What is with some peoples overwhelming need to dress outragious and stand out?

some just don’t know how to dress.

Low self-steem, lack of a conversation theme, who knows!

why do some people feel the need to wear whatever Vouge tells them to?

So as to have style of their own. To reflect their personalities…...or maybe just to show their surroundings they’re an individual. We all are, but I guess some want to express it visually through their appearance, while others find other ways to make their mark.

Dressing differently is not always a bad thing. Of the two, I prefer it to total conformity.

honestly, i was referring to myself. sometimes i’m not sure why i feel the need to be so different. you’re answers are all great.

I think its very judgmental to assume people have a unique style to get attention. A lot of young people do it to assert their singularity among their peers and their families. Older people might have never changed their fashion sense, or maybe they feel that their outward appearance more truly reflects their inner-self.

I had a friend who used to dress very outrageously and slightly provocatively during high school and college. Recently we were talking about that time period when we were out clothes shopping and I mentioned how her style had changed and she said “Yeah, I guess I just had low self-esteem then and wanted attention.” She went on later to tell me that she felt like she needed that extra reassurance and attention she got from people looking at her because she was depressed and felt like she wasn’t worth much. It was an eye-opening conversation. So there’s one reason/experience.

You’ll get more attention if you just go naked.

I dressed really ridiculously when I was in high school (like, way-over-the-top ridiculous), and I’m still not exactly sure why? I always had high self-esteem and confidence, so that wasn’t it. Sure, I enjoyed attention, but I’m not convinced that was the reason either. I think the reasons may really vary from person to person. My style of dress as a teenager had a pretty provocative element to it, and I think part of the reasoning behind that (as best as I can guess, looking back) is that I wanted to feel like an adult. I was always a very small girl (and perhaps young-looking too), so of course, during my childhood, I was always assumed to be younger than I was, and that bothered the hell out of me. Additionally, in my family, I was pretty much the only person my age (all of my cousins were much older), so my family had a tendency to baby me, and I also hated that. I always felt older and smarter than I was treated, so it’s possible that my teenage rebellion came from that. I choose actions that I (perhaps subconsciously) associated with adulthood. Since 20 year olds are more likely to dress slutty than 8 year olds, I guess that seemed like a step in the right direction for me.

Now, I highly doubt that that explanation is applicable to even 1% of other people that dress(ed) “differently,” but that just goes to show how much variability can exist in the reasoning behind styles. In any event, I’m glad that I don’t dress insanely anymore. I guess once I started being perceived as someone who was an adult, I didn’t feel the need to prove it otherwise.

is this a real question?

What is it with people’s need to be judgmental and assign labels do anyone who’s different from them? What is it with people’s need to portray those they don’t agree with or don’t understand as wrong? Get over yourself.

The way you look reflects the way you feel, always with no exception… Some people is meant to be part of the flock, others need to step aside and lead it, take sides :)

some people dress outrageously in order to get attention that they don’t get in their personal life. They might be appricated enough by friends and family so look for supplemental attention from the public.
others do it justto be different. They might not be followers and prefer to to against the norm. This may be because of hatred, jealousy, or individuality.
Maybe it is because they feel like they can’t fit in society “normally” so they might as well look different from everyone else. When people look at such individuals a great deal of prejudice is expressed, which is sad. “oh look at the way he/she is dressed. They’re probably hippies or something. ” right there people genralize that person. They think just because theyre dressed pecularily, that there must be something wrong with them. People tend to give these individuals an excuse or the benefit of tje douby because theyre dressed that way. ” oh its okay, they can do that because theyre different.” maybe this is why some people just choose the dress ridiculously- because people will just put them into the category of “just different” and won’t judge them anyothet way.

While we are on the subject of odd dressing… young men—— Pull your pants up!!

@scamp: Hey now, I don’t always think boxers showing is bad. Sure, when a slob is wearing really baggy pants and they’re falling off his ass, it looks atrocious, but I’ve seen some stylish guys pull off a few inches pretty well.

Men will dress and act like peacocks to be flashy and impress chicks.

OH GOD YES PULL THE PANTS UP BOYS. ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE WEARING SWEAT PANTS!

I just want to pull them down! Just go
**shwoop** “Yeranidiot and you were asking for it”.

Oooh. Boxers. Sexy. Uh no!

Its different if its the band of the boxers showing, but when you can completely see a guys whole (or almost whole) ass… that’s just not attractive. Even if it is a hypothetically cute ass.

@del You like a little bit of Calvin Klein action. I see. :)

Shhhhh. ;)
I Looooove tummy muscle lines and happy trails. I try not to… but they’re sooooo intriguing.

it screams,“look at me I’m an attention whore.”

maybe they are tired of being all the SAME!!!!

Why do you care what other people are wearing? It’s not like anyone is forcing you to look at them…...just look away…...

And what’s with the belts? They obviously do nothing to hold their pants up, ha ha!! Maybe they would be embarrassed if their pants fell even further down and we could see their KNEES?

oh my eyes, my eyes, they burn.

@jballou and i think cheeb, i’m going to try not to sound angry i just want to clear this misunderstanding. i’m not being judgmental or saying i dislike the way people dress differently. i was merely lookling for peoples opinions on the matter. i myself dress outrageously.

Some just like what they like. Nonconformist in dress don’t hurt anyone by being different. I find them amusing as long as they are not with me because I don’t like people staring at me. There are so many other bad things they could do so I guess I can appreciat a good freak.

i’m pretty non-comformist (wearing a charles manson t-shirt right now..lol) I dress the way I like, tho what i like may shock others. It all comes down to personal opinion. I love mohawks, but think women who are over 60 and still insist on wearing their hair really long, look stupid.
I would never call someone a freak for the way they dress. That’s like me making fun of someone who dresses ultra conservative. Some people are just more artistic than others.
So what?
Some people like causing others to stare—they like shaking things up. It takes more effort to do that, than to blend in.

And some people don’t have mirrors. I direct that at those adults who still think they can pull off wearing spandex!

it’s just one method of seeking attention- while i cant say i appreciate it myself, i can appreciate that it’s one of the least destructive forms of attention whoring.

Its all in how one wears it. one person could wear a loud or outrageous item or combination and it would just look stupid while another wears the same thing with ease and confidence and it just works.

How it works or doesnt also has to do with where one lives. Ive seen things here in NYC that i would have been harder to get away with elsewhere.

My styles calmed down a bit. Possibly because New Yorkers notice subtler details. The craziest thing i do regularly these days is wear toenail polish under my flops, extra fun if it matches the necktie. Always good for disapproving looks from men and shy smiles from women.

It could be a condition common to actors and models called exhibitionism.

Because it’s fun ?

This explains my lifelong philosophy of fashion. People have said I had an eccentric fashion sense from the age of 4 on. Right now, I’m just a slob, but for most of my life, I just picked out what I thought looked cool and interesting without considering what other people might think of it. It had nothing to do with self esteem or getting attention. I just wore (and still wear) whatever I liked.