I'm currently dressed in purple sweatpants, untied bean boots and a red YMCA sweatshirt. I obviously dress to get noticed as a sexy beast. Maybe I should upload a headless picture of myself.

Uber comfy pj pants that even preggo are 2 sizes too big and a top that is 2 sizes too small leaving the bump hanging out in all its glory. Maybe I should post a headless pic in all my glory too!

In all honesty, lately, I am lucky to get dressed! When I do, it's so I don't look like a slob out in public - but I try to dress appropriate for living in a ski town - which is casual.

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Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."

  
When you shop for yourself, who(m) are you dressing for?
-I dress for no one other than myself.

Mostly yourself: comfort, utility, get stuff done
-All of my pieces are: 1) comfortable 2) fashionable and stylish 3) well fitting

Mostly men: sexy, to be sought-after, to be memorable
-Other than shopping for my father, I do not shop for men. I have a fair sense of style and know how to wear pieces that often get compliments from men and women.
Mostly women: on trend, to be envied, power, status
-I do not do trends. I do not care what other women think. For what I do, power and/or status cannot be achieved through fashion.

Go ahead and flame on the classifications, they're stereotypes. And obv nobody dresses one way all the time -- generally how do you make your buying decisions.
-I make my decisions based on look and time. If a piece is something that I know won't be worth keeping or wear for ten years, it stays in the store. If the fabric is cheap and stitched poorly, it stays at the store. I do not like to look frumpy but do when in my work attire or at the pool.

I'm a mother of two, long married, comfortably middle aged. My uniform is ultra functional black stretchy tops and jeans, which get pimped with cowboy boots and other vintage pieces - eclectic. Apart from the lingerie nights for the husb (which never involve spider panties, i'm sorry to say), the only time I look sexy is in workout gear. Not deliberately, but the attention doesn't hurt when i'm trying to get through a session.

Anybody else?

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DISH is how we do it.

Always dress for myself, but that ranges from jeans & a t-shirt through my motorcycle leathers, sundresses, rather daring outfits (to hit the underground bar or a punk/goth friend's party), or even a formal evening gown. I have to look rather buttoned-down at the office, and I dislike that - I'd rather show off my ink - but it's fun to get really toffed up sometimes, too. It all depends on the situation: I'm not going to wear a ratty pair of cut-off combat pants and a strappy tank top to the symphony, but I'm also not wearing a skirt and heels to go backpacking or rake leaves.

Most of all, I'm not dressing with the least regard to what anyone thinks but me.

Cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

Interesting question.

I find myself always asking whether what I'm buying can be worn to work. It's a bad habit but I like being able to grab something and head to work quickly. On a typical day, I dress casual there but put together. Nice jeans, sweater in the winter. Casual skirt and nice shirt in the summer. The only heels I ever wear are stacked and attached to boots. I am a clutz. I work in an office in technology. How you present yourself at work makes a distinct statement about who you are. I change the statement I'm making based on what is happening that day and how I want them to relate to me. If they are a Associate VP or above that I'm meeting with I step it up and dress equivalent to them. If I'm meeting with the developers, I dress down. I reflect back whomever is most important to me that day. It's very effective. I learned this a long time ago.

Otherwise it is dependent on the situation. Running is very utilitarian. I'll never be accused of being sexy when I run so why even try :-) I mostly just want to dress at the same style of the situation. If I'm going out to dinner with a friend I take into consideration where we are going. Mostly I don't want to stick out and be inappropriate for the situation. This goes either too dress or not dressy enough.

Day to day errands on my own is pure comfort without going too sloppy. No stains on the shirt, showered, light make-up, earrings, etc. You never know who you will run into that could influence your career or another area of your life you care about.

When I volunteer, jeans and a t-shirt because I will get messy. Around the house, the equivalent of pjs. I change as soon as I get home.

I'm not dating and don't want to so I tend to stay away from anything that would imply I am. That means different things to different people. I've always been a conservative dresser. My shirts aren't low cut. My make-up is mostly just to polish myself up a bit. Most people don't know I'm wearing it until I take it off. If I wear skinny jeans I usually have something like a heavier sweater on top, even when I can pull off something tight. (not these days)

So, when I'm interacting with someone, I reflect back whomever I'm trying to influence or whomever I want to feel comfortable with me. Both genders equally. Otherwise very utilitarian when doing something messy or just above slob level when going out in public for errands.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Good question.
Mostly myself.
I'm a grad student so if we show up not wearing the same outfit 3 days in a row (2 days is ok ;-) it's considered a success.
I don't like tight clothes.
I don't wear makeup... I figure in the time it takes to put on makeup in the morning, I can swim another 500 yards or run another mile. I'd rather the extra training time :-)
Hair is likewise either down or in a ponytail.

Second would be mostly women, and I wear stuff that emphasizes my thinness and my legs.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I 100% dress for myself which means sometimes jeans and a t shirt or sportswear, and to work ranges from pants to skirts to suits, some form fitting - there is no conscious attempt at attention from men nor women. I get what I like and wear what is appropriate for work/training/going out/black tie/school events.....

I agree w last two posters. I dress mainly for myself. Mostly that means whatever is clean and not completely wrinkled. But I do like to look presentable - again for my self esteem, not to impress others.
I totally fail the one pony tail a week rule (Mean Girls). With two workouts most days it's too much to do hair and make up, so that suffers. but oh well.

When I shop, I buy what I like that is modest, fits, is well made and is not trendy. It must also be machine washable.

I dress for the occasion, and tend to dress with a casual/sporty/outdoorsy style. My clothing tends to be functional and I would wear jeans everywhere if I could.

I have been known to spend more money on workout clothing than on work or party clothing. Actually, I bet if I looked at my records for any given year, I would find that I spend more $$$ on workout gear than I do on clothes to wear to work!

Mostly i dress for me, but there are two occasions where i don't.

The first is when i get together with my former mothers' group. The babies are now 11 so we've long ditched them and now hang out for fun. It's a group of women with all kinds of backgrounds/personalities and we'd probably never be friends otherwise, but totally bonded in the trenches with infants. Anyway, a couple are very very girly (if that's possible in late 40s) and put their competitive instincts into appearance. Always with the hair and nails did, jewellery, labels, etc. So when we get together I ramp up my look just because it totally riles them. It's like they get offended that a compulsive jock could possibly look well groomed. I know I'll be in for some blowback catty sh*t over the course of the evening but since we know each other so well it's predictable and funny.

The other occasion is going out to a big event, where there's a code to dress for. I've got the gear (longtime vintage/secondhand addiction) but the problem is I physically DETEST the act of changing from my cosy daywear into some prickly, exposed, tight, whatever evening stuff that requires some damn speciality bra and loathesome pantihose. I even resent picking out accessories. So I leave off doing it for as long as possible, and then it's always a rush job. Can't wait to be back in lycra where i belong.

Totally agree with travelmama. I don't dress for anyone other than myself but as I've gotten older (late 30's) I now realize that I feel best when I dress well and by that I mean clothes that fit well, work on my body type, and are well made. I would rather spend some good money on a solid basic piece that will last me 5+ years and always be in style than try to chase trends. While I technically work for myself and could show up in the office in PJs, I've actually found that on the days I'm most tired and dragging, if I take the time to dress well (usually a nice dress and boots because then I don't have to think too hard about matching colors together) I tend to perform better at work, stand a little taller, etc.

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http://smallfoodbiz.com
</blatent self-marketing>

I'd say mostly for myself because I'll often run around in training gear if I'm expecting to run or hit the gym. This is to save on laundry.

If I expect to meet with customers for work, I dress for the company. I'm in my best clothes, hair and makeup on.

When I'm not expecting to get sweaty, or am attending an event of some sort, I dress for my family and me. I try to give the impression that we're are a tidy, put together bunch.

(Hi, my 1st post here. I'm new.)

I wear skirts and heels almost everyday (one day per week I will wear pants but never flat shoes), but I don't consider that to be dressing for other women. I enjoy dressing nicely for work and I wear the same style of clothing on the weekend.

I dress for myself and always look cute and stylish.
My look is more JCrew and Banana Republic. I like nice jeans and nice shoes. I love Old Navy vintage v-neck tee shirts...I think it's important to be able to mix and match price points too as long as cheap doesn't look CHEAP, if that makes sense. I love simple classic style - $7 t-shirt, nice jeans, flip flops with an Hermes belt. I definitely don't dress to be envied by other women, I don't play that game. And I'd rather have a man find me sexy for me, not because my boobs are falling out of my shirt or skirt is hiked up to my thighs.

BTW - Sounds like you have a great sense of style, cowboy boots and vintage pieces, great look!

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"Though she be but little, she is fierce" ~Shakespeare | Powered by HD Coaching | 2014 Wattie Ink Triathlon Team | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

I dress for myself, with a few exceptions. Most of the time I am wearing workout clothes since I am not office bound at the moment.

When I am not exercising or about to exercise or riding my bike for transportation, I like to wear well fitted trendy and/or sexy and/or pretty clothes. Clothing is like art. But I wear minimal makeup and have only a few shoes and purses.

The exceptions arise when I want to be frumpy on purpose to stay low key and inoffensive.

on some days my style is fingerpaint if we go with that analogy :-)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

All about comfort and function. Style be damned.

I'm with you. Especially at work. If I dress too "nice" I get unwanted attention, as I work in highly male dominated industries. OK, I might try to colour coordinate... but that's about it :-) AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

<Mostly yourself: comfort, utility, get stuff done >

I think this sterotype is WAY off.

I dress how I want. I hate being cold so dressing in the winter sucks. I'd wear tights under sweatpants, a hat and gloves to work if I could.

In the spring, summer, fall, I wear a skirt or dress (never tights in nice weather and never, ever hose), with sandals or flats. And especially if the shoe has no back (a slide), the better. My knee doesn't like heels and I have two different sized feet so finding a same size pair that works for both is ridiculous. So slides.

What's stupid is that our office here is operations and never has clients ever, but we have a dress code. I push that limit. :-) Jeans on Friday, but in the summer when it's 90F and 100% humidity, do you really want to wear jeans? I don't think so. In SF, I wore jeans to work more days than not.

On the weekend at home, I may wear workout clothes, but to run errands, no. And it's the south - makeup is a requirement I found out!

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

interesting! I almost never wear skirts or dresses during the day because I get cold in them, plus hate the feeling of fabric bunching between my legs (which of course depends on the cut). But my climate doesn't get much warmer than 75 even on the hot days.

Lately I've been showing up at school meetings in workout clothes because I run home from them to get a couple miles in, with none of that faffing around getting out because I'm already out. I've gotten some comments about it (not negative, really, but more like oh you can do that?), but my feeling is, I'm not out to impress anybody with how I look, but to get a job done.

If I had a dress code I'd be pushing it too -- probably in some bonkers direction that would take me off the promotion track pronto.

Always makeup, though, yeah. Waterproof mascara and lipgloss. Otherwise I get a fright catching a reflection in a window. Happy second day of spring!

I dress for myself, but I like to look put together, not dressed up. I usually don't style my hair, it's long and straight. I try not to just put it in a ponytail, but usually pull it back in some other way. I like to get compliments on what I wear or how I styled my hair (usually a fishtail braid). I like to show off my body, but not in the normal way. Bare shoulders, slim fitting pants, shorts etc. I'm not doing it for anyone else. I feel good when I get noticed, but I don't think I'd change how I dressed if I didn't get compliments.

And I'm with Cathy, living in the south is different. Not just makeup but hair styled & hair sprayed, perfume and heels. The funny thing is I get more compliments on not looking like that but still having style.

Our building is ridiculous. 90F outside and about 55F inside. I have a space heater in my office because my office is about 8 degrees colder than the open area.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com