[General] Can we use "dress" as a verb for males? He was dressed in a yellow shirt.

[Aamir Tariq]

I have been told by some of the respected members on this forum not to use the word "dress" for males, since females wear dresses.

So now I have a slightly different situation where I have no other choice but to use dress as a verb (not as a noun) to mean clad someone with some clothes.

Can we say
1. Dress your younger song with yellow shirt.
or should we use "clad"
2. Clad your younger son with yellow shirt.

And if it is okay to use both the aforementioned examples, should we use the preposition "with" or "in"?

3. Dress your younger son in yellow shirt.
4. Clad your younger son in yellow shirt.

And would it be correct to say
He was dressed in a yellow shirt.
(Especially when he is wearing a shirt that is worn by males, not by transgenders).

Here are some other examples from Google books.

1. He was dressed in a yellow shirt with a bright blue bandana, gathered at the throat with a gold wedding ring.

2. He was dressed in a yellow shirt, a blue off-the-rack sports coat, and tan slacks.

3. A few seconds later, Bob opened the door and he was dressed in a yellow shirt and blue jeans.

4. He was dressed in a yellow shirt, formal and as handsome as ever.

"He is always well dressed, usually in smart suits." (here it is being used as an adjective and it has been taken from Oxford Dictionary)

Regards
Aamir the Global Citizen

 

[jutfrank]

Re: Can we use "dress" as a verb for males? He was dressed in a yellow shirt.

Use dress in/dressed in (not with). The set of sentences from Google books show very clearly how to use dress correctly as a verb.

The respected members meant to say that the countable noun a dress refers to an item of women's clothing. It really doesn't matter about the gender identity of the person wearing the dress.

As you see from the examples, it is perfectly appropriate to use dress in/dressed in to talk about men's clothes.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Can we use "dress" as a verb for males? He was dressed in a yellow shirt.

Only the noun dress refers (normally) to an article of women's clothing. The adjective and verb are gender neutral.

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Re: Can we use "dress" as a verb for males? He was dressed in a yellow shirt.

Only the noun dress refers (normally) to an article of women's clothing. The adjective and verb are gender neutral.

Yes that's what really got me confused when I was told to use dress to refer to an article of clothing for women. So coming back to my question. I would want a little confirmation that dress is more common than glad.

Dress your son in a yellow shirt/Dress up your son in a yellow shirt. (Is it more natural?)

(As compared to)
Clad your son in a yellow shirt.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Can we use "dress" as a verb for males? He was dressed in a yellow shirt.

Clad is used only in passive constructions, and is formal when referring to dress: his son, clad in a yellow shirt, walked in the procession.