Discussions like this are potential minefields for men. In the past, I would have said that I agreed that, for most women, they choose their clothes and shoes for themselves without any thought of men. But I might not have perhaps entirely believed that view, I'd maybe, perhaps, have just said it to avoid any, er, difficulties. Weak or just pragmatic? Anyway, now that's changed. I didn't just say it, I meant it.
Being the stay at home parent, everyday is casual, dress-down Friday and I've loved it. When I was out working, I'd always avoid wearing a suit if I could. The only time I'd really care about my appearance was when I was out looking for, err, em.... I'm talking about before I met Lynn, I had needs!
I'm pretty much in shorts and a T-shirt every day, so now I'm much keener to spruce up a bit when I go out. Nothing drastic, maybe some long trousers, occasionally a shirt, sometimes even a suit. I even wore my kilt to a gala once, though I suspect that the effect a kilt has on American ladies, is something best enjoyed before any marriage commitments... and I thought men were meant to be the ones objectifying!
I still can't fathom the female psyche, but being the stay at home parent, I think I have lost a number of my lazy assumptions or prejudices. It's difficult to define them all, prejudices tend to be hidden from their owner; disguised as facts, or jokes, or stereotypes. I'm clear with this one though, women dress in a way that they like, and they do it for their own self image and happiness. As much as men might like to think that killer heels and tight tops were all chosen for their viewing pleasure, that only really exists in a certain sort of gentlemen's establishment, and true gentlemen would never frequent such a place.
It's not just female to care about your appearance. Sure, my friends that are parents of girls, say that school free dress days are their recurring nightmare. Boys tend to follow styles and fashions in their teens and twenties as they strive to fit in or rebel. However as an adult, in the absence of employer or client pressure to follow accepted norms, you decide what makes you feel good about yourself, and sometimes that means dressing up.
However, I shan't be wearing heels anytime soon.... they don't look right with my kilt.
Maybe it's impolite to start this way, but I'm ROTFL at the ads this post is generating - studly afterwork jeans and "adult" Halloween costumes... blahahaha...
ReplyDeleteAhem. *collects self to focus on actual post* I've always been curious about why people dress the way they do too. I tend to find dress-up clothes uncomfortable - especially the shoes. Also expensive and hard-to-fit. I'd go through life in pajamas if I could. But I do like to dress up on rare occasions.
Thus... I've apparently got a reputation among acquaintances as a bland dresser at best. When I dress up in my goofy/funky - er, well, shiny - clothes for performances, people often tell me they're amused because it's so different from the way I normally dress. But see, I'm in character then. So it makes sense to dress that way. I guess that's why I like to dress up every once in awhile: it makes me feel like I'm playing a character, which is useful now and then in real life.