Are You Dressing for Him? Or for You?

An article this week in the New York Times about lingerie company Victoria’s Secret caught my eye, not just because the VS annual fashion show is coming up in a couple of weeks (it’s mentioned in the article) but how the company is trying to adjust to our changing lifestyles and opinions.

Victoria’s Secret, the article notes, is still the leading lingerie brand in the U.S., but its share of the underwear market is shrinking. Why? Paul Lejuez, a retail analyst at Citi, offers this: “Women don’t want to be viewed as stereotypical sexy supermodels buying lingerie just to impress men.”

That opens another question: When you get dressed up, who are you dressing up for? To impress men, women or yourself? An article in bustle.com suggests all three—men if you’re on a date, girlfriends who, frankly, are the only ones who can appreciate how hard you worked to look this good, and yourself, when you need a confidence boost for an important meeting or presentation.

Let’s face it, there’s something to be said for putting on a fabulous lingerie set (may I suggest from Pure Romance??) and setting off to work, with only you knowing what lies beneath that power suit. Dressing for yourself is just as important as dressing for someone else, maybe even more so.

So, don’t be afraid to put down something lacy for yourself on your holiday shopping list. It can make your whole outfit come together and, in turn, your entire demeanor. As one Bustle blogger put it, “When I wear an outfit that makes me happy, I feel like I get at least one compliment from another woman that they feel the same way. To me, getting a compliment from a woman is much more valuable than one coming from a man.”

 

The New York Times article is here.

The bustle.com article is here.

You Might Also Like

Leave a Reply