# What makes some teenage girls choose a 'classy' look over an 'arsty' one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721 "2017-05-02T15:28:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/21 "2017-05-03T17:29:15Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > I didn’t necessarily mean classy as posh but rather just well dressed. > > It seems quite uncommon among young girls here in Ireland, IMHO. She just isn’t very well dressed. She’s wearing very functional looking waterproof snow boots. I can’t really think of anything that makes a broader proportion of women throw style to the wind and wear something highly functional than a snowy or rainy day. On snow days they all wear those hideous functional boots. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/22 "2017-05-04T21:49:30Z")
People like to dress in different styles. The end. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/23 "2017-05-04T22:25:17Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > **What makes some teenage girls choose a ‘classy’ look over an ‘arsty’ one?** The exact same thing that makes some teenage boys choose a ‘classy’ look over and ‘arsty’ one, and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/24 "2017-05-06T12:08:40Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > What was very interesting is that a few (tiny minority), would dress in this classy posh manner. They definitely weren’t richer than others since I live in a middle class area with little inequality. They also weren’t stuck up, entitled, arrogant, or believed people were beneath them; I actually talked to a few of them and they seemed just like other girls. > > But it was obvious and still is today that something was/is driving them to dress so elegantly. I remember some girls I saw in a tutor class dressed better than the teachers! > > What gives Those are the ones who want jobs. > [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > What’s so classy about jeans and snow boots? She’s dressed appropriatly. It’s very hard to find. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/25 "2017-05-06T12:16:11Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > She looks like she’s wearing a curtain. I was thinking a skinned mattress myself. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/26 "2017-05-06T16:53:00Z")
Oh, and she’s in her teens. I am a noted prig and even I mildly…okay, I don’t actually care…wonder how old you are. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/27 "2017-05-06T18:51:46Z")
I’m still hoping the OP will explain “arsty” to us. He’s from/in Ireland and almost all of the rest of us aren’t. Fashion is definitely a local phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/28 "2017-05-06T20:26:18Z")
I think you’re thinking too deeply on this. It’s personal style, with the possibility that for individual girls, there might be specific factors contributing in, possibly parents that lean toward a more conservative look and if the parents control the girls’ clothing allowance, might reflect that. I think “presentable” is purely subjective – unnatural hair colors are very on trend right now, more than ever this is seen as perfectly presentable, and will vary a lot depending on where you live, or what field you work in. It’s not nearly as counterculture as it was say, twenty years ago. What you are calling classy, I would call more of a “classic” look. And again, it’s a style choice. For girls who are interested in fashion, they might play around with a whole range of styles and looks, and dress differently for various events and occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/29 "2017-05-07T00:42:06Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > The exact same thing that makes some teenage boys choose a ‘classy’ look over and ‘arsty’ one, and vice versa. This is what I was going to come in and say. Is there something more to this question that I’m not getting? Is “artsy” (artsy?) a euphemism targeting women only? ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/30 "2017-05-07T08:53:39Z")
Unlit and unless the OP gives pics of his/her daughters and friends vs the other schoolgirls being compared too (Or reasonable facsimilies) … I have no idea what the OP means by ‘classy’ vs ‘artsy’. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/31 "2017-05-07T10:05:56Z")
> [@Enuma\_Elish](#): > > Unlit and unless the OP gives pics of his/her daughters and friends vs the other schoolgirls being compared too (Or reasonable facsimilies) … I have no idea what the OP means by ‘classy’ vs ‘artsy’. Same. I dressed like my peer group dressed. Still do, I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721.md?page=1)