Fete Lifestyle Magazine December 2025 - Holiday Issue | Page 23

ecember has

always been

fashion’s

most theatrical month. It’s the season of sparkle, late nights, velvet textures and outfits that exist purely for drama. It’s when wardrobes shift from practical to playful, when getting dressed feels more intentional, and when what

you wear says more

than usual. But this

year, something

deeper is

happening in

fashion —

something less

about trends

and more

about who

we’re dressing

for.

Because

quietly but

undeniably,

the narrative

has changed.

Women are no longer

dressing for

men. We’re

dressing for

ourselves.

We’re dressing

for our friends.

We’re dressing

for our

daughters.

We are dressing

for other women.

And that shift? It’s

everything.

When I get dressed, genuinely, there isn’t a man in mind. I’m not thinking about whether something is “attractive” in the traditional sense or ticking the box of what women are “supposed” to wear. I’m thinking: Do I love this? Does this feel like me? Will my friends hype me up? Will my daughters smile when they see it? That, for me, is the new gold standard.

Fashion used to be filtered through a male lens — slim this, soften that, bare this, hide that, appeal here, don’t intimidate there. But women today are done tailoring themselves to fit into someone else’s idea of beauty. The male gaze doesn’t run our wardrobes anymore. Community, confidence and identity do.

Now we dress for the girls.

We text outfit photos in group chats.

We borrow each other’s accessories.

We notice the texture of coats, the cut of trousers, the power in a boot.

We compliment each other more than anyone else ever could.

And honestly? It hits different

There’s something powerful about being admired by another woman. It comes without agenda.l

D