I’m too sexy for my skirt! The men’s skirt is booming like crazy – also as a toolbox

Man discovered the fire, the wheel, the pants and Brad Pitt. And Brad Pitt discovered the men’s skirt. No mistake. Brad Pitt is just one of those who brought male rock back into the conversation last year. If I remember correctly, for about the 35th time since I’ve known men. There is always someone walking through the image in undivided trousers and this is always styled back to hype.

David Beckham wrapped a sarong around his legs and walked to London in 1998, which he and Victoria said was hot. Comedians loved him, football fans hated him. King Charles spent many happy moments of his life in skirts, in kilts of course, in kilts, the checkered wool wrap skirt with intricate pleats at the back that came into fashion on the island around 1700.

In fact, you have rarely seen so many men in skirts as at the current Paris Fashion Week. Robert Pattinson, for example. And the most daring part of the male audience. Because: “Trying out a daring trend yourself can be difficult, it takes courage and self-confidence, but that is precisely why it can be worthwhile. So why not just rock a skirt?” The men’s magazine “GQ” advised in August 2022.

So rock the rock. As if men had ever done much differently. The first images of clothing made of cloth are over 20,000 years old. Pants were invented about 3000 years ago in Central Asia. It was then that people began to domesticate horses. And because the different wrap-around unisex garments that men and women wore year after year weren’t suitable for driving, they developed the crotch pants. It consisted of less material, but was relatively complicated to manufacture because several specially cut parts had to be sewn together.

Those who were horses of nobility, but wore no trousers. Because trousers were worn by those who had to work, slaves, servants, women. Trousers were women’s clothing. The Amazons of ancient times were considered the most famous women to wear braces. It was not until the Roman military fashion that trousers became suitable for men. And then the gender division of fashion began. At least the western ones. And worldly. The clergy still dress in robes to this day. People in warmer parts of the world stuck to light, wrapped cloths.

The French Revolution led to a further reduction of the fluffy, decorative, courtly. The industrial revolution brought about a boom in practical clothing, there was no place for flowing robes on factory machines, and they were also dangerous.

This is a very short ride through the history of fashion, there are still things that have been passed down from one gender to the next through the ages, especially on the leg, including stockings. It’s just a reminder that men also wore skirts longer than pants.

And that brings us to today, with Brad Pitt saying of his linen ensemble at the Bullet Train premiere, “We’re all going to die, so let’s have fun.” Pleasure, freedom, feeling the summer wind on your legs or finding your identity – all this is attributed to men’s skirts.

It can be found in as many variants for men as for women: as a flowy robe by Billy Porter, as an evening dress by Conchita Wurst, as a fairytale robe by Harry Styles, as a stage costume by Lil Nas X, as a pleated skirt suitable for everyday use by Oscar Isaac or basketball player Russell Westbrook, as part of a three-piece set by Stromae, as a simple, understated Asian statement by Jung Jae-il, the composer of “Squid Game”.

There’s a lot of space in men’s skirts these days: baroque splendor or a whole toolbox in Blåkläder’s workwear wrap skirt. Sometimes he’s awake, sometimes he’s emphasizing the dude, the man and his trained calves. Sometimes LGBTQ icons wear it, sometimes straight warriors, the skirt has never been so unisex.

TikTok loves it, as a piece of clothing it’s much more dazzling than pants, there are internet forums for men in skirts where you can learn to shake off prejudices and inhibitions, and it’s only a matter of time before erotic upskirt photos are also by male celebrities. photos there.

It’s one thing. At least on the catwalks and red carpets. Whether men’s skirts will conquer the streets in the foreseeable future is probably a matter of guts and self-confidence.