Do you...
So recently my blog came up in conversation between a guy friend and I - he was mainly shocked that I have one (a blog) and proceeded to ask the expected questions, one of whichwas, "so it's a fashion blog?" and the little mean girl in me was itching to furnish him with a sarcastic response along the lines of, "No, I give relationship advice," so I did. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against blogs of a romantic nature, I was just using sarcasm as a tool to make a point. The point that I'm in a committed relationship with style.
Now this committed relationship is what often (for lack of a better term) cock-blocks me. I once read in one of my glossies that the kind of ensemble that will make other women "envy" you is the one that will make men run away from you. A bit of a stretch, but ok. I see where the correlation may be, but I'm still not willing to cheat my vogue heart to win over the heart of a man.
Dressing well should be solely about yourself - a good appearance on the outside reflects the activity of the heart inside. Some have said people who are concerned about their appearance are shallow, superficial, pretentious, insecure decepticons. Harsh, right? But I'm not here to antagonise that kind of ignorance - this is a happy blog...or maybe that will be a post for another day?
The aim of this post is to draw my own conclusion about what I've learnt about dressing (or not) for our testosterone-fuelled, FIFA-loving, grateful-for-leggings counterparts; men. In theory, this should not be a priority when you're picking the appropriate attire to be clad in for any given occasion, but truth of the matter is that there are first dates to be attended, dance-floors to be ripped apart and eyes to be caught. I came to this realisation when I was a freelance stylist a while back and our team leader gave me the (30 second) task of picking an appropriate outfit for a first date...I froze, 10 seconds into this challenge I pulled out an ink luxury silk beaded top from a nearby rail, 15 seconds in, I turned to her and said, "I don't really go on dates often, in fact I haven't been on one in a looong time," I got a friendly, yet brief chuckle out of her. She was still expecting the other half of that outfit to materialise. It did eventually, but not in 30 seconds like I had done with the other tasks such as job interview ensembles, LBDs for drinks with the girls and holiday resort comfort clothing.
I guess I really have a knack for women's wear, i.e. the woman dressing for herself and getting a compliment or two from her fellow women counterparts - but when it comes to dressing for men, I only know that you shouldn't even try to please them.
Taking Drake's lyrics a little too much to heart (you know, as one does), these are the words I've learnt to take comfort in: "Don't do it for the men, men never notice. You just do it for yourself, you're the f***en coldest!"
