Jessica Biel, long regarded as one of the most stylish women in Hollywood, has let her fans into the secret of her style – she lets her boyfriend, actor Justin Timberlake, take responsibility for what she wears. “He is fearless in choices,” the Total Recall actress states. “I’ll be honest; he has a better taste that I do.” Biel is not the only celebrity who has been happy to sit back and take fashion advice from their partner –Kim Kardashian recently accepted Kanye West’s sartorial advice on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians and, it has been suggested, on quite a few other occasions of late as her choice of clothes has taken a slightly new, classier direction. As men’s ideas of how women should dress widely diverges from how women actually do and like to dress, the question is – are these ladies doing the right thing?
As not all ladies can boast having partners as fashion conscious and as stylish as Justin Timberlake and Kanye West, it is inconceivable to think that many men will know the best advice for telling a lady how to dress. For many men, throwing on a pair of trainers with any outfit, regardless of formality, is their idea of being fashionable which does not translate to women’s dress. Men are often unable to accessorise, an integral part of many a lady’s style of dress, and have no idea how to co-ordinate outfits. For example, although most fashion conscious women know that a good idea is to never show both cleavage and legs in the same outfit, choosing to display one at a time, many men have no idea about this rule and would likely betray it in an instant. Men do not, for the most part, appreciate that it is possible to look chic and sexy whilst not plumping for short, fitted outfits. Similarly, as most men have no experience with wearing make-up they would have no clue as to how to use it when compiling an outfit. There are a lot of subtleties women utilise when combining an ensemble that men would never consider.
One example, as mentioned above, are that men, by and large, have no idea what makes a good pair of shoes for their own outfits. Choosing a pair of women’s shoes to compliment a dress is even harder; finishing off an outfit with a pair of cork wedges, ballet pumps of black stiletto heels can completely change the entire tone of the whole outfit.
One of the main things to consider when letting a man pick your wardrobe is that clothes are a primary way in which individuals chose to reflect their own personality, character and uniqueness. Allowing your partner to pick your clothes will often result in them picking outfits that reflect how they want you to dress, reflecting how they would like you to be, rather than how you actually are. A woman acquiescing to a man’s sartorial decision, more often than not, are submitting their position in a relationship and admitting that the man is in charge. Although it is important to know what your partner thinks of the way you look, it can be dangerous to let them tell you how to dress as you may not like the results.
Kieron Casey is a fashion writer who blogs for Barratts. Although he considers himself a relatively snappy dresser, he would not dare suggest telling his partner how to dress or advise her on her choice of ladies shoes.
