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Women
of all age groups now prefer to overdress
Little
girls aren’t the only ones playing dress up these days. Women from
coast to coast are going for glam when they’re stepping out. And
we’re not just talking about those big blockbuster events such as
proms, weddings or benefit galas.
 Women
are shedding their everyday casual uniform for statement-making
fashions when going out with friends. When given the choice between
being slightly overdressed or underdressed at parties, 55 per cent
of the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor female respondents
preferred to overdress, which is up six per cent over the same period
last year, while 42 per cent prefer being underdressed, which is
down eight per cent.
Broken out by age group, overdressers turn out to skew young. The
youngest group of women surveyed, 16-24, accounted for the highest
percentage of those who prefer being overdressed at 61 per cent,
up from 56 per cent last year. Fifty-seven per cent of the women
between 25-34 - the generation reared on grunge rock - chose to
be overdressed.
Only 50 per cent of women ages 35-55 prefer to overdress, but that
is still a seven percentage point increase over last year and represents
the highest gain over the other age groups. While women 56-70 may
be the least likely to overdress (only 23 per cent prefer to), that
number is up three percentage points over last year.
Individual taste aside, how women define dressing up varies with
age, life stage and venue. Take for example, Nicole, a 22-year-old
student from Alabama, whose idea of dress-up includes “a glittery
sleeveless top, great slacks, a jewellery belt and high heels.”
Karen, a 32-year-old single woman from New York City chooses “a
skirt - because I usually wear pants to work - a coordinating blouse,
nicer jewellery and strappy sandals.” And for Mia, a 62-year-old
from Philadelphia, it starts with a black sheath dress and a “gorgeous
jacket.”
Asserts David Wolf, creative director, The Doneger group, the Manhattan-based
fashion and retail consulting company, “Dressing up is younger.
It used to be what a woman’s mother wore. Now special looks
are younger, a bit flashier, sexier, with more flesh showing. It
appeals to younger women and older women who want to appear younger.”
 It
also has a lot to do with where you are in the country. Leigh Powers,
a sportswear buyer at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, notes that while
dressing up never went out of style in that city, it has changed.
“Now, it’s all about fun evening tops, black bottoms and
a great purse and shoes,” says Powers. If you had to limit
L.A. to one look, it might be a body-conscious outfit with a navel-bearing
top and low-rise pants. And for spring, New York women are snapping
up all styles of dresses - wraps from Diane Von Furstenburg, halter
dresses from Shoshanna and the lady-like dresses inspired by Jacqueline
Kennedy’s White House years from rising star Christian David
Kozaki for Les Belles Choses.
However, according to Women’s Wear Daily, New York women, and
presumably fashion forward women elsewhere, will opt for one of
fall’s line-up of chic tuxedo suits with a cotton T-shirt.
Some industry experts say last year’s boom economy promoted
a trend for dressing up, but history has proved otherwise. As Wolf
points out, “Historically, fashion gets more extravagant in
bad times because people need to escape.” Following this logic,
if the economy remains flat, women should be sprucing up their wardrobe.
“The economy may be in a downturn, but people aren’t broke,”
says Wolf. “The slowdown encourages apparel purchases instead
of the higher ticket items like cars.”
Anne Slowey, fashion news director at Elle magazine, finds the trend
to dress up has more to do with the swing of the fashion pendulum.
“For the moment, we are moving into a more flamboyant period
of dress,” says Slowey. “Designers are showing colour
and flourish in a way that comes off as dressed up, which is hard
to resist.” In Vogue’s April 2001 issue, Anna Wintour
in her editor’s letter writes, “Our designers do need
to give us fresh reasons to shop.”
It can also be said that a woman who buys dressy clothes will find
the occasions to wear them. For 31-year-old Joanne from Brooklyn,
NY, a party means, “having the opportunity to wear a fancy
new dress.” And women are having as much fun seeing what others
are wearing as they are being seen. Anne, a 38-year-old from San
Francisco relates, “Ten years ago, we were still a bit stuck
in the dress up ‘uniform’ mode, whereas now you can be
at a party and see a little bit of everything. Outfits inspired
by the past five decades, Asian-inspired clothes, avant-garde clothes,
as well as the little black dress. It’s much more interesting
and fun now.” Wolf points out that vintage couture and styles
with a retro feel is a growing trend, particularly now that Julia
Roberts wore a Valentino dress from the 1980s to the 2001 Academy
Awards.
In the first quarter of 2001, the Monitor reported significant gains
in women’s interest in sources for apparel ideas. The leading
source - what women already own and like - was cited by 84 per cent
of women, which was the highest percentage ever and was up 17.3
percentage points over the same period last year. Forty-nine per
cent of women find that the people they see regularly are also a
main source of ideas, up from 42 per cent. Fashion magazines accounted
for 45 per cent, up 9.5 percentage points over last year, and celebrities
were selected by 24 per cent, up 9.7 points. “Shows like the
Academy Awards and Grammys, as well as magazines do inspire me to
get decked out sometimes,” says Nicole from Alabama. “They
often make me want to go shopping.” Powers from Neiman Marcus
points out that women appreciate other women’s efforts even
more so than men. She recalls wearing an unusual turquoise jacket
to a party, which her date didn’t ‘get,’ but after
several
women gave her compliments
on it, he said, ‘it grew on him.’
BY AGE, WOMEN WHO PREFER TO OVERDRESS
16-24 - 61%
25-35 - 57%
35-55 - 50%
56-70 - 23%
An interesting twist is that as much as women can appreciate a compliment,
it isn’t a motivating factor to get dressed up. According to
the Monitor, 58 per cent of women surveyed in 2000 disagreed with
the statement: “I like to get noticed because of the clothes
I wear.” In 1994, when the Monitor first asked that question,
only 52 per cent of women disagreed with that statement. Linda,
a 26-year-old fashion-conscious New York woman says, “I don’t
think anybody should notice the clothes first, before the person
wearing them. I know I don’t want to be a walking advertisement
for a designer.” Women who spend their days in a casual work
place are finding that they are looking for any excuse to get dressed
up at night. Slowey of Elle, says, “Women love options and
love change.” That sentiment is echoed by 22-year-old Dana
from Atlanta, who says, “Dress-up clothes break the monotony
of a week of office clothes.” Linda from New York adds, “My
work environment is casual and I don’t have to put all that
much effort into how I look from 9 to 5, but if I’m going out,
I want to look special.”
The catch is women expect the same level of comfort from their evening
clothes as they do from their everyday business casual clothes.
(The rule apparently doesn’t apply to footwear, since women
seem to be willing to totter uncomfortably on strappy high heels).
The Monitor addresses the subject of appearance in the question:
“You wear a really good looking sweater to a party and get
warm. Would you take it off to be cooler or leave it on because
it looks good?” Sixty-nine per cent would be more likely to
shed the sweater for the sake of comfort. Interestingly, 75 per
cent of women 16-24 - those who are most likely to overdress for
a party - would also opt for cool comfort. Although with today’s
body-baring styles, it’s possible that young women would choose
not to put a sweater on even if they’re cold. Fortunately,
there are designers who are attuned to the new criteria of comfort
for party-worthy clothes. Couturier Kenth Anderson, for example,
cross-stitches metallic threads to create luxurious moire-like details
to casual corduroy fabric for sexy miniskirts. Similarly, Kozaki
for Les Belles Choses, tones down the entrance-making effect of
the ‘Hollywood Goddess’ halter evening dress by making
it in navy denim. Alicia Bell, a 24-year-old designer, who is known
for her Victorian details such as bustles and pipe pleats, doesn’t
make evening clothes per se, but many of her designs find their
way to parties. Bell says, “Dressing up isn’t about a
head-to-toe look. It’s about one piece that stands out - if
it’s a fancy skirt, then wear a simple T-shirt.” Finding
the right clothes for an event doesn’t seem to be a problem
for most women. As Anne muses, “Sometimes I bemoan the fact
that there are not more places to wear all these great things!”
Source: Cotton Incorporated
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