Going Mainstream

[genebujold]

The reason most people insist the concept of women wearing pants and men wearing heels isn't the same is because forty years haven't passed since it was first done and it's not yet become an acceptable form of fashion by the majority of society. Women trouser-wearers broke the molde in the 30's, but it took between 20 and 40 years before it became acceptable to the majority of society. Case in point - Kate Hepburn. One photo of her in the 30's has her wearing pants. It caused an outrage in the Bible Belt, many of whom dressed like modern-day Mennonites. Skip a decade to WWII and you began to see a lot of women wearing pants, but usually only those who took over their husband's jobs where wearing skirts and dresses on the job was either hazardous or where protective coveralls were the only routine form of protection. The 50's saw a return to dresses and skirts for the conservative woman, but many who'd worn pants at work during WWII began to miss it. In the 60's, the daughters of those WWII working women came of age in the age of the blue jean - and Levis responded with styles for girls, closely followed by nearly every other manufacturer. But it still wasn't "fashionably acceptable" until the 70's, when the mainstream clothing stores like Macy's began expanding their line of bifurcated women's clothing. That's 40 years of progress, folks. The good news is that today progress takes less time. Someone mentioned men wearing earrings. The entrance of that fashion occurred in the early 80's (mainly rock stars) and entered the mainstream just 15 years later. The idea of men wearing heels for fashion (as opposed to fetish) is still new, but it's now out there. Whether it, too, becomes mainstream has a lot to do with how the current heel-wearers present themselves. If they appear fashionably dressed and fairly conservative with chunk-heeled boots, like most things it'll probably catch on. If they appear like they're on the fringe, wearing pink stillettos, it'll probably go the way of the mohawk. So, if I were to give any advice, keep it conservative and in good taste, and when it's acceptable, begin pushing the edge back. I know we've hashed this before, but we've got a lot of new posters, so let's hear from you - bring it on!

[Firefox]

I doubt it will ever become mainstream. Trousers are practical fashion. Heels for the most part aren't, so while there is a practical need to drive a pretty broad end of the wedge into society in the case of trousers, no such similar motivation exists for heels. Because they are largely ornementation items to produce a certain look, and the majority of men don't want to fuss around with items of such a nature, the mainstream bit is not going to happen. Though, if you mean by "mainstream" a simlar level of acceptance as say men wering earrings, I think that can happen and we've even reached that stage now in many places. That aside, your advice is good.