Men wearing dresses at contras/squares
ward...@interport.net
Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real women's dresses.
And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing. Can somebody comment
on this phenomenon? Is it a response to more-men-than-women or what?
Nancy Mamlin
I'm crossposting this to rec.folk-dancing, as that group is more likely
to include those of whom you speak...
I won't comment (being a woman) other than on the geography of the
phenomena. Having gone this summer on a tour between the two contenintal
divides, and having a fair amount of knowledge about the dances in both
the East and Southeast, I'd say your assessment is correct. The further
West we went on our tour, the less likely we were to see skirts, and I
don't think we ever saw a dress. In Asheville, NC there are a few guys
who wear skirts fairly regularly. I can't think of seeing a bona fide
dress South of DC or West of I-95...
Hmmm....
Nancy
Frank Dalton/Emily Fine
>Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
>contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real women's dresses.
>And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing. Can somebody comment
>on this phenomenon? Is it a response to more-men-than-women or what?
That's interesting...someone at Clifftop told me it was a Seattle thing, or at
least that it started there, and that it was originally done for its shock
value. Who these guys were trying to shock, I don't know.
Regards, FD
Harold Maurer
Where's Robert Bly when we need him...
:):):)
Dave Goldman
> > contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real women's dresses.
> > And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing. Can somebody comment
> > on this phenomenon? Is it a response to more-men-than-women or what?
Here in Portland, Oregon, I can think of one regular male dancer who often
wears a skirt, and one who usually wears a dress. I'm reasonably sure that
neither does so because of more-men-than-women.
-- Dave Goldman
Portland, OR
Kerry, Sheila, & Mirabelle Blech
In article <4vcqfg$m...@park.interport.net> wardhill wrote:
>Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
>contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real
> women's dresses.
>And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing.
>Can somebody comment on this phenomenon? Is it a
>response to more-men-than-women or what?
>
I haven't seen the situation described above. However, just before
Clifftop, we were visiting relatives in the DC area and watched a
Mel Brooks video, then went out to Glen Echo to attend the dance
played by the L-7s. The garb on a male or two in the line, with
the comedic movie fresh in my mind, made me quip to Audrey Molsky,
"Ohhhh, Contra Dances -- Men in Skirts!"
regards,
Kerry
****** ******** ******** ***** *****
Kerry Blech Sheila Klauschie Blech Mirabelle Rose Blech
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
"The old tunes are the best tunes" -- Luther Davis
Steve Goldfield
In article <Pine.PMDF.3.91.9608201...@conrad.appstate.edu>,
Nancy Mamlin <maml...@conrad.appstate.edu> wrote:
#>I won't comment (being a woman) other than on the geography of the
#>phenomena. Having gone this summer on a tour between the two contenintal
#>divides, and having a fair amount of knowledge about the dances in both
#>the East and Southeast, I'd say your assessment is correct. The further
#>West we went on our tour, the less likely we were to see skirts, and I
#>don't think we ever saw a dress. In Asheville, NC there are a few guys
#>who wear skirts fairly regularly. I can't think of seeing a bona fide
#>dress South of DC or West of I-95...
#>
#>Hmmm....
#>
#>Nancy
I've seen a few skirts on men out this way but not many. I think
I saw a dress once or twice, too. But I don't often go to dances,
so maybe one of the BACDS regulars will add a more thorough
comment.
--
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Steve Goldfield :<{ {>: ste...@uclink.berkeley.edu
wesle...@delphi.com
<ward...@interport.net> writes:
>Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
>contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real women's dresses.
>And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing. Can somebody comment
>on this phenomenon? Is it a response to more-men-than-women or what?
>
I have frequently seen men wearing skirts at contra dances. I was told it
was cooler. I have only seen a couple of men wearing women's dresses.
One was at the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA) in Natick, Mass. He and
his lady friend wore identical dresses if I'm not mistaken. Maybe this is
like the Modern Western Square Dancers who wear outfits made out of the same
material (although in this case the man still wears a shirt and pants).
The other person was at Kimmswick, a couple of years ago and I don't know
what his story is. I only get to dance in the Northeast a couple of times
a year at major festivals so I don't know what the typical dances are like.
I doubt that it's a response to more-men-than-women ratio at dances. That
would be more likely to be manifested in men standing outside the door
greeting women and trying to book them for a dance. Most men are very
reluctant to dance with another man. At Dance Flurry, I walked into a session
where there were many extra men. I wanted to dance, but I had to ask about
seven men before I found one willing to dance with me. It was fun though?
Good luck in your query. I'm interested now, too.
Julie Mangin
>>contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real
>> women's dresses.
>>And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing.
>>Can somebody comment on this phenomenon? Is it a
>>response to more-men-than-women or what?
I don't know what it's a response to, but I've been wearing pants to
dances for a while, and nobody's said a thing to me about it.
Julie Mangin
jma...@access.digex.net
http://www.access.digex.net/~jmangin/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I prefer the phrase old-time music to old-timey music which sounds
perilously close to old-tiny music." --Mark Graham
DC Howard2
>In article <4vcqfg$m...@park.interport.net> wardhill wrote:
>>Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
>>contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real
>> women's dresses.
>>And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing.
>>Can somebody comment on this phenomenon? Is it a
>>response to more-men-than-women or what?
We play a lot of contradances in the NorthEast extending down as far as
North Carolina and have seen this phenomenon quite a lot.
It's seems to be more prevalent at festivals and big deal dances such as
the Brattleboro Dawn Dances but it's not that uncommon to see maybe 1 guy
with a dress on at a small dance. The further you get from college towns,
the rarer it seems to be. No surprise here. It doesn't appear to have
anything to do with gender-bending so much as looks. What I've been told
by practitioners of this style is that it looks and feels great to swing
and twirl in a dress or skirt.
From the viewpoint of a dance musician, I have to agree.
Dave Howard
(Lazy Aces) (Please & Thank-You) (Ben Steel & his Bare Hands)
ward...@interport.net
jma...@access2.digex.net (Julie Mangin) wrote:
>>In article <4vcqfg$m...@park.interport.net> wardhill wrote:
>>>Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
>>>contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real
>>> women's dresses.
>>>And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing.
>>>Can somebody comment on this phenomenon? Is it a
>>>response to more-men-than-women or what?
>I don't know what it's a response to, but I've been wearing pants to
>dances for a while, and nobody's said a thing to me about it.
Well, yes, I see your point. And I've always considered myself
open-minded (but I guess everybody thinks of themselves as such). If
it were just skirts, I think I could deal with it. But I have seen
several bearded men wearing flowery, ruffly dresses. I even saw a man
and his girlfriend wearing matching dresses (again, with ruffles). I
just thought maybe somebody here knows THEIR rationale for dressing
so.
David Lynch
There was at least one skirt-clad male at the last Contra Dances I
attended here in toasty Southern California. Given the temperature in the
dance hall on that summer evening, I was envious of the cooling
ventilation the skirt afforded him.
I believe someone told me that men who wear skirts at the local dances do
so primarily for comfort, and that the fashion (anti-fashion?) aspects are
definitely a secondary concern. I have yet to see men in
dresses/cheerleader outfits/ball gowns on the local dance floor.
--Namaste',
--David Lynch
--web: http://www.primenet.com/~dsl/
Check out the Old-Time Music Home Page:
http://www.primenet.com/~dsl/oldtime.html
"HOKUM: It's there when you need it."
Bill Blevins
Not a very interesting thread - no pun intended
Let's hear from some of the contra/square dance cross-dressers. Any
one out there?
bb
David Elek Kirchner
Nancy Mamlin (maml...@conrad.appstate.edu) wrote:
: > Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
: > contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real women's dresses.
: > And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing. Can somebody comment
: > on this phenomenon? Is it a response to more-men-than-women or what?
: the East and Southeast, I'd say your assessment is correct. The further
: West we went on our tour, the less likely we were to see skirts, and I
: don't think we ever saw a dress. In Asheville, NC there are a few guys
: who wear skirts fairly regularly. I can't think of seeing a bona fide
: dress South of DC or West of I-95...
My observation since I moved to the midwest a year ago is that men do not wear
skirts and dresses at regular weekly dances but do so often enough at dance
weekends and camps that it is not remarked upon. As far as full-scale dresses
(i.e. not skirts), I can think of one dancer (but only one) in the Midwest I've
seen wearing dresses.
Can others who've danced out here longer confirm or refute these observations?
--
David
dav...@artsci.wustl.edu
occasional skirt wearer...
Lee Billings
In article <4vfa61$1...@solaris.cc.vt.edu>, Bill Blevins says...
>
>>>>>In article <4vcqfg$m...@park.interport.net> wardhill wrote:
>>>>>>Over the last year, I have seen a number of men wearing dresses at
>>>>>>contra and square dances. Not just skirts, but real
>>>>>> women's dresses.
>>>>>>And somebody told me it was a "Northeast" thing.
>>>>>>Can somebody comment on this phenomenon? Is it a
>>>>>>response to more-men-than-women or what?
>>>
>>>>dances for a while, and nobody's said a thing to me about it.
>>>
>>>Well, yes, I see your point. And I've always considered myself
>>>open-minded (but I guess everybody thinks of themselves as such). If
>>>it were just skirts, I think I could deal with it. But I have seen
>>>several bearded men wearing flowery, ruffly dresses. I even saw a man
>>>and his girlfriend wearing matching dresses (again, with ruffles). I
>>>just thought maybe somebody here knows THEIR rationale for dressing
>>>so.
>
> Not a very interesting thread - no pun intended
>
>Let's hear from some of the contra/square dance cross-dressers. Any
>one out there?
>
>
>bb
>
>
in skirts. And if the skirts are ruffledy dresses, what difference does
it make? Besides, they _swirl_ so nicely. Why should us gals have all the
fun?
Ray Baker
All this talk about ContrDance. Can someone please explain to a Newbie
here in this Newsgroup exactly what ContrDance is?
--
Ray Baker
Singer/Songwriter
RayB...@nitco.com
Eastern Orthodox Christian
Kiran Wagle
Nancy Mamlin <maml...@conrad.appstate.edu> writes:
> and having a fair amount of knowledge about the dances in both
> the East and Southeast, I'd say your assessment is correct. [...]
> I can't think of seeing a bona fide dress South of DC or West of I-95...
Speaking only of dresses, which are distinct from skirts (it's amazing
how many women misuse these terms where I dance),
There are only three people I know of who regularly wear dresses at
contra dances. ALL of the venues they dance at regularly are west of I-95.
(Both Glen Echo and Summit Church are slightly west of I-95, and
Brattleboro (VT) and related venues in MA are two hours west of I-95.)
~ Kiran "accuracy on the net, whatta concept" <ent...@io.com>
Barbara Ruth
In article <4vgcn5$a...@news.chattanooga.net>, bill...@chattanooga.net
(Lee Billings) wrote:
> >>>>I don't know what it's a response to, but I've been wearing pants to
> >>>>dances for a while, and nobody's said a thing to me about it.
> >>>
> >>>Well, yes, I see your point. And I've always considered myself
> >>>open-minded (but I guess everybody thinks of themselves as such). If
> >>>it were just skirts, I think I could deal with it. But I have seen
> >>>several bearded men wearing flowery, ruffly dresses. I even saw a man
> >>>and his girlfriend wearing matching dresses (again, with ruffles). I
> >>>just thought maybe somebody here knows THEIR rationale for dressing
> >>>so.
> >> >
> >
> Well, I'm not a cross-dresser myself, but I get a kick out of seeing guys
> in skirts. And if the skirts are ruffledy dresses, what difference does
> it make? Besides, they _swirl_ so nicely. Why should us gals have all the
> fun?
Oh no, not the "men in women's clothing" thread again :)
My general impression is that a lot of men wear skirts or dresses because
it is an opportunity for them to be playful with clothing, that is not
afforded in other areas of our culture. Let's face it, men's clothing is
pretty boring. Dressing up and playing with dress really can be fun if
approached with the right attitude but is pretty much restricted to
women. The contra dance community, being full of whackos of the nicer
sort provides a safe, reasonably accepting environment for men to
experience that.
Of course, I am speaking my observations/speculations as a woman since
none of the regular cross-dressing men, being shy and retiring have spoken
up. Or maybe they just don't have net access.
Bill Richardson
> All this talk about ContrDance. Can someone please explain to a Newbie
> here in this Newsgroup exactly what ContrDance is?
That's easy-
A dance where men where dresses.
Phil Good-Elliott
Barbara Ruth recently posted:
>
> My general impression is that a lot of men wear skirts or dresses because
> it is an opportunity for them to be playful with clothing, that is not
> afforded in other areas of our culture. Let's face it, men's clothing is
> pretty boring. Dressing up and playing with dress really can be fun if
> approached with the right attitude but is pretty much restricted to
> women. The contra dance community, being full of whackos of the nicer
> sort provides a safe, reasonably accepting environment for men to
> experience that.
>
> Of course, I am speaking my observations/speculations as a woman since
> none of the regular cross-dressing men, being shy and retiring have spoken
> up. Or maybe they just don't have net access.
I recently posted in rec.folkdance that I like to wear a skirt at dance camps/
weekends for the fun of it. It's *fun* to twirl in, cool to wear on a hot summer
night, and get's lots of attention (my wife was getting a kick reading this
thread - she saw me wearing a skirt the night we met.). Those are *my* reasons
for wearing one. As mentioned before, the women at Kimmswick have thrown
"fashion parties" for the men to show off their attire - some of the women even
brought extra skirts and dresses for the guys. I remember one evening when there
must have been about 15 men on the dance floor at any one time wearing skirts or
dresses. With those kinds of numbers, it feels pretty "safe" from homophobic
comments and/or violence. I don't know of anyone who's been hassled for wearing
a dress or a skirt at a week/weekend camp or festival. I guess that's the most
important part - dealing with the homophobia of being labelled "gay" or known as
"gay" whether you're gay or not. For example, I only knew one man who wore a
skirt to regular "home" dances on a regular basis - and he was/is a rather unique
kind of person with little fear of rumor or consequences.
Hope this helps those wondering...
Phil Good-Elliott
Brief summary of my post on rec.folkdance:
Have danced in skirts and seen other men in skirts and dresses a these
dances in these locations:
Buffalo Gap English and American week in Capon Bridge, WV
Balance and Swim in Centerpoint, WV
Augusta Dance Week in Elkins, WV
Breaking Up Thanksgiving just north of Chicago
Kimmswick Dance Festival in St. Louis, MO
Sugar Hill in Bloomington, IN
Dawn Dance in Ann Arbor, MI
Additionally, know of men from Kansas, Tennesee, Kentucky, Minnesota,
and Wisconsin who have worn skirts/dresses to camps.
It's always done in fun. Know lots of men of all persuasions who have
worn skirts or dresses at camps/weekends. Saw the most at Kimmswick
weekends where the women encouraged it. Saw a full square (no pun
intended) of men in skirts and dresses at Balance and Swim two years ago
(a real hoot!).
There's a certain camraderie amongst the men who regularly wear skirts/
dresses. The attire is usually worn late on Saturday nights.
Come to think of it, with the exception of Buffal Gap and the AA Dawn
Dance, these are mostly camps/fests where old-timey is a strong
influence. I guess it's a pretty tolerant scene especially when the
music is hot and the dancing goes all night!
Cynthia M. Van Ness
On 21 Aug 1996, Bill Blevins wrote:
> Let's hear from some of the contra/square dance cross-dressers. Any
> one out there?
As a woman, I don't qualify as a contra cross-dresser yet, as I have never
found the perfect tuxedo <smile>, but my partner owns 3 skirts that he
dances in at every opportunity, in such places as Buffalo, Rochester,
Fredonia, and Dance Flurry, all in NY. (Maybe in your set you came upon the
handsome, mustached guy with the white, long-sleeved gauze shirt and the
navy gauze Indian-print skirt!)
His rationale(s)?
1. They're fun. They swirl.
2. Better ventilation than slacks or shorts.
3. You guessed it--gender subversion. Women have been able to wear
slacks in public (without suffering ridiculous abuse) only for about 50
years. As recently as 1969, my older sister was sent home from a public
high school for wearing jeans. Since women now enjoy the option of
wearing slacks, why shouldn't men enjoy the option of wearing skirts?
-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-+-=*=-
Cynthia Van Ness, M.L.S. | Co-moderator, Buffalo Freenet genealogy page:
af...@freenet.buffalo.edu | http://freenet.buffalo.edu/~roots
** If information was power, librarians would rule the world. **
Kiran Wagle
barbar...@yale.edu (Barbara Ruth) writes:
>Of course, I am speaking my observations/speculations as a woman since
>none of the regular cross-dressing men, being shy and retiring have spoken
>up. Or maybe they just don't have net access.
I think the three people I know who regularly wear *dresses* do not,
in fact, read this newsgroup.
But several of the men who dance in skirts do read this newsgroup.
Why aren't *they* speaking up? Perhaps because they aren't
cross-dressers, any more than women who wear pants when they work
on ladders are cross-dressers. If skirts have some characteristics
that make them fun to dance in, and not so much fun to climb ladders in,
then it seems those characteristics would apply to men and women alike.
Labels are a funny thing. In the dance community, I've never heard
anyone refer to men who wear skirts at dances as "cross-dressing"--with
one notable exception, the No Snow Ball in Oakland some years ago.
And in some circles, "cross-dressing" is a technical term with a clearly
defined meaning. So if men who dance in skirts aren't cross-dressers
and/or don't think of themselves as such, maybe they have no
particular incentive to post to a thread about some other group of
people *they* don't quite understand.
~ Kiran "climbs ladders in skirts in the dark at Glen Echo"
Brittles
All this talk about men in dresses evades the real point! Do they have
nice legs? ;-)
Ed Britt
Nate Goldshlag
In article <barbara.ruth-2...@ruthb.med.yale.edu>,
barbar...@yale.edu (Barbara Ruth) wrote:
> Of course, I am speaking my observations/speculations as a woman since
> none of the regular cross-dressing men, being shy and retiring have spoken
> up. Or maybe they just don't have net access.
Or maybe they are too busy shopping for nice dresses! <g>
Nate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nate Goldshlag "People ask me why I don't get fat
na...@reflection.com it's cause I like to dance like that.
http://www.ziplink.net/~nateg I eat as much as I can hold
Cambridge, MA and go out and do the zydeco."
-- Marcia Ball
Barbara Ruth
In article <grooDwM...@netcom.com>, gr...@netcom.com (Kiran Wagle) wrote:
> barbar...@yale.edu (Barbara Ruth) writes:
>
> >Of course, I am speaking my observations/speculations as a woman since
> >none of the regular cross-dressing men, being shy and retiring have spoken
> >up. Or maybe they just don't have net access.
>
> But several of the men who dance in skirts do read this newsgroup.
> Why aren't *they* speaking up? Perhaps because they aren't
> cross-dressers, any more than women who wear pants when they work
> on ladders are cross-dressers. If skirts have some characteristics
> that make them fun to dance in, and not so much fun to climb ladders in,
> then it seems those characteristics would apply to men and women alike.
snip
> ~ Kiran "climbs ladders in skirts in the dark at Glen Echo"
Kiran,
You are completely correct. The use of the term "cross-dressing" in
this context makes little sense for all the reasons you put forth in your
complete post, and I apologize for any inadvertant insinuations my use of
it might have suggested. However, I do think that for some fellas there's
more to wearing skirts and dresses than just the fact that skirts are
structurally more fun to dance in than pants (and by skirt I include also
the "free-hanging part of an outer garment" as defined by Webster's, i.e.,
a skirt can be a separate item *or* part of a dress). When guys where
silver sequined gowns or slinky black cocktail dresses they aren't doing
it just 'cause skirts twirl well. They are getting into the fun of
clothes as *costume*. Which just harks back to my original point.
Women's clothing, at least in the latter half of the 20th century, has a
lot more play potential than men's.
Caroline Fahrney
Kiran said....
: on ladders are cross-dressers. If skirts have some characteristics
: then it seems those characteristics would apply to men and women alike.
I'm not a guy but I once wore pants to a dance by mistake, early in my
contra experience. It was such a downer, compared to the skirted experiences
I'd always taken granted. Never did that again.
Then again, most guys (who haven't tried it) probably don't know what they're
missing. Once you wear a skirt to dance in, I predict you'll stop asking this
question "why wear a skirt?" Instead you'll say, "why did I wait so long?"
Caroline Fahrney
dancing in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and parts farther south for the last
four years and seen oodles of skirts. Didn't see any in LA .
Eric Conrad
What do you think? Are there too many men wearing glasses to contra
dances? Should they get contact lenses? Should nearsighted men even
be allowed to dance?
Kiran Wagle
eco...@math.ohio-state.edu (Eric Conrad) writes:
(<ROFL> Thanks, Eric. LTNS.)
>What do you think? Are there too many men wearing glasses to contra
>dances? Should they get contact lenses? Should nearsighted men even
>be allowed to dance?
I find that I have MUCH better peripheral vision and depth perception
when I wear contact leses--and even just when I take my glasses off
(and I'm pretty darn nearsighted.)
So yes, I think they should get contact lenses, since depth perception
and peripheral vision are important parts of dancing safely,
especially when doing the Wizards' Walk.
And it's easier to pick up girls (or women) in contact lenses. :-)
Nothing like a straight answer to a silly question huh.
~ Kiran <ent...@io.com>
Eric Praetzel
In article <grooDwM...@netcom.com> gr...@netcom.com (Kiran Wagle) writes:
>But several of the men who dance in skirts do read this newsgroup.
>Why aren't *they* speaking up? Perhaps because they aren't
>cross-dressers, any more than women who wear pants when they work
stats:
- lots of guys wear tights
- anyone wearing tights was male
- anyone wearing floor length skirts was female
- if someone was wearing something like a skirt but it was not floor
length then they were male or female
- anyone wearing a very short jacket (pourpoint, coteharde) was always
male; although several had the audacity to not wear a codpiece
Myself I have a very nice outfit that many people look at and say
"that's you wearing the skirt!!" when in fact it is not a skirt. It
is a set of basses designed from a study of a surviving example from
1510. It was a very common outfit thru northern Italy, Switzerland
and even England (look at Henry the 8's armour).
In fact all of us in the SCA dance in our medieval (or pre-medieval)
outfits just like the vintage people dance in outfits from their era
and the Playford people from theirs. I tend to bring outfits to contra
dances as a way to test them. Yes I've gotten funny looks; but the crowd
tends to be a lot more accepting than any other group in society.
As far as I know none of the people in skirts are actually cross-dressing;
they are just dressing up.
Personally, I prefer a renaissance style ball or even a Playford one; but
beyond that mens clothing gets pretty boring.
- Eric
Paul J. Stamler
Kiran Wagle (gr...@netcom.com) wrote:
: And it's easier to pick up girls (or women) in contact lenses. :-)
But any girls or women you'd pick up in a contact lens would be awfully tiny.
Peace.
Paul
Andy Bettis
> And it's easier to pick up girls (or women) in contact lenses. :-)
Only if you have very large contact lenses, or very tiny women.
Rev. Andy
Dexter Horton
Eric Conrad (eco...@math.ohio-state.edu) wrote:
: What do you think? Are there too many men wearing glasses to contra
: dances? Should they get contact lenses? Should nearsighted men even
: be allowed to dance?
A long time ago, a friend of mine was a cross-dancer, not that
there's anything wrong with that, mind you. He would show up at contra
dances wearing wire supported glasses, long hair and a few days worth of
beard.
Well, my friend would always cross-dance. He always wound up in
the wrong line. I don't know if this was intentional or on purpose!!
Many of the dancers wondered if he was gay, not that there's
anything wrong with that, mind you. Well, he would always answer, yes, I
am very happy as a cross-dancer.
JLR Snyder
This is getting pretty weird. Actually, I thought the original post
about the appropriateness of men wearing glasses at contra dances had a
(albeit sarcastically presented) point: If we continue rating various
modes of dress by some standard of appropriateness or group
approval/disapproval, we may find ourselves, as did MWSD, moving toward
a dress code - whether explicit or implicit. What do you think would be
the response if we started a discussion of the wearing of pants at
contradances by women?
Lois Hornbostel
I understand cowboys are getting into the swing of things now. They're
wearing pantihose under their Levis to prevent saddle sores.
Bill Richardson
> Then again, most guys (who haven't tried it) probably don't know what
> they're missing. Once you wear a skirt to dance in, I predict you'll
> stop asking this question "why wear a skirt?" Instead you'll say,
> "why did I wait so long?"
>
> Caroline Fahrney
Beggin' your pardon 'mam, but no one expressed an interest in wearing
skirts or dresses. We just wanted to know if it was true what we were
hearing about what some men were wearing to contra dances.
Bill Richardson
Wayne Seymour
I'm 6'5|" and 260 pounds. It's *sooooo* hard to find something really
fetching in large sizes!
Harold Maurer
On 6 Sep 1996 20:48:48 GMT, Wayne Seymour <more...@vnet.net> wrote:
>I'm 6'5|" and 260 pounds. It's *sooooo* hard to find something really
>fetching in large sizes!
I use a 53 extra short and cut it back with darts at the waist myself!
No underwire or boning, and the fabric is divine!
Wayne, do you have a decent recording of young man who wouldn't hoe
corn?