Clubbing…. An atmosphere that is made up of more than just music, lights, alcohol, intoxication and dancing. It’s about the way you look in a club. How one dresses determines how others rate or categorizes you. Everyone knows that a girl takes the longest time to get ready. I know i take an hour to get ready just for school. When it concerns clubbing, i definetly need more time. I need to decide on alot of things: from clothes till shoes. There’s an extra effort put into dressing when it concerns clubbing. Why is that so? If it is a just a place to unwind and dance, why must one put alot of effort into dressing?
Short skirts, halter tops, low cut tops, tight skinny jeans, bling bling accessories and high heels are all associated when clubbing. When one person does not follow this socially constructed dress code, they are frowned upon. What do others see in us? Do you think about other people making judgements about you? What sort of impression do you make on people that you meet for the first time when you go clubbing?
People go clubbing for different interests. Some to enjoy with their friends and others to pick up an attractive partner.
Imagine this: A girl wears a short miniskirt and is dancing with her friends on the dancefloor. A guy sees this girl and thinks that she is an easy target. He makes a move on her and she does not retaliate. Her friends push the guy away from her. This scenario shows that just because of the way the girl is dressed, the guy has the impression that she is easy. This usually happens in clubs.
I think people who go clubbing feel that for that one night, their life is on a stage where one portrays their life in a socially constructed manner. Our behaviour is controlled to create a certain impression known as self-presentation and impression management. We dress according to the “dress code”; presenting ourselves to others and our goal is to manage the impression that has already been made of us…..
……………….Is all this drama worth for one night? ………………………..
Most of us make it a point to dress up when we go clubbing. The lesser u wear, the better…lol. I guess its more on how others will look or feel towards you when u are not appropriately dressed when you go clubbing. There was this instance when my friends and I went to a club and we saw lady entering the club. She was dressed in a T-shirt, track pants and shoes. My friend commented, “Is she here to run or dance?” I feel its the same analogy you apply when you dress up to go to a higher end restaurant, people will look up to you and not frown when you are well dressed.
hmm, i guess our appearances do play a huge part everywhere we go, not only in clubs. be it to form a good impression or to display our status by the clothes we wear, we simply cannot avoid getting judged by those around us. everyone forms different perceptions and have different schemas as to what seems appropriate to them. and it is true to say that many people do often get misjudged by such schemas.
Why do we have to look good in front of others? My opinion is that the world is superficial as much as we hate to admit. If we were on a public transport and smelled something funny, would our first instinct be assigning blame to the untidy individual on our left, or the beautifully dressed lady in front of us?
Superficiality has a reason, I feel. We learnt from past experience that someone who is neat and dresses well will naturally be someone who doesn’t smell, hence the non-association between smelly and nicely dressed. Therefore, we try to present ourselves in the best light and hope that everyone will form good impressions about us.
actually, sometimes i secretly wish there was a uniform that we could wear to clubs. those who wanna wear less/ pick up to go to “pick up exclusive” joints of course. its just such a hassle to continuously turn your wardrobe upside down to find something “half decent” to wear. haha.
if u dress to be un-noticed, then u’re boring. if u dress up to much, then u’re the topic of goss. uniforms will ensure that we can shake that ass and be happy. no NEED to impress whatsoever. just dance and be happy.
ok, wishful thinking. but really, as much as i love clubbing, half the time u hear me whinging “i wish i was a guy, i just hv to wear jeans and a tee/shirt, and i’m ready to rock”. bugger that.