The Jaunts of JeffB!

[JeffB]

Dawn HH: Yep, I sure have come a long way. Heh! I've certainly enjoyed the journey so far, and there's still so much fun to have on this trip. My goal is to dress for my surroundings, so I've opted for more casual than dressy outfits, I feel that helps my comfort fact as I look pretty much like everyone else. Mr. X: Thanks for the kind words. You have to be true to yourself and not allow the world to dictate how you live or how you dress. danielp6406: What can I say? I'm easily inspired! Heh! If someone like me can look natural while wearing a skort in public, then you can too. In fact, I plan on buying another skort as I've come to really enjoy them.

[JeffB]

7/5/2009:

Presenting another Sunday double-skirt outing!

MORNING

If it's Sunday morning, that means a trip to the local supermarket for groceries and whatnot, and once again, I wore a skirt. Here's the entire outfit:

A patterned blue polo shirt, my 22 inch denim skirt (I've really become acclimated to wearing denim on my outings), my Buxton bag, bare legs and my 2 inch heeled loafers. It's become almost commonplace for me to shop in a skirt, in fact, I don't even give it a thought, well, at least not until I get to the frozen food section and experience those wickedly chilly temps on my bare legs. BBRRRRR!! But hey, it's all part of the fun. Anyhoo, it was a typically quiet outing as I casually went about my business with nary a stare or double take or gasp. I've gotten used to that too as I don't expect people to comment on my attire or make fun of same. All in all, a good little outing.

AFTERNOON

For my second outing of the day, it was off to the western 'burbs. Here's what I wore:

A black JCPenney polo shirt, my 21 inch denim skirt, bare legs, a short strapped handbag from Penney's and my Payless "Hazel" pumps. Stop number one was to Borders where I casually yet boldly strode into the store, thrilling to the delightfully sharp clicking on my heels on the pavement, but not letting that enjoyment show on my face. Calm and cool, that's my outward appearance to the world. Once inside, I picked up three Mac based magazines and read them with a tall glass of iced tea in the lounge area for well over an hour. I might've stayed longer, but my stomach was demanding attention, so I bought a couple of those mags and, after a somewhat lengthy wait in line where all could see me (not that I cared), I left for lunch.

Lunch was at Subway where I leisurely enjoyed a $5 dollar foot long sammich. Yum! While I ate, a young couple seated some ten feet away from me briefly gave me a puzzled glance but said nothing. Pity. I'm always up for conversation with anyone wanting to engage me about my freestyling passion. My third and final stop of the day (had to get back to watch my Phillies whack the hated New York Mets) was someplace new for me: Bed Bath & Beyond. Why? I needed some new bath towels and they have good prices there. Once inside, I casually strolled through the aisles along with lots of other shoppers, again, no one paid me any attention, despite how I was dressed. After making my purchase, it was back to the house.

All in all, it was a great day to be out and about. I looked good and I felt good, especially during my afternoon outing as the more I go out in a skirt and heels, the more I love it. It's an incredibly heady experience for me, one I can't get enough of these days. Unlike in the very beginning when I first started wearing skirts with heels in public, I was more than a little nervous about what I was doing, now there's a calmness about me as I slowly continue to push the envelope during my little adventures. I can't wait to see where my jaunts take me next!

[scrappycoco]

Well Jeff B Between you and happy feet you guys are "The Man!". I go out all the time wearing skirt's for the most part anywhere I want, and have never had a problem. I wear heel's every now and then also but I haven't had the balls to put the skirt and heel's that I have together. I would go just about anywhere in a skirt if my SO had my back, but sadly enough she doesn't. You know jeff you name some of the place's you go and stuff and I know every single one of those place's. I know how people in NJ can be they can be quite rude. I know this from having lived there for 4yr. If you go to NJ alot especially in that area then you know of McGuire Afb. I was sationed there for 4yr. I give you guy's prop's for wearing what you want where you want. Later. Thescrappycoco

[Bubba136]

I go out all the time wearing skirt's for the most part anywhere I want, and have never had a problem. I wear heel's every now and then also but I haven't had the balls to put the skirt and heel's that I have together. I would go just about anywhere in a skirt if my SO had my back, but sadly enough she doesn't.

Well sadly enough I still have not put the 2 together. I did how ever wear skirt yesterday when I went to watch the fire work's at cedar point. I never got out of the car though since there was no need to. It was kind of nice since my wife was feeling kind of frisky and was able to somewhat take advantage of the fact that I was wearing a skirt. My response to her was "It's about time that you took advantage of me wearing a skirt!" Well, I would right more but I have a life to go save have fun and keep doing your thing!

These two entries seem almost to be contradictory....given the other posts that you've made that indicate that your wife dosen't know of your skirts and high heels.

or, am I misunderstanding some thing? Not that it matters but I am slightly confused.

[Bootking]

Hey Jeff, great casual look, magenta and navy with the loafers!

[danielp6406]

...If someone like me can look natural while wearing a skort in public, then you can too...

I do believe you but there is a HUGE difference between wearing heels under my pants

and wearing a skirt or a skort in public . I am still building my confidence to do it...

[kneehighs]

Nice one Jeff!

[HappyFeat]

JeffB is ALIVE! I am so glad to see you are again strutting your stuff in Philly and turning some heads. I do love reading your adventures and have missed your jaunts during your brief hiatus. Your outfits were well done for casual outings. I particularly liked the last one with your pumps. To me a lower heel pumps just adds a bit more style to a casual outfit, though your loafers work very nice as well. I am looking forward to reading more since the weather in the east is (finally) turning to become summer. I would love nothing more than to run some smack about the Phillies upcoming series with my Pittsburgh Pirates, but the world champions vs. the top minor league team for the Boston Red Sox (among others) likely won't be much of a series. Good thing we got rid of that bum Jason Bay... Oh how I long for the days when Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzenski matched up with Willie Stargel and Dave Parker...

[scrappycoco]

These two entries seem almost to be contradictory....given the other posts that you've made that indicate that your wife dosen't know of your skirts and high heels.

or, am I misunderstanding some thing? Not that it matters but I am slightly confused.

Yes I think you miss understood me. My wife knows I wear skirt's and does not aprove. She also know's I wear heels from time to time and does not approve of this eather. Every once and awhile I will wear skirt out with her some where where I don't get out of the car. Like for the fourth we didn't have to get out of the car so she didn't really say much about it. for the most part! She is just the type of person that doesn't like this sort of thing. What I ment by my last part of my comment was that if she supported me and let me be me I would dress alot like jeffb and happy feet. That is the style I like to see for my self. A sort of adorginous look I guess you could say.

[Dawn HH]

JeffB:-) Now that sure was some "jaunt" that you had. Both outfits looked great, but my favorite one was the second one with the heeled pumps. My kind of look---Casual. Cudos again, my friend. Keep rolling along. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[JeffB]

HappyFeat: Hiatus? Don't go confusing me with those fancy ten dollar words! Like I said, I was just being lazy! HA! Glad to read you enjoyed my latest little adventures. Yes, I agree that a lower heel is perfect for a casual outing. Not many females I see in my travels walk around in four inchers or higher. While I could've gone with the loafers on the afternoon trip, I longed to wear heels. And it was fun as always! So, you're a Pirates fan, eh? My sympathies. You haven't enjoyed the rarified air of .500 since Barry Bonds' last season in 1992, back before he morphed into the Michelin Man. Meanwhile, my all-time second favorite team after the hometown Phils was Baltimore, so I was hurt when the "We Are Family" Bucs beat the Orioles in the '79 World Series. Ahh! The good ol' days. scrappycoco: Sorry to hear your wife doesn't approve. Perhaps in time she will come to accept your passion, I mean, after all, it's just clothes for Pete's sake. Dawn HH: Thanks for the kind words.

[JeffB]

7/12/2009:

After a wicked night of thunderstorms that pummeled the area, Sunday turned out great weatherwise, and that meant another fun filled outing as once again, I decided to push the envelope just a little further with today's outfit:

A brown polo shirt from JCPenney, a 20 inch khaki colored skirt from Old Navy, my short strap black handbag and the Payless "Kailey" pumps in bone. Having only worn blue denim and black knit skirts in past outings, to break from tradition by wearing something that light in color was represented quite a paradigm shift for me, and pairing them with even lighter colored shoes than the merlot "Flex" pumps I wore a few weeks back was also quite a change of pace for me. I was very excited about this outfit which I took to the western 'burbs today to be seen by the masses.

Stop number one was at Subway for lunch, the three inch heels of the "Kailey" pumps (which I had never worn outside before today) made a satisfying click on the pavement as I crossed the lot to the store, pretty as you please, feeling good about the outfit. When I entered, the only customers were a Latino trio (one man, two women) eating at one of the tables, neither of whom turned an eye my way. Cool and casual, I placed my order---a 6 inch Subway Club---and enjoyed my lunch. After I finished and was leaving, a passing motorist gave me a double take. I ignored him.

Stop number two was at Hallmark to buy a birthday card for a friend, followed by one of my regular haunts, Borders where I spent a leisurely spent well over an hour in the lounge reading more Mac computer magazines, making a mental note to cross my legs like a lady while I sat. I felt quite at home in the outfit, wearing skirts had become commonplace to me, and pairing them with heels made the experience even more fun. The store had a good crowd for a Sunday afternoon, but no one gave me the time of day other than a brief glance here and there. No prob.

My third and final stop of the day was Best Buy to see what was new in the anime and Blu-Ray sections. As I entered the store, a black teenage girl frowned and gave me the hairy eyeball, ditto for her mom, again, no problem. I fully expect reactions such as those to my attire. I spent little over half an hour in the store wandering about, attracting a random stare but paid passersby no attention. Regardless of you only wear heels or skirts and heels like I do, you HAVE to get used to such reactions, otherwise, you'll never overcome your nervousness and enjoy your outings.

All things considered, it was a fun and enjoyable outing. And, at the risk of inflating my ego, I thought I looked pretty darn good in today's outfit as skirts definitely flatter me. In fact, I have to say that skirts flatter me more than I thought possible when I started wearing them, and, paired with heels, I cut quite a stylish figure, even in brown, a color I once disliked. Now to plot my next outing!

[danielp6406]

Greatings JeffB :-)

Another nice outing ! The brown polo shirt and the khaki skirt are a perfect math.

I really like the color of that skirt....It looks like I will spend money on this color from now on ...

[Bootking]

7/12/2009:

"And, at the risk of inflating my ego, I thought I looked pretty darn good in today's outfit as skirts definitely flatter me."

I have to agree! Jeff, it's a smart casual outfit.

[HappyFeat]

WOW, JeffB! The skirt and shoes are PERFECT! You have taken your skirting/heeling to a whole new level. I stand impressed.

[Maximilian]

Fantastic ensemble JeffB, color is perfect and I love those shoes. The bag is an excellent accessory as well. Sorry if I'm nit picking but your watch seems a bit out of place with that look. It seems pretty big. A smaller wrist watch would work better in my opinion.

[kneehighs]

Fantastic ensemble JeffB, color is perfect and I love those shoes. The bag is an excellent accessory as well.

Sorry if I'm nit picking but your watch seems a bit out of place with that look. It seems pretty big. A smaller wrist watch would work better in my opinion.

But, but in the Little Black Book of Style, Nina Garcia, former Fashion Director at ELLE U.S. and famed for her Project Runway participation, recommends for women to wear a men's wrist watch.

What's the difference here?

[JeffB]

danielp6406: To be honest, I hadn't planned to buy that skirt when I went to Old Navy as it was a spur of the moment thing, when I saw it, I thought the color looked cool, so I bought it. Glad I did. Bootking: My thought exactly. I work hard at putting together casual outfits so I don't stand out, if it's at all possible for a guy wearing a skirt and heels NOT to stand out. Heh! HappyFeat: Glad to read you enjoyed the outfit. I certainly enjoyed wearing it. A whole new level? Well, I suppose you could say that, guess that makes me a pioneer. HA! Maximilian!: A smaller watch? Hmm! Interesting. Might be worth taking under consideration. kneehighs: Being totally clueless about style, I wasn't aware of that. Ahh, knowledge!

[JeffB]

7/13/2009:

Having today off, I decided to go on another jaunt, in fact, I was EAGER to go out because it meant another adventure in a skirt and heels. Here's today's outfit:

A dark red polo shirt from JCPenney, a 20 inch black skirt from Old Navy (bought it the same time I did the khaki skirt I wore yesterday), my short strap handbag, bare legs and the Payless "Hazel" pumps for a dressy yet casual outfit for a weekday trip to the western 'burbs to be seen by the masses and to otherwise enjoy myself.

My first stop was back to Borders which has become something of a regular hangout, and I don't mind that at all because of the quiet, serene atmosphere, not to mention the great iced tea they serve at the in-house coffee shop. Armed with several Mac magazines and my iced tea, it was off to the lounge area where I sat next to a couple of college students happily chatting away with each other. They did glance briefly at me as I approached and sat down, content to relax with my reading material and drink. Every now and then, I noticed out of the corner of my eyes one or both of those kids glancing my way, I could tell they probably wanted to ask the obligatory questions ("Why are you wearing a skirt?") but didn't. I spent almost two hours in the store before leaving for lunch, and leaving behind those kids and their unsatisfied curiosity.

Next up was Subway down the road for lunch. Unlike Sunday, it was a little more crowded, but no one gave me the time of day as I strolled in, patiently stood in line to place my order, then sat down to eat, cool and casual as always, no odd looks, no nothing. I had to admit that kinda left me nonplussed. I mean, it's not every day that folks get to see a man in a skirt and heels, far from a commonplace sight, but they all kept their peace. They all saw me, but minded their own business. I was cool with that. After lunch, it was off to Office Depot several doors down as I needed to buy a ream of paper for my printer at home, once again, I strolled in, pretty as you please, asked a salesperson where the paper was, I was directed there, bought what I needed then left. No big deal whatsoever. In the end, I was just another shopper.

All told, yet another delightful outing, another jaunt in a skirt and heels. This has become so natural to me, it's almost scary. However, that hasn't taken away from how much I enjoy the experience. Of late, I've found that my excursions into freestyling have focused more on wearing skirts than heels, I like them so much and look surprisingly good in them while the shoes have been regulated to the position of accessory. Quite a paradigm shift from where I was on this forum when I first joined, or even a year ago. Admittedly, I don't quite know what to think of that, but I'm not going to burn a lot of brain cells thinking about this, not when I'm having way too much fun!

[danielp6406]

Another very nice outfit JeffB ! You obviously know how to match shoes and skirt ! I think I will visit an Old Navy store soon...

[Mr. X]

Well done Jeff! It looks as if you are really enjoying yourself. The fact that you can go beyond heels and make an an outfit using 2 or 3 items that would be considered "outside the norm" is quite an accomplishment. And you look so comfortable doing it too.

[HappyFeat]

Again Jeff, another fantastic outfit! You do those casual skirts very well, not to mention the pumps. Just a fantastic way to spend a day off.

[Bootking]

Casual and smart; looks good!

[Thighbootguy]

JeffB –

Both of the past two outfits really look great!

From your comments it does seem that you are getting more attention with this conservative, well coordinated look. More power to you for being able to pull it off! I think my boots are viewed as a bit outrageous and their impression overpowers my skirt. The outrageous part causes people to ignore me. Your more conservative approach seems to draw more attention. I’m very interested in hearing how this works for you.

[ShockQueen]

Very well done on both of your last 2 outfits, JeffB! I really like the way you coordinated your look to work very very well, and you look very natural! To the ladies who gave you the hairy eyeball? HA! They were just jealous because you had more confidence and style than they did! You have truly taken the experience to a whole new level - enjoy it!

[Maximilian]

But, but in the Little Black Book of Style, Nina Garcia, former Fashion Director at ELLE U.S. and famed for her Project Runway participation, recommends for women to wear a men's wrist watch.

What's the difference here?

Hmm. Did she explain why?

I guess it would depend on the wrist watch. I also wear a mens' watch when freestyling, a classic/simple leather strap Swatch. It's definitely not big yet neither tiny/thin.

Yet, a woman in a classy outfit + a Casio G-Shock? Nah, I don't think that would work, neither would a metal band. But that's just my opinion.

[JeffB]

Thanks for the compliments, everybody! WOW! I had no idea whatsoever that my latest jaunts would be so well received by the masses here. Guess that means I'm doing something right! HA! But seriously, I just do the very best I can as I think it's extremely important to look my very best while out in public so I'm not seen as some sort of oddity to be laughed at or ridiculed. And I'm surprised at how good I look in skirts, and how much fun I've had while wearing them. It's certainly been a great ride so far. danielp6406: I work quite hard to make sure my outfits are properly coordinated. It's part of my ongoing quest to look good in public. TBG: Hmm! And interesting theory about how a conservative appearance attracts attention. I must say that never occurred to me, especially since I had been under the impression that dressing conservatively would attract LESS attention. Perhaps I was mistaken about that. I might have to try something a little more outrageous and see what happens. That would make for an interesting experiment.

[Bubba136]

TBG: Hmm! And interesting theory about how a conservative appearance attracts attention. I must say that never occurred to me, especially since I had been under the impression that dressing conservatively would attract LESS attention. Perhaps I was mistaken about that. I might have to try something a little more outrageous and see what happens. That would make for an interesting experiment.

In deference to those that have a great deal more experience dressing up and appearing in public than I, I think it would be a big mistake to change your style to that of wearing more "eye catching" outfits in public. Unless, of course, your objective is to attract attention, such as TBG does, and not blending, like you obviously do.

[Thighbootguy]

Bubba136 –

I think your advice to Jeff is very good but the reasoning is a little off the mark.

The concept of a guy wearing a coordinated skirt and heels with a bag and blending in, just does not work, no matter how good the outfit looks. The outfit may look great, and the wearer may be comfortable, but the fact that it’s a guy means it will attract attention and not blend in.

My thinking was that Jeff’s outfit looked so good that he got past the observers first level of defense and made them realize that he actually looked good in a skirt and this threatened them a little closer to their core.

My outfits do attract attention but generate a different reaction. When people see me, I don’t get past their first level of defense. Folks immediately write me off as just a guy that dresses oddly (or something worse), the point is they write me off.

As far as Jeff trying some more outrageous, that depends on his definition of outrageous. I personally don’t think his thigh boots fall into that category but that is a biased opinion. Other than adding a blazer to the outfit I can offer no other suggestions. I’m always surprised when I wear something I like and it turns out to be “outrageous”.

[HeelD]

Jeff, I like your style evolution. As you've become more adventurous, you've worked out what works on you and you are now choosing clothes that suit you. It's amazing how people come along when it comes dressing. The styles of skirts you have chosen are definitely styles that guys can pull off in public. The boxiness of the skirts suit and compliment the male frame. Come to think of it, more I see runway shows of designers experimenting with skirts, the more positive male skirt wearing appears to be. Done right, a man can really wear a skirt. I also except the fact that not everybody will think the same. I'm also convinced that male skirt wearing could be more readily accepted that heel wearing is simply due to the kilt effect!