Skirts and girly-ness

catgirl

At the consignment store with the Milly skirt, I asked someone if they thought it was girly. She gave a funny look and said, "It's a SKIRT."

Are skirts and dresses girly by definition? Sheesh. I guess pants can run the gamut because they are not female-specific. But still...

P.S. It's quiet around here. Where is everyone? Oh, RIGHT... : >P

11 years ago

Dressing

31 replies

Latest reply was from Elly

SarahTheWhite

Veteran

LOL... Some of us are hanging around out in the cold while the party is going on full swing inside (she says, with nose pressed against the glass waiting for a glimpse of the festivities). Nice to know I'm not out here alone!

Funny about the girly skirt. Some people are just very concrete: skirt and dress = girly. Not everyone sees the subtle nuances that go beyond the basics. I love how you take something that may read girly to some people, and then make it totally your own! (PS, I am still waiting to see the black tule skirt in an outfit... or did I miss it?)

11 years ago

MsLuna

Veteran

Haha! Una!

I guess most people associate skirts with femininity and girlishness. It's conditioned in us from way back! However... I get what you mean by the "too girly" question. I usually refer to the general aesthetic of the skirt (or garment) when I determine whether or not an item is "girly"!

For instance, I wouldn't define my red plaid tube skirt as "girly" since it pretty much has this more gender-neutral almost androgynous pattern. I wouldn't even call lace "girly" either. But to me, ballet flats would be my definition of girly

11 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Um, what about kilts then?

11 years ago

SarahTheWhite

Veteran

Good point Diana!

11 years ago

Anonymous

I'm here too!

I don't know if they're girly by definition. On one hand, yeah, they're articles of clothing that are women-only in the majority of circumstances. On the other hand, I feel less obviously girly in some of my skirts and dresses than someone who might be wearing pants, but with the whole look in a softer color scheme and with everything polished and tailored and glossy in just the right way.

I guess, for me, I wear skirts and dresses mostly because they're flattering and comfortable and easy. If I think of them as girly or feminine, it's pretty far down on the list of reasons why I wear them. It's not something I avoid, but it's not the most important driver either.

11 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I have a friend who is very athletic and really likes those knit fold over waist skirts and skorts made from stretch twill and all those sporty fabrics, ala the Title Nine catalog. I guess you don't see guys wearing them much (although it's San Francisco, so you never know) but I don't think of them as traditionally girly either...

11 years ago

Tina

Veteran

Oh my, if you lived where I do and saw the way skirts are styled (or not), you would simply see them as clothing. Girly, to me, is a look not so much an article of clothing. Some articles are girly but they still need a supporting role to complete the look.
Frankly, at 43 I think I'm too old to look girly:-/
There are very, very many skirts out there that are not girly, they are simply skirts and not pants.

11 years ago

Echo

Veteran

You're always in danger of an unusual reply when you ask a stranger! However, generally speaking I have to agree with the stranger. It is a SKIRT. How often do you see a man wearing one (kilts included)? Not terribly often, and the one in question is flippy (because of its brevity) and in a bright colour. That kind of defines "girly" for a lot of people.

All that said, I don't think that defines the piece, though. Depending on what you wear with it, it doesn't have to be flippy and girly and brightly coloured and fun. It can be an interesting juxtaposition against other things. But all by itself? Yep, girly (not meant in a bad way at all, just matter-o-fact).

11 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

I think of girly as frilly, ruffles, lace etc. An example of a non girly skirt would be a woman's military uniform, as during WW2.

BTW, I had to go to the Apple store the other day to get my iPad fixed, and I saw an unusually dressed man. He was wearing a utilikilt (a canvas kilt) and had his hair in a pony tail. As first I thought he must be a customer, but it turned out he was an Apple employee. He was not girly at all!

11 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

I saw a tall hairy dude in a flowy rayon batik skirt and top pushing a cart at my grocery store. No one batted an eye.

11 years ago

Deborah

Veteran

Football grand final day here today (though I am not participating in the festivities :)... hence I'm here !

Skirts to me, by definition, are not "girly". But certain style to me are. And feminine and girly are two different things in my mind. And once again, styling comes into play:)

11 years ago

Echo

Veteran

*sigh* Una, when I was in high school, a boy got kicked out of class for wearing an ankle length black skirt. If one had not looked closely at him, one never would have noticed he was wearing a skirt at all. I remember being SO. ANGRY. about that at the time. And yet... it is the only time I have seen a man in a skirt except for once in the mall (the man in the mall was a cross-dresser and likely thought he was passing). It just doesn't happen much around these parts.

11 years ago

MovingFashionForward

Active Member

I personally do not see skirts as necessarily girly -- it all depends how you wear them. This chap -- Geraint of hisnameisfashion.com -- wears skirts and dresses sometimes and I do not think he looks in the slightest bit girly. I love his style so much! (Though when I tried to persuade my husband to dress similarly, he was strangely unenthusiastic, like when I tried to get him to wear harem trousers... sigh...)

http://www.hisnameisfashion.co.....3-lfw.html

Sarah

11 years ago

fuzzylogic

Veteran

I view skirts as being feminine. Where they fit on the scale from 'girly' to 'womanly' depends on the style, the length, the fabric etc.

11 years ago

Sharon

Veteran

I agree with Deborah and fuzzylogic. Feminine does not equal girly in my book.

11 years ago

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I think of girly as youthful and child appropriate. A skirt can be "school girl" or it can be sophisticated. A pencil skirt in black wool is not usually a garment I would consider girly. So I would say skirts are predominantly worn by females but we aren't all girls so they aren't all girly.

But it is 6:00 in the morning on a Saturday and I am sleep deprived so perhaps my logic is flawed.

11 years ago

Sheila

Veteran

I think a skirt can be girly but it doesn't have to be.

Dianthus - I think you are bang on. A plain pencil skirt is NOT girly.
But a skirt that has gathers or specific prints can be very girly.
I have a white pencil skirt that has a flair on the bottom.
I dislike it on me. It is too feminine.
I was pondering removing the flair but it would be too short and look ridiculous. I think it is heading for the pile.

I think depending on your features something very feminine or girly may be totally in sync with you and your style.

11 years ago

jackiec

Veteran

Good point to ponder. I agree with Dianthus above as well. For me, specifically, skirts still read "dressed up." Any time I put one on, someone in my house will ask why I'm so dressed up. Granted, I do live in jeans most of the time but do try to stretch it to skirts - more so in the summer.

Yep - I think it's going to be a little quiet around here all weekend. But lots of us still around

11 years ago

gryffin

Veteran

First at different times historically men wore skirts - scots are the prime example so kilts to me are unisex. I don't think skirt equals girly although some styles of skirt tulle, pleated a line will read that way. Pencils, my skirts, I think of as severe, sexy, elegant - not a girly in sight. But perception is so individual so you never know how others will respond to it. Also I think a big part is how it makes you feel, since that will determine how you act and react to that skirt. If you are feeling Trinity/Matrix in that black pencil vs Marilyn Monroe-ish in a pastel poodle type skirt you are going to carry yourself and act differently. I think this is the real power of clothes to me!

11 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

You all are thinking along the same lines as I was. I feel far tougher and less "girly" in the right skirt and boots than I would in, say, capri pants and a Peter Pan blouse.

The guy at the store was in what I would consider festival wear (I didn't look at his shoes but Birks would have been right). I think men in kilts look fantastic.

11 years ago

Windchime

Veteran

Alaskagirl, the reply by the person at the consignment store seems a bit odd to me. In this culture, I associate skirts (and dresses) with females of all ages, not just girls. Of course there are "girly" skirts, just as there are girly shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes. I remember reaching a point when I just knew I wouldn't be wearing cutesy, girly styles any more.

I've seen the occasional pony-tailed man sporting a long skirt with tribal print, too, and think it's more of a cross-cultural look.

11 years ago

(website)

Veteran

Maybe the person you asked does not differentiate between girly and feminine? Perhaps in their world the words are synonymous?

11 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

Agree with Mo and Windchime. Skirts are feminine, but not necessarily girly. (I don't think of cultural wear like robes or kilts as "skirts"). I wouldn't call a tight leather pencil skirt "girly"!

11 years ago

columbine(erin)

Veteran

I agree with Fuzzylogic. I think your tough boots boots will prevent the skirt from being girly. If I tried to wear the same skirt it would be too girly because I don't have tough enough elements to wear with the skirt.

11 years ago

Elly

Veteran

My dude owns two kilts that are really just skirts (not the traditional wrap business but man skirts with waistbands and a couple pleats and wala, call it a kilt) he is hot blooded and they are cooler. If it was socially acceptable in his particular social group (a bit too much testosterone there) he would probably rock the knit jersey.

11 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Elly, that is so cool. Would you be willing to share a pic? What footwear does he use?

11 years ago

Isabel

Veteran

That was weird...I don't think of skirts as girly. I definitely think of "girly" as more frilly and not all skirts are like that. And as so many people pointed out, men wear skirts but we don't call them skirts. And men wear sarongs. In the Middle East and in India : below

Girly ? : )

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11 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Yes, in India they are called dhotis, much like a sarong. But women do not wear them.

11 years ago

Isabel

Veteran

Yes Una and somewhere in Asia they are also lungis ( for men ). Isn't that so counter to our western culture that women actually are not the ones wearing the "sarongs" in Asia ?

Obviously the person who made the statement to you is not as sartorially well educated as we are. LOL !!!! ; )

11 years ago

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