Are men oppressed in Fashion?

[terayon]

Hey, tonight i was at drivers ed class, we were watching a movie, and the teacher said "oh yes, this is for the ladies only, you should not wear high heels when driving"...it really made me angry, that our society is so entirely sexually divided that *ONLY* women are "allowed" to wear high heels...i mean what the hell is so terrible about them? a lot of middle age men have back problems, and heels can really help than..i have no idea why men arent supposed to wear them...for shits sake, its only shoes! has anyone else ever gotten real angry by someone else comments about heels?

[Platformdude]

Yeah, I know where you are coming from. Sadly, when it comes to something as harmless as fashion, guys are cowards. Most will act like sheep and wear the same basic uniform as their pals or buddies. One of my big gripes is that with the current trends, all males will end up looking like Taliban members, with super oversize baggy pants and shirts hiding our bodies. Even my daughter has complained about this, saying that she hates the baggy look of male clothing so prevalent today. It makes me long for the polyester sanity of the 70's...

[Tacchi Alti]

I hope you waggled a pair of heels at him and told him he was a raving sexist before toe-and-heeling round the car park and roaring off into the sunset

[Highluc]

I drove at least 10 times around the earth in platforms and heels and never had a problem. I could teach that guy a few lessons. Where did he get the experience to tell such nonsence. Many more accidents are the results from smoking while driving (dropping ashes etc) as to missing a pedal while in heels.

[squirrelheels]

I think the most common cause of car accidents in the UK is people on their friggin mobile phones. Idiots. One old man was knocked over (not sure if he was killed or not) on a pedestrian crossing by a young woman who was on her mobile phone. And this was just a few hundred yards from my house!! I think that the reason why guys' don't have much choice when it comes to fashion because the people who design men's clothes is because they know that most men are not bothered, and they will buy the first thing that fits and that looks vaguely ok. They know that men don't like clothes/shoes shopping, so they make it easier by reducing the choice. Quite frankly I think that really sucks... c'est la vie SH

[Francis]

Help, Help! I'm being oppressed!! For the majority, men just grab the first thing that fits and looks half decent, barring that they wear whatever is put in front of them. Eventually, men will be walking around dressed like Ali G or the Michelin Man. (In case of flatness, simply inflate to desired level) Anyone got a pin? It appears that only men in high profile positions actually take any time for thought on what they will wear that day. As for driving in heels, I find that I tend to drive a little slower while in my heels. And, yes, I do pull over if I have to talk into my mobile. Not that that's a problem any more. No car! unhappy bunny! But for fashion choice, men go for the same format nearly every time. Note how it's only at parties that you see anything bordering flambouyance, at no other time do you see them wearing the bright green or pink shirt! In fact I owned a mint green and a pink shirt until my sister decided that they would look better in her wardrobe. Women, huh? But there was nothing I could nick from her wardrobe, she was always smaller than me. More fashion choice is what men should be introduced to, although most would likely reject it without a second thought.

[Mano]

but back to the main question of the thread: yes, men are definately "oppressed" in fashion in some obvious ways: *women can wear typical men's clothing (e.g. pants, suits, ties...) but not vice versa. This also goes for hairstyles. *women have more styles, fabrics, colours etc to chose from. *when it comes to dresscode occasions, like in a "traditional" workplace or black tie/white tie dinners, there is little or no choice at all for a man. *in general, it is supposed by society that men as a group pay little or no attention at all to how they look or what they wear. You might say that men's vanity is not accepted. Men should keep themselves clean and tidy, but that's all...

[Bob]

Male fashion oppression. mmmmm..... guess you might now what I think on this score Anyone remember news reels when charles and diana got married? The press always carped on how great diana looked and lambasted charles for his lack of fashion sense, despite the fact that at formal engagements men are pretty much dictated to as to what we can wear !!! Many women can't understand how men can go to a store and know exactly what we are going to buy clothes wise so i'll explain:- Bottoms - Trouser (smart/casual), Jeans, Chinos, Cords Colours - Black, Blue, Grey, Beige and if you are really luck, Green and Brown (Oh the thrill !!!!) Tops - Tee-shirts (predominantly white, black, blue but there is a little more choice here ), shirts (smart/casual same as above) shoes - Anything so long as it is flat! I think most would agree that that just about sums up men's fashion (If it weren't so funny I think I would cry)

[Jeff]

On 2002-02-27 20:11, Bob wrote:

shoes - Anything so long as it is flat!

I think most would agree that that just about sums up men's fashion

(If it weren't so funny I think I would cry)

About the shoes, I would make that Anything so long as it is flat and has absolutely no sign of femininity.

[Bob]

Correction noted, but I didn't want to got too far Thanx for the suggestion

[Firefox]

The only colours I wear are black and purple. Now that is a limited choice! So therefore I have to wear something else unusual As for what you can wear to formal occasions Bob.... flat shoes? That's a laugh! I've worn heels to weddings, funerals, office parties, formal dinners, all manner of social events, some very formal, some not. It can be done if you believe it. And I believe it therefore it can be done.

[Bob]

Ah yes, but are we not unusual? I wore high heeled boots, womens trousers, mascara and nail polish to training day and nobody either noticed or cared so I agree with you there But as for the majority ....

[Charlie]

I get a laugh out of the occasional enraged guy who posts that women get all of the fun and keep the guys out. (not on this thread, but I've seen it time and time again on Jenny's board) Rubbish! Guys keep the guys out (if we let them) of fashion fun for all of the reasons mentioned in this discussion. Charlie

[ShockQueen]

It's not so much the men themselves keeping the men out, but it's that old outmoded thinking again. It's been so far ingrained into our society that it's going to take a major prying bar to get it out! This is going to be my year to break out into the light again, and NOTHING is going to hold me back. I've already started by wearing heels to work, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's time for the guys to be fashion-FREE again!

[Bob]

Don't know about a prying bar, more like an Saturn V (hasn't NASA got an old one lying around? Might do the trick )

[Firefox]

I reckon the teacher was only reflecting about what 95% of people think about heels, ie Only women wear them. But don't moan about it. Change it! If I'd been in your position at your class, I'd have gone up to the teacher after the lesson, showed her/him my 4" boots and said with a wink and a smile; "It's not only women who shouldn't drive in heels you know. I think you should change your comment." The next time she wouldn't probably say the same thing. It's no good feeling bad or oppressed and sulking; the teacher can never be educated like that

[Yamyam]

Yeah, it's probably true. Every so often the local police warn 'young ladies' not to drive in heels. But both my SO and I can drive perfectly well in heels, so what's the problem. Actually, I tend to drive slightly slower in heels too. Wonder why?

[ShockQueen]

Yep, it's educating the masses that will get things changed - or at least noticed. Imagine if one of that teacher's classes had nothing but guys in heels, and THEN he make that statement. Poor person would be eating crow for a year! LOL

[hoverfly]

It all depends on your driving style. Probably driving with heels I would be more careful. Your reaction time may be affected enough to be a slight problem. It could be worse if you are just starting to wear them. I own a Nissan 240sx sports car. So if I am seriously bumming around having fun with it, I probably wear regular sneakers or at least have them with me to change over from heels if needed.

[Bob]

Of course, on the driving side of things, it isn't just a case of whether or not you're in heels but also the height, 2.5 inch is nigh on flat for me (and most others no doubt ) but over 3.5 inch and that can really make a difference in your driving style As for making a difference and educating the masses, if they are open minded that's all too easy, but if they're close minded you aint got a hope in hell's chance, they'll just think you're weird, i'm cool with that though, I think I am anyway

[Francis]

Your heel height definately does influence your driving style as your more aware of how far you can move your feet. As opposed to slamming your foot down you have to place and press depending on how tall your heels are.

[Brandy]

I was out shopping today. I went to the new Nordstoms at Valleyfair in San Jose, CA. Newish store three floors, 1/2 of one floor was the mens department, the entire rest of the store was all womens stuff. To answer your question yes, not a single kilt, or mens skirt, or mens higher heeled shoe Cuban, High Heeled or other. Seems there a law against any heel in the mens department higher than 1/2 inch. And did I lots of ugly shoes. -- Brandy

[Firefox]

Solution: Buy heels or kilts from women's department if they fit, and constantly complain and nag to the staff/management about no heels etc in the mens deapartment. It's about all we can do.

[JeffB]

I wouldn't know about driving in heels since I don't own a car. But that's neither here or there. As for the topic under discussion, oh, yes, there is most definitely oppression in men's fashions these days. If, as a man, you wear any sort of bright colored clothes or pastel, you're looked upon as effeminate. As for shoes, it's nothing but wingtips and it's assorted relations. Me? I wouldn't be caught dead in wingtips! The mindset, at least with shoes is till firmly in place: that only women should wear heels and men stick to their wingtips. Well, I've done what I've could to break that stereotype, in fact, I've gotten nothing but compliments on the shoes I wear, especially my pumps! It's gonna take a lot of work to break the mindset regarding what men should or shouldn't wear.

[terayon]

i agree with ya jeffB! btw: what are wingtips?

[Beeblebrox]

It is really a strange world we are living in. I was to a fashionshow today were they showed spring clothing and shoes. Overall the same boring stuff as ever. What I was reacting to was that the female models at least wore a mans suit twice and one of these occasions she had a tie on too. Womans are free to wear what they want so we males can do it to, otherwise would we be the opressed gender further on. One other thing I noticed was that the coulors were separated for the genders, pink and heavens blue for the ladies and boring dark blue and brown for the gents. The conclusion, feel free to dress the way you feel comfort with.

[JeffB]

To answer your question, T, wingtips are men's dress shoes with stitching on the toes that sorta looks like wings. It's rather hard to accurately describe, but those are perhaps the ugliest men's shoes around today.

[prettyboots]

yes I agree after all there only just footwear for gods sake I mean to ask whats the big deal anyways!!?

[prettyboots]

yes most men ARE sheep so to speak, they seem to have little or NO fashion sense what so ever and are in fact weak when it comes to being themselves (myself exepted ofcourse) I see this in the malls all of the time and it just seems so redundant in the mens dept the same stuff year after year footwear, and most other styles you can think of!

[Arctic]

Oppressed in fashion? Read this... Last saturday I was in a crowded bar with my mates having a good time by dancing on the tables (common at that particular place) when around 01:30 in the morning one of the waiters was working his was through the crowd. That by itself was nothing unusual, but the 5D-cell MagLite he was carrying didn't promise too much good when I saw two women in his wake pointing in my direction. And yes, my uh-oh feeling was justified: the flashlight was to check my boots. I was wearing my what I consider my not-at-all intruisive 8.5 cm heel black leather Bronx boots. So what happened was that 2 m of free space was formed in front of the table and the guy with the MagLite put my boots literally in the spotlights. Probably the two women, which didn't look neither too bright or attractive, had probably been looking at them for a while without me noticing it, but due to the darkness they weren't sure. A lot of people got a good laugh out of it and I got my share of fingerpointing. I felt quite humiliated I have to say. I tried to put it out of my mind and continue partying but it wasn't the same anymore after that incident. Also one thing that had some influence was that I was by car so I was totally sober and then it takes more effort to get in the mood. I almost had worn my 4" blades there, but then I thought that this was already pushing it enough with these. I had bought a new pair of 501-style black leather pants that day and I was wearing those as well. I expected to have more comments about those than the boots, but that turned out to be wrong. It's not that I want to look rough or tough or anything, but I wanted to have a pair because I like how they look and feel, even if it's not the best for my image. I met 4 of my pals in the city and they saw the pants from a mile away of course, and I got my share of Lederhosen jokes because of them, but that kind of comments is different of course. They made me do a step backwards so they could give them a look, but they akwardly enough didn't comment about the boots... On the other hand, I also got some positive comments. In that bar there are some sofas/couches in a quieter corner and after some jumping around for a while we went to get a rest there. There were some ladies sitting in those sofas and the first thing one said to the others when I came to sit beside them was "hei katto.. ihanaa" which means something like "look, how great". For the rest I didn't hear a word, which is the way I like it The good side of the flashlight story is that I got a lot of exposure in an environment of trendsetters which will help the general acceptance of heels on guys in public. Bert