Why Do Women Wear Strapless Dresses?
When I was a young guy and my mother talked about girls that were out to get a guys attention– with other than pure motives in their head– she talked about tube tops. When a friend of mine had her senior photos taken in an off the shoulder strapless number she just shook her head.
What is it about strapless gowns that makes men like them and women want to wear them– because, let’s be honest, the two go hand in hand.
Suspension of Disbelief
Part of it is the sheer engineering feat– the fact that someone is wearing a dress that is supported just by the fact that it’s tight and a woman’s chest. If it weren’t for either of these two things, the dress would fall– and I know there are guys that would think this is great instead of how embarrassing it would be for the girl.
The strapless gown is drawing attention to the fact that the girl is now a woman, and that she can now wear a dress where it would have made no sense before.
Lots of skin
A strapless dress shows a bunch of skin. Whether it’s the chest, the back or the arms, you get to see a lot of skin that would be broken up with straps.
There was this one formal play that I went to at Bob Jones University where I caught a glimpse of someone in a strapless dress many rows in front of me. In the crowd of men and women my eyes kept being drawn back to her, because, as she was sitting in her seat, nothing but skin could be seen. It was hard to concentrate– to both know that she was wearing a fancy white gown, but to only be able to see skin. My mind wandered and played tricks on me.
Shoulders
Shoulders– to me– are part of a woman’s curves. They’re softer than a man’s and they round out her shape. They don’t give me as big of a problem as seeing other curves, or the outline of the body, but they do contribute.
They Have an Effect
So, I believe that women wear strapless dresses for some of these reasons– they want to show they can, they have an elegant, feminine look to them, and they have an effect on the guys that see them.
They also are not unappealing– I find that the photo in this post isn’t one I recoil at and say “this is just a terrible looking dress” but it’s also physically appealing. I don’t feel this woman looks trashy in a strapless dress, but I do say that there were other, much better, choices.
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I have seen very young girls and older girls who are not very well endowed wearing strapless dresses, so I think part of the argument (they now have a chest to hold it up) is not totally valid. I do agree that the tightness holds it up, though.
What about girls who have their hair over their shoulders to create the illusion that there might be a strap? Does that help at all?
That’s true that there are younger people that wear strapless– I’m not sure that there’s as much of a problem for the guy there– definitely for the girl, I would think.
Yes, I think that hair– like the above photo– does help, because there’s not as much skin shown. Good observation.
I feel everyone woman, or young lady has a feature that they are most proud of whether to attract men or not,for some it might be there bust line, or legs, for others it might be there waistline, or backs, and for some its there shoulders. Therefore, it is my opnion that people wear strapless to accent what makes them feel good, or more feminine. This is not trashy, and definitely more modest than other types of shirts. That is why a lot of formal dresses are made strapless, it is a classic feminine look.
Strapless is a classic feminine look? I did not get that idea reading Pride and Prejudice, Beowulf, or other stories that go back a good ways.
Down in Peru, most of the old-time Quechua people wear even more clothes than the pictures of modest dresses upheld by this movement — full-length sleeves and all.
I am both distracted by and amused by the sight of women constantly trying to pull up their strapless dresses. They don’t stay where they are supposed to, and I still remember a phone call from a customer a few years ago who was looking for double-sided sticky tape to make things “work.”
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Strapless tops tend to look worse on girls who have curves and soft shoulders, though, because the tightness gives the appearance of fat, and it’s harder to find the perfect height for the top to sit. Aren’t they more showing off how /little/ one is curvy?
Agreed, especially when the skin folds over the dress…
If they don’t have enough to hold the dress up, it could turn out to be embarrassing at the worst time.
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In my opinion, I only think a dress is trashy if it’s low cut or the length is too short. I personally think strapless dresses look elegant … if they fit properly! Women constantly pulling at it when it moves down doesn’t look lady like, tape comes in handy!
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well… to be honest I just like the way they look on a women.. when women reveal their upper back… to me that looks sexy and thats the way I like it!
I personally don’t feel comfortable wearing a strapless dress, unless i have a shawl on. I think it exposes too much.
To be honest I don’t think strapless dresses look very nice. Most of the time I see a girl wearing one I wonder why should would wear it because she looks pretty bad.
I think you have to have “just the right body” in order to pull it off and the majority of women who try to pull it off just can’t.
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Strapless is annoying to wear for me…I’ve worn it with a jacket over it and it’s uncomfortable because I keep feeling like it’s slipping. What “Womens Sundresses” said is true…it takes the right kind of body to pull it off.
Something to keep in mind when wearing a strapless dress is to choose the right accessories. The bare neck and chest area will attract a lot of attention so the right necklace or accessory is important.
Perhaps most important of all is getting the right bra, as without it you could look pretty bad.
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Strapless Dresses aren’t for everyone unfortunately. Bras were invented for a reason. Remove that from the equation and you may not be happy with what you are left with. To pull off a Strapless you need to have big enough *ahem* and also firm *ahem* otherwise you just draw negative attention.
I don’t find strapless dresses that good looking. Maybe it’s because most people wearing them don’t look good in them. Let’s face it you need to have a “perfect” chest in order to be able to pull it off and there aren’t very many girls that fit into that category. The girl in the pic above is 1 example. She would look much better with a decent bra.
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I agree. If you look just ok in strapless but AMAZING in something with straps, why go the earlier route ?
Look your best and face the fact that not everyone can wear everything. Emphasize what you got and avoid drawing attention to what you don’t have.
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I agree with Sandals for Women. Very few women can pull off wearing strapless. Most women are not built for it. That horizontal line across the top of the body cuts it in half visually, making the woman look wider than she really is. She should not spill over the top. It’s just not that attractive.
Open-top blouses or waists show that the woman or girl isn’t wearing a bra – supposedly. We know there are such things as strapless bras, but it’s the no-bra appearance. Backless blouses or waists do the same, even more thoroughly. No lower bra band almost certainly means no bra, not even a strapless one. Sure, there are adhesive cups available, but, again, it’s the look of no bra that is the purpose.
Good post. Men like to look and women like to be looked at and a strapless dress accommodates both. I don’t wear spaghetti straps either because I think it still shows too much skin.
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