MX Columns

mX Column: Man-Hot vs. Girl-Hot

It’s all about new-season fashion as we hit the shops, inspired by last week’s L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival – but how much of what we see walking the runways during the shows will show up in our own wardrobes? And what will the men think of it all?

I’m wearing a dress today that I adore. It’s just a cheap and cheerful that I picked up for practically nothing a few years ago, and every summer I traipse it out happily, loving the fun watermelon colour and the vintage-inspired lattice cut-outs.

I know for a fact that it was a good find because every time I wear it, at least one girl comes up to me on the street to tell me that they love it.

It’s one of those little numbers that I feel great in every time I slip it on. Great, until – I see the look on Den’s face.

Guys. They hate this dress. It’s a baby-doll style, which just doesn’t seem to translate when you have a Y-chromosome. We think: “feminine and floaty”, they think: “pregnant”.

Other lost in translation trends include any outfit from Carrie Bradshaw’s collection, harem pants, boyfriend jeans, maxi dresses and of course, high-waisted pants.

I own a pair of those too. And almost every guy I know (do they conference on this?) calls me “Harry High Pants” to my face when I wear them. I insist they’re “classic”, they insist they’re “80s”.

It’s a decision ladies need to make on a daily basis: to dress for the guys or to dress for the girls?

The debate is not a new one. Who are we looking to impress when it comes to our wardrobes? Rationality would tell me that I would most want to appeal to my husband. If I was single and looking for a relationship, I would probably want to be dressing for men too.

My outfit choices often say different.

Biology plays into it too. A recent study found that – consciously or not – women dress more provocatively when they are ovulating. Advertising your fertility is a biological phenomenon throughout the animal kingdom, only we use fashion instead of having our butts light up neon like baboon primates.

So why do so many women insist on following fashion trends, when the only reaction we seem to be getting from your average man is ridicule?

Then again, if we did leave our fashion choices to the whims of red-blooded, hetero Australian males, would we be condemning ourselves to a lifetime of tight dresses and high heels?

The good news is, the men may adapt before we have to. Daniel Dykes of Fashionising.com is one of Australia’s most fashionable straight men and a self-confessed harem-pant-lover. He credits the internet with bringing more highbrow fashion to Australia and thinks men will just have to get used to a new fashion aesthetic.

“As Australian men see more and more gorgeous women trying fashion-forward trends, their idea of what is sexy will eventually shift.”

Perhaps fashion is just an acquired taste?

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