Venus & Mars: Women Are Not the Only Ones With an Eye for Style

I have a cousin who spends hours digging through the closet to find the perfect outfit, only to spend a ridiculous amount of time in the bathroom, trying that outfit on.
Whenever we want to go out together, I usually end up waiting a long time before we actually hit the road. Typically female, many of you might think. But you're wrong — this cousin is a guy.
Fashion and style used to be something that seemingly concerned only women, but boy, has this changed. And boy, are we glad that it's changed, because it is nice to see well-dressed men from time-to-time, instead of sloppy ones.
But the operative phrase here is "from time-to-time."
Even though women are expected to spend a considerable amount of time leafing through fashion magazines to keep up with the latest trends, and to run to the mall to get discounted Kate Spade shoes, there are exceptions to that rule. Me, for example.
Sure, when I am invited to a wedding, a fancy dinner at an expensive restaurant or a formal reception at an embassy, I like to dress up, and have fun doing it, too. (Even though it often causes my friends to make remarks like "Oh my God, you look like a girl," or "I never knew you had actual legs beneath those jeans.")
But besides special occasions, casual is my motto. I never understood how women can torture themselves in the name of style by wearing high heels the whole day when sneakers are simply much more comfortable. I still feel sorry for ladies of centuries past who had difficulties breathing because they wore tight corsets to make their waists look slimmer.
It doesn't make any sense to me at all to buy branded clothing items and accessories just for the fun of it, and to show off to my friends. There must be better ways to spend my money. Instead of purchasing a ridiculously overpriced Louis Vuitton handbag or a dress from Valentino, I'd rather buy new books, toys for my dog or save for my next trip to Europe.
And the same goes for men. Sure, I like to look at them when they are well-preened, but I'm highly skeptical of a guy who spends most of his salary on Armani suits and Rolex watches, because fashion trends change and beauty fades.
We all want to look our best, but that can also be achieved without going bankrupt.
Katrin Figge is deputy features editor at the Jakarta Globe.
It's many men's chief complaint: Women spend too much money on fashion, buying clothes and shoes that they already seem to have in their closets. Not to mention accessories; having only a handful of bracelets and necklaces at home is not enough. If they could, they would buy accessories in every color to match their dresses or bags.
"Honey, don't you think that dress looks very similar to the one you bought a month ago?" a man might ask.
"No, it doesn't. This is the latest trend," she will likely reply. It's an understanding accepted in every country in the world that women have a good sense of fashion and style, while men tend to their own interests — cars, for example.
But things are changing. More and more men are starting to care about fashion, just as women do, or even more so. Is it wrong? Well, I don't think I'm the right person to judge. Let's just call it men's emancipation.