In this thread alice_in_wonderland says,
Agree or disagree? If you agree, how does this work? When dressing does a woman say to herself, “I wonder if the other ladies would like this outfit?” Is it done consciously or subconsciously?
Agree. It both a competition for and of women. If I’m going out with a bunch of guys, there’s no pressure. I’m probably going to pick a shirt that shows off the rack, and one that emphasizes my waist, as even at my current state of overweightness, those are my two best body features. But still, it’s going to be jeans and a tshirt of some sort, and minimalist makeup. While men don’t really like no makeup like they think, they do like understated makeup that looks like you’re not wearing makeup. 'Cause at the final hour, I’m unlikely to get many comments or compliments from them either way, and I’d rather just be comfortable. The guys I know are…for lack of a better word, simple. The fact that I *have *boobies is enough to keep them happy. Seeing their curve under a t-shirt is all I need to do to impress.
If I know women are going to be there, I’m much more likely to pick a nice blouse, maybe a skirt with some sparkly things on it. I’ll try something interesting with my hair, maybe an updo or a butterfly clip with rhinestones or something. The eyeshadow comes out, and maybe a colored eyeliner instead of my brown, and a lipstick of a darker shade than nude. I might even wear the ouchy shoes. See, they’re not impressed by the mere possession of boobies, even boobies as glorious as mine are - they’ve got them too. I’ve got to work at it a bit to stand out from the crowd and to impress them. If I get three or more compliments from the other painted butterflies, I feel like I’ve won an Oscar.
If I’m trying to attract male attention I pay attention to what I wear and how I’m wearing it. I’ll wear a bit of makeup and try to accentuate my better features. Otherwise, I’m wearing comfy clothes and/or whatever’s clean at that moment. I can honestly say the judgements of other women play no role whatsoever in my wardrobe choices–but that attitude is not one that I haven’t come across before. I think it’s likely that I may be in the minority in this regard.
Disagree, at least for myself. I can’t speak for the rest of Womankind, but I either a) dress for myself, for comfort, b) dress to look professional, or c) dress to be flirtatious. Really, aside from work, the only time I give my clothes any thought is when I am dressing for a man. If I’m not trying to get a job, keep a job, or get laid, I’m really not thinking about my clothes beyond, “Does it look and smell clean?”
Wow. I just realized that I’m secretly a teenage boy.
Depends on the woman.
Me, I wear what I want when I want. Most days I get up and put on jeans and a t-shirt of some kind (varying between chesty or just oversized, whatever is clean and I feel like wearing). Some days I wake up and decide to put on makeup and sexy clothes… even if I’m not leaving the house or just going to the grocery store.
When clubbing I’ll try to dress a bit sexier, but so I can catch the eyes of the guys or so I fit in a little better than my usual outfits. I can’t wear (and wouldn’t want to wear) most of the clothes girls my age seem to wear to the club. The last time I went to the club was over a year ago though. 
I don’t see how any of that is dressing for other women, so I’d say no I don’t dress for them. I dress for me, for how I feel like dressing at the time and sometimes for the guys.
In general, Yes, because men never say “DAMN woman! Those are some sexy nails!”
Women pay attention to details in their looks that men couldn’t care less about.
I dress for the weather and the specific occasion, and it’s all about my comfort. I happen to know one of my female coworkers disapproves heartily about my clothing choices. Oh yeah, I care… :rolleyes:
Maybe some women dress for other women. I don’t. It’s not even on my radar.
I agree, although I don’t feel like it’s competition. It’s that other women appreciate the finer points more than most men. In my own experience. I’m sure there are men out there who are interested in fashion for fashion’s sake, but in the group of people I know, it’s the women who take it to the next level. Because most men don’t wear women’s fashions, they aren’t taking all aspects into account as much as other women.
I really dress for myself. I want to look like what I think is pretty.
but also for the other girls. I mean, if I’m going to get a compliment on my outfit or my eyeshadow or my shoes, it’s going to come from another girl. I expect the boys are not totally blind to what looks good and what looks bad, but they’re not as hard to impress.
Also, in general, I have no interest at all whatsoever in impressing boys.
Nope, I don’t dress for women. I’ll dress for men, I’ll dress to look good as an accessory for my husband, and I’ll dress for specific occasions.
I don’t think I do it for women. Mostly because I’m never sure if I’ve impressed another woman, but it’s often easy to tell when a guy thinks something is hot or some such.
Cosign. When a woman says, “That’s a nice shirt!” I take a different message from it than if a guy says the same thing. When a woman says it, she’s saying, “I want that shirt.” A guy is saying, “I like the way that shirt looks on you.” Some women prefer the latter message. I prefer the former.
This woman dresses to fit the dress code at work; outside of those hours I am either dressed for a)comfort/practicality (such as protective clothes for gardening or comfy clothes for house cleaning, etc.) or b)to give my husband a hard-on. Never once do I think about what another woman will think, unless it’s my supervisor at work, and even then only that she might disapprove if I violate the dress code.
I like both very well. So yes, and no, for me. I dress to make myself feel attractive, to be attractive to men, and to get validation of my tastefulness from other women.
Even if there’s no desire to entice anyone sexually, there are still occasional factors influencing what I wear. If I’ll be hanging out with a group of women who aren’t my boss who I don’t give a damn if they like me or not, then no, I wouldn’t care what I wore around them. But that’s rarely the case - why would I be hanging out with them if so?
If I’m going somewhere with a group of women (or men) I hope to make friends with, sure, I’ll be more likely to unconsciously pick out something they might think is cool, as conversation fuel or something. If they’re already friends and I’m assured they don’t care what I look like, then it’ll go either way (why not wear something they think is cool in any case? I’m not in the habit of buying uncomfortable clothes, so that’s not an issue). It’s nicer to get compliments than it is to get nothing.
More than for women or for men, though, I dress for the occasion, and enjoy doing it. Dressing for myself isn’t even an issue - of course I dress for myself.
I don’t give a damn what other women think of my clothes. All I care about is that they’re clean and comfortable, appropriate for the occasion, and that I look good in them. If they attract positive male or female attention, great, but that’s not my priority at all.
I just wanted to say that checking that your clothes look and smell clean instantly identifies you as anything but a teenage boy. 
Frankly, I like to look good. When I look good, I feel better. I wear colors, styles and make-up that emphasize my best features and are appropriate for the occasion. I like being complimented on my clothes (as well as my sparkling wit and keen insight 
), and as SurrenderDorothy points out, these compliments are so much more likely to come from other women. So maybe I do dress for women more so than men. But mostly I dress so that I like what I see in the mirror.
As I am not a woman, I can only speak for my wife. She doesn’t work with any men on a regular basis but spends much money on clothes and purses, so I’m going to have to say, Oh Hell Yeah!
My wife and other women in the family freely admit that fact. If you expand the idea a little, the phenomenon is not specific to women. Men spend money on things like car accessories and sporting goods that mainly appeal to other men.