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subscribe to style file blog via RSSfree speech: who do you dress for, asks hadley freeman
October 3, 2008 9:02 am
Who would you rather turn on—your boyfriend or a fashion editor? It’s a question all followers of fashion have had to face, particularly during show season. After all, no woman buys a tulip-shaped skirt to attract the boys. You buy it because it’s this season’s Balenciaga shape, you don’t have anything else in your wardrobe like it, it will make you stand out, and it’s faaaaaabulous. Oh, and because you know other people who know Ghesquière like you know Ghesquière will see what you’re wearing and give you an invisible high five.
Fashion is a very tribal thing. Leaving aside the are-you-a-goth-or-are-you-a-tartan-enthusiast debate that is so very, very crucial this season, just showing that you care about fashion marks you out as part of a certain group. Maybe you do this by carrying an It bag, maybe you do this by wearing ankle boots with a floral minidress (currently the most popular look among the fashion press attending the shows, which means it will be all over town in three months). Or maybe you do this by wearing something really ridiculous. Fashion is almost never about attracting potential partners, which is why people who mock it for being anti-feminist really don’t get it. It’s a purely self-involved pursuit, with occasional interest in how other people (OK, women) in your fashion tribe, who tend to be of your gender or perhaps male and only sexually interested in others of their gender, see you. For heterosexual men, it is not. In this sense, one can argue that it’s either the greatest feminist triumph there is, like a kind of woman-dominated kingdom where straight men are reduced to little more than irrelevancies. Or you could argue that it is vanity that has been notched up to such a level that it has lost all contact with the real world. Whatever, that Balenciaga skirt did rock.
tags: Balenciaga
So true! A straight guy will like anything short or tight–not exactly hard to impress. Plus he couldn’t even tell the difference between the goth/tartan looks to save his life.
By samanthamarie117 on 10/3/08 at 9:20 amI’d take a compliment from a random girl on the street anytime.
I also agree. I just forwarded this article to my boyfriend who claims I dress “crazy” when I wear anything besides a tight white tshirt and jeans. We’ll see if this makes him understand.
By amandarose09 on 10/3/08 at 3:36 pmThis is probably the best article I have ever read on here! I never say the phrase, “LOL”, but this seriously made me LOL because I can totally relate!
By Nigelific on 11/19/08 at 7:26 pmI guess you could say I dress crazy, but I love to have fun with fashion, not take it too seriously and come up with a different look daily. I will also confess, I have yet to be in a serious relationship. I’m thinking my love affair with fashion and clothes may get in the way, but I will NEVER divorce them. If a boy can’t handle the way I dress, then so be it. That’s fine with me!
I would argue that fashion is for sure the greatest feminist triumph of all because the dedicated followers and the women that rock the runway looks in everyday life are true independent, show stopping females that make heads turn and people say, “Who is that girl?”. Quite frankly, I would want heads to turn in awe, shock or confusement over my outfit as opposed to heads turning to see my junk in the trunk as I walk down the street.