Men in skirts

February 11, 2002 3:09 AM

Men in skirts are a meme-wannabe, popping up often, but never quite breaking out into the mass culture, or at least not recently. But if someone as puissant as this guy can wear a Little Black Dress without blushing, perhaps this guy can, too. [obSkirtman link] Me, I'll stick with chinos.
link found on Robot Wisdom
posted by Slithy_Tove (13 comments total)

If I wanted to look like an idiot, I'd have the word 'fool' tattooed on my forehead.

Men in Skirts: No Neeeed
posted by ajbattrick at 4:06 AM on February 11, 2002

Men In Skirts never part of mass culture? Pfah. Footy Show, c.1994. Oooh, you're all Americans, that's right. So you wouldn't know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, the Scots and Greeks have been doing it for yeeeears...
posted by GrahamVM at 4:20 AM on February 11, 2002

[aside]Slithy_Tove: I love the way your post is constructed. One skips lightly from link to link in an ascending order of funniness and by the time you get to the final guy(musn't give anything away, but it's lése-majesté, folks) sticking to chinos is implanted on one's brain like a categorical imperative or something! Thanks for that; it jump-started my humour batteries.[/aside]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:45 AM on February 11, 2002

seriously though, i don't think that pinhead is going to get a lot of crap from people for wearing a skirt. crap for starring in a series of films that progressively get worse and worse, now maybe...
posted by mich9139 at 4:57 AM on February 11, 2002

i've always wanted a good kilt.
you know, a real, honest-to-god, made by someone's grandmum in edinburgh kilt.
as opposed to one of these.
posted by grabbingsand at 5:00 AM on February 11, 2002

Ah but do you have the legs for it, grabbingsand?

Also, not that I know anything about kilts, but Edinburgh doesn't sound authentic as a source. And yet...and yet all blended whiskies are blended in Edinburgh.

I collect unwieldy Harris tweed jackets, the real ones woven and signed by tough women in the Hebrides or something. Perhaps they could fit you up.

(That last link pollocked my monitor. What pillocks!)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:14 AM on February 11, 2002

Oh yeah ... this is gonna be big. Might go nice with that Paul Lynde designer man-purse I started carrying ever since I saw that Seinfeld episode.
posted by RavinDave at 5:16 AM on February 11, 2002

sexual vulnerability/availability seems to be the psychological function of skirts in the west, IMHO. they have little practical purpose for the wearer, other than focussing attention on, or accentuating curves that promote the wearers sexual as(s)pect.
in muslim countries, where traditional dress is standard, the difference between the sexes clothing is less striking. clothing is designed more along the lines of practicality (see right). this image also reminds me of various representations of the xtian figurehead, jesus.

posted by asok at 5:46 AM on February 11, 2002

The hero of "Hey, Arnold!" on Nickleodeon wears a skirt. And he's coming to a theater near you.
posted by agaffin at 6:53 AM on February 11, 2002

Men in skirts are yummy.

And I'm not a 16 year old goth chick.
posted by SuzySmith at 11:59 AM on February 11, 2002

Gotta agree with Suzy, especially if the skirt in question is a Utilikilt!
posted by arielmeadow at 12:06 PM on February 11, 2002

There's a lot to be said about why this meme, let alone the practice will remain a wannabe for a while yet, but as y2karl pointed out: these narratives and concurrent projections of future fashions are better left to Anne Hollander. I liked her "Sex and Suits". She expects it will be a while before skirts are a tolerated form of dress for men, but sees it as a nonetheless inevitable consequence in the history of dress. Which made me glad. I can't wait, but as yet, I haven't the balls.
posted by disso at 4:48 PM on February 11, 2002

Least we forget the "Bro/Mansierre " of Seinfeld fame.

BTW, agaffin, Arnold's "skirt" was revealed to be a long shirt on Nick.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 2:21 PM on February 12, 2002