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I grew up at a time when dresses were what most women wore. They have been abandoned quite a bit over the past 4 decades. My opinion is dresses and skirts are the most feminine style of women’s wear. There are some GG’s still wearing them although not as often. Myself I wear dresses and skirts mostly during the spring, summer and fall months. Less during the cold winter months. Whether or not it ‘clues in’ the public doesn’t concern me, I gave up worrying about what others think. . I wear what I like and what feels comfortable. I will say if it was up to me more women would return to femininity and wear dresses and skirts.
When I was in school, it was against policy for girls to wear pants to school. So I know that as well. My mom worked in a factory, so I rarely saw her in a dress. But most of the time out and about, women wore dresses back in my time. Now I rarely see women wearing dresses, even in places you would think it would be seen.
I was walking into Target yesterday and a GG was walking out dressed in a beautiful dress, hose and heels. I think it depends if it during the weekday or weekend. My observation is women that work in some office or professional capacity wear dresses and business skirt type suits. Weekends denim skirts and Sunday church lots of pretty dresses. I wear denim skirts all the time and don’t feel like I project being a CD to anyone.
Sandy
Hi Sandy, I to had a similar experience in my own Target store, I first noticed the young lady hearing the click, clack of her heals. She was wearing a sharp business attire. Most of the women I see to are wearing what I call feminine drab. It does brighten my day a little when I see a GG at least wearing a top with a little color or nice pattern, or bottom with a little color of flashy shoes.
So yes we may stick out a little but we don’t need to very much, Just don’t go out daytime looking like your going to a formal affair.
Sandy
I voted “no”, but a more accurate answer would be “it depends”. Skirts and dresses have been so rare in the GG world that wearing one does make you stand out in the crowd. And I never see on on any of the younger girls, only elders like myself.
BUT the pendulum may be shifting; Dresses are now prominent in our department stores (they were a rarity only a couple of years ago), and I noted dozens of dresses and skirts when attending church last Sunday. I keep count, and the number is normally less than 10 in a crowd of a few hundred. I hope this is true, because Bettylou much prefers her skirts over her GV jeans or leggings.
I think it telegraphs in certain situations. Gg are far less likely to wear dresses or skirts in regular activitities(going to the supermarket or running errands). Obviously if your in home depot or Lowe’s on a Saturday afternoon in a dress you are going to stick out. In normal times (pre COVID) no one would bat an eye to seeing you at a restaurant or happy hour at a bar in a skirt or dress. I think it depends on when and where you are.
Here it’s winter and snow so pants is the norm. I did recently take a walk in a shopping mall (a rarity nowadays) and did take a count on non muslim/store clerk women wearing skirt/dress and I came up to 5 (and even including store clerk the count wouldn’t go up much). As sad as that is it’s at least more than 0 so that’s what I go by.
It does exist GGs that almost always wear skirt and when I’m out as Kelly I’m trying to be one of them. I do take a walk every day around the neighbourhood and I don’t know if I seen even one skirt here besides my own.
To make it look less like I’m out for a walk I do add a purse to give the impression I’m walking from work or something but besides that I don’t care to much about it./kt
I don’t think it makes us stand out, but you also should think about where and when you are going.
First off, there are some members of religious groups where women will only wear skirts or dresses in public. But things also depend on what we are wearing and what time of day we are doing it.
As an example, you can go out dressed to the supermarket as long as you aren’t overdressed. Don’t go out in evening wear to a supermarket. But you can go in business attire and even in heels if you go on a weekday after business (or commuter) hours, or on a Sunday at a time when churches let out. At other times, wear a more casual skirt or dress, and wear flats or wedges or sandals. (A couple of weeks ago, a woman complimented me on my skirt while I was waiting at the deli counter at the supermarket.) Similarly, you can be more dressy going to a mall or a store like Target if you go around lunch time or at the end of the day.
Yes, I find it rare that women wear skirts or dresses. But it’s not nonexistent, so I don’t stand out as the only woman entering the store wearing a skirt or a dress.
As long as it’s appropriate for the time of day, activity and situation a dress or skirt is not a red flag. Us older girls have the advantage of our age allowing us an excuse for wearing a dress when younger GG’s would be in jeans. It’s a shame that GG’s have moved away from nice clothes and into drab. It almost leaves us CD’s as the torchbearers of nice feminine clothing.
The move away from dresses started years ago when our younger, liberal selves fought for the right for girls to wear slacks to school. It was a just cause but I fear the pendulum went to far. Now we can only hope that the younger generation can move towards more balance.
Another thought on the move away from dresses/skirts is a reflection of difficult times. Covid has brought about a conservative social mood. It has been noted in the past how tough times bring about a retrenchment of fashion. The long dresses of the WW1 era (tough times) gave way to the Roaring 20’s and flappers (good times). This gave way to the conservative dress of the 30’s Great Depression. WW2 brought only a slight loosening of dress behavior. The post war years, 50’s and 60’s, brought about an ever-changing and loosening of dress behavior. But through it all fashion always followed the mood of the people. Hard times brought conservative dress and good times brought brighter, fun clothing. My point, after a long lead up (sorry), is Covid has brought us to a conservative retrenchment in daily fashion. When this crises ends we should see a less drab world and hopefully dresses will return to fashion.
❤
Beth
I wear dresses nearly all the time. I occasionally wear a skirt. In the cold weather I wear leggings and boots and in the summer a longer style with flats. I have nice dresses to go out.
None of my day to day wear is showy in any way. I have tunic styles, denim and ones that suit me. In the winter I’ll wear leggings and boots and in the warmer weather flats and hose. I can wear a simple T underneath and a cardigan.
I see quite a few women wearing similar tunic dresses and skirts too.
I agree less women seem to wear dresses these days but I do not find any shortage on sale. I wonder if in the reference to this post you mean the nice dress styles of the Fifties and sixties?
In general I don’t think it screams out to be looked at, unless, as some have said you shop in an evening dress.
For me, the ONLY piece of clothing that diverts one’s attention from the rest of my hideousness is a skirt or dress while in heels that shows off my legs. If you see me in a dress and heels and look at only my legs, it screams “woman.” The rest of me, sadly, could never pass the eye test for femaleness — even if you were only riding by on a galloping horse.
It’s a shame that our society has become so informal now that women rarely wear dresses and skirts. I would say that some feminists’ anti-femininity crusade hurts also.
Ive only been out in public a 3 times. All three times I wore dress slacks, leggings and jeans. I love a nice dress or a sexy skirt but I don’t want to wear one out. I wouldn’t feel comfortable in heels and a dress out and about.
am i a cd? yes. do i care what others think? no. i like my dresses and short skirts all year round. if you have confidence it dont matter. you dont like it , dont look. i wear heels when i go out. it screams look at me. i get alot of complements. it dont matter if i pass or not, as long as im happy being me. i think alot of girls dont wear dresses because they are not confident enough or dont think they are pretty enough. plus they dont want to be hit on by every guy they see. i talk to alot of girls while dressed and they all tell me men are pigs. guys dont know how to treat a woman anymore. they have feelings too.
I wouldn’t consider a dress, skirt, or whatever female clothing you might be wearing to be a dead giveaway. What’s far more obvious is a lack of confidence. People pick up on that in a heartbeat.
I don’t pass….at least not up close. But I look good. And I’m happy to be out there. Packaged with a big smile and a warm attitude wins most people over. I don’t care if anyone knows I’m not biologically female.
Although dresses and skirts are less common attire, if you make-up, act and present as a woman by blending in rather than simply looking like a ‘man in a dress’ there will be no ‘flagging’ as a CD.
I am approaching 70 years old and surely am no beauty but while farewelling a friend at the railway station a couple of days ago, in a knee length summer dress, a beautiful young woman, teenager I think, in passing, said that I looked pretty. She certainly made my day and I had to return the compliment but the point is that I don’t think she was clocking me as not cis, rather she was simply being friendly to an older woman in public.
As a transgender woman, I couldn’t ask for more than that.
I would say it depends how passable we are. Some of the beautiful ladies here could fool their mothers where others like me I look like a guy in a dress. I try to feminize myself as much as I can, I’ve got the walk, the body language, the attitude but I’m not kidding myself. In a great big room with no windows and a night light maybe but in broad daylight, no, you can tell I’m a crossdresser.
Stephanie Plumb wrote: “They don’t know I am Transgender – nothing shouts louder than a skirt or dress that I am a woman. A man would never wear a skirt or dress in public, would he?”
Sometimes they/we do, Stephanie. Early this year, I was grocery shopping, and passed a man and woman together, both of whom wore almost-ankle-length denim skirts. And it was one of those rare days when I was also shopping as a guy in a skirt. I don’t do it often – mostly because because I’m trying to let Bettylou do all the shopping, now.
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