Fashion and Style

Name me a woman who doesn’t want to look her best when she’s out and about on the streets, at a party or with friends. Or one who doesn’t spend an absolute age in the bathroom getting herself ready, checking herself out in front of the mirror, adjusting, refining, changing this and that. Or one who doesn’t spend hours pondering what she can buy, from shoes right through to matching bra and panties, which might fit just this occasion, this setting, this group of friends.

It isn’t easy.

Oh, I am sure there are one or two who simply throw something on because, well, everyone knows everyone else and there’s no need to make such a big do about the whole thing. But, in all probability, even the throw some thing on on stage is well planned, just in case. We don’t want to have any adverse comments about our appearance behind our backs, back-handed conversations or tidbits of gossip doing the rounds.

And now take a look at the fashions available in the shops, in catalogs, online. The mass on offer is almost unbelievable, the range, the choice, the sizes and colors. Hard to believe that we women don’t spend the whole day just looking for one single outfit for one single occasion.

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My own explorations have brought so many different styles and fashion ideas out that I am completely at a loss, sometimes, what to buy. I don’t want to stretch my pocketbook too much, there are still a few other minor things which need purchasing such as food, but I can fully understand how those who have the money, and the time, manage to fill up more wardrobe space than the normal woman would have for her entire apartment.

We’re looking at everything from the most extravagant – remembering the cost – through to the simplest. From complete outfits matched up with a new hair style along the line to simple elegance. We’re looking at what fits with the image we wish to portray, what fits our figure, what fits the clothing our partner will be wearing and, above all, what is going to get people looking a second, third or even fourth time and, be honest now, admiring us. Admiring us, well, not really. Admiring our clothes, our fashion sense, our bravado.

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What do we need to take into account apart from the people we are with, the people we are going to be with and all the other factors I’ve already mentioned?

We need to be able to move. This may seem like an obvious one but, looking at a few of the straight-laced almost corset-like dresses on offer, I do wonder whether someone is going to be able to sit down, or even walk, for any great length of time. Will the dress they’ve chosen crack when they bend slightly, or will it split in some unfortunate place just at the moment when all eyes are on them? Could a gust of wind reveal more of the woman’s secrets than she might be planning, at least for those around her, not necessarily for the object of her affections?

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It is a very, very complicated process. The men, with their suits and ties and, hopefully, socks which aren’t either white or too bright, cannot appreciate. Pick out a jacket and make sure the shirt and tie fit. Black or brown shoes, perhaps even a scarf thrown like an afterthought around their neck.

For women there are no afterthoughts, it must be right, it must be perfect, and it must stay that way no matter how long we are out of an evening. No one wants to be seen falling apart at the seams, especially not if they happen to be one of the celebrities more accustomed to the red carpet, the bright lights and a steady following of camera-wielding paparazzi!

Photo Source: imgsrc

Age is another consideration. As a Twentysomething – fair enough, right at the beginning of this age group, but still – I am going to be looking at a different outfit to that a Thirtysomething, a Cougar or a teenager would wear. I don’t want to dress myself up as an older person – I’m not out to buy liquor without the right ID, those days are long gone over here – but, at the same time, I don’t want to look like a fourteen year old. It might be attractive to some, especially the onlookers, but I’m the one wearing everything, and I’m the one being looked at. What they think is, in the first instance, irrelevant as long as it is good, positive, ego-boosting!

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Shape and size. Of course I want to show that my curves are all in the right places, but not quite so much that a few extra curves are created! Shorts which are that one (or two) sizes too small and leave not only a deep red mark but also an overhang of meat are not exactly attractive.

And what do I want to attract apart from admiring looks? Am I single and out on the prowl, or happily caught up in a wonderful relationship and eager to show the world just how perfect everything is? Am I trying to score with a particular person – and that regardless of whether single or not – or just rack up points as an absolute Fashion Goddess?

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Am I loud and extravagant, or calm, harmonious, collected? Does my clothing say anything about me as a person? Does this dress make me look like a slut – depending on the definition of slut and the circumstances – or like the Queen of the Ball? Am I inclining more towards Gothic or Regal?

Will this outfit be able to hold out if I have one too many at the bar and suddenly feel the need to show the definitive version of Saturday Night Fever on the dance floor? Or, if that’s the way the evening goes, can I still have a bit of fun, in a sexual sense now, without having to undo everything and completely ruining the moment?

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Perhaps all of these questions are not right in the forefront of my thoughts when I stand in front of that shop window, or check out my appearance in the bathroom mirror, but they are there nonetheless, deep down in my subconscious soul, in my inner fashion sense, in my self-confidence.

Photo Source: imgsrc

And sometimes I think that’s it’s just all too much. Not al that often, I admit, mainly when something hasn’t gone right, when plans have had to be changed, when someone else is so audacious as to wear exactly the same outfit as me! Even worse, look better in it than me! Then I wish everything was as simple as it had been when I was younger, when I could just throw on whatever happened to be there and go out and play. It’s just that the stakes have risen over the years, and playing has taken on an entirely new meaning, both for me and for all those people around me.

It’s not a game any more, it’s a competition, and I need to be the winner. Every time. By a very large margin.

Love & Kisses, Viki.

Tags: Beauty, fashion, Life, Women