It wasn’t that long ago that I realized I had a certain set of skirts that I wear when I am planning on going out in public and not feeling as confident about my skirt-wearing as I normally do. I have dubbed these my “safety blanket skirts”.
These skirts tend to be straight, mostly denim or cotton, are bold in color and tend to have very little ornamentation on them. They also all have pockets. These characteristics place them much more in line with what is available for purchase in the typical men’s department even if they are not bifurcated.
As such, I feel that they are more likely to fly under the radar, so to speak, and thus are less likely to be noticed by other people. Whether that is true or not is entirely irrelevant because it’s the fact that I feel that way that helps me.
Why I Wear Them
As my skirt collection has grown over the past couple of years to far exceed any collection I’ve ever had of men’s pants and shorts, so have the types of skirts I have added to it. As we all know, the amount of patterns, colors and cuts that skirts come in is vast compared to anything available in the men’s department. Diversity is a real reason for a lot of us to wear skirts.
That said, I don’t always feel confident enough to wear some of the more “feminine” skirts out in public. I have some with bows or lace, for example. Others are “balloon skirts” or have other cuts that are much more ostentatious than straight skirts. I don’t have any bright or wild patterns, but they would fall into this category as well.
There is no doubt that I love wearing all of them, but they present a significantly larger hurdle to get over when stepping out the door into the world beyond the safety of my home. Most of the time, I am able to get over it and get out in one of those skirts, but sometimes, I don’t have the energy or, quite frankly, the will to push through it.
That is where my “safety blanket skirts” come into play.
How They Help Me
These skirts are my tried and true, battle-harden garments that I know I can rely on to not cause a fuss when I go out. I have been out many times in public in them and at some point, I don’t worry about going out in them. The more skirts I wear out, the more that get added to this list.
I know I can go out and not have to worry about other people’s reactions. In fact, I have worn some of them out so much that the thrill of wearing a skirt out in public just doesn’t really happen anymore when I have one on. It almost feels like wearing shorts or jeans: entirely normal.
As I mentioned above, most of them are more subtle and have a lot more of the characteristics of garments from the men’s department: solid colors, rugged materials, big pockets and straight cuts. This, of course, has a psychological effect on me when I wear them out in that it feels like they are less likely to be noticed by others.
Most of the time, I don’t mind being noticed and do, in fact, welcome any discussion about it as long as it is not just an attempt to insult me. If I’m not feeling up for attention though, I fall back on one of these skirts.
Conclusion
Going out in a more “feminine” skirt with lace or bows or an a-line cut can be a lot of fun. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy it when I do work up the courage to do it. Most of the time, I don’t get any attention wearing those either which, you could say, actually makes the point of my “safety blanket skirts” moot.
I would disagree though because it’s not necessarily about facts here, it’s about feelings. While I logically know and understand that it is highly unlikely that people are going to fret about me wearing any skirt out, regardless of whether it is more “feminine” or “masculine”, I still feel that these more “masculine” ones are going to more acceptable and therefore less likely to kick up a storm. Therefore, they are easier for me to wear out. It’s 100% in my head, but it still helps me.
Do I think everyone needs to have a set of “safety blanket skirts”? No, I definitely don’t. I can, however, recommend that those who are insecure about going out give it a try though. They have helped me quite a bit in getting over my insecurities and it’s great to have a set to fall back on that I have successfully worn out in public multiple times with only positive experiences.
Do you have any “safety blanket skirts” or any skirts that you feel more comfortable going out in public in than others? Why are they more comfortable for you? What are your thoughts on it?
Here is a small gallery of me wearing my current set of “safety blanket skirts”:
I like having some of these skirts too. Not just to fly under the radar sometimes, but also around conservative people, certain family get togethers, or situations where I want to prevent potential discrimination (ie. bringing my car to the mechanic, buying or selling used goods).
I wear them in those situations too. It makes it a lot less of a hassle in some situations as you mentioned.
I think that we all have some skirts that we feel more comfortable in. I know that I have a few flashy skirts that I love wearing but there are times that, because of the people that will be there, I will wear a “safe” skirt. But then again I have worn one of my flashy skirts because of who will be there because I know that it will make them uncomfortable, I know I can be a butt head sometimes. lol.
I have done that too! Sometimes, it feels good just to intentionally provoke closed-minded people who aren’t going to accept anything other than their norm anyway.
Yes I have one safety blanket or two.
My collection count about 8 skirts from midi to mini. (and I own 1 jeans, 1 pair of trousers and 2 shorts from the men department 😂 for places or moments where I don’t have the energy to fight the system!)
My favourite as a safety blanket is a black one, half pleated, just above the knee length that at first sight looks like a kilt.
Your safety style is low profile and I totally understand why it is your comfort zone.
Sounds a little like my collection in that I have far more skirts than bottoms from the men’s department. 🙂 Skirts that are similar to kilts in style are ideal for that purpose.
I feel like pencil skirts (or skirts with similar, straight shape that is not going to be pushed by any winds) are the safest skirts overall – even if you’re not so skinny, pencil skirts will actually look better on you rather than going for pleated stuff. I have two “circle skirts” that are flared to degree of being blown by wind easily and I leave them for really “calm” days. There’s also one red skirt that, although of right length, feels “too official” for a casual go-outside kind of thing, and it seems to look better with tights under it, so this one stays in my wardrobe for the whole summer. The last time I used it was during the election day – sensible move to go with white-ish jumper and red “bottom”.
Overall I get the point, although I find denim skirts pretty boring (and as in the photos, they have some differences but not as big as the flared skirts), but that’s a significant breakthrough in one’s mindset to move from trousers to even such skirts. Then you can really work on any further courage, but at this point you’re already on top of the world.
You are right that they are definitely the “safest” skirts. Denim skirts and the like are definitely more boring than other types of skirts, but that is exactly what makes them feel so “safe”. It sounds like your red and white outfit was perfect for election day in Poland!