Mars and Venus on Fashion

As outlined in the previous post, men and women clearly have completely opposing views when it comes to fashion. On the other side of the coin this time: men on women's fashion.

A few months ago, on my way into law school I was photographed in Apostrophe (the coffee shop) wearing a pair of orange silk harem trousers, a military type jacket and a beaded necklace. The photographer wanted my picture for 'the Apostrophist' (a bit like the Sartorialist, she said. Not really at all, I was thinking, but that's not the point here). It wasn't an outfit I loved, or one I have even worn since, but of course girls love being flattered when it comes to their style which is why both my 'Apostrophist' picture and my 'Facehunter' picture form part of my Facebook profile picture repetoire. Other girls also got quite excited by the outfit, proclaiming it 'cool'; boys - not so much. 'So Kate, MC Hammer wants his trousers back', quipped my friend Nick loudly and oh so amusingly in the middle of the library. Undaunted however, I held my head high with pride that day as I strutted around school in this aforementioned outfit.

The cold truth is this: (straight) men do not 'get' women's fashion. Short skirts, tight dresses, high heels: sure. Harem pants (particularly of the brightly coloured silk variety) will never cut the mustard. Nor will ballet pumps (because women fancy Audrey Hepburn, whereas men fancy Marilyn Monroe). Jumpsuits and playsuits continue to baffle. Maxi dresses and leggings are abhorred. However it must be remembered that women do not dress for men. Sometimes we do (on a first date). But most of the time we care more about the opinion of other women - apart from our mothers.