Wednesday, November 10, 2010

What Do Men Really Think?

Mummers Museum-tacky but terrific.

On a recent trip to NY, I bought a pair of shoes and a purse. I don't have a closet full of such things but they are always a temptation.

My husband confirmed my intuition that only woman notice such things. (Except for Kalinda's boots on THE GOOD WIFE)

Do men ever notice shoes or purses? (Earrings or necklaces?)

Or do women buy them for other women or themselves. Neither item requires a size two figure and no man ever rejected a woman for big feet. Okay maybe a fetishist might.

When was the last time you noticed the shoes on a woman's feet or the purse on her arm?

IF ANYONE CAN COME UP WITH THE EXACT LINE CHENEY USED WITH PRES. BUSH REGARDING GETTING RID OF SADDAM, I WILL BE GRATEFUL. HAD IT YESTERDAY BUT IT DISAPPEARED.

40 comments:

Jerry House said...

Never, I'm afraid.

Anonymous said...

Patti - I know I'm not your target audience for that question, but I can tell you that for my husband, those things just don't matter. What matters for him is the overall impression a woman makes with what she wears.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I am betting on it.

Evan Lewis said...

Shoes, purses, necklaces... nope, don't see 'em. I did notice a woman's earrings recently though. Each one looked like a man's wedding band, and they'd been jammed into her earlobes, stretching them so that each ring presented a huge gaping hole. Still, I did notice.

Charles Gramlich said...

I never notice purses, I must say. I do notice shoes at times, but only as a compliment to some attractive outfit that a woman might be wearing.

Randy Johnson said...

I'm with Charles. I never notice purses and shoes depend on the rest of the outfit before I pay much attention.

Dorte H said...

No, they don´t.

But my husband notices if I or my daughters wear skirts or dresses so it is not as if he doesn´t care :D

Chris said...

I'm going to buck the male trend here and say I notice ALL THE TIME. Not just on women either, but on men as well. And no, I'm not puffing my chest here with pride either. I'd have to say that my fashion designer wife has trained me over the last couple years to notice. On the upside, though, it isn't uncommon for her to point a woman out and say, "Oh, don't you think that dress makes that woman's butt look great?"

George said...

I'm oblivious to fashion.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Did you notice before meeting your wife?
I have to admit, I never notice the shows men are wearing unless they are particularly well shined or particularly scuffed. Nor a woman's shoes if she is wearing slacks.
I bet most men prefer dresses. And I think they might notice high heels if a short skirt is above them.

Tim said...

I saw an advocate in high heels walking very carefully over cobbles, but I wouldn't normally notice.

Anonymous said...

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"

Am I close?

;)

Yes, I must admit I do notice some of the (sorry, but no other word will suffice) idiotic things women wear on their feet. As in "how can she wear those when she can barely walk in them?"

Jeff M.

Anonymous said...

I don't normally notice purses or earrings unless they are so huge as to make a statement all their own, but I do tend to watch other people, hence the shoe thing mentioned above.

But it is never in a "wow, nice shoes" kind of way.

It's more "Gladiator sandals? Really?"

Jeff M.

Dave Zeltserman said...

never

pattinase (abbott) said...

You might notice sandals more because the legs are bare in summer. A lot of shoes get covered my slacks. And purses, something women love to buy, just seem interchangeable to men, I think. All of this, of course, skirts the question for gay men. Perhaps they notice accessories more.

James Reasoner said...

I never notice purses. I might notice shoes every now and then, but I can't remember the last time I did. My wife will sometimes ask for my opinion when she's shopping for a new purse, and I have to fall back on the classic male answer: "I dunno."

pattinase (abbott) said...

My husband's only interest in purses is if they zip. I've been known to lose things when they don't.

Chris said...

It's becoming clear to me that my attention to such detail is why I'm such a hit with the ladies.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Now my husband does notice his own shoes. He had nearly as many as I do. No purses though and he will never hold mine for more than two seconds.

Todd Mason said...

Good for you, Chris! I fall somewhere near Jeff...I tend to note only when a woman is wearing extremely stupid/crippling shoes (which is very common) and occasionally I am happified when a woman who obviously does care about clothes wears comfortable ones. Purses I'd note only if they are particularly inutile (almost literal pillboxes) or designed for attention (adults with Hello Kitty or something like my mother's old alumininum rectangular box with marble top)...I cannot parse spending Louis Vuitton or Coach prices, but, then, so I don't and don't have any pressure to. Not being a foot guy, as well, tends not to focus my attention there (the largest set of male exceptions, I think, much larger than gay or straight or other male fashionistas). Do I prefer women in dresses or pants? I must admit preference for the more unclothed, the better in friendly circumstances, and beyond that it's up to the wearer. I don't think, for example, that you heard too many men complaining about Amy Adams wearing pants as Amelia Earhart in the NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM sequel, or even wishing she was in a skirt instead...there might be a generational preference.

And women in boots, of course, are either showing off their legs (I am a leg, and nearly everything else, guy) or giving off a dom vibe (less of interest to me, but that gets a lot of others more interested) or both...

My first serious ex noted that I was the only person she knew who really didn't care, who was making no statement at all beyond that, what he (or she) wore. Every once in a while, I try to remedy that, but never too hard.

John McFetridge said...

I wonder if geography makes a difference. I grew up in Montreal, a city that takes fashion quite seriously so I was sort of immersed in it. I remember going to the Forum to see a hockey game when was a kid and there was a display of the new Pierre Cardin line in the lobby, men and women standing around talking about it.

When I moved to Toronto I noticed right away it wasn't as much a fashion city. Skirts were longer, heels shorter. That's changed a little, but there certainly aren't any fashion discussions going on before Maple Leafs games unless they're about track pants ;)

David Cranmer said...

In Europe I notice the ladies wearing boots and like the style. I never notice men's footwear and find it odd when a bloke comments on mine.

Bottom line: Boots and high heels on women. Zero for men. :)

Chad Eagleton said...

I notice both shoes and purses on women. Jewelry--not so much unless it's something really really horrid or incredibly large.

But, when I began my present job, I was probably the only person my age stoked to be able to wear ties. So, I recognize that I'm probably more than a little odd.

Todd Mason said...

Ah...forgot the jewelry question. I note particulary when it's handsome, whether simple or elaborate. I do pay a lot of attention to faces, so I will usually see anything from the neck up, though the piercings (including at the earlobes) do make me wince a bit if they register (also, less makeup better, none best). Rings less so, bangles and bracelets (and even anklets) definitely.

pattinase (abbott) said...

My husband loves wearing ties but gave it up a few years back.
Todd-as always you have given this some thought. No makeup, huh? I once heard Joan Collins and Ali McGraw argue over whether a woman should wear less or more as she aged. I guess you know who came down on which side.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Men wear quite silky scarves in Paris.

Chris said...

One thing related to this topic that I've seen happen A LOT that seems to exist almost exclusively in the domain of women is the mutual commenting on one another's clothes/shoes/jewelry/etc., even among strangers. I see that ALL THE TIME. If it isn't Julia approaching another woman, or another woman approaching her, it happens almost every time we are out in public.

"Oh, that dress is so cute!"

" Where did you get those shoes?!"

"My, I love those earrings!"

Strangers. Don't these people know that's a good way to get knifed or maced or slapped?!

Todd Mason said...

Thoughts about the appearance of women, or at least appreciation of women's aspect, are not rare events for me, Patti (not the only thoughts of women, of course, but not at all uncommon, no). Ali McGraw somewhat more blessed than Collins (not altogether--delicate vs. large facial features, come to think of it, and I do like large facial features...though, as with Anne Hathaway, bold makeup on large features looks clownish, as close to no makeup as one gets looks great), but frankly makeup almost always makes one look different rather than better (and too often worse)...even faces that are not conventionally pretty are great, even fascinating, to see. And attractive. Certainly the women I've been most passionately involved with have tended toward no makeup...though two of my longest-term women friends are or were passionate about makeup.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Yes, strange women do make such comments to each other. Many women have complicated a certain pair of glasses I have or a new purse.
I complimented a woman at the airport on a book she was reading and my husband found that odd.
I am now to far-sighted to do much with makeup-or that's my excuse. Plus I have face recognition issues and often apply it to the woman next to me in ladies' rooms.

Chad Eagleton said...

Piercings don't really bother me except for the septum ring. That one is hideously unattractive.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Oh, the pain!

Todd Mason said...

As long as you're not piercing the women next to you in the public restrooms, unless of course one asks politely...

C. Margery Kempe said...

I never notice shoes or purses.

C. Margery Kempe said...

...unless they have Hello Kitty on them. I buy my bags for their utility, so they tend to be black leather with little or no embellishment.

Or else they have Hello Kitty (or more likely, Badtz Maru because his color-scheme is black).

Considering the wide range of gay men I know, they tend to notice accessories more than het males, but with the blooming of the metrosexual male, that's not really a hard and fast rule.

pattinase (abbott) said...

The only time I notice shoes is in a magazine or at a shoe store or in a store window. My eyes are usually fixed on a face.

David Cranmer said...

Patti, For the record, there is a lot of women's pointed shoes at Heathrow. I mean Wicked Witch pointed.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Are there lots of straps on them? In Paris there were lots of straps.

le0pard13 said...

I rarely notice a woman's purse, unless it is the size of sport duffel bag. Shoes, though, I will look at, if the woman is showing her legs wearing a skirt/dress.

Cap'n Bob said...

I'm an ass man. That's what I notice first.

pattinase (abbott) said...

First good laugh of the day.