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I had similar feelings about this post. Reminds me of a pansexual family member of mine who claims that everyone is pansexual, really, if they just get over their hang-ups. I'm all for people being who they want to be, and feeling free to express themselves. I dislike the patronizing implication that if I don't want to wear a crop-top and skirt, it's because I'm not sufficiently enlightened or liberated.

I don't think that was at all OP's intent, to be clear—just thinking out loud as it were. I appreciate your thoughtful response.

I think of this as analogous to the movement to get women to wear pants. It's not that we wanted them to present as masculine; it's that we wanted pants to stop being masculine and start being just clothes. Basically all masculine coded attire became androgynous, but almost no feminine code attire did.

It's not like skirts are inherently feminine either. There are plenty of examples across cultures and time of it being perfectly normal for men to wear them.

calling skirts + crop top attractive is not the same as calling only that attractive. i hope this helps you make peace with this post

If you're from the eu, I'd suggest looking on emp

Women's skirts work just fine for men. You just need to translate between sizing scale, which is not that difficult (although it is annoying unless you are in person and can actually try things on).

Crop tops are much more difficult to buy, as a lot of those really look bad if you don't have breasts.

Sewing machines are cheap and tailoring is surprisingly easy to learn. I have a very uncommon physique so pretty much nothing from a store fits me, tailoring my own clothes has been a big boost to my looks, and towards clothes feeling comfortable

So I'm a woman who loves shopping. But I'm a very short woman and I prefer to shop from the petite section - for most stores, petites are only offered online, if they're offered at all

So I do a LOT of online shopping and returning. I would also prefer to be able to try things on in stores before purchasing, but a lot of times I literally don't have that option. So essentially I try stuff in the privacy of my own home. I prefer to shop online from stores in my area and then return in-person, but a lot of places offer free mail returns too.

Point is, if you're returning women's clothes to a store, no one needs to know they were ordered for you. Maybe you're shopping for your wife, maybe she's disabled so she can't get out and shop for herself, or maybe you just love buying her presents. Nothing is stopping you from lying to cashiers if they asked - but usually it's just "was anything wrong with the item" and you just say "no it just didn't work out/didn't fit her/I ordered two sizes and she's keeping the one that fits."

The best stores will list either garment measurements or suggested physical measurements for the sizes they offer. If you know your own measurements, this should help you make informed decisions until you get to know your sizes at various brands (...and even then, it will still vary widely! 😏)

Looking at women's plus size options may show you options that are more accommodating of broader shoulders, etc.

I (AMAB) usually go into the women's section to buy crop tops and skirts. While being a European S, I need something like L or XL in the women's section. So my advice would be to just browse the women's section and add two sizes to your regular size.

I think kilts can be a good gateway drug towards skirts

There's a guy at the local punk bar here with a gut and a big ass beard who I've seen multiple times in a crop top and daisy dukes.

Guy looks fantastic.

This gut was made for faking touches on the trackpad while I try to write code on the sofa

The Scots have known this for centuries 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Well, that and hide more knives on your body.

Hashtag free the dad bod

I'm trying, okay?🥲

there are folks who would sexually objectify your gut, don’t even play with me dog