Gemma Cartwright writes...
Unless you're standing in front of a mirror, you don't really notice what you look like, so it goes without saying that most of us dress to impress other people. That's definitely the case with me. Aside from the fact that there is a certain amount of pressure when your business card says 'fashion editor' to actually look like you practice what you preach, I love clothes, and I love to look like a girl. I wear dresses about 90% of the time (with heels whenever I can bear the pain). I own one pair of trainers which only see the light of day if I go for a walk, and if there's half a chance, I will dress up rather than dressing down.
But who exactly am I trying to impress?
There's no denying that on big nights when I get dolled up in my best retro dress and heels, I'm hoping it might impress the boys. When I go into work each morning, I'm thinking about what the rest of the fashion team and / or the people I'll be meeting that day will think of my latest printed mini or smock dress. When I go home to visit family and friends I tone down the London look so it's more smalltown-friendly. And when I'm on a date it's all about looking like I made an effort...but not too much of an effort. In fact, I probably look smarter on an average day at work than I do on a first date.
Very few women will readily admit to dressing to impress anyone except themselves, but the moment you start to really think about it, the more you realise that we all tailor our look to suit the situation we're faced with. We take into consideration other people's perception of us, be it picking work clothes based on what the 'cool' people in the office will think or choosing a suitable outfit to wear when meeting the inlaws. Even those who want to be individual are still dressing for the benefit of others, making a conscious statement to not be seen wearing the same things as the fashion-lead sheep.
We might all wear things we like, but to pretend we're not wearing things we hope other people will like too - even if it's only on occasion - is just silly. When I asked the other dollymixers for their thoughts on this, the initial protestations of 'no I just wear whatever I like' soon made way for plenty of confessions of dressing in black because the boyfriend loves it, intentionally picking stuff that's unusual to cause a stir, and thinking about what other women will say because they're the bitchest critics...we're all guilty of wanting to be liked, after all, and there's nothing wrong with that!
