1. Skirts For Men
Skirts are not seen as mainstream fashion in many western countries: well in the USA anyway. Well
this is my hub to prove that it is in fact pretty common in many cultures for men to wear skirts or long-
flowing robes.
In fact trousers weren't even invented until quite late in history. The modern Pantaloon dates from
mid-Victorian times developing from the earlier baggy trousers. For most of history wore skirts or
robes, similar to those that women did. Usually shorter and less ornate but they certainly still exist. I
come from New Zealand and its not at all unusual to see men walking the streets in skirts - in fact
back in the 1970's we had a Police Commissioner, Rod Moody who wore skirts and caftans to court -
and the won the right to do so. He borrowed his wife's skirts for a while but she got over sharing her
wardrobe and made him get his own. There was no huge out cry - though initially it caused a stir. He
did it for several years and the media basically got used to it and quit running stories on it.
Here's a quick run down on skirts I see normal men wearing on a regular basis
The Scots of course have been wearing Kilts for centuries. Kilts are made of yards of finely pleated
tartan fabric. The patterns are generally traditional but more recently more modern fabrics have been
used. The sporran is the large purse worn at the front and a kilt pin is required as the kilt is simply
wrapped around the body - there is no side seam. For day dress the kilt is warn with a country jacket,
or for evening wear a black velvet jacket and white silk shirt are added. Knee high socks are always
worn.
Variations of kilts are also worn across the sea in Ireland and also in Greece: where they tend to be
lighter weight cotton and shorter
Many Pacific Islands including Tonga, Samoa and Fiji the traditional male dress is a lava-lava or
pareo similar to the Asian sarong. This is simply a piece of material wrapped around the waist. These
useful garments are very common all across the Pacific and also in cities with large Polynesian
populations such as Auckland, New Zealand. The traditional Fijian police uniform is a formalised
version of the lava-lava, a white wrap around skirt to the knee.
All across the Indian sub-continent sarongs are very common. Any culture where people often sit
cross-legged or squat on the floor its much more comfortable and modest for a man to wear a wrap
Kaftans are traditional male attire across much of Africa and the Middle East. The version worn by
Muslim men is called a Kufi but they are all similar. Long and flowing - often, though not always with
matching trousers underneath. The kaftans adopted by the swing 1960's were variations of this
common traditional dress.
And did you know that the women's outfit the Kamwaar Shamiz from Pakistan and northern India
which looks similar with trousers underneath was the first time that the Victorian explorers saw
women wearing trousers - shocking!
I find it quite funny that western men have such a hard time wearing "women's" clothing unless its the
kinky or pervy version! I wear men's clothing all the time. I wear men's shoes often (they fit better)
and often buy men's shorts or shirts because they have better and more functional pockets! Getting a

2. Western man to loose his shorts and adopt the far more comfortable lava-lava is incredibly difficult -
even on a tropical island beach, when they are really suffering from heat rash in the worst place.
I often wear men's clothing but I always dance in a skirt: I love the feel of the skirt moving around my
legs as I move. I remember dancing with a guy who was wearing a kilt for the first time at a Highland
Dance. He was an experienced dancer and could not get over the feeling of movement he got from
the skirt flying. (Note to the guys if you try this just make sure you wear the sporan - you don't want it
flying too high!).
The biggest irony of all is the vague homophobic cringe that most western men react to when asked if
they would wear a skirt: I guess that makes all this guys suspect ?
caftan maxi dress