One often hears about the high maintenance woman, you know, the woman who is always dressed to the nines, nails manicured, hair coiffured and God forbid if U ever see her in a repeat outfit!
But that got me thinking, don’t most modern, working women fall into that category? Not so much because of high maintenance but also because they are expected to dress like that if they want to be treated seriously….and then, we get men branding us as “high maintenance”! Honestly…tsk, tsk…
So that led me to to think – is there a categorisation for high maintenance? What if a woman (or a man) is low maintenance on the material front but NEEDS attention everyday? Which is worse? I personally find the latter more horrifying and repulsive! But then again, one doesn’t want a gold-digger either. Thankfully, 80% of us should fall somewhere in between both ends of that emotional versus material maintenance spectrum! I haven’t got any specific scientific research to back that up, but according to a certain renowned Australian psychologist; 80% of the people U meet on the street are normal, 15% suffering from some kind of depression or mental disorder and the remaining 5% are just plain bananas!!! But I digress…
Then another thought cropped up – is there such a thing as a high maintenance man? I personally think that there aren’t that many high maintenance men. Most of my male friends and ex-boyfriends aren’t too particular about such fashion issues. But then again, the metrosexual we keep bumping into are often just as well-dressed and polished (in some cases, even more maintained!) like us. But emotional maintenance? Hmmm.
I think I can vouch that very few men are emotionally needy, unlike us. Well, well, I suppose that’s where the sex difference is. J ust as there can be women who aren’t emotionally needy, there are also men who score high on the emotional chart. The trick lies in finding the man or woman who looks good enough without spending too many hours (or money) staring into the mirror and is balanced enough to not call you too often during the day…..well, the “perpetual search” continues….;-)
Muahahaha!
Very interesting thoughts you have there. If I may add in a couple more.
Men’s definition of ‘high-maintainence’ in most case would probably be the inability to comprehend a few things about woman.
I think it is general consensus to many when we speak of the amount of shoes women have. Ok, in all fairness, not all women have that habit and not all man think the same either. If you ask me, one of my ex-girlfriends had what some would call a ‘fetish’ for shoes. Each time she walks into Aldo, she spends 700-800 on 3 pairs of shoes. After 6 months later, she has only worn 2 of the 15 pairs she bought. Guess who paid or them?
Same thing for handbags. Yup, some girls just detest handbags. My ex again had like a whole wardrobe of them. I didn’t count but it look like in the range of 20-30 Guccis, Pradas, LVs and Fendis put together. Obviously, those were there before I came in the picture. And she tells me she needs to go to LV because she has no handbag to for a friend’s wedding dinner?
I believe it boils done to 2 things for most men. ‘Practicality’ and ‘expectations’. Pampering the lady every once awhile isn’t all that bad an idea. The question that usually comes to mind is how much ‘value’ will that add? Which in simple words translates to how often will she use the LV bag and how critical is it to her. If walking into Aldo with the lady means that I’m going to walk out 800 poorer, perhaps it was my fault that expectations were not setup right from the beginning.
Men land themselves in situations like these because they were out to ‘impress’ the ladies in the first place. I call it the ‘I can afford it’ syndrome. Ultimately, the man has himself to blame for landing himself in that situation. Anyone would argue that the lady never ask that of the man. Yet, to some, not doing so would mean the man is a ‘miser’.
By no means am I a slop. I have been called a metro-sexual on many occasions by the boss, colleagues and friends. I do not buy my business wear from retails shops. Everything is tailored to fit. Shirts usually cost me between 100-160 a piece and I make the visit to my tailor sometimes twice a month. Some men will faint at the price tag and say I’m crazy. In all sense, the shirt uses more material than a little piece of fabric some ladies have covering ’sweet spots’ on their upper torso which can cost just as much.
I guess it’s very much an emotional affair. Men and women alike. If it helps to create the unique ‘me’ in what we are dress/outfitted in, most will willingly splurge a little. What most man (myself inclusive) fail to comprehend is where is the ‘me’ in a shoe, handbag, shades or anything else that is readily available in retail outlets.
Nic.