Why do girls dress up as boys –
wear
unwashed jeans
moccasins
rude Tees
fleece
checks
macs
turned-up trousers
warehouse blazers
sneakers
boxers
rucksacks
haversacks
cargoes
loafers
bootlaces
her tuxedos?
No wonder they turn out
studded
belted
zipped
clipped
cropped
striped
leathered
booted
rugged
faded
jaded
bleeded
blackened
waistless
shapeless
faceless
sexless
Do they know their creators –
those evil brandsmiths
purveyors of design
big money and crime –
Peasant glad rags from
Asian backyards common
made-to-conform
rich-born, pretend-torn
No more that frill, that thrill of
dresses that flatter
head-turning couture in
colours that matter
Whither the turn of ankle
the feminine pout
the sweet sassy sway
of skirts that swish about?
Pushing hard to look like them
on every street in the kingdom
– whether at work or at play –
are we not a tie and a beard away?
©Millicent Danker
10 June 2013
fashionb02 (Photo credit: minijack3)
Sacred Art & Other Poems 
Your poem makes me think so much. At first I want to agree because the feminine is being taken away, but I’m not sure that has the same controlling end that you are trying to get it to. Or does it and I’m just not realizing it…certainly will make me think twice next time I put on my jeans!
Thank you for your comment. It is a difficult conversation to have. In the end, people will argue that it is about practicality. But there are still some women who take the effort to dress up and to preserve the female dignity. It is tough ground to cover. I am not sure how I feel about it as I tend to dress in street clothes myself, often to conform!