Learning to dress ourselves

As the world's fashion weeks finally come to an end, I found myself thinking — why do we do it? Why do we wear what the fashion 'gods' tell us to? Is it to impress our friends or to give our self-esteem a boost? I’m as guilty as the next person of buying into the latest trends. I already own a camel boyfriend cardigan, a leopard print watch and a faux fur jacket and have a wish list the size of an A3 piece of paper.

According to one American study, it is during our teenage years that the media and our friends begin to have a strong influence over our clothing choices. I know this only too well having made many a fashion faux pas myself when I was growing up. In my wardrobe I had everything from combat trousers with tassels, to tops of women sporting multi-coloured hair, not to mention skirt trousers.

Maybe as we get older dressing can be more for our own enjoyment. One study has found that continuing to be involved in fashion significantly increased women’s happiness over the age of 55.