WOULD YOU HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO WEAR A BLAZER, A TIE, A PENCIL SKIRT, AND STILETTOS TO WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY?
Mark Bryan is a 61-year-old robotics engineer from Texas who has lived in Germany for over a decade. He is married, has three children, and describes himself as a straight, cisgender man. He also wears skirts and high heels to work, almost every single day.
His journey with heels started decades ago in college. His girlfriend at the time was the same height as him, and she loved to dance in high heels. She suggested he try on a pair of hers so they could be on the same level. He liked the way it felt. He liked being taller. He describes it as a form of empowerment.
For years, he wore heels on and off. Then, about five years ago, he decided he was done caring what other people thought. He started wearing heels to the office with his suits. Then his wife suggested something else: why not try a skirt? He had nice legs, she told him. He started with a skirt in 2018, and he never looked back.
His style is deliberate. He keeps his top half traditionally masculine: a button-down shirt, a blazer, a tie. His bottom half is a pencil skirt and a pair of heels. He prefers skirts to dresses because they allow him to mix the masculine and the non-gendered. To him, clothes have no gender. He points out that men wore heels before women did, and that women were once forbidden from wearing pants. Fashion changes. His wardrobe is simply ahead of the curve.
His family is fully supportive. His wife helps him choose outfits and says she thinks he would look amazing in anything. His daughter is one of his biggest fans and has asked to borrow his shoes. He has spoken to his children about why he dresses this way, making it clear that clothing has nothing to do with sexuality or gender.
He knows people stare. He lives in a small town, and he is six feet tall in flats, let alone in stilettos. But he has learned to handle it with humor. If someone looks too long, he will joke, take a picture if you want. Most people, he says, do not care. They go about their day. It is only the small percentage who feel threatened by a man in a skirt who say anything rude.
He is not trying to make a political statement. He is not trying to be a provocateur. He is just an engineer who got bored of wearing the same suit and tie for twenty years, and who found that a skirt and a pair of heels made him feel more confident, more comfortable, and more himself.
What do you think? Should clothes have a gender? Tell us in the comments below, and please keep the conversation respectful.