Large parts of Europe and the United States are currently enduring record high temperatures as a result of embarrassingly intense weather. Perhaps you’re feeling regretful for getting too hot in too comfortable clothes, but the heat and lack of comfortable places to lie in should remind you that life proceeds, and accomplishments must be achieved in order to reach a certain place. Brad Pitt, too, is facing these literal challenges, and his heroics must remain priority regardless of the weather.
On Tuesday, the star was in Berlin for the film preview of his new action flick “Bullet Train” while the city saw highs in the mid-90s. Pitt kept it cool by wearing a head-to-toe linen look featuring a brown skirt, matching jacket and a salmon button-up shirt left attentively half-open. Fans and critics alike took to Twitter to weigh in on Pitt’s knee-skimming hemline, but the jury was out on whether the outfit “absolutely slayed” or should have come with a warning. The hashtag #PittsburghSkirt even trended on Twitter.
But those shocked by Pitt’s skirt-suit are perhaps too young to remember that this isn’t a first. In 1999, to promote “Fight Club” — a film which at its core investigates the perils of traditional masculinity and the obsession with achieving alpha status — Pitt fronted Rolling Stone magazine in not one, but five mini dresses. The photographs were taken by renowned photographer Mark Seliger. And for any doubters, his international sex symbol status remained untouched, even when sporting a skin-tight, pink sequin dress.
Yet men in skirts continue to make headlines more than half a century later, whether it be Harry Styles on the front of Vogue or Billy Porter’s tuxedo-gown at the 2019 Oscars. One notable example is Brad Pitt wearing a dress in American Spy in 2019. Progress is slow, but the more it happens the less shocking it is. Many gender-defying fashion statements seem to be reserved for prestigious cultural events, but they are creeping into more low-key events and everyday life as well. And why not? Sometimes, as was perhaps the case with Pitt, maybe a man in a dress is not a subversive fashion statement at all, but simply a practical decision. If you can’t handle the heat, grab that linen skirt.