Is the Man Skirt Officially in for Spring 2010?

H & M featured a number of daring looks in its Spring 2010 Men's Lookbook, including harem pants, but the one that stuck out the most to me was this pleated skirt. You might have been following the man skirt trend on Style Gourmand as I tracked it from its first appearance nearly two years ago on European runways. For awhile, there were a few daring men that appeared in skirts on The Sartorialist, but as quickly as the trend came, it seemed to disappear just as fast.

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Some designers have been trying to keep the trend alive, most notably Marc Jacobs , who has made the black kilt his own personal uniform. Phillip Lim, on the other hand, did not include man skirts in his first menswear presentation, but has not completely ruled out the idea: when asked if they might ever be featured in one of his future collections he replied,"Never say never." Price may be the limiting factor for those interested in designer man skirts like the one featured on Gilte Group from  Thom Browne for $1,288, but when H & M's mens skirt hits stores in a few weeks we will see whether it has been price or disinterest that has kept everyday fashionistos from showing a little leg.

Ok...So This Isn't Exactly About Fashion

Photographer Matthew Sandager has created this photo-roman (animated still photographs) with text from French poet Jacques Prévert and featuring Paul Marlow, designer of the menswear label Loden-Dager. It's a lovely little video and the clothes are Loden-Dager (of course!)

Voilà Les Sapeurs

Check out photographer Daniele Tamagni's book, Gentlemen of Bacongo, which features photographs of men part of a subculture devoted to stylish dressing in Congo. The Sapeurs, as they call themselves, is derived from SAPE, an acronym for the movement itself, Société des Ambianceurs et Persons Élégants. The word sape, perhaps not accidentally, also means “to dress with elegance and style” in French.

When the Recession Walks the Runway

By Seth Fiegerman

Miguel Wright, 30, quit his job just before the economy took a nosedive. He had worked as a sales rep at Bloomingdales, but decided to go it alone and create his own menswear company called Miguel Antoinne.
Starting a business is hard enough. Less than half of all start-ups survive two years, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. But starting a successful fashion business during a recession is nearly impossible because department stores are less likely to splurge on new designers. “The stars have to be aligned,” Wright said. “It must be good timing.”
In Wright’s case, the timing was clearly unfortunate as the bad economy rapidly chipped away at the high-end fashion industry. Every piece of good news Wright heard was accompanied by something bad. He pitched his product line to major department stores and was repeatedly turned down. “These stores were unable to take on the risk of investing in new brands at the time,” he said. “But the feedback was very good.”
So Wright made a key strategy change: rather than go after big companies, he targeted customers. “Distribution is paramount in this business. We needed a way to take our product directly to the customer,” he said.” To do so, he turned to the Internet, creating a carefully designed Web site and starting an e-commerce site. This allows him to reach and ship to an international audience.
Wright is one of several people to quit their job and start a fashion business in this tough economy. Rachel Dooley left her position as an attorney on the cusp of the recession to pursue her hobby making necklaces. But she had one special card up her sleeve: a connection to Gossip Girl star Blake Lively. Lively wore some of Dooley’s pieces on set and her jewelry line, Gemma Redux, has since attracted more celebrities and is selling well.
“In the past, a fashion designer would first need to get featured in Women’s Wear Daily or some other big glossy magazine, and then they’d get a ton of orders,” said Beth Schoenfeldt, a small business expert. “But that’s not happening now.”
Read the rest of the article at mainstreet.com

Phillip Lim Presents First Menswear Collection

Phillip Lim staged his first menswear presentation at a gorgeous art space in Chelsea yesterday afternoon. This is his first season showing menswear separately from womenswear. He wanted to give the men's line extra emphasis this season because he frankly feels like men get the shaft at New York Fashion Week. "I was just talking to my friends today, I’m like, 'You know, I’m a guy, I wear men’s clothes and it’s so stagnant and suffocating — it’s just disappearing. And so I’ve got to fight for my line," he told us. "Less and less people are paying attention to it."
Lim's spring 2010 men's collection included ankle pants in grays and blues and even black leather. He also showed a camel leather T-shirt tucked into matching camel leather shorts. As a fashion-forward man himself, how does he feel about the latest in seemingly silly man fashions, such as meggings? "If it keeps you warm, why not?" But what about man purses? "What are man purses?" We gestured to our own shoulder bag. "You know, I think over the shoulder is meant for function, so if it can help hold a bag, why not?" he decided. But what about man skirts? "You know, for certain people who have great legs, it works. But for me, no." Does he see them proliferating en masse? "I hope not. I think it’s reserved for the special few." But he won't rule out designing one. "Never say never."

- Amy Odell for New York Magazine's "The Cut" blog

The Manskirt Goes from Runway to Reality?

Style Gourmand has been following the steady evolution of men wearing skirts, and after seeing that this Thom Browne ensemble sold out quickly yesterday on Gilte Group, we can't wait to see if these daring fashionistos can take this trend mainstream.

Dear Abby Stands Up for Men in Skirts

The "man skirt" has been popping up in trend-setting cities like Paris and Antwerp, and seems to be building up quite a following, including Marc Jacobs himself. Although this is becoming a new and innovative way of dressing for men in the Western world, it does present a dilemma for those living in less fashion-forward areas, challenging well-established rules of dressing. This is the complaint of Joe, a man living in Pennsylvania, who says that he is constantly ridiculed for wearing skirts and he writes to "Dear Abby" seeking advice. Her response is that it takes a real man to wear a skirt:

From the Dear Abby column, December 31, 2008

DEAR ABBY: My problem is unusual, but I'm hoping that if you address it in your column it will help.

I'm a married man, confident in who I am, who wears skirts for comfort.

I feel that skirts are more comfortable than pants, which I find tight, restrictive and uncomfortable. I wear skirts around the house, when I'm out running errands and when I attend church. My clergyman has raised no objection to it.

After much research, my wife and I have concluded that the only thing against men wearing skirts is social pressure, and then only in certain countries - America being one of them.

Pants are a relatively new style of clothing. For thousands of years of recorded history, men and women both wore skirts. Then women fought for and won the right to wear pants, shorts, whatever they wanted - which is great. I believe men should have the same option. My wife supports me in this.

Our problem is that some family members who disagree have talked behind our backs, started rumors and turned people against us with false information.

How can I make them understand that they are entitled to their belief, but that they shouldn't gossip and create problems for us because I am not doing anything wrong?

- Joe in Pennsylvania

DEAR JOE: Gossip is the province of small-minded people, and it is sad that your relatives have used the fact that you have chosen to be different as an opportunity to spread malicious falsehoods.

As long as you have the testicular fortitude and shapely enough legs to wear skirts, then you have my blessing. Some men's clothing designers have been trying for years to revive skirts as part of men's wardrobes. Because fashion trends not only change but often revolve, who's to say you're not on the leading edge of what's to come?

The Man Skirt Returns

Marc Jacobs reps the Man Skirt in Paris
from Styleclicker

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