Ah, yes, Dana -- I like that formulation much better -- it isn't AUDIENCE so much as COMMUNITY that I am craving with my writing -- or my fashion experiments. A bunch of people who on some level, "get it."

I guess that's why I'm most interested in opinions from those two segments of audience -- the ones doing it as well (i.e. community) and the "appreciators" -- i.e. folks who just enjoy, take in, pay attention.

I'm not really adding much to the the conversation here, except that I am enjoying reading all of the responses! I agree with Suz in that if there is a specific audience, then I up my game. I dress for myself, but sure, if I'm not going to be out of the house then it's usually my "B" list clothes - ie comfy but i'm not scared to spill a little bleach on 'em. But nothing ruins my day more than looking in the mirror and feeling frumpy, so I at least try to put something decent together at home. More and more I'm dressing for "me" in that I'm learning what works for me, and more importantly what doesn't work for me. If I'm wearing my best "me" then of course I'm more comfortable around my "audience," and therefore, I'm a happier person.

I think I dress first for myself and then with others in mind if I'm going to be "on" such as in front of employees, clients, and other business colleagues. Since I work at home much of the time like others, I don't *have* to dress a certain way, but I really just don't like wearing lounge wear in the day unless I don't feel well. It reminds me too much of being sick as a kid or of those mom's who wore their housecoats or mumus all day back in the 70's.

At this point in life I'm not sure that anything in my closet would be inappropriate for most audiences so I don't really think about it that much -- unless it's for a formal event, in which case I'm usually out of my typical comfort zone.

I think I mainly dress for myself. I wear things that make me feel happy and and that are a reflection of who I am. I agree with Suz in that people are going to perceive you in different ways and perhaps not in the way you think. I'm home during the day and even if I'm not going out I always pull myself together, wear makeup, etc. I turn it up a notch if I'm going out. It makes me feel better about myself.

I think some people suffer from this.....

Well, as my audience is primarily a 3 year old and a newborn, that might explain the yoga pants and tee shirt. Feeling very dressed up today with DH home and wearing boot cut jeans and a tee!

I dress for myself pretty much. I think I can say this because I put a coat over everything, so no one sees my clothes.

When it's really cold (by my definition), I have to confess all style bets are off. I wear the first beanie I can find, my puffer, and the nearest pair of fuzzy booties - fake Uggs / slipper booties. I look like a crazy person living in a box under the overpass.

I feel better when dressed nicely, so I do dress for myself. I also dress for others--my DH, my office, etc. To me, it's important to dress appropriately for each occasion, and I do care how I look and how others perceive me.

I'm lucky in the sense that I've never really had a lot of restrictions on what I wear. At my last job the dress code was "keep it clean and unoffensive". That allowed my to focus on what I want to say about myself with a huge amount of freedom.

While I'll claim dressing for myself is a priority and I absolutely want to feel authentically myself. I wouldn't wear the same thing to go see a band that I would out for afternoon coffee so audience matters as well. Sometimes I think I dress for the audience in my head.

I've had it drilled into my head since childhood that I need to sell myself in pretty much everything I do. I think my mother was hyper critical or hyper aware of who wore what and who looked like what . In my giftware and home furnishings business, it's pretty important to sell myself first before I sell anything else, and I feel it's critical to look the part of someone who knows the product and "gets" the concept of trends, aesthetics and quality. For my publishing/sales rep business, it's a different story. I dress less fashion-y for those meetings. But still, my clothes are both my armour and how I present myself for "your" approval. This isn't wonderful, and it certainly goes beyond selling oneself in the work place, but it is how I function. I struggle to lessen the affect others' perceived impression has on me. For me, how I dress is very much a reflection of my self-esteem and I am the first to admit that personal failing or weakness.

Not sure I'm adding much to this very interesting thread, but here are a few disjointed thoughts:

1. I absolutely dress for an audience in the sense that it would never occur to me to wear anything other than loungewear to sit at home all day or to get dressed beyond basic bounds of leaving-the-house decency if I'm just running to the grocery store, but I put more care into things when I'm actually interacting with people. Like others, I also consider an audience in that I always want to look situation-appropriate and wear things that won't be jarringly out of whack with others' expectations. I'm also on Team Frantically Clean Up When Guests Are Coming, FWIW.

2. I'm with Thimbelina in assuming that people do notice what I'm wearing, but as a "hazy overall impression," to copy her phrase, rather than parsing and judging fine details. Or maybe that's just because that's what I usually do, so I assume it's universal. Otherwise, trying to get dressed with the assumption that everyone's judging me based on fine points of my outfit that I don't even notice would drive me crazy!

3. Imagining an "audience" at a more abstract level actually plays into how I figure out whether clothes are authentically me or not. At some level, I think I'm always imagining a fictional version of myself, then asking myself whether some hypothetical reader/viewer would think my clothes (or whatever else) feel right for the character. Maybe that's partly why I don't have the problem with wearing loungewear that others do. I'm just so self-evidently the kind of person who'd be in cute graphic tees and cozy sweatpants whenever I'm hanging around the house. Getting dressed in "real" clothes to stay home would feel inauthentic for me!

4. I can't believe that the teachers here get so many rude comments from students about their appearances/wardrobe. Just seems so obnoxious.

I dress primarily for fun. At work, I dress for comfort. My work went from a uniform to a dress code. Since we really never see our managers, most of us don't pay a lot of attention to it. If I were dressing to fit in with my co-workers, I'd be wearing leggings (the really thin kind) and promotional type tees or worn out tops. I keep 1 old tee and one old sweatshirt for hair dying, but I don't have space to store a lot of junk. I normally wear a tee or long sleeve thin shirt and a knit topper. I need to be able to shed layers.

If I were dressing for the forum, I'd probably skew more modern classic. I'm not seeking more polish, and I sit out more trends than I embrace. I was trying to find my versions of most things, but current trends are moving much further away from things I actually want to wear. I really do enjoy seeing how others adopt trends though and embrace their style even when its very different from mine. I post WIWs because I feel it is the easiest way that we get to know each other.

There are occasions where I would dress for my audience, like a job interview. My nephew is getting married next month. I haven't met his fiancé or her family. I am aware that my normal attire may not be seen as wedding appropriate. My nephew has 1 son who does not live with him. He is now expecting twins and his fiancé has 3 children. It's going to be a huge change for him.

I think of dressing for others vs dressing for ourselves as a spectrum where some of us are at the ends and some fall in the middle. I feel a little like IK, and something Greyscale posted recently. If you like what I wear, good. If you don't, that's fine too.

I have returned to say, *No, I lied.* I always think about audience. Don't know what I was thinking. I work hard tho to walk the line

Hmm, I am usually the most dressed-up person amongst my friends, so I feel like I dress primarily to make myself feel good. However, I definitely consider my audience. If I am not going to work, I will wear clothes that show more skin or are a bit trendier than if I am working.

Fascinating thread!

For me how I dress is on a continuum. I have a difficult school meeting this afternoon where I will likely be delivering bad news. I will dress in something tidy but not too dressy or noticeable. Our school has a wide spectrum of cultures and children so for school events I am cautious around modesty issues. I also would not want to look too wealthy because there are some struggling families. On the other hand I am the Chair of the Board so I need to look smart and competent and confident. I have worked out a few outfits that seem to work for these occasions and repeat them often.

If I am going out with friends, especially in a bigger city, I like to dress in a more fashion forward way, almost to say " I live in a small city, and I am still fashionable and interesting". I am not sure if this is something to be proud of, but I do it! And if meeting a friend who shares an interest in clothing I will wear something fun as I know she will notice and appreciate it.

In between these times I mostly dress for me. I wear clothes that I like and one day I will wear gear all day and the next I will wear a dress and heels, just because.

As to how much people notice, I think it varies hugely. Some observers would notice a new ring or pair of glasses or suit, others would vaguely think the person looked okay or slightly different. I myself can be slow to pick up on changes such as new glasses, I do notice a new hair do though!

I'm nodding my head at a lot of what Suz says, that audience or perceived audience can help creativity and execution. It ups your game whether you are dressing or writing or crafting.

Like someone else mentioned, I see 'fashion' dressing as a form of play. So while audience matters, some audience matters more than others to me out and about in daily life, primarily those who are interested in this form of play as well, who see humor and fun in it rather than srs bizness. So I do things like theme dress -- wear outfits loosely inspired by the movie I'm going to see (Victorian tights for Grand Budapest Hotel, leather and wool for Mockingjay).

I think about audience in a more serious way for more serious settings and interactions, and keep my overall goal for the outcome in mind while planning outfits in these cases. I think more about dressing for physical safety when taking the bus at night for instance, than for going out to drinks with my husband. Also I understand the teacher under the spotlight thing, been there, done that and it definitely can help with developing both dressing as armor strategies and a thick skin where you let a lot of what the peanut gallery thinks just roll off you.

But I have trouble with the idea of 'general' audience as something that I consciously consider and try to please with dress. Partly it's that every form of creativity that is publicly exhibited has fans and has detractors, people who don't get it, don't value it, or find it threatening. From personal experience I've found for myself that this is often quite unpredictable, and the same piece that collectors or a gallery might love, might get me hate mail. In that case which audience do I consider? Whose opinion do I value and whose do I ignore? I have to ultimately go with my gut and from a place of courage rather than fear.

I think both.
I'm aware of the community (spirit, appropriateness, communality of events, like parties or weddings). And a bit of audience for, see my fun outfit.

But some things that IK and Shevia said really resonate--that since I don't really know a lot of the time, I might either misunderstand or be "misunderstood". The irony of that is so interesting that it really does make you come full circle to dressing for yourself.

Interesting note about whether or not others really pay attention to what you are wearing. There is lots of research to back up the idea that people don't really notice what others look like UNLESS (1) something strikes them as novel or unusual, (2) they are seeking information, confirmation, and/or validation in that area, or (3) (actually the biggest one for most people) they don't like something. Negative judgements and evaluations are far more common than positive ones when it comes to judgements based largely on surface cues.

The other interesting tidbit from research is that most of us form these quick judgements after a very preliminary assessment of obvious traits (again appearance and dress are big ones) AND, even more interesting, are likely to look for confirmation of our spot judgements instead of refutation during further interaction and observations. Negative judgements are more "sticky" than positive ones.

As for students commenting about their teachers, the harshest judgements and comments are more likely to come from parents. Students get to know their instructors because of time spent together so preliminary impressions can change over time, much the same as with colleagues in a work environment. Parents, and others who have only a quick or infrequent contact, are more likely to act on limited information. A kindergarten teacher with multiple facial piercings and body art who likes show off her well-toned body in black leather "rock chic" pants is much more likely to face more obstacles with parents than with the pre-schoolers in her class--and, if she was 50+, it would get even more interesting. Public jobs often require public personas and dress is one of the important ways to establish credentials and character in the eyes of the average person.

That is interesting gaylene!
One thing I skipped is how joyful & tribal sharing clothing cues can be. My special ed transition adults occasionally reach out & literally feel my boots, or my earrings, or a sweater if it catches their fancy & we've shared nonverbal 'conversations' around these touchstones.

When I meet with clients or go to my contract gig where I don't see clients, I probably dress 80% for me and 20% for them, meaning I tone it down a bit, wear dressier shoes, and/or skew a bit more conservative to meet their expectations of how an attorney should dress. When I was younger (no, make that young!) I would dress more conservatively and classically so as not to look too young. Well, that ship has sailed. Now, at age 61 I don't want to look frumpy schlumpy.

Since joining YLF, at church and in my women's group, I've received countless comments from numerous people about how stylish I've become. Gulp. So now I feel like I can't throw on any old thing as long as it's clean. I've gotta rep to maintain! But I do dress exactly as I want.

If I'm not going out, my clothing choices don't change much except for footwear. It's mostly the makeup that's minimal or nonexistent when I stay home.