? Is it because women want to hide their legs for fear of body shaming? Perhaps it's a power thing - being equal in fashion to men. It could be as simple as laziness - avoiding waxing/shaving by covering up.
    Tessa

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  12. Since the Women of the world have all but abandoned Skirts and Dresses, we Men will re-appropriate and wear them as we please.

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  13. Back in the days when I first identified as a cross dresser, I used to wear pants all the time, often to the other girls' teases. One day, after I have started my transition, I woke up and said, "No more! Only dresses and skirts!" And since then I have hardly wore any pants or shorts since then, except when I am riding my bike.

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