Women Dressing For Women vs. Women Dressing For Men

Last year, I wrote a piece about being a fashionable man repeller in the dating world. When you dress for fashion, you are probably not attracting the opposite sex very often. Drop crotch pants, over-sized sweaters, and leather sweatpants do not exactly articulate a “come hither” look that boys usually fawn over, which can be a little discouraging.

I am currently in a history class that focuses mainly on the unspoken history of women in regards to men. We had a discussion the other day about why women do what they do, and if unconsciously, it is all related to men and their wants and needs. This got me thinking about the subject of why we wear what we wear. Why do women wear bandage skirts, or form fitting dresses, or five inch heels? It surely isn’t because it’s comfortable. I cannot tell you how many times I have scrolled through my Twitter feed and seen a piece titled “The Ten Things He Wants To See you In” on ELLE.com or Glamour Mag.

This is where it gets interesting. Are we really dressing for men…or are we dressing for other women? Women are taught that we need to be the prettiest, the thinnest, have the best hair…but in comparison to who? The other girls in the room. Technically, if it came down to it, women dress to get a mans attention compared to the ten other chicks attempting to do the same thing. For some reason, we just care about being perceived a certain way by other women. So are other women really the ones holding the power?

While I think all of this has become prevalent in today’s culture, especially young adult culture, there is the exception to the rule. I know a lot of positive females who don’t think twice about who finds their outfit attractive, and just go for it. I really love and admire that. Maybe this would be another step towards women helping each other instead of trying to tear each other down. What are your thoughts on women dressing for women vs. women dressing for men?