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Ugh I hate them except a maxi dress. Well a gown, but how often is that an appropriate look? LOL.
I am a size 4, so it's not a matter of "I think I'm fat" like a couple posters have accused.
However, my calves are a very thick, athletic build and I am short. I do not think dresses/skirts are a good look on me at all. And as the one poster said, "chub rub". Even when I weighed 104lbs, I never had a "thigh gap" so I hate that. Even if I wear shorts underneath, I still find it an annoying, uncomfortable fit. And I'm a bit awkward, I guess. Always worried about getting it caught on something, exposing myself, etc.
My job is a physical one; no dresses/skirts allowed. My main hobbies are hiking & biking, so most of my wardrobe is built around pants anyway. I've always been a bit athletic and I think I look weird in dressy, extra-girly feminine type stuff. It's just "not me" I guess.
I was always a tomboy and an outdoors person and never wore dresses.
I've been wearing dresses lately here in Florida because I can't stand anything tight on my waist therefore skirts are out too, and it helps with the two hour window for those taking water pills. I wear dresses that hang from the shoulders and flow down from there something like a tank top that goes down to your ankles. No need to worry about bending over or crossing legs and no worry about matching things. It's actually a kind of informal, easy way to dress. I have broad shoulders and a huge top dimension and more stomach than I'd like which a dress handles nicely. People treat me with more deference when I wear them too. No worry about feeling vulnerable as the rest of my persona definitely dispels that problem.
Given the many climate changes I have to deal with daily, from my icebox of an office to outside to home to my own internal ones...I am more comfortable with pants. And the many kinds of work. Also, I don't like dealing with hose or tights; I'm too pale to go barelegged (although will do in hot weather if skirt or dress is on long side); I like to wear comfortable low-heeled shoes; and I have sensitive skin when it comes to synthetics (most of which do not breathe well)--it is hard to find dresses that aren't synthetic and aren't cut uncomfortably tight. Heck I have a hard time finding nightwear I can tolerate unless it is soft pima cotton.
This may be true with the women YOU know, but for all the women I know, and all the women I see daily here in Los Angeles, my comment rings true. It all goes back to what I said about lacking self confidence and/or being secure in your body. Skirs = pretty, while shorts = plain. Many of the women I know who are overweight and/or worried about their bodies shy away from skirts not just because of the exposure, but also because of the "pretty" factor that it takes to wear skirts/dresses. Those who dont feel they have the "pretty" factor would sometimes wear shorts becuase you dont have to feel or be pretty to be in them.
It's been a long time ago, but I was raised in Los Angeles, and me and friends were some of the first to spend every Saturday at one of the first malls. I learned what I like wearing and what I don't then. We had to wear skirts to school all the way through high school, until the last half of 12th grade. It was jeans from then on. Maybe I don't like skirts because of that, and when I was working in an office. But I didn't like them much as a kid either. I remember when I got old enough to veto the frilly easter dress, and NO PINK.
The last time I wore a skirt it was floor length, with a vest which made the slightly large shirt look sort of pesanty and the vest fit tight. It was fun but I was at a street faire. It was as close to renfaire as I could get. But I have skirts which have been in the closet for years and will probably never get worn.
I like stretchy tops and wear them, summer sleveless and winter under lots of layers. I can't wear any kind of heals and wear boots even in summer. I think a skirt would look pretty odd with boots and a tank top. Jeans look fine.
It's not just that especially when its cold my legs and feet will be hurting, but when its cold here I wear thermals under the jeans. I think they'd look pretty silly with a skirt and layering the winter thermals and other layers directly makes them warmer.
Also, I hate sitting in a skirt. Don't even go there with conventional shoes for them. Ouch. If your talking skirt, a floor length gathered one with laced up boots, and good warmth on the legs, and a fitted and laced bodice....yes, I'd wear that. With a cape. It would be fun so long as its not summer.
The real fundamental thing is that way back when I was a little kid sentenced to flowery dresses and curls in my hair, and 'pretty' shoes I hated, I didn't feel like that. Soon as I got home, weekends, it was pants and bare feet and pull on shirts. I felt like me then and I still do.
And no, not bi or gay, but not into frilly or flowery or will it catch a guy. I am a person who happens to be female. I've had more good guy friends than women, since 'traditional' women irk me. So I dress like a person, not a flower.
It's good that girls are no longer cornered into dresses and skirts unless they really like wearing them, and no need to be 'pretty'. And I'm all for kilts too, for those men so inclined. Why shouldn't men get to dress how they like if women can?
Jade, I dont think that dress would look very good on someone heavier, with less than perfect legs who is wearing flats or athletic shoes. Its a cute dress but I just dont see it working for someone very active.
Hard to notice the dress with those shoes. They look very painful. It reminds me of the dresses girls in their teens wore when I was that age.
Not active wear at all. That fabric would get demolished on one wearing.
Hard to notice the dress with those shoes. They look very painful. It reminds me of the dresses girls in their teens wore when I was that age.
Not active wear at all. That fabric would get demolished on one wearing.
So for you gals that wear "pretty" dresses like the one above, perhaps - do you wear them for your job and then change for leisure? Do you actually wear "pretty" dresses when you are cleaning the house, getting groceries, taking care of your kids/grandkids, etc? I cant fathom myself wearing "pretty" clothes as an adult with adult style responsibilities. As a teenager I did, but I had a maid then (my mother!). I dont now.
And dont get me started on the issue of shoes. "Flats" may be more comfortable than heels, but the flats that are pretty and meant to be worn with dresses arent comfortable for an active life. I cant imagine how they would look after a morning of sloshing around a muddy yard, through puddles...for a party, yes, but not for "life". My feet shriek at the thought of it.
i have 3 pairs of shoes. They are all hikers from Cabelas. Waterproof, and comfortable. I could give a crap about looking pretty. And no, I am not a "man" at all!!!
Last edited by Gabbythecat; 10-08-2015 at 10:52 AM..
I like girls who wear pants and yoga pants, I like dresses and skirts for the right occasion, women in the South tend to wear them more than other regions of the USA. Wearing dresses to football games is an SEC tradition.
So for you gals that wear "pretty" dresses like the one above, perhaps - do you wear them for your job and then change for leisure? Do you actually wear "pretty" dresses when you are cleaning the house, getting groceries, taking care of your kids/grandkids, etc? I cant fathom myself wearing "pretty" clothes as an adult with adult style responsibilities. As a teenager I did, but I had a maid then (my mother!). I dont now.
And dont get me started on the issue of shoes. "Flats" may be more comfortable than heels, but the flats that are pretty and meant to be worn with dresses arent comfortable for an active life. I cant imagine how they would look after a morning of sloshing around a muddy yard, through puddles...for a party, yes, but not for "life". My feet shriek at the thought of it.
i have 3 pairs of shoes. They are all hikers from Cabelas. Waterproof, and comfortable. I could give a crap about looking pretty. And no, I am not a "man" at all!!!
Way back when, women had 'house' dresses. They were usually older ones, but they wore them doing the housework. Dresses were also generally very sturdy then too, given that women wore them for what they'd wear grungy old jeans to do now. I don't remember ever seeing my grandmother in pants, certainly not jeans. Mom wore house dresses for most of my childhood, only going to pants when knits came into style. I don't remember her in jeans either.
I gave up on heals a long time ago and premptively took all of them and gave then away. The only shoes with heals I have are sturdy boots which keeps my ankle behaving.
My favorite are the old bearpaw boots. I live in them during the winter... wood floors without a solid foundation are COLD. When they get really worn, they are yard boots. Comfort and warmth and practicality. All those cute little sandles with a few narrow straps make my feet hurt something awful, so I buy those very selectively and always good leather. In the house in summer I just do fuzzy socks.
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It all goes back to what I said about lacking self confidence and/or being secure in your body. Skirs = pretty, while shorts = plain. Many of the women I know who are overweight and/or worried about their bodies shy away from skirts not just because of the exposure, but also because of the "pretty" factor that it takes to wear skirts/dresses. Those who dont feel they have the "pretty" factor would sometimes wear shorts becuase you dont have to feel or be pretty to be in them. 
