The Skirt – Fun, Frivolous and Fraught with Psychology

Fact: 98% of all ciswomen are trouser driven. That means that they wear pants more than skirts. However, this applies to American women only as other cultures still embrace a more feminine woman.

Fact: Most crossdressers prefer skirts (or dresses) because they make you feel feminine and confident. They are one of the last bastions of femininity and when teamed with nice underwear they make you feel sexy and give you a boost on days when you need a lift.

Why this disparity when we choose to emulate women? Are we stuck in a by-gone era where our perception of American womanhood no longer exists? Why have American women moved away from this Hollywood image of classic dressing? And why has this all come about?

Fact: Women wear trousers more today because they hate to wear pantyhose! Jackie Walker, formerly of Federated Department Stores and now a motivational speaker on “self esteem” dressing makes this statement in speeches around the country and gets total confirmation from her female audiences. Pants! Pants! Pants! Thank you Katherine Hepburn for giving us the image of elegance and comfort.

Bare legged Mexican woman vs katherine Hepburn in pants

But there are other reasons that women “Skirt the Issue” of wearing a skirt. When we wear a pant the fabric is wrapped around the ankle or a bit higher in casual lengths. As we walk we control this fabric and take it with us. When we stand we pull the fabric in as we pull our legs together at the ankle. This creates a slimmer feeling for all women. We always want to be wider at the top and slimmer at the bottom.

In wearing a skirt the fabric drops from the hip line and is not controllable or brought in so it adds visual weight to the bottom of your body. If it features an a-line look or a fuller skirt it also adds more visual weight. Depending on where you drop the horizontal line of the hemline against the leg it can reverse the desired image and make you look wider at the bottom.

One woman says, “I haven’t worn a skirt in years. I just feel dowdy and fat in one. I want to wear one. I try them on and take them right off. There are occasions where I feel like it is more appropriate and yet I still can’t do it! Another issue are my shoes. I love the newer lower heels but they also feel better with a trouser and will not work with skirt!”

On the other hand, Vanessa Evans, a crossdresser, in her post Why I Wear A Skirt, gives these reasons for wearing a skirt. MAC, another British crossdresser, responded and her comments are in red

Comfort (definitely)
Less restrictive than trousers and shorts (definitely)
Showoff my legs (definitely)
Showoff the bits at the top of my legs (wouldn’t be comfortable that short unless I had opaque panties)
Less hassle and quicker when going to the toilet (definitely easier than pulling down trousers)
Hygiene (definitely – less dampness and more ventilation)
My bf wants me to (not a valid reason)
Easier access for my bf (never did that)
Easier access for my fingers (wouldn’t do that in public)
More fun when I’m in a teasing mood (definitely)
Easier to have sex when sitting on my bf’s lap (never did that)
More fun when riding my bike (never did that)
More attention and consideration from men (definitely an advantage)
Better service from men in shops etc. (definitely an advantage)

Jackie Walker stood her client, Lynda, in front a full-length mirror the next day without allowing her to see the finished image. She placed her in a jacket that was the correct architecture for her client’s stature and then a skirt. She turned Lynda around and reached for the hemline of the skirt gently pulling back at the hemline creating the image that the skirt narrowed in at the bottom.

“I feel taller and slimmer” cried out Lynda. “I am amazed at the difference and yet it is such a simple alteration.” This is called pegging and creates the illusion of a narrow bottom. Jackie never ceases to be amazed that the word “Feel” always replaces the word “Look.” Just this simple alteration will make you feel more comfortable and confident and that is a secret to wearing a skirt.

Of course, there is more when we talk about “feelings.” Here are 11 things that women think about when wearing a skirt, courtesy of Buzzfeed and Answers.com

Wind? Really?

You never want to wear a skirt in a hurricane or tornado, but on the rest of the days throughout the year, a slight breeze can turn into a major gust really fast. When the wind starts to blow, your skirt starts to rise, and suddenly, the world knows you wore red striped undies that day. (now is the time to wear your frilly, pink lacy undies and be darn sure to tuck. The secrets to tucking are on Sister House)

Missed a Spot

While shaving every woman can relate to this scenario: you spend half an hour making sure you cover every inch of your legs with a razor or wax strips there’s always a hairy spot you don’t see till later.

Is It Safe To Pick That Up?

You may think you look good rocking that short little skirt, but the moment you drop something on the floor, you find yourself in a dilemma. Is anyone standing behind you? If you bend over to pick it up, will you expose yourself to the rest of your coworkers?

Legs Are Sticking To the Chair

Sometimes your skirt is so short that it rides up when you sit down. Your first thought is whether anyone can see anything you’d rather keep private. Your second thought is whether you really want your bare legs touching the chair. If it’s hot, and you are sweaty, your legs are sure to stick to the seat and make a terrible noise when you stand.

Anyone Else On the Stairs?

If you have to climb a flight of steps at your place of employment or school while wearing a skirt, you probably cringe when someone gets behind you. Depending on how far behind you they are, you wonder if they can see up your skirt. You speed up. They speed up. How many stairs are there?

Is the Skirt Tucked Into Underwear?

Going to the bathroom in a skirt is pretty simple; there are no buttons or zippers to deal with. However, if you aren’t careful, you might end up committing the worst skirt crime of all: tucking the bottom of it into your underwear. It’s easy to do when you are in a hurry, and you spend your entire walk back to your desk trying to decide if you feel a draft.

What Does Every Other Person Think Of This Skirt?

You know how you feel about your skirt, but at some point during the day, you start wondering what other people think about it, as well. Does your boss think it’s too short? Does that cute delivery guy think it makes you look like you are six years old? Does the resident pretty girl in the office think you need to do some Pilates and tone those legs?

Need to Twirl

No matter how old a woman gets, every time she puts on a skirt she stills feels a little bit like a princess. The moment she is alone in her home, she will dance around in circles and make that skirt twirl like a scene from a Disney princess movie. Note: this doesn’t work with tight skirts.

Should Have Worn Something Under This Skirt.

One way to avoid exposing your underwear, or lack thereof, to the world is by wearing a little extra something under your skirt. Perhaps you add a pair of tights or even some bicycle shorts. Of course, you didn’t do that, so you spend the entire day cursing yourself.

Should Have Worn Pants

At some point during the day, you get tired of feeling self-conscious every time there is a gentle breeze or you have to go to the second floor. At that point, you start questioning your wardrobe and possibly your entire existence. You wonder why you didn’t just go for the black slacks and why you ever tried to wear something different.

Despite all of your anxiety about hairy spots on your legs, wind, and people behind you on the stairs, you must admit, you do feel kind of pretty and feminine in that skirt. There is just something special and freeing about ditching your pants for a day or so.

Does any of this resonate with you? Well, maybe!

Look at any montage of crossdressing pictures and a fair number if not most of the ladies will be in some sort of a mini. So we asked a crossdressing man who loves minis (and looks good in one) how he felt about the experience, Hatopon, who is no stranger to crossdressing, tried on a miniskirt to see what it’s like. The following is a list of the things he realized after wearing a miniskirt for the first but probably not last time in his life (You’ll also want to click the above link on Hatopon’s first experience in drag and how he felt)

It feels like you’re wearing nothing at all

The moment I anxiously slipped on the miniskirt, I couldn’t help but think, “What the heck?!” It felt like I wasn’t wearing anything at all. The lower half of my body couldn’t get used to it. My legs were shivering as cool air freely circulated around the skirt. When I closed my eyes, it felt like nothing was covering my lower half and I felt so exposed and vulnerable. I now have a lot of respect for women who wear miniskirts.

Your underwear is easily exposed

Another thing I was surprised about (though it’s probably really obvious to some) is that your underwear is clearly visible as soon as you do anything in a miniskirt. Whenever you crouch down, sit, or straddle something, your miniskirt puts out an “underwear advisory” announcing to everyone the status of your unmentionables. It would be nice if there were a warning to say your underwear is about to be exposed, but it’s more like, “BAM! UNDERPANTS!” To be more specific, I was riding in the passenger seat of a taxi and I looked down to see my completely exposed crotch. Eeeek!

Don’t even think about bending down

Forget about bending down to pick up something or even crouching. After bending down, I freaked out, exclaiming, “Gah, you definitely saw my butt, didn’t you!” but when I asked the people around me, they replied, “Nope, we couldn’t see it, but just barely.” More instances like this happened and all the while I was thinking, “You can see my underwear, right? It’s totally showing! Nobody look!!!” But upon further inspection, my underwear was just barely covered. Jeez, wearing a miniskirt is risky business!

Now I understand why girls always cover their butts with their handbag

I always see girls riding up the escalator or climbing the stairs holding their bags over their behinds. There was a time when I would have recklessly exclaimed, “Stop wearing miniskirts if you’re gonna cover them up!” but now that I’ve actually experienced wearing one for myself, I understand the feeling of wanting to cover up at times. Any way you slice it, you’ll be able to see up a miniskirt at some point. There seem to be girls who don’t mind showing off their underwear in public, but I’m not one of them… I’m also a guy… Anyways, from now on I’ll try my best not to look up girls’ skirts.

It’s too easy for people to see your underwear

Sorry to be talking about underwear throughout the entire post, but I was just so surprised at how many times your underwear could be exposed while wearing a miniskirt. When getting out of a car, sitting on the ground, doing anything really, you always have to be aware of the risk of flashing people. It took so much effort to be on constant watch, making sure no one was looking, making sure I was covered up. I was so tired from all that worry and alertness.

Your movement is severely limited

Today I wore an outfit similar to the one an office lady might wear. It was a fairly tight miniskirt, but it was crazy hard to move in. I couldn’t run, and forget about trying to leap over a fence, there’s no way that was happening. If I had worn a miniskirt made of softer, looser-fitting material, my mobility would have been greatly improved, but the risk of flashing people would also increase. Either way, my mobility would have been restricted no matter what type of miniskirt I wore.

But even after all that… I still want to wear a miniskirt

I now understand what a risky piece of clothing miniskirts can be. But I still want to wear them! I want to show off my nice legs. When I decided to wear a miniskirt, I didn’t want you all to look at my underwear, but instead I wanted you to look at me as the guy who wore a miniskirt. I think it’s important to take a walk in women’s shoes sometimes (or in this case, miniskirt) because it’s important to understand where they’re coming from. Hmm, what kind of clothing should I try and wear next?
So despite all the possible faux pas’ when wearing a skirt, there’s nothing quite like it.

Enjoy this brief video and feel the excitement of being in a skirt.

[youtube]GSx9DwSR3dY[/youtube]

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like my article on Be Naughty – Wear a Skirt and Red Lipstick Is Not For The Timid. Also visit my Pinterest page on Skirts I Love.

And here are some great places to shop for a skirt

Nordstrom       Modcloth      Choies          Suddenly Fem      Dress Barn    Cici Hot

Tags: crossdrerssing, fashion, featured, mini skirt, pantyhose, pegging a skirt, style, trousers, wearing a skirt

Category: Style, Transgender Fashion, Transgender Opinion