Let's Talk Men's Skirts
by Catriona Whitehead
I am someone who frequently voices her frustration with unsavory fashion trends. High waisted booty shorts with the bottom of one's butt-cheeks showing--be gone! Chunky platform sandals--not my favorite. But men's skirts--that I can actually get behind. Let's start from the beginning.
Egyptian Pharaohs wore the shendyt. The Greeks--chitons and fustanellas. During Medieval times, men wore tunics and tights. Irishmen and Scottsmen (my favorite) wear kilts to this day. Same with Oceanic peoples and the lavalava. The lungi in India, the kitenge in Sub-Saharan African, the yukata in Japan, the sarong in Southeast Asia....A significant number of countries and cultures still utilize "skirts" as everyday male garb. Britain, North America, and many European cultures only started turning away from the idea in the 1800s.
With the advent of tailoring, the more complex construction of bifurcated garments became possible. Soon breeching became common practice. This refers to a time in a young boy's life (around ages 3 and 7) when he switches his gowns for breeches, or more specifically skeleton suits--ankle pants buttoned to a short jacket. Reasons vary, from potty training to horse back riding. But the main purpose of breeching was to create distinction between the sexes.
Returning to more recent history, men and women alike rejected gender specific dress-codes during the Youth Movement of the 1960s. While a small portion of men donned skirts, women in trousers was more common. Jump ahead to 2017, 30 boys from ISCA Academy in Exeter, Great Britain came to school wearing skirts, due to the ever-increasing heat and not being permitted to wear shorts. "The girls are allowed to wear skirts year-round so I think it's completely unfair that the boys can't wear shorts," says a student's mother. Some of my male friends have hit upon this point before as well. Gender politics aside, wouldn't it be lovely to get a breeze between your legs in the summer, gents?
In the fashion sector, Marc Jacobs recognized the ease of wearing skirts during his fall runway of 2008. "I did a lot more skirts for women in this collection...than I usually do. So I bought this one, and I discovered how nice it felt to wear. They're comfortable...And now I just can't stop wearing them," he explained to New York Magazine. Other U.S.A. celebrities, such as Kanye West, Jaden Smith, Vin Diesel, and Jared Leto have sported skirts as well. West chose to wear a leather Givenchy kilt during one of his concerts because, "It looked fresh to me. I felt creative; I didn't feel limited by some perception." Less about comfort (it was a leather kilt over leather pants, after all), West celebrates one's personal sense of style. In the same vein, Leto explains, "I like to do the things that make me feel good, and that make me feel happy, that don't hurt other people." While Leto is only referring to himself in his statement to CNN, he sets a wonderful example for others. In an attempt to eliminate the concept of gender-specific dress for others, Smith wears a skirt "So...in five years when a kid goes to school wearing a skirt, he won't get beat up and kids won't get mad at him."
From my stylist perspective, just as it goes for women, it goes for men, and all gender-identities for that matter: if the garment is properly paired and flatters the figure, then it works. Upon returning from a family wedding on the Isle of Skye, Scotland last summer, I decided that my three brother-in-laws, my father, and my husband--all of whom are varying shapes and sizes--looked wonderful in kilts. My husband loved the look and feel of his kilt so much, that he told me he wanted an everyday kilt for home. I was so inspired by his nonconformism and became very excited. Upon further discussion, he ultimately decided he didn't have the confidence to walk into work wearing a kilt. However, if a traditional gentleman like my husband can even consider wearing a kilt on the regular, I can only assume that there are many men out there who would appreciate the perks of skirts. The time is ripe for the widespread resurgence of men's skirt-wear, and the emergence of any and all to dress as brings them joy. As the Android commercials say, "Be Together. Not the same."
I am someone who frequently voices her frustration with unsavory fashion trends. High waisted booty shorts with the bottom of one's butt-cheeks showing--be gone! Chunky platform sandals--not my favorite. But men's skirts--that I can actually get behind. Let's start from the beginning.
Egyptian Pharaohs wore the shendyt. The Greeks--chitons and fustanellas. During Medieval times, men wore tunics and tights. Irishmen and Scottsmen (my favorite) wear kilts to this day. Same with Oceanic peoples and the lavalava. The lungi in India, the kitenge in Sub-Saharan African, the yukata in Japan, the sarong in Southeast Asia....A significant number of countries and cultures still utilize "skirts" as everyday male garb. Britain, North America, and many European cultures only started turning away from the idea in the 1800s.
With the advent of tailoring, the more complex construction of bifurcated garments became possible. Soon breeching became common practice. This refers to a time in a young boy's life (around ages 3 and 7) when he switches his gowns for breeches, or more specifically skeleton suits--ankle pants buttoned to a short jacket. Reasons vary, from potty training to horse back riding. But the main purpose of breeching was to create distinction between the sexes.
Returning to more recent history, men and women alike rejected gender specific dress-codes during the Youth Movement of the 1960s. While a small portion of men donned skirts, women in trousers was more common. Jump ahead to 2017, 30 boys from ISCA Academy in Exeter, Great Britain came to school wearing skirts, due to the ever-increasing heat and not being permitted to wear shorts. "The girls are allowed to wear skirts year-round so I think it's completely unfair that the boys can't wear shorts," says a student's mother. Some of my male friends have hit upon this point before as well. Gender politics aside, wouldn't it be lovely to get a breeze between your legs in the summer, gents? 
In the fashion sector, Marc Jacobs recognized the ease of wearing skirts during his fall runway of 2008. "I did a lot more skirts for women in this collection...than I usually do. So I bought this one, and I discovered how nice it felt to wear. They're comfortable...And now I just can't stop wearing them," he explained to New York Magazine. Other U.S.A. celebrities, such as Kanye West, Jaden Smith, Vin Diesel, and Jared Leto have sported skirts as well. West chose to wear a leather Givenchy kilt during one of his concerts because, "It looked fresh to me. I felt creative; I didn't feel limited by some perception." Less about comfort (it was a leather kilt over leather pants, after all), West celebrates one's personal sense of style. In the same vein, Leto explains, "I like to do the things that make me feel good, and that make me feel happy, that don't hurt other people." While Leto is only referring to himself in his statement to CNN, he sets a wonderful example for others. In an attempt to eliminate the concept of gender-specific dress for others, Smith wears a skirt "So...in five years when a kid goes to school wearing a skirt, he won't get beat up and kids won't get mad at him."
From my stylist perspective, just as it goes for women, it goes for men, and all gender-identities for that matter: if the garment is properly paired and flatters the figure, then it works. Upon returning from a family wedding on the Isle of Skye, Scotland last summer, I decided that my three brother-in-laws, my father, and my husband--all of whom are varying shapes and sizes--looked wonderful in kilts. My husband loved the look and feel of his kilt so much, that he told me he wanted an everyday kilt for home. I was so inspired by his nonconformism and became very excited. Upon further discussion, he ultimately decided he didn't have the confidence to walk into work wearing a kilt. However, if a traditional gentleman like my husband can even consider wearing a kilt on the regular, I can only assume that there are many men out there who would appreciate the perks of skirts. The time is ripe for the widespread resurgence of men's skirt-wear, and the emergence of any and all to dress as brings them joy. As the Android commercials say, "Be Together. Not the same."
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