My audience members who care about fashion/what I wear:

Son (18 yo)
Daughter (23 yo)
A handful of co-workers
About half of my friends

Audience members who don't care about fashion/what I wear:

My husband (but he loves me and wishes I spent less on clothes)
Most of my co-workers (though I think they like me)
The rest of my friends (I know they like me)

Audience members who really care about what I wear:
Me!

My "audience" has changed substantially.

I changed from working part time in a local authority (with some uniform / dress code restriction) in a regional town to a corporate professional services office at the big end of town. So I added a few new items to my wardrobe for that. Feels like coming home in a way, as I prefer more dressed up looks.However this enviroment is more business casual than it used to be 10 years ago, when I left it before, so that is a bit of a challenge

My church demographic is younger, more urban and has a lot of students, (instead of families, retirees, almost no- one aged 18-28) . That took some adjusting too, and I felt I had to buy skinnies to fit it, but now I am more comfortable there don't think I have to change my style that much.

MRL, I like your total accounting. I'm so vain, I think everyone cares about what I wear. That cracks me up, lol.

Hmm, trying to think.
Fellow bus passengers.
Friends.
Activity group people.
At the opera, I've gotten compliments from the ushers on more than one occasion.

Hmm. In winter it often feels like it doesn't matter because everyone except DS and DH is pretty much only seeing the same old puffer and stompy boots.

That's a big audience change, Anne. I wonder now if I my more dress-code style of dressing in the '90s was as much a reflection of the times as my youthful just add water approach to clothes. Church style is an interesting topic too. A lot depends on the actual church you're in. Here where I am now, people get all hify about shorts. But in the West Indies (where my family is from)... Yes, not so much.

Wait April - that's me all year round in the puffer! Lol!

Anna - ushers I'd think are a tough audience(!) Now I'm thinking about who my toughest audience might be...

My audience is my mirror. My husband doesn't notice what I wear. I work at home most days but still dress like I'm going out. I dress a bit nicer for office days, where the few guys there, including my husband, don't notice or care what I wear. I dress up for church on Sundays. But really, it's all for me. I want to feel good and see someone put together in the mirror. Usually the mirror is easy-going and supportive, but sometimes it can be quite the critic!

Pastrygirl - but what if you wore a big bird yellow fuzzy stole? I'm thinking of my bf. I ask what he thinks, and he says, 'What's wrong with it?' Resentfully. Lol. My mirror is like my bf actually... I need a mirror like yours!

LOL! I actually wore kelly green pants for my first day at work in September...and THAT my husband remembers! For days he just kept saying how GREEN they were.

Has anyone mentioned YLF? Because I dress for you all, even if you don't see me!

My Hubby works from home, so now he sees me in more than lounge wear.
I have a uniform for work, but try to amp it up with interesting shoes and earrings.
My fellow choristers see me at weekly practice.
Work-out gear for Pilates, Yoga and walking the dog.
I usually dress for grocery shopping, errands and the Mall.
It is very useful to be reasonably attired for clothes-trying-on- helps with the score out of ten process!

My audience hasn't changed. For the most part it's DH, Maggie the furbaby, people at church from more casual daily Mass, small group meetings, Sunday services, my students and adult aides and more, friends we see for dinner, the gym, women's meetings, people I see in restaurants, galleries, farmers market, symphony, plays, relatives, anyone who notices. Mostly I dress to please myself and DH. Mags has to check me out to see if I smell like I've been with another dog. She likes my walking shoes best.
It isn't hard to come up with opportunities to dress up a bit. A local college has lots of free and inexpensive events that have broadened my world. I could go to some church related event, probably more than one, daily, not to mention all the volunteer opportunities available. Then there's always shopping. The SAs at Nordies, bless them, always notice outfits.
Visiting shut-ins..they always notice. Tutoring...kids always notice. Etc.

Well there are DH, DS and two ever watchful DDs.
There are the ladies who thrift, whom I see frequently.
My one on one friends that I see occasionally.
Our social meal friends that I see on rotation every week or two, sometimes more sometimes less.
Two grown up nieces every six weeks or so.
Random neighborhood shopkeepers, postal workers and so on.
Out of country guests more often than you would think.
(All work is remote.)
Quite a lot for a person with hermit tendencies actually!

Lol, pastrygirl. I knew it!

Una - Oh you know we all look forward to your WIWs. Big audience here!

Lyn - So right about good shopping attire.

Joy - That's a good cross-section. And so funny about the pups. Lilypup sniffs me to see if I've been eatin'! Like I'm a guilty lush! Hahaha!

Shevia - Hermit you say? Heavens to Betsy if you were social, lol.

Regularly:
- my friends who don't care about fashion/style/clothes
- people at the (very casual) workplace, both staff and public
- my fellow students who are all over the place style wise, but per se casual
- YLF

Irregularly:
- my family

I really don't have any reson to dress up in everyday life...

My usual audience is DH, the neighbours and townsfolk. I live in a country town and people are liable to drop in any time during daylight hours. They might catch me in gardening clobber, dog walking gear or in neat casual clothes, it depends what I'm up to. For community meetings I aim for the dressier end of the casual spectrum.
This year I have joined a book club in the city that meets monthly and that gives me an opportunity to dress up a wee bit.
I make a lot of family visits so there's another audience. Most of the women and a few of the blokes in my family share an interest in clothes and I like to hear their comments.
I have been riding pillion on DH's motor bike for about 6 months now which means Kevlar jeans, boots and an armoured jacket. Not stylish at all but I wear a nice top under the jacket so that when we stop for coffee or bump into people we know I feel presentable.
I am lucky that I often get nice comments about my appearance; DH is by far my most appreciative audience. Gotta love him.
This was a very interesting question Rachel. I began by thinking I don't dress for an audience, that I dress only for me or some internal style coach. But then I realised that was not true.

What a great post, Racy, thank you.

I am still an SAHM, with a much smaller audience this year. My kids grade level no longer has weekly volunteers and my daughter quit guitar and voice lessons.

It it mostly errands, our small town little general store, the parent drop off in the morning, the kindergartners at the front of the bus, who always wave at me......my parents, sister and her PCA. Of course my nuclear family. And all my doctors in the big city, though a lot less now, as I get better.

The one that seems to truly care on a very active level is our new 8 lb dog. He loves to get under sweaters or polar fleeces and robes to cuddle. That is a low bar for me though !

Astrid - It occurs to me to wonder if you feel there are nonetheless restrictions on your dress, even if there's little reason to dress up. I've been thinking recently, "Oh to be a student again and dress all crazy!" But on second thought, I'm not sure that's quite true.

Lantana - That's true, isn't it? We may not "live in fear" of what other people think, but we still decided what to wear in consideration of them. To entertain, to please, not upset (I'm thinking of friends and family who have real trouble looking at vibrating pattern, which can induce vertigo).

Isabel - Little kids are fun to dress for because they like fun quirky things. And I know all about one's dog assessing one's wardrobe for nest-lining potential. Lol. So cute.

What a timely question for me! A little over a year ago I moved from a medium-sized southern European city to a US college town of about the same size. Previously, I would have said my audience was anyone and everyone--colleagues, neighbors, shop clerks, people on the street, tourists--and that faciendo la bella figura was something to which nearly everyone I ever came in contact with gave some thought on a daily basis. Now most people I see on the street are in gear, and my students are my primary audience. Although I still get regular compliments (on my shoes--chiefly oxfords--mostly), I do miss having the constant feedback of both sensory stimulation (friends' style, street style, shop windows) and regular conversation about style. I'm surprisingly happy dressing for myself and for the classroom dais most days, though, and my style has relaxed a bit as I have relaxed into my role. Whereas a year ago I felt the need for jackets most days to lend a bit of gravitas, nowadays I trust my presence to carry authority and dress a little more freely.

Mmh, I would think for going about my day in the city, meeting up with my friends and going to lectures/tutorials I could go totally crazy and nobody would care. Although, that's not quite true - I probably couldn't go in sweatpants or workout gear (like I know from pictures many Americans do). And not super sexy and revealing for Uni. Not that somebody would say something, but they would think it. But I really think a long as you're dressed in somewhat decent clothes I would say anything goes stylewise. It's true that I don't do any experiments at the workplace, I mostly wear FFBOs there. Nothing too crazy and always my better clothes, even if that only means the newer pair of jeans.

So my earlier response was partly joking of course, but I am amused by how fashion totally goes out the window when I'm on the ranch. And hair styling. And makeup.

But in my normal life, my audience is:

- me -- I dress to make myself happy
- my husband -- I like to look good for him
- my friends, neighbors, people out and about in stores, on the street, etc. -- I don't try to impress, but again, I try to look nice for people I run into
- my clients -- I like having a creative style that conveys a notion that I am an artist but also says that I'm a *professional* artist who delivers a client's needs
- YLF -- even when I don't photograph and post WIWs, I think about how an outfit might go over with y'all

There has been a huge change for me this year. Huge. Before my audience was my husband, friends and other parents at drop-off, and now I'm in a crowd of art school youngsters, many of whom pay lots of attention to how they present themselves. And anything goes. Except office wear.

It's way more fun dressing to for an art school audience than a suburban housewife one.

Faith - "faciendo la bella figura was something to which nearly everyone I ever came in contact with gave some thought on a daily basis" - That's such an interesting observation. My dad, who was not American, had such opinions on dressing and fashion. It really isn't very American for a man to discuss fashion. And style in America has such a different nature and meaning, I find...

Astrid - I just had a random thought... Does Germany have punk rockers? Flamboyant art students? Lol. Where do you find them? (You *are* in Germany right? Having a blackout here... ;))

Janet - Do you find your different audiences are actually a harmonious whole? Can you wear the same outfits for all of them?

Aziraphale - What are you doing with your art school freedom? That has got to be way too much fun. I might wear turbans if I were you, just for the heck of it...

Yes, I'm in Berlin. And you do find those. And more.

It's really odd - I just realised, I haven't seen any fashion photos from Germany like that, not recently. Nor from Italy or Spain or Switzerland either... And never anything at all from Finland...

What, you mean like punk rockers? When you go out here you see Hipsters galore and I think those are the type of people into blogging, but that doesn't mean there aren't other styles out there.

I don't think I possess, nor have I ever possessed, the chutzpah to wear a turban.

(But I agree -- it's fun having an audience whose overall taste you admire).

Azirahpale - But you're in art school

Astrid - Ya, I was thinking punk rockers and folks in giant funky, Mad Hatter hats - like at the Marc Jacobs show for 2012 (http://entertainmentaroundthew.....fall-2012/). Those folks always seem to be in either London or New York to me...

Lol. I'll keep that in mind, Rachy. If I experience any sudden urges to don a turban, I'll remind myself that now's the time.