Why Do Some Take Such Offense...

[Chas]

A woman wears a skirt a man wears a kilt just like a woman wears a blouse and a man wears a shirt.

No. The British forces have worn a Battledress Blouse for years - go and tell them, they are women - if you dare!

A blouse and a shirt are two very different articles of clothing. What we today call a man's shirt is more correctly called a blouse, because it opens up from neck to hem. A shirt, correctly, only opens up as far as halfway between navel and groin (think nightshirt). The navel is called the belly button because that is where the lowest button on a shirt was.

If we are going to have these type of discussions, we really need to get the terminology right.

Regards

Chas

[kc8ufv]

No. The British forces have worn a Battledress Blouse for years - go and tell them, they are women - if you dare!

A blouse and a shirt are two very different articles of clothing. What we today call a man's shirt is more correctly called a blouse, because it opens up from neck to hem. A shirt, correctly, only opens up as far as halfway between navel and groin (think nightshirt). The navel is called the belly button because that is where the lowest button on a shirt was.

If we are going to have these type of discussions, we really need to get the terminology right.

Regards

Chas

It's not just the Brittish forces. The disaster response team I am on also uses the BDU as a uniform. One wears a shirt under the blouse, and (optionally, depending on conditions) a jacket outside the blouse.

[Geoff Withnell]

It's not just the Brittish forces. The disaster response team I am on also uses the BDU as a uniform. One wears a shirt under the blouse, and (optionally, depending on conditions) a jacket outside the blouse.

The "jacket" of Marine Service A uniforms (at least back in the dark ages when I was active) is technically called a blouse. And according to my tailor, the portion of a man's suit jacket from the waist to the hem is called the skirt!

[kc8ufv]

The "jacket" of Marine Service A uniforms (at least back in the dark ages when I was active) is technically called a blouse. And according to my tailor, the portion of a man's suit jacket from the waist to the hem is called the skirt!

By "jacket" I was referencing something like a M65 Field Jacket. While visually similar to the BDU Blouse, the jacket allows for a thermal lining and possibly a hood.