AIBU to wonder if women notice women’s work clothes more?

[Jane379]

In feminist spaces I'm in, including FWR, I often see discussion of pressure on women to make an effort with clothes and makeup for work, in a way that men aren't pressured to do. The male presenter who wore the same suit for a year and no one noticed is mentioned sometimes in these.

However, I'm wondering if, at least sometimes, other women are more likely than men to notice what women wear etc. I wonder if women would be more likely to notice if a woman wore identical dresses or suits to work for a year.

AIBU?

I rarely notice what anyone is wearing. Most women I work with have about 10 outfits that they cycle through. I work in a large corporation with thousands of employees, so not a small number of women to see every day. They’re all very presentable, clean and tidy. I think I could probably say the same about the men too.

I have a work too for each day of the week, don’t only wear them on the same days though

I’d notice. Not from a judgmental perspective. I have no idea what my male colleagues were. I notice women, in many ways because they are much more interesting. I wouldn’t care if they wore the same/similar outfit.

I notice what everyone wears but I’m more interested in women’s clothes so those are the ones that I pay particular attention to.

i suspect whether people are out under pressure (real or imagined) is more based on industry and even speciality in industry than any M/F divide

There was a thread recently where a women wore a particular pair of trousers to get attention from men - but no i generally dont notice

I think women probably notice clothes and accessories more than men do, and I notice if a woman colleague is wearing something particularly amazing or colourful etc, but I don’t pay attention beyond that to whether they wear something different every day. I’ve never in my career felt any pressure to wear a wide range of different outfits - I have a rotating handful of about ten work outfits for each season.

I notice, but not to judge. I'm just rubbish at dressing myself, if I find a particular shape of dress or style that works for me I stick to it and don't vary my style much. So I look at what other women wear to take inspiration from them as I feel clueless. For example
i might buy a gorgeous animal print pencil skirt but be completely stuck on what colour or style top to wear with it, should I wear ballet flats or chunky boots etc. so if I see someone wearing something I like I will copy them. I also regularly go up to ladies and compliment them if they look great, they probably think I am weird but I hope it gives them a little happiness, as it would me.

You sound like me! I agree also it's nice to compliment people on what they wear, I'd be happy if I were complimented.

Definitely agree re pressure probably varying based on industry.

I don't feel any pressure at work but I work with 13 men in a company that sells and repairs cars and vans, so not a typical office. I can just wear whatever I want as long as not scruffy, rarely deal with customers myself.

I wear the same couple of tailored shirts and black trousers to my office job everyday - just wash them when I get home. No one has ever really commented on it, in fact I get quite a few compliments on my dress sense, but I have a definite work "uniform" so I don't put much thought into it.

Women are generally interested in what other women wear. That's what the whole fashion industry is built on. It isn't designed to garner men's attention or appreciation. Most men only notice if there's legs, bums or tits on show unless they have some kind of vested interest in how you look.

My work bestie, a straight man, is always the person most likely to comment on my outfits

I notice when people are wearing something slightly more interesting than what they usually wear. A brighter top, a striped shirt when they only wear white usually. I notice this on both men and women.

I notice people who wear outlandish outfits at work - ones where they look like they're dressed for a festival, a manga comic convention or to present a programme for toddlers (3 examples at my current workplace). I would prefer a basic dress code to avoid the above examples, but other than that I barely notice.

I notice what the women wear, sometimes for inspiration. Occasionally also if they are weirdly casual (eg leggings/a beanie/crop tops).
The men in my department just wear a shirt and trousers (sometimes with a jumper/jacket) so not much variety anyway.

I can’t remember what people wear in detail but I notice if someone is scruffy or smart or edgy for example. I work with someone who wears some things that frankly I would deem not good enough for the charity bag. She is clean and good at her job in all areas but self presentation. First impressions count.

Definitely, but because I'm assessing it from a point of view of 'would that suit me or not' rather than whether it suits the wearer. If I see someone wearing something I admire, I might look for something similar myself.

We're 'casual' dress at work now and most of the men wear jeans/hoodies/t-shirts so there just isn't much to notice, though I'm always interested if someone's wearing a band t-shirt/hoodie, to see whether I know the band or not.

Many women also wear jeans and hoodies, but there's also a business casual/business contingent. I wear business casual so I look at other women's versions of business casual, I tune out the jeans and hoodies as I like to look reasonably smart in the office.

This, definitely. Obviously some men, straight and gay, are interested in fashion or even work in it, but the average man probably isn't that interested

Definitely presentation should be neat, no matter the sex of the person.

We had a male new starter recently and I was having a phone call with him before he started. He asked what to wear in the office. I really struggled to think what the men wore even though I’ve worked there for years. Um. Black trousers, chinos, polos and jumpers in dull colours.
I checked when I next went to the office and I was right. And yes I notice what the women wear.

Yes, men's clothes for work tend to be more nondescript : Arguably women have more opportunity to vary their clothes if they want. But I'm not convinced, as I said in OP, that this necessarily means women at work often feel pressure to put a lot of effort into their clothes/vary their outfits a lot.
Would you say women at your workplace feel pressure to do that? Or more that they wear different stuff as that's what they want to do? I think the second is more common , though