Why are women so complacent?
Most women are keenly aware of the challenges that traditional shopping represents. Women unjustly have the reputation of "spending hours in the stores" only because their shopping experience is designed to keep them lingering there. Take for example shopping for bras: Whereas it would be easiest if these were stored in boxes by size and colour with just one of each colour on display, these are out by the thousands in endless tangled webs of hangers and straps, leaving women exhausted and frustrated. Mostly, after going through the lot, one finds that the popular sizes are missing. And forget about going back to buy a bra you previously bought and liked - you'll likely be told that that was "seasonal" stock, meaning that once the stock is exhausted, a new style will be produced to replace it, leaving you again in the position of detangling and trying on dozens. You can't escape this endless frustration. You have to try everything on because there is no telling how each will fit. The fabrics and styles vary so much that each item of clothing, bra or other, will fit differently, even within a brand. You can't just buy a brand in "your" size within a brand you have worn before, no, that would be too efficient! Everything to do with shopping for women's clothes is conjured up to keep us IN the store as long as possible. There is not a woman I know who doesn't identify with these frustrations.
The same is true of all other clothing from shirts to skirts. Sizes have nothing to do with physical measurements, vary from garment to garment and brand to brand, country to country. NO woman I know doesn't have something better to do than to spend a whole day trying to find a skirt or a blouse that actually fits her. If a skirt is long enough and not indecently tight around the hips, it will undoubtedly be loose around the waist. Don't even think about custom fit! Adjustments? Seem allowances? Hemming? Not for us!
Women, who statistically represent 51% of the population at birth (and considerably more later in life), are abominably ill-served by the clothing industry. What wouldn't I give to have on offer what a man has who can walk into a store and ask for a shirt that is 15 1/2" around the neck, 33" in the sleeve, 100% cotton, in a specific colour and still have the choice between a fitted or ample cut! Can you imagine a skirt that comes in "Short", "Average" and "Long", with waist and hip measurements in inches, that can still be hemmed exactly as long as you'd like it?
Men come in all shapes and sizes, as women do, but are never made to feel inadequate if their arms are long or if they have a little pot. Quite the contrary, good men's shops pride themselves in being able to accommodate all men gracefully. Because they do, men generally feel comfortable as they are. If the shop can't fit them, the shop is inadequate, not the man. There is something to say about the message transmitted to men here: that their time and money are valuable and respected and that not being average in proportions is normal.
Men never have to compromise on fit or quality. Bottom line: men look (and feel) terrific regardless of their body peculiarities. Men's shops have tailors that custom fit the clothes they buy. When men buy a suit, it not only fits perfectly but looks good for years to come. It's money well spent. An actual investment! They didn't have to starve themselves to fit limited sized off-the rack clothes in pre-determined "ideal" proportions that the fashion industry dictates to their women counterpart. While women have tons of clothing choices, (designed of course to keep them fumbling endlessly in the stores,) clothing quality is lower and nothing is ever properly fitted or lasts long which drives us right back into the stores for the never ending quest to find something good to wear. Women's clothes are cheaply made, more often than not in synthetic fabrics, with no seam allowances. They may cost less but will not last and will quickly find their way to the give away pile. Buying clothing for us is a long string of stresses, compromises and disatisfaction, and worst of all, we are conditioned to blame ourselves for the shortcomings of the fashion industry. Something must be wrong with us if we spend too much time and money on clothes! If we can never find what we need among the millions of options on offer! If the clothes we buy look and fit so poorly!
Bottom line: women have less disposable income yet are cornered by the clothing industry into buying ill fitting, cheap clothes in an endless quest to look forever young and fashionable. What's the point of buying a quality jacket, boots, when next year's style will have an extra strap or whatever that will make yours look like last year's? And who would ever want that? Better of course to buy something cheap with just the right number of straps every few months.
The resources required of women to comply to the standards that our society defines as appropriate for us are enormous, if not all-consuming. Unlike men, women are judged by their youthfulness, and to look forever young, women are pressured into the fashion rollercoaster: she must have sexy hair, be manicured, pedicured, made-up, slinky bodied etc. These goals require hours of time and most of women's financial resources. Amazingly, while every possible machination is put in her way to success, women will often be criticized if they are unable to focus as much as their male counterpart at work. Women are often accused of being insatiable shoppers, fickle and shallow. The truth is that women are plagued by a sense of perpetual inadequacy, much of it propelled by societal pressures largely facilitated by the fashion industry.
Women are still valued as sex object today as always, and they accept this role all too complacently. As women, we comply to the most unrealistic whims of fashion and we accept the exhorbitent demands made on our resources for this conformity. Much has been done in recent decades to change this but just when women begin to develop the strength and understanding to resist, out come the powers that push her right back into enslavement. Few men ever have to worry about such pressures on their way to the big boys club. Few men ever have to compromise their mental and financial health or to relinquish their time resources to such superficialites. And everything is done to accommodate their needs in this regard. Everything men do is focused on how precious their resources are. They expect and demand service and quality efficencies that translate into economies of time and money. They would not have it any other way. Why should we?
Is it any wonder that so many young women everywhere, confronted with the pressure to conform to the most unattainable weight and body measurements, suffer from varying forms of anorexia? For most women, dieting is a way of life from the early teens (another muti-million dollar industry thriving at our expense) while reaching the ideal form is generally unatainable. This conditioning is deeply damaging and erodes the confidence of the most resilient among us. Short of blaming a conspiracy to keep women down, one must at least acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and as women, undertake to help ourselves and get off this threadmill.
The world of fashion is a huge bottomless pit that sucks women down and swallows them whole. It gobbles up all their resources and leaves them with an insatiable need to comply to unattainable and forever changing goals. To surrender to the demands of fashion is to surrender body and soul into slavery.
It's enough to start a revolution! Why are women so complacent?
The same is true of all other clothing from shirts to skirts. Sizes have nothing to do with physical measurements, vary from garment to garment and brand to brand, country to country. NO woman I know doesn't have something better to do than to spend a whole day trying to find a skirt or a blouse that actually fits her. If a skirt is long enough and not indecently tight around the hips, it will undoubtedly be loose around the waist. Don't even think about custom fit! Adjustments? Seem allowances? Hemming? Not for us!
Women, who statistically represent 51% of the population at birth (and considerably more later in life), are abominably ill-served by the clothing industry. What wouldn't I give to have on offer what a man has who can walk into a store and ask for a shirt that is 15 1/2" around the neck, 33" in the sleeve, 100% cotton, in a specific colour and still have the choice between a fitted or ample cut! Can you imagine a skirt that comes in "Short", "Average" and "Long", with waist and hip measurements in inches, that can still be hemmed exactly as long as you'd like it?
Men come in all shapes and sizes, as women do, but are never made to feel inadequate if their arms are long or if they have a little pot. Quite the contrary, good men's shops pride themselves in being able to accommodate all men gracefully. Because they do, men generally feel comfortable as they are. If the shop can't fit them, the shop is inadequate, not the man. There is something to say about the message transmitted to men here: that their time and money are valuable and respected and that not being average in proportions is normal.
Men never have to compromise on fit or quality. Bottom line: men look (and feel) terrific regardless of their body peculiarities. Men's shops have tailors that custom fit the clothes they buy. When men buy a suit, it not only fits perfectly but looks good for years to come. It's money well spent. An actual investment! They didn't have to starve themselves to fit limited sized off-the rack clothes in pre-determined "ideal" proportions that the fashion industry dictates to their women counterpart. While women have tons of clothing choices, (designed of course to keep them fumbling endlessly in the stores,) clothing quality is lower and nothing is ever properly fitted or lasts long which drives us right back into the stores for the never ending quest to find something good to wear. Women's clothes are cheaply made, more often than not in synthetic fabrics, with no seam allowances. They may cost less but will not last and will quickly find their way to the give away pile. Buying clothing for us is a long string of stresses, compromises and disatisfaction, and worst of all, we are conditioned to blame ourselves for the shortcomings of the fashion industry. Something must be wrong with us if we spend too much time and money on clothes! If we can never find what we need among the millions of options on offer! If the clothes we buy look and fit so poorly!
Bottom line: women have less disposable income yet are cornered by the clothing industry into buying ill fitting, cheap clothes in an endless quest to look forever young and fashionable. What's the point of buying a quality jacket, boots, when next year's style will have an extra strap or whatever that will make yours look like last year's? And who would ever want that? Better of course to buy something cheap with just the right number of straps every few months.
The resources required of women to comply to the standards that our society defines as appropriate for us are enormous, if not all-consuming. Unlike men, women are judged by their youthfulness, and to look forever young, women are pressured into the fashion rollercoaster: she must have sexy hair, be manicured, pedicured, made-up, slinky bodied etc. These goals require hours of time and most of women's financial resources. Amazingly, while every possible machination is put in her way to success, women will often be criticized if they are unable to focus as much as their male counterpart at work. Women are often accused of being insatiable shoppers, fickle and shallow. The truth is that women are plagued by a sense of perpetual inadequacy, much of it propelled by societal pressures largely facilitated by the fashion industry.
Women are still valued as sex object today as always, and they accept this role all too complacently. As women, we comply to the most unrealistic whims of fashion and we accept the exhorbitent demands made on our resources for this conformity. Much has been done in recent decades to change this but just when women begin to develop the strength and understanding to resist, out come the powers that push her right back into enslavement. Few men ever have to worry about such pressures on their way to the big boys club. Few men ever have to compromise their mental and financial health or to relinquish their time resources to such superficialites. And everything is done to accommodate their needs in this regard. Everything men do is focused on how precious their resources are. They expect and demand service and quality efficencies that translate into economies of time and money. They would not have it any other way. Why should we?
Is it any wonder that so many young women everywhere, confronted with the pressure to conform to the most unattainable weight and body measurements, suffer from varying forms of anorexia? For most women, dieting is a way of life from the early teens (another muti-million dollar industry thriving at our expense) while reaching the ideal form is generally unatainable. This conditioning is deeply damaging and erodes the confidence of the most resilient among us. Short of blaming a conspiracy to keep women down, one must at least acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and as women, undertake to help ourselves and get off this threadmill.
The world of fashion is a huge bottomless pit that sucks women down and swallows them whole. It gobbles up all their resources and leaves them with an insatiable need to comply to unattainable and forever changing goals. To surrender to the demands of fashion is to surrender body and soul into slavery.
It's enough to start a revolution! Why are women so complacent?
posted by .abc. at Thursday, July 02, 2009
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