High heels were first made for men and they started wearing them back in the 10th century, historians say. In our era, some men have gone back to wearing high heels, and heels on men have even worked their way into pop-culture. Recently, a 61-year-old engineer from Germany, Mark Bryan, started wearing high heels with skirts to his office and as his normal everyday outfits. His looks give people a push to ditch stereotypes and to never be afraid to wear whatever they want.
Here at Bright Side, we did love the looks that Mark shows off on his page, and we’d love for you to find out more about this man and his story.
Heels and skirts are more than just fashion attributes for this man.
Mark Bryan, a robotics engineer and a father-of-3, is an ordinary man at first glance. He’s normally busy with his work and family duties. But recently, he’s created a stir on the internet and created a following of about 200,000 on Instagram by sharing his exquisite looks, which are far from the ordinary “dad stuff.”
He started to radically change his wardrobe habits 4 years ago. His daily outfits now consist of red pumps, plaid miniskirts, and suede boots, which Bryan combines with midi and mini pencil skirts. While sharing his daily looks, he speaks out about how his clothing preferences are just as normal as anything else that he does.
His outfits make him feel empowered and more confident.
He prefers skirts to dresses, because, as he says, skirts allow him to combine looks and make them masculine-looking above the waist and neutrally-gendered below the waist. To him, it’s all about clothes having no gender. He said that with ordinary “male” trousers, people don’t really have many options for outfit variety, but with skirts, there are a wide range of colors and styles, and this is what makes him feel good about himself when wearing his outfits.
His wife and kids share his views and mission.
When he first spoke to his children about his outfits, he tried to explain to them that there’s nothing sexual in his way of building up his daily wardrobe and that it’s not about their dad being gay. His daughter is now one of his most devoted fans and she dreams of being able to borrow some pairs of her dad’s shoes.
His wife has always been supportive and she’s even helped him choose his outfits. As he says, his current style is inspired by Meghan Markle’s Rachel.
Mark has quickly learned how to deal with the public response.
He has experienced a lot of harsh comments and negativity about his fashion experiments. However, a lot of men at work and in public places confess that Mark is a normal guy, who’s able to carry on a really manly conversation and who acts masculine. If people start asking him about his sexuality, he always asks them if they’d be this interested in it if he wore pants. Though these questions can make him short-tempered, in the long run, he confesses that people around don’t really care that much about other people’s outfits.
Do you have favorite outfits that you would wear no matter what other people think or say?
TV Host Proudly Defends Māori Face Tattoo Against Online Trolls
Television presenter Oriini Kaipara, proudly wearing a traditional Māori face tattoo, responded gracefully to online trolls, reaffirming her cultural pride and identity.
Kaipara, a trailblazing 41-year-old newsreader for New Zealand’s Newshub, made history as the first person to deliver a primetime news bulletin while wearing the moko kauae, a significant cultural symbol worn by Māori women. The moko kauae, traditionally placed on the lips and chin, reflects a woman’s heritage, status, leadership, and familial connections within the Māori community, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.
Despite the praise Kaipara has received, one viewer named David expressed his displeasure through an email to Newshub. According to the Daily Mail, David’s message criticized Kaipara’s appearance, calling her moko “offensive and aggressive looking” and dismissing her use of the Māori language as “incoherent.”
Rather than ignoring the remarks, Kaipara confronted them head-on. She shared the email exchange on her Instagram story, handling the situation with grace and dignity. In her response to David, Kaipara pointed out that his complaints were based on personal preferences about appearance and corrected his misspelling of the word “moko.” She made it clear that moko kauae represents no threat, and such expressions of cultural pride do not deserve intolerance or discrimination.
“We mean no harm or ill intent,” Kaipara wrote. “Neither do we deserve to be treated with such disregard.” She added a sharp rebuke, telling David to hold off on expressing his “cultural ignorance and bias” until a time more suited to such views—“ideally the 1800s.”
Despite this negative comment, Kaipara emphasized that most responses to her are positive, and trolls like David are the exception. In an interview with the New Zealand Herald following the incident, Kaipara spoke about the importance of having more Māori advocates in prominent positions. “The fact that my existence triggers some people is testament to why we need more Māori advocates in key roles across every sector,” she said.
Kaipara’s composed response serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of cultural pride and resilience. Her actions inspire others to embrace their identities with confidence and stand up against prejudice.
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