A long time ago, I accepted the fact that no matter what you do, what you say, or what clothes you have on, someone will always have something to say about it, good or bad. We all do it; I know I do, I am only human.
Well it came as a surprise to me two weeks ago when a student at the University of Maine stopped me while I was walking to my car and asked why I dressed the way that I did. (For references sake, I was wearing black suit trousers, black pointed stiletto’s, leather gloves, and a bright red pea coat trench, along with a pill box hat, which I have been incorporating into my wardrobe lately.) I understand that I was dressed up more than the average student and my hat was a little outlandish; however the next words out of his mouth shook me to my core.
“You must be really high maintenance!”
SAY WHAT!? Me?! – Ha! I beg to differ sir…(I did not really say that, I just denied it and went off to work.)
On my way to work I thought to myself, “am I giving off the vibe that I am high maintenance because I dress well and can pull myself together on a daily basis?” I always believe that if you don’t like the fish, then change your bait, therefore, I did not want to be noticed by guys who love women in yoga pants and sweatpants, I wanted to be noticed by guys who take a little more pride in their daily wardrobe, just like I do.
So this is what this article is about; “is dressing up daily, sending men a vibe that you are high maintenance?”
I anonymously surveyed 50 men at the university; I posted the survey to the Announcements folder and 50 men took they survey.
The majority of men (46 percent) were between the ages of 21 and 29 and were of junior status.
The first question the survey asked was “Do you notice when a woman dresses up for classes everyday?” I obviously hoped so, and I was correct; 94 percent replied yes, they do notice when a woman dresses up for classes. This breathes a sigh of relief to me, at least some people notice that I want to look nice!
With all of the fashion trends that are in the magazines, it seems to be that yoga pants and sweatpants are the new jeans, unfortunately. However, ladies, you might want to rethink wearing your yoga pants and sweatpants to class if you want to be noticed, 84 percent of men, according to my survey, answered that they are more attracted to women who dress up for classes, while only 14 percent said they liked sweatpants.
So now here comes my big question that I was dreading the answers to… “when you see a woman dressed up on campus, do you perceive her as ‘high maintenance?” 80 percent of men answered no; PHEW, there’s a sigh of relief!, however the other 20 percent said yes; this brings me back to my initial point of no matter what you wear, someone will always have something good or bad to say about it.
With two questions left, I knew the answer to one of them, which was “is being high maintenance a good thing?” Again, the answer was about 80 percent no, and 20 percent yes; although, this shocked me that 20 percent said that high maintenance was a good thing, I thought for sure that it was going to be 100 percent no; people never cease to amaze me.
One question left, the one I love the most because it restores my faith in looking classy while going to class. “How do women get a mans attention without dressing up or looking high maintenance?” This question was a short answer, and here are just some of the lovely, reassuring words I received from the male species!
“Dressing up conveys to me that a woman can take care of herself rather than that she is high maintenance. Just looking nice is the best thing.”
“Honestly, I feel like if a woman can’t put a little effort into looking like she wanted to get out of bed, she’s not my type. I always wear a nice button down and jeans, because I want to look like I want to be there, because I do. I’m all for comfort, but when she’s in sweatpants that don’t fit and it’s obvious she didn’t even brush her hair before throwing it up…No thank you.”
“Say things like hello, how are you? Or Hey! Not wearing the same boots and yoga pants that hundreds if not thousands wear on campus. Smelling nice without smelling too strong. A nice smile works well also.”
“Saying intelligent things, Presenting creative ideas, showing interest, or initiative, behaving in an intriguing manner. Superficial effects aren’t my interest, as a heterosexual male, I find nearly all women physically attractive. Cosmetics do not interest me, only that when kissing a girl wearing cosmetics, it tastes f***ing awful and probably cost a baby seal or whale its life in a single application. Huh, I guess I’m strongly opposed to cosmetics.”
There you have it ladies, dressing up will attract a mans attention, but make sure your personality shines through too; and make sure you remember, if you take pride in your clothes, it does not mean you are high maintenance, it just means that you know how to dress yourself and put yourself together, which is sexy in and of itself.