A few weeks ago, a reader left a comment that made me think about the things we wear every day and why we wear them. She was asking for advice on what to do when people ask “why are YOU so dressed up?” As if wearing something cute that makes you feel good is a “strange” thing to do!
That comment got me thinking about dressing up and what that means.
Since when did it become an unusual thing to put effort into what you wear and have fun with fashion? Since when is anyone not wearing sweatpants and a hoodie breaking unwritten social rules? Why should “dressing up” be reserved for special occasions only?
I was immediately inspired to create this list. I firmly believe in “dressing up” every day of your life, and I think you should too!
So why dress up? Here are 25 good reasons.
1. Because life’s too short to blend in. Don’t settle for average.
2. Because you’re only young once. You’re way more gorgeous than you know and have a fabulous body you’ll one day look back on and wish you had! Take advantage now and show off how fabulous you can be.
3. Because fashion is a method of self expression. What are you trying to say?
4. Because you never know who you’ll run into. Brad Pitt at the grocery store? Hey, stranger things have happened.
5. Because it obviously annoys closed-minded people (like the guy who asks why YOU are so dressed up). The fact that it annoys them so much is all the more reason to keep doing it. They don’t get to control YOU.
6. Because you never know, there’s always a chance you could get snapped by The Sartorialist!
7. Because you deserve to look your best at all times if you want to.
8. Because you’ll never improve your sense of style if your default look is “I give up”. Yes, that was a Seinfeld reference. But it’s true! If fashion is important to you, make it a priority in your life.
9. Because dressing up helps you weed out friends who don’t love you for you. If they have a problem with the way you dress, they’re not the kind of friends you want around.
10. Because cute clothes and accessories are a great conversation starter. Wear something fabulous and people will ask you where you got it.
11. Because parties aren’t the only time to celebrate.
12. Because that fabulous party dress in your closet cost too much to only be worn once. Remember cost per wear?
13. Because it’s fun and can boost your mood!
14. Because even if you live in an “unstylish” city and are scared to dress up, cities don’t become stylish without someone going first. I know it sounds cheesy, but be the change you want to see in the world. Everyone else can follow your fabulous lead.
15. Because dressing up helps you make fashion mistakes and get past them. Mistakes happen to everyone and that’s how you learn what not to do – get them out of the way now!
16. Because it’s a test of your confidence. Dressing unconventionally forces you to develop the self-assurance necessary to stand out from everyone else.
17. Because fashion is one of the rare instances where art comes alive. What artistic statement do you want to make?
18. Because if you’ve got it (great style, killer confidence, amazing legs), it’s just wrong not to flaunt it.
19. Because someday when you have a 9-5 corporate job and are required to wear business suits, you’re going to miss the freedom of dress you had in college. Experiment now! There’s no better time.
20. Because glamour isn’t only reserved for the rich and famous, even though maybe they’d like you to believe it is.
21. Because if conspiracy theorists are to be believed, the world might end any day now. Don’t spend your theoretical final days in sweats.
22. Because Carrie Bradshaw would not approve of your sweatpants and UGG boots. You can do better than that. And deep down, you know I’m right.
23. Because dressing well means you don’t have to do your hair at all – you’ll have that ultra fabulous, slightly disheveled Kate Moss look.
24. Because nothing beats the rush you feel when you look in the mirror and LOVE what you see.
25. Because you want to. That’s the only reason that matters.
Why do YOU dress up?
What do you think? Do you make an effort to dress up every day? What inspires you to put effort into your look? Tell me what you think by leaving a comment.
Your theory goes beyond college girls. I am 70 years old and I dress nicely everyday unlike women of my age. I feel good in my beautiful and comfortable cloths in a good life setting. Life is short, why waste it?
I’ve always loved seeing people dressing nice when everyone around them has on sweat pants and sweatshirts, etc. Now, I do agree that there are ways to make those two pieces of clothing look fashionable, however they seem to be the uniform for university.
I always used to dress myself based off what I thought others might say or think about me if I did dress super nice. Now, I did dress well put together here and there, but you can probably guess that I held in a lot of my true self by doing that. Another thing was people would always push the saying ” you go to school for education not for a fashion show”.
Now that I’m at university I finally feel free to be myself. Yes, the majority of students do wear their loose and comfortable clothing, but there was one boy who I saw wearing white, thick heel, faux leather booties, rusty brown flare pants, a white blouse loose at the arms, and a white durag. GIRL. He snapped and that was that. End of conversation. Period. Anyways, once I saw him I was thinking in my head “Yes, a person who knows how to dress themselves!” and that made me feel less alone.
Theres 3 things I go by now:
First, Do what ever you want
Secondly, No one really cares if you dress nice, in fact it’s relieving to some
Thirdly, seriously do whatever you want it’s university.
Honestly I feel this is the place to really be your truest most raw self. My mother was telling me that after university it’s out into the real world where you might not have the same freedom of expression anymore.
This is my first year at university( I’m starting in the spring due to the pandemic) and one thing I like to do is just look at people. Not in a creepy way, but I like to look at how they walk, what they wear of course, how their faces look (when I can see them without the mask), you know just everything. I look at people like art. So, I love it when people express themselves through their clothing because a person who moves in a reserved manner might be wearing bright red with mango and that helps me understand them better with out having to even talk to them.
Wonderful article!
These days due to pandemic no one is going out but I still like to dress up and accessorise my dress with jewellery. It makes me feel good, happy and blessed even at home.
Being Muslim every Friday is special to us so we wear new or the best ones on Friday.
I’m 16 years old, and live in a small town in Louisiana, out here, dressing up is frowned upon, I swear these people wore shorts to PROM. I secretly LOVE to dress up, I love to wear heels, but I severely struggle with confidence, I have acne and all that good stuff, but ultimately I loved this article and I’m making a promise to myself that starting Monday, I’m going to dress up?
Congrats! this is really great.
http://bit.ly/2js9cxG
Dressing good is a matter of creativity and style, not money. As a shopper i go everywhere. Macys, dillards, nordstrom, marshalls, ross and ecc. I dont usually buy whats on full price in the expensive stores and im able to find amazing clothes at great deals, seven dollas, etc. Most of the times tho i dont find something that caughts my attention in expensive stores as much as i find in Ross for example. I dress really good, and i have tones of five dollars shirts from ross. I have amazin guess shoes that i wasnt able to find so beautiful in the own guess store itself. I have many brand outfit i got from ross. A beautiful guess purse, one of the best guess handbags ive seen from that brand i found from 120 for 60 dollars at dsw, but it was on clearance so i got it for 30. Having money does not affect the way you wear. It maybe harder to find good clothes but you will still find em. Persevere girls! I cant stand watching american girls walking around with pijamas pants. If you dont have much money to spend buy “key” clothes. Show you beauty.
great, I just cant with this lupus and ra has me soo down
I consider dressing up to be a public service. I have so many favourable remarks and usually from people who are smiling.