Questions and compliments

Photos from here.

You want to help more of your friends appreciate appropriate dressing but don't know where to start? Go out with them! It doesn't have to be a trip to the shops... you can go out for pho or halo-halo or watch a movie. The point is that you see your friends. And when ladies get together, they usually put a little more effort into looking nice (do you agree with the theory that women actually dress for other women?)--I just notice it.

What could be the reason behind that? My guess is women like getting compliments. (This may seem like a 'duh' answer but let me elaborate.) It's not as much about getting green-eyed stares from other women that we want--it's more of appreciating the same things, or having things in common to bond over with and share with one's friends.

When a friend says she likes your blouse, don't you feel happy that somebody approves the choice you made? And then, won't you be planning on wearing that elegant blouse more often? The grand implication of it is: You can actually encourage your friends to don more dignifying pieces simply by telling them you like what you see.



Hence, having simple get-togethers with your BFFs (outside uniform territory, of course!) can become fertile ground for making headway in your mission to raise the standards of fashion. What may seem like a superficial practice of telling your friends what you (sincerely) like about their outfit, hairstyle or make-up can actually be a way of encouraging them to stick to positive style.

Now, armed with this idea, you might want to help me answer two questions I've been pondering on for almost two weeks now:

• If you're out shopping with a friend and she asks for your opinion on an outfit that does nothing to help others appreciate the person she is, what would you tell her?
  
• How would you make her understand if you know she doesn't yet appreciate your ideas on dressing with dignity?