who do women dress for?

Outlaw Pete · 19-11-2018 9:30pm

SusieBlue wrote: »

When I'm getting dolled up for a night out I'll wear what makes me feel most confident - sometimes, that could be a face full of make up, a tiny little dress and high heels, and sometimes it might be a ponytail, jeans, boots and a warm comfy jumper.

Yes, but why would you feel confident in a 'tiny little dress and heels?

What random men or women might think of my outfit would never enter into my head.

Sure.

Cleopatra_ · 19-11-2018 9:37pm

Most days I just throw on some jeans, a jumper and converse, minimal make up, I always assume I'm invisible/unattractive to others unless I'm dressed up on a night out. So, on a night out I do dress in a way that I think flatters me and will attract attention from men/women.

SusieBlue · 19-11-2018 9:43pm

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

Yes, but why would you feel confident in a 'tiny little dress and heels?

Well just for example, the last night I went out I wore jeans because I hurt my leg at the gym & had a massive bruise on my thigh.
I wasn’t confident wearing a tiny dress that night because I was conscious of the bruise.
I felt more comfortable with my legs covered.

The bruise is pretty much gone now so I’ll probably wear a tiny little dress this weekend.

Sure.

Ok hun, I was just giving my own take on it, no need to get triggered.
I never asked for your amateur armchair psychologist evaluation on why I dress the way I do.

Mrsmum · 19-11-2018 9:49pm

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

Yes, but why would you feel confident in a 'tiny little dress and heels?

Why would you not. It's a form of power dressing. A woman in heels and a little black dress more often than not feels like she could rule the world.

retro:electro · 19-11-2018 9:52pm

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

Yes, but why would you feel confident in a 'tiny little dress and heels?

Cos maybe she thinks she looks daycent in it?

HappyAsLarE · 19-11-2018 9:56pm

Women dress up to attract a mate, full stop. This includes outdoing other females in order to heighten their attractiveness.

This is instinctive and caused by millions of years of evolution. Don’t kid yourselves ladies.

Bowlardo · 19-11-2018 10:01pm

Everything I know about the wimmin I learned from 80 pop songs ,so to answer your question I believe that women get dressed for success ,so famously put by roxette a savage under rated band who’s music stands the rest of time quite well.

Silentcorner · 19-11-2018 10:07pm

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

Women dress up to attract a mate, full stop. This includes outdoing other females in order to heighten their attractiveness.

This is instinctive and caused by millions of years of evolution. Don’t kid yourselves ladies.

Actually....the fashion industry dictates what we all wear to varying degrees.

The industry know what buttons to push and how to push those buttons, which are different for each gender.

If you know anything about Retail, you will know the lengths they go to to make you "feel good" when you are instore trying on clothes.

A woman/man in an underdeveloped country/economy with a very limited wardrobe feels just as confident as a woman/man in a developed country/economy with a massive wardrobe.

I was a kid during the 80s...half your wardrobe was home made or handed down and everyone managed to cope...now, it is not unusual to find people with 20-25 plus pairs of shoes!!!...just to help them along with that confidence thing!!!

suicide_circus · 19-11-2018 10:10pm

lol at people trying to wrestle with obvious biological truths, yee look like youre trying to swim through custard.

Always Tired · 19-11-2018 10:33pm

I dress according to mood.

This is morning mist.

One eyed Jack · 19-11-2018 10:38pm

Silentcorner wrote: »

Actually....the fashion industry dictates what we all wear to varying degrees.

The industry know what buttons to push and how to push those buttons, which are different for each gender.

If you know anything about Retail, you will know the lengths they go to to make you "feel good" when you are instore trying on clothes.

A woman/man in an underdeveloped country/economy with a very limited wardrobe feels just as confident as a woman/man in a developed country/economy with a massive wardrobe.

I was a kid during the 80s...half your wardrobe was home made or handed down and everyone managed to cope...now, it is not unusual to find people with 20-25 plus pairs of shoes!!!...just to help them along with that confidence thing!!!

I’d somewhat agree with you in that the fashion industry at least tries to dictate what we should wear and various trends and so on like the plus size models craic and so on that’s gaining popularity right now, but ultimately it’s down to individuals themselves.

I don’t know how familiar you actually are with fashion and trends in underdeveloped countries, but they have styles of their own that aren’t really the same as what we consider fashionable or trendy in the Western developed countries. Anyone though with a limited wardrobe when they’d want a bigger wardrobe is gonna feel ****e about it :pac:

I’m ok with a limited wardrobe, in spite of my interest in women’s fashion and haute couture. I prefer simple colours and simple, traditional styles - black pants, white shirt- grand, a look the young lad refers to as “basic”... :rolleyes: Ok hollister hoodie and Nike trackies wearing kid, I’m “basic” then :pac:

Mrsmum · 19-11-2018 10:43pm

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

Women dress up to attract a mate, full stop. This includes outdoing other females in order to heighten their attractiveness.

This is instinctive and caused by millions of years of evolution. Don’t kid yourselves ladies.

I think you have a point to a certain extent but that thankfully it's a little more nuanced than that. For example if women were dressing solely and cleverly to attract a mate, well then there would probably be one uniform - show as much flesh as possible because of course men, if they were also without any nuance, would be biologically attracted to boobs and bums on display due to the same millions of years of evolution. But most women while attempting to look attractive will also remain true to the person they are themselves so may chose jeans and pretty top or floaty dress etc rather than go out half naked. So they (we) may be trying to be attractive to the opposite sex but while also suiting ourselves and on our own terms.

Gimme A Pound · 19-11-2018 10:53pm

VanGogh18 wrote: »

Irish women don't put any effort into their appearance

A black black lie.

HappyAsLarE · 19-11-2018 10:59pm

Mrsmum wrote: »

I think you have a point to a certain extent but that thankfully it's a little more nuanced than that. For example if women were dressing solely and cleverly to attract a mate, well then there would probably be one uniform - show as much flesh as possible because of course men, if they were also without any nuance, would be biologically attracted to boobs and bums on display due to the same millions of years of evolution. But most women while attempting to look attractive will also remain true to the person they are themselves so may chose jeans and pretty top or floaty dress etc rather than go out half naked. So they (we) may be trying to be attractive to the opposite sex but while also suiting ourselves and on our own terms.

I did say they dress UP to attract a mate. Of course there are other factors at play such as comfort which causes dressing down.

Mrsmum · 19-11-2018 11:02pm

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

I did say they dress UP to attract a mate. Of course there are other factors at play such as comfort which causes dressing down.

I was also speaking about dressing UP. (sorry if that was not obvious in my post.)Believe me when we're everyday dressing you guys are way down the priority line.

Wibbs · 19-11-2018 11:08pm

Mrsmum wrote: »

Why would you not. It's a form of power dressing. A woman in heels and a little black dress more often than not feels like she could rule the world.

Well it's a particular kind of world, one where you don't have to run. In the cold. Unless you're Russian or Ukrainian, then word to wise lads, she will hunt you down in heels and a LBD, at speed, in minus 20

But yeah, it's a social world as it were. Like you say power dressing. Men do it too, but their uniform tends to be the suit(well, beyond adolescence anyway). Men tend to play it safe beyond a certain age. Always tended to, even in cultures where the men were more the the peacocks. Leonardo DaVinci apparently caused attacks of the vapours in some because he continued to dress "young" and fashionable into his later years.

Men and women dress a certain way for many reasons. The dating/mating thing is but one. Group affiliation is a big one. Not just the [insert social sub group here] obvious ones. Being "fashionable" is a group affiliation thing. Being fashionable for one's social class another. Age affiliation yet another. The faking, or tweaking of signs of health, age and fitness another. Not just sexual either. Suits that give men who've been at the pies the appearance of wider shoulders and narrower waists, Spanx and the like on women to give them the hourglass look, and heels that give them the long legged perky look(legs and arms grow fast in the mid to late stages of puberty, the most fertile time, the rest of the body catches up later on).

Culture dictates it hugely. Humans have been described as the "Naked Ape", but we're anything but. Groups like nudists are a massive outlier in human societies across history. Even cultures that to us look like they're in the nip, have very particular rules that mark the difference between clothed and naked. There are tribal peoples where the women are "naked" to us save for a thin rope belt around their waist and some body paint. All their bits and bobs are out there. If they walked around in that culture minus the belt and paint, they'd cause a scandal.

nullzero · 19-11-2018 11:12pm

Women dress to impress or to be more accurate make themselves feel superior to other women.

Men don't care what women wear, women care what men wear. How many men are controlling about their wife or girlfriends dress sense?
Women love to "improve" how their men look (not all of them obviously) but overall women who claim to be less driven by appearance are in reality governed by appearance.

Women feel pressured to look a certain way?
By who?
Other women, men don't care.

bodice ripper · 19-11-2018 11:17pm

I dress the way I do because it is practical for work, and work is who I am. And I want everyone to know what bands I listen to.

I absolutely do not wear heels, because looking a certain way will never, ever be reason enough to make it tougher to walk. **** that. Plus, I don't think the addition of a couple of centimetres to my heel is likely to improve my appearance much.

YFlyer · 19-11-2018 11:23pm

OP would you know what a frock is?

Roger Hassenforder · 19-11-2018 11:27pm

YFlyer wrote: »

OP would you know what a frock is?

Ting you thwo at frabitts

Cockford Ollie · 19-11-2018 11:33pm

Draven Massive Tinfoil wrote: »

A black black lie.

Racist

Wibbs · 19-11-2018 11:42pm

nullzero wrote: »

Women dress to impress or to be more accurate make themselves feel superior to other women.

Or just as, if not more likely to fit in to the group.

Men don't care what women wear, women care what men wear. How many men are controlling about their wife or girlfriends dress sense?
Women love to "improve" how their men look (not all of them obviously)

There's an element of that going on. For me personally, that would be more about the "domestication" of men/humanity. I could get into it, but I'd bore ye further than I usually do.

but overall women who claim to be less driven by appearance are in reality governed by appearance.

More "governed" by sociability within the group and the acceptance of same. Oh and low level competition is part of that.

Women feel pressured to look a certain way?
By who?
Other women, men don't care.

Again, there might be something to that. Women's fashion is led by other women, with some Gay lads thrown in. Though again a group affiliation and internal pressure to follow that is in play.

As for men don't care? Again personally, I would to some extent. I would have a very general "type" which would include fashion and any sudden deviation from that would have me "caring" to some degree.

YFlyer · 19-11-2018 11:51pm

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

Ting you thwo at frabitts

Not only rabbits would it frighten.

Gimme A Pound · 20-11-2018 12:12am

nullzero wrote: »

Women dress to impress or to be more accurate make themselves feel superior to other women.

I know some do but I certainly don't and I doubt I'm alone.

I know the one mentioned in the opening article seems like a right weapon and most men don't give a **** what a women wears - if it makes her look good, it makes her look good.

But going by this thread, there are men repeatedly saying women dress for this reason and that reason - in particular "women dress for other women". It's a bit annoying to be seeing what "we" do told to us by folk who aren't us!

Humphrey BoaGart · 20-11-2018 12:46am

VanGogh18 wrote: »

Irish women don't put any effort into their appearance

Something tells me you won't be ear much longer :pac:

VanGogh18 · 20-11-2018 12:51am

Mrsmum wrote: »

I'm wondering by that do you mean they don't dress in skirts and heels or some such way to show off curves etc ?? I'll tell you the truth from my pov that kind of dressing attracts attention which is great if you're looking to meet someone but outside that can be a total nuisance. I mean you not only get attention from fanciable men but from ould fellas, creepy fellas, sleezy fellas etc. I think that's what the girl meant when she said we mostly don't dress with men in mind.

no i just mean, since polish women started moving to ireland, the irish women have had to up their game,
bigtime

ginandtonicsky · 20-11-2018 12:56am

Yeah don't get the "women dress for other women" thing either. Women are more likely to notice or to compliment, that's for sure, but I'd say I dress more to enhance my own confidence and command respect in the workplace than anything else.

Rocking up to a client meeting in converse and jeans elicits a very different response to showing up in a blazer, dress and a pair of killer heels. The latter is the one I'm going for. I'll also take inspiration from the women around me if I'm looking for ideas - what's the most stylish woman in the room wearing, for example. Would that suit me? Where did she get that? It's great fodder for small talk amongst female peers too.

Ultimately, if I'm not comfortable I won't even consider wearing it. If I was "dressing for men" I'd be walking around in half nothing, which sounds to me like the most uncomfortable and unsettling way of living your life, so...no. My comfort zone is heels, skirts, dresses, skinny jeans, blazers and cute tops, but no boobs or asses on display under any circumstances.

Gimme A Pound · 20-11-2018 1:23am

When I dress to attract male attention though, I don't wear revealing stuff at all, or lots of make-up or fake tan or really high heels.

20-11-2018 1:40am

My girlfriend has the worst fashion sense of perhaps anyone in the world, to the point where I often give my opinion and let her know she looks weird.

Beautiful dress and old white runners? That's my girlfriend. Old jeans and a dressy jacket? That's my girlfriend. It's so weird that she can't seem to see each thing as part of a whole.

Anyways, women generally dress for each other. The only reason women can't wear the same thing twice is because other women notice. Nails are the perfect example of this.. Not one man I know cares about or likes fancy nails.

VanGogh18 · 20-11-2018 2:21am

Irish women just can't compete with eastern European women

One eyed Jack · 20-11-2018 2:36am

VanGogh18 wrote: »

Irish women just can't compete with eastern European women

That’s assuming anyone but yourself has any interest in Eastern European women. I certainly don’t, the language barrier for one thing is a pain in the hole.

VanGogh18 · 20-11-2018 3:05am

One eyed Jack wrote: »

That’s assuming anyone but yourself has any interest in Eastern European women. I certainly don’t, the language barrier for one thing is a pain in the hole.

that wasn't my point
what i am saying is an irish woman who would be a 10/10 in Ireland, would only be a 6/10 in czech republic, for example

One eyed Jack · 20-11-2018 3:21am

VanGogh18 wrote: »

that wasn't my point
what i am saying is an irish woman who would be a 10/10 in Ireland, would only be a 6/10 in czech republic, for example

Well that’s just a silly assumption based upon your own beliefs. The Czech Republic has a population that’s fairly evenly split between men and women, with about 5 million women -

Demographics of Czech Republic 2017

As of 1 January 2018, the population of Czech Republic was estimated to be 10,564,766 people. This is an increase of 0.07 % (7,285 people) compared to population of 10,557,481 the year before. In 2017 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 1,267. Due to external migration, the population increased by 6,018. The sex ratio of the total population was 0.960 (960 males per 1 000 females) which is lower than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1 016 males to 1 000 females as of 2017.

Below are the key figures for Czech Republic population in 2017:

108,003 live births
106,736 deaths
Natural increase: 1,267 people
Net migration: 6,018 people
5,174,579 males as of 31 December 2017
5,390,187 females as of 31 December 2017

You’re bound to spot outliers from that population, but for the 5 million or so men that live there already, they don’t appear to be as pushed about all these fine Czech women as you are, let alone the idea that there’s any greater proportion of attractive looking women there than there is among Irish women.

I will say one thing though about the young Czech women I have met - their English was better than my own :pac: I don’t assume on that basis that every Czech woman, her English is better than my own. For far more of them - it isn’t. Those girls I met were outliers. The women you’re trying to make comparisons between, are outliers.

applehunter · 20-11-2018 3:55am

VanGogh18 wrote: »

that wasn't my point
what i am saying is an irish woman who would be a 10/10 in Ireland, would only be a 6/10 in czech republic, for example

Bollix.

heretothere · 20-11-2018 4:09am

I dress because most people frown on public nudity

VanGogh18 · 20-11-2018 4:24am

One eyed Jack wrote: »

Well that’s just a silly assumption based upon your own beliefs. The Czech Republic has a population that’s fairly evenly split between men and women, with about 5 million women -

Demographics of Czech Republic 2017

As of 1 January 2018, the population of Czech Republic was estimated to be 10,564,766 people. This is an increase of 0.07 % (7,285 people) compared to population of 10,557,481 the year before. In 2017 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 1,267. Due to external migration, the population increased by 6,018. The sex ratio of the total population was 0.960 (960 males per 1 000 females) which is lower than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1 016 males to 1 000 females as of 2017.

Below are the key figures for Czech Republic population in 2017:

108,003 live births
106,736 deaths
Natural increase: 1,267 people
Net migration: 6,018 people
5,174,579 males as of 31 December 2017
5,390,187 females as of 31 December 2017

You’re bound to spot outliers from that population, but for the 5 million or so men that live there already, they don’t appear to be as pushed about all these fine Czech women as you are, let alone the idea that there’s any greater proportion of attractive looking women there than there is among Irish women.

I will say one thing though about the young Czech women I have met - their English was better than my own :pac: I don’t assume on that basis that every Czech woman, her English is better than my own. For far more of them - it isn’t. Those girls I met were outliers. The women you’re trying to make comparisons between, are outliers.

so you are saying irish women look rougher, but have better personalities,
i agree with that

greencap · 20-11-2018 7:11am

This is just another random bint in the news using a completely wrong pretense like 'men believe that we dress for them' so she has some grounds to do her raised fist thing and put on a rebellious tone when she says sht like 'actually I dress for myself so nyeeeh'.

everyone wants a soap box to stand on these days.
they all want to be nelson mandela for 5 minutes.

to stand.

in front of so many fellow sufferers.

and to say.

once and for all.

that we will not tolerate the extortionate price of pre packaged sandwiches any longer.

thank you. (raises fist)

(i never believed you dressed for me, why you dress like you do just isn't that important to me, you self important self aggrandizing cnt)

MarkY91 · 20-11-2018 10:48am

Men don't give a ****e about women's nails, expensive haircuts that look exactly the same as before or some expensive handbag.

Women do all of that to show off to other women. It's pathetic.

Zorya · 20-11-2018 10:49am

Draven Massive Tinfoil wrote: »

When I dress to attract male attention though, I don't wear revealing stuff at all, or lots of make-up or fake tan or really high heels.

I just found out some people have a fear of makeup - ie a fear of seeing others in makeup, because of the weirdness of it, one minute they look like x, next minute they look like y, and some people can find it disconcerting.
I can see the logic in that actually. A little bit of makeup is one thing but lots can be a bit startling on someone. The deeply black, super-shaped, strange eyebrows thing that is going on now makes me feel a bit weirded out if I am talking to a girl behind a counter and she has them. I cannot stop looking at them. Which is rude, and makes me embarrassed.

Also - and perhaps strangely - revealing clothes are easier for people who don't have big boobs, it looks elegant, and a lot less alarming :eek: than if the boobs are on the more large side. The ladies have inherited larger boobs in my family - thanks Granny! - and if I wear something even approaching low cut I look like I am either on the game or applying to serve beer at the Octoberfest. My dearest sister in law on the other hand can wear something where the neckline drifts down to her navel and look fabulous with the barest hint of bosom. She says to me, wear it! that she would show it off, but having people address your breasts all evening is absolutely horrible.

Mrsmum · 20-11-2018 11:01am

VanGogh18 wrote: »

so you are saying irish women look rougher, but have better personalities,
i agree with that

The exotic is always beguiling (Irish women think foreign men look hot too you know so I hope you are upping your game or you might be left on the shelf

) but remember looks fade & waistlines thicken. Personality is for ever.

Graces7 · 20-11-2018 11:06am

I dress to keep warm... period. and for comfort..

PlaneSpeeking · 20-11-2018 11:09am

My mother, may God rest her soul, once went from brunette to blonde and back in a year and my dad never once noticed!

I'd say people dress for themselves, imagine if you're like me and a jeans an footy shirt kinda girl and you're courting someone who likes his women in short skirts (for example) - I'd feel like a drag queen myself and not in a good way!

Wear whatever makes you comfortable or happy or glam or whatever the situation is! Having said that I could make a ten grand McQueen frock look like a bin bag so i may not be the right person to offer advice!!

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 20-11-2018 11:09am

Depends. Absolutely sometimes I’ve dressed in ways that I hoped made me look schexy. But I’ve had items of clothing in my wardrobe that literally nobody liked - not my huz, not my friends, not my family. But I liked them so I wore them. I can most definitely say that in those incidences, I was dressing for nobody but myself.

OP, the woman said that women don’t always dress for men. That implies that she thinks they sometimes do. So I don’t see a contradiction if she owns some sexy items.

One eyed Jack · 20-11-2018 11:10am

VanGogh18 wrote: »

so you are saying irish women look rougher, but have better personalities,
i agree with that

No, that’s not what I said at all, it’s not even like anything I said.

xzanti · 20-11-2018 11:10am

I generally dress to please myself.

However I would often refer to other women's sense of style and their possible appreciation of my getup when choosing an outfit.

Purely because any man I've ever been in a relationship with had no idea of what was fashionable/flattering on me.

But that's just my experience.

meeeeh · 20-11-2018 11:18am

Depends on the occasion and what I want to achieve or convey. I could be dressing for myself, dressing to stand out from other women or to be noticed by men. However I would also dress for the occasion, for my body type, for comfort or whatever else.

There is a lot you can say by clothing so why not use it to advantage. And that advantage is not limited just to be noticed by men or look better than other women.

SusieBlue · 20-11-2018 11:19am

MarkY91 wrote: »

Men don't give a ****e about women's nails, expensive haircuts that look exactly the same as before or some expensive handbag.

Women do all of that to show off to other women. It's pathetic.

...Or maybe they do it because they like how it looks?
As someone who spends €50 a month on acrylics, believe me, I don't do it for the benefit of anyone but myself.

Do you really think women have so little to be worrying about that we go around our day to day lives analysing and judging the nails & haircut of every single woman we pass on the street?

Zorya · 20-11-2018 11:19am

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

DBut I’ve had items of clothing in my wardrobe that literally nobody liked - not my huz, not my friends, not my family. But I liked them so I wore them. .

Although let's be honest, if he looks at you before going out and says ''Uuuhhhhh....'', and you go ''What!? What's wrong?!'' and he goes ''Nothing'' and you go ''Is there something wrong with this?'', and he goes ''No, no, it's ...fine, really, it's fine,'' and you go ''For fcuks sake, spit it out, say if you don't like it,'' and he says ''Wellll, hmmmmm, you know,'' and you say ''Out with it!'' and he says ''I prefer the other thing,'' and you say ''Oh yeah, why!?What's wrong with this?!'' and he says, ''Never mind, it's not important,'' and you say ''Well, it was obviously fcuking important enough for you to make a big deal out of it a minute ago,'' and he says ''I didn't!'' and you say, ''You absolutely did! And now I can't go out wearing this because I probably look like a gomaluk!'' and he says, ''Honestly, it's fine, you look good!''

But it's far too late for platitudes now, and you rip off the clothes you were wearing in the hallway and stomp off back to your discarded selection in the bedroom, sweating and cross, and raging.

Next time you appear in the hallway he says, ''Wow! That looks so great!''

But you see the fear in his eyes. :pac:

Dalomanakora · 20-11-2018 11:20am

Zorya wrote: »

Also - and perhaps strangely - revealing clothes are easier for people who don't have big boobs, it looks elegant, and a lot less alarming :eek: than if the boobs are on the more large side. The ladies have inherited larger boobs in my family - thanks Granny! - and if I wear something even approaching low cut I look like I am either on the game or applying to serve beer at the Octoberfest. My dearest sister in law on the other hand can wear something where the neckline drifts down to her navel and look fabulous with the barest hint of bosom. She says to me, wear it! that she would show it off, but having people address your breasts all evening is absolutely horrible.

Absolutely! My sister and friends all have small chests and look fantastic in super low cut clothing. It can look really elegant on smaller chested women.

Meanwhile I wear a v-neck t-shirt and look like a hooker :pac:

PlaneSpeeking · 20-11-2018 11:28am

SusieBlue wrote: »

...Or maybe they do it because they like how it looks?
As someone who spends €50 a month on acrylics, believe me, I don't do it for the benefit of anyone but myself.

Do you really think women have so little to be worrying about that we go around our day to day lives analysing and judging the nails & haircut of every single woman we pass on the street?

One of my fellow commuters gets a "themed" manicure each week with gel nails - they look great and are for herself only. I just notice them cos they are brilliant!

Only time she ever did them for someone else was when Limerick won the hurling and they were green and white!

who do women dress for?

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