We Don't Dress for the Men

I am constantly amazed at some of the crazy shit girls wear at FIDM. The constant parade of high heels, mini skirts, crazy makeup, crazier hair, weird styles, and totally over the top accessories is mind boggling. There are the punk girls, 80's girls, “High Fashion” girls, and much much more. It's amazing some of these young women ever get any homework done after spending so much time shopping, getting their nails done, tanning, perfecting their makeup, and of course doing their hair.

In the beginning I was confused by all the vanity. There are about five straight guys in all of FIDM so why should these girls be spending so much damn time fussing and primping and going all out day after day? I could not understand it.

Then I had an “oh duh!” moment and I was finally able to make sense of it all. Obviously these girls are not dressing for the men. They are dressing for the other women. It's in no way about attracting guys, or impressing them. It's all a girly game of status and the other students are the competition.

The problem with dressing for women is that it's much harder than dressing for men. Dressing for men takes very little effort and you can get away with much more. Women however will notice every little detail. They will scrutinize and inspect you until they have seen everything you may have been trying to hide. Then they will judge you on it and share their findings with the nearest ally.

I myself will occasionally get sucked into dressing for women as well, although I try to avoid it as much as possible. It's harder here in LA than in other places though, especially since I am constantly surrounded by people who take fashion so seriously. I have never been the type of girl who likes to dress for others. I always try to just dress for myself. If what I'm wearing makes me happy? That's good enough.