And I’m wearing a skirt. A crinkled one that needs ironing.
I need to have a haircut, the jacket needs a zipper, and in real life the jacket and skirt do match.
And the skirt needs darts, and needs to be a little less full. I know.
I really wanted to wear a dress but the only one I own is a summer dress. I didn’t feel like explaining to everyone I meet why I wear a summer dress right now.
I did start the day in jeans though. And I found myself thinking about why I don’t wear skirts or dresses more often. You might say it’s because I only own one dress and two skirts (that fit) but then I only own two pairs of jeans (that fit), and no other pants except for one pair that I wear for hiking, one of those that have zippers on the legs so that you can make them into shorts. I don’t count those because I avoid wearing them as much as I can. They look horrible. So I thought, and then I thought, and it boiled down to:
Pants are more comfortable than skirts (or dresses).
Well. There are people who think differently, first among them the gorgeous Erin who declared today to be International Wear A Dress Day. Also Isabo whose post you should read (and probably already have) when you understand German. And I went on about my day, and all of a sudden I started realizing that I’m constantly pulling on the waist of my pants. You know, when I say that I have two pairs of jeans that fit this means that I can close them all the way, I can wear them in public without feeling embarrassed, and they are about the right length, that’s all.
The length issue is the reason why I only own jeans but no dress pants or anything. Because jeans come in different lengths, and some of them will be 34″ and so these will fit me. Most pants are simply too short for me. Both of my jeans though have to be pulled up every time I sit down, or get up, or bend over, or move in any way. When I complained about this to my husband he said, “Why don’t you wear a belt?” Well, for several reasons: 1) It’s hard to find a belt that fits me. 2) My jeans – while being to wide in the waist – still manage to pinch me in the belly area. Belts only make this worse. 3) The belt then will be pulled down in the back as well which makes the whole thing really uncomfortable when sitting down. 4) Because of the belly situation (and because I don’t want to look really ridiculous) I can’t pull the belt tight enough to have the pants actually stay up where they belong.
See, I need the back of my pants to be several centimeters higher than the front. Not everybody does, and so pants manufacturers usually don’t accommodate my need. I also need the waist to be two sizes smaller than the hips. Again, not everybody needs this. I already spoke about my long legs, and in addition to this I need my pants (or anything for the bottom of my body) in a plus size. Oops.
Very well. So now how does this make pants more comfortable than dresses or skirts? It doesn’t. I have this very comfortable, sturdy, practical, and not dressy skirt. And I can easily make more, all it took was two ours, a zipper, and a bit of fabric. The two things that make skirts uncomfortable then are: tights and shoes.
I usually despise tights because they never fit (same issues as with pants only they pinch at the toes as well), they are really breakable. And they never fit. Usually I’m left with ladders everywhere while the top part of my pantyhose tries to meet my knees while still managing to pinch my belly. But. I found a brand of tights that fit! I found them totally by accident because I wanted to wear my summer skirt, and all of my tights were full of ladders, and so I had to buy new ones locally and they were really more expensive than I feel comfortable with but: THEY FIT!! No pinching, no sagging, no nothing. Bliss.
The next problem is the shoes. I follow a strict “no heels”-policy, and I also refuse to wear shoes that I can’t walk a couple of miles in without feeling pain. This means that mostly I’m wearing walking sneakers. Not pretty, I always have this soccer mom look but still, I can walk for hours without any problems. I bought myself some cute Mary Janes (the ones you might get a glimpse of in the picture above) but while they feel comfortable when I’m sitting still they start chafing the minute I take a step or two. I have declared them to be my indoor skirt shoes for teaching. The comfortable pair of Mary Janes is red and ugly. You know what I need to do? Buy shoes.
I’m thinking of some flat lace-up boots. Has anybody any experience with knee-high Doc Martens? I have really, um, voluptuous calves. There might be some boots that fit over my ankles but almost none that I can close all the way to the top. I know that there are custom boots available but really, I’d rather spend my money elsewhere.
On the other hand, think of all the money I could save if I no longer had to buy really expensive pairs of jeans that get holes after six months (no kidding). I can whip up skirts in almost no time, I could even add lining and pockets (because that’s something I don’t like about skirts too, no pockets, but then – if you make your own…), and fabric and zippers is not that expensive.
Okay. the skirts won. Especially when I don’t think about what I think I should wear a skirt with but just wear hoodies (that’s Vivian without a zipper), and silly tees (it says, “Schrödinger’s cat is dead” on the front and “Schrödinger’s cat is not dead” on the back) and comfortable shoes.
So what do you think? Do you like wearing skirts and dresses? Or pants? Or both?
Excuse me, I have to go look for shoes. And a coat. And fabric. And more tights.
slouchy says
i think you look adorable.
but i may not be a good person to ask, because i have the fashion sense of a gnat.
lilalia says
Very snazzy indeed. Love the scarf! I used to be a skirt person for the longest of time… then, when?, who knows, can’t remember, but sadly almost, I am now a trouser person.
Deike says
Der Rock sieht doch toll aus! Wo ist denn da das Problem? Der ist nicht zu weit oder so.
Ich trag ja kaum Röcke, weil sie a) eigentlich nie Taschen haben, b) *immer* hochrutschen, speziell wenn ich die große Tasche über der Hüfte hab und c) ich zu viele Kapuzenpullis trage, und das sieht doof aus zu Röcken. Aber eigentlich wollt ich auch mehr tragen.
Und das Problem mit unpassenden Schuhen haben wir doch alle… Ich hab ca zwanzig Paar Schuhe, und *zwei* davon passen mir ohne dass ich Einlagen reintuen oder meine Füße vorher tapen muss.
Das ist nämlich das Problem mit Stiefeln wie den klassischen Docs: du musst sie konsequent einlaufen bis das Leder weich ist, und das heißt zwei Wochen lang Blasen! Außer du kaufst sie zwei Nummern größer, aber dann sehen sie sehr, sehr, sehr klobig aus, und für schlanke Beine sorgen höchstens die 20-Loch boots, die dann aber verdammt teuer sind. Und das zu ewig zum schnüren brauchst, ist, glaub ich klar. 😀 (Ich brauch für meine 20-Loch-Undercover knapp zehn Minuten. Aber dann zieh ich sie auch den ganzen Tag lang nicht mehr aus.)
Vielleicht wären etwas größere Mary Janes oder Ballerinas, Strumpfhosen und dicke, aber schöne Socken/Kniestrümpfe eine Alternative für den Winter? Das kann ganz gut aussehen, hält warm und man kann mit Selbstgestricktem angeben. ^^
Oder wie gesagt, Einlagen und Polster.
Off topic: machst du NaNo dieses Jahr? Ich hab mich mal wieder dazu durchgerungen und freu mich über die schrägen Leute im deutschen Forum 😀
Jo says
I have the calf problem too, & I get my boots from here: http://www.duoboots.com
I like the outfit, esp the t-shirt.
Painted Maypole says
ha. i actually would like to wear skirts and dresses more often, but in all honesty I’m more of a pants person. but I do own quite a few, and wear them occassionally.
PiaPessoa says
I`m a pants.
Denn: Strumpfhosen sind bäh! (passen nie, gehen kaputt, kneifen in der Taille und fühlen sich doof an)
Schuhe sind ein SEHR schwieriges Thema (keine Absätze, 100% Leder und im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes Quadratlatschen – aber den Anspruch, dass ich mit einem Schuh problemlos einen langen Spaziergang machen können will.)
Röcke stehen mir nur, wenn sie sehr kurz oder sehr lang sind.
Aber eigentlich will ich auch mal mehr Rock tragen (mit Taschen!)
Allerdings habe ich diesen Sommer doch glatt zwei Röcke nicht nur gekauft, sondern auch getragen. Die Länge stimmte (man trägt wieder Kniefrei) und ich habe mich wider Erwarten sehr wohl gefühlt. Die Übertragung dieser Erkenntnis auf den Winter (hmm, “gute” Strumpfhosen kaufen und Stiefel) bin ich noch nicht angegangen. (Wie gesagt, Schuhe kaufen…)
Dir steht der Rock gut!
Lieben Gruß, und viel Erfolg beim Rock-Tragen!
Pia Pessoa
PS: ich habe meine Jeans mal vom Schneider hinten enger machen lassen – nur das vom Hohlkreuz abstehende Bündchen. War nicht teuer und passt jetzt viel besser. Ohne Tip von meiner Mutter wäre ich nie auf die Idee gekommen, dass man da was machen kann. (Aber du kannst ja sogar selber nähen).
PPS: Äußerst sympathisch, dass noch andere Frauen mit nur zwei normalen passenden Hosen auskommen… (man könnte schon sagen, dass ich generell nicht gerne Klamotten kaufe)