I dress to cover my body up because we can’t really walk around naked. I dress according to the weather. I wear less in the summer because it is hot and I wear more in the winter because it is cold. I wear dresses because they’re comfortable and I wear leggings because they keep me warm.
I usually choose clothes that suit my body and its changes. I wear high-waist jeans because my torso is long in proportion to my legs. I wear maxi skirts between wax appointments when my legs aren’t smooth. I wear short skirts ten centimeters above my knee when it’s hot and my legs need to feel the breeze.
I also dress to express part of who I am. I wear hats because they’re a little quirky. I wear red because I like to be bold. I wear lace because I am feminine. I wear lots of bracelets because when I type on the keyboard it makes me sound busier and more important than I am. I guess you could say I dress to make up for perceived short-comings in my personality.
I dress for other women. I dress for other women to notice my style and think to themselves, “She’s got great taste.” I dress for other women because I want them to think that I know what I’m doing. I dress for other women because only women really understand the reason I want all my jumpers to have studs on them this autumn. I dress for women to think I’m cool.
I dress for the fun of it. I dress because fashion allows me to be another person. I dress because pretty clothes can make a sad day happier. I dress because I like putting together an outfit. I like mixing and matching. I like creative thinking. I like using clothes to make me the woman I want to be on any given day.
And finally, yes, I also dress for men. But not in the way I dress for all women. Rather, I dress for the men I like. I dress for the men I want to impress. I will use clothes to show a man who has put me in the friend zone that I am actually a woman. I’ll wear an off-the-shoulder top; show some cleavage, a little bit of leg. It’s only for him. I dress for men to take me seriously; harsher lines, somber colours.
I also dress for men to leave me alone. I always wear flats, wherever I am going, because I know that if I had to, I wouldn’t be able to run in heels.
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Eleni Zoe writes here
and you can follow her on Twitter here.
