Why we men love a natural look

Recently I complimented a girl I know on her for the day casual and natural look. Her immediate, almost irritated response was questioning why we men find the natural look so appealing. A classic case of accidentally insulting a woman apparently, when in fact my intention was the very opposite. I still don't seem to be able to figure out how that actually works.

Anyway, to the core of the matter though, I will attempt to answer the question of what it is that we like? Well, naturally I can only speak for myself but have a gut feeling that my opinion may be shared by more men than solely myself.

Let's start to generalize a little when it comes to the DNA of men. We are quite simple uncomplicated creatures (yes, it may be debated in some cases I know but as I said, let's generalize) who as a consequence enjoy the simple things in life. We really are inclined to want to just cover the bases and then we tend to be content. Love, friendships, work and some recreational activities on the side are the bases, and if those four are working out on a satisfactory level we don't need that much more than that. And above all we really don't want to complicate any of them.

Now, the grand price is of course if one person can transcend all of the the above mentioned bases. And since Love in most cases for us men is related to a woman (no, I'm not being prejudice but it's just a fact), it would be fantastic if this woman could also be our best friend, sounding board when it comes to our challenges at work and share at least some of our recreational activities. Now it may sound like we are looking for a woman who just lives up to our expectations and follows our lead but trust me, we are well aware who at the end of the day is the CEO of a relationship, and it's not us. Plus a woman without integrity and a strong will is at least for me not very interesting.

Ok back to the subject at hand. This superficial thing about the "natural look". I think we are led to believe that a woman who bares this resemblance of naturalness is more likely to fill in the blanks when it comes to the traits mentioned. Right or wrong it displays confidence in oneself and an uncomplicated transparent nature. And since an unhealthy dose of vanity in itself is not a very attractive characteristic the opposite is perceived as being attractive.

Another fact to add to the equation is the direction in which our society is moving. The altering of ones physical being, the covering up, the anti age hysteria and the homogenous cloning of the looks that are in fashion at one specific moment of time. Commonly mistakably believed to be encouraged by men, but more correctly driven by women themselves, the women's fashion media and industry. In all honesty men don't really care about these things and before you disregard my point of view as false think about it, who is it that you really do all this for? So as a counter reaction we as men faced with what this paragraph discusses find it extremely refreshing when a woman simply just carries herself as she is.

With this post running the risk of becoming way too long I will make an effort to end it now. Having said all of the above it is still a balancing act when it comes to the natural look. Femininity is still very much favoured by men, so it's not about letting go completely. Two women who I personally find have mastered this are two icons of the sixties/seventies. Despite their shared birthplace, heyday era and iconic prominence Francoise Hardy and Brigitte Bardot would have been unlikely friends. In her zenith, Bardot was notoriously provocative and internationally controversial. Hardy, on the other hand, battled insurmountable shyness during the peak of her fame. Personally paradoxical, yes, but both of these style stars very much personify what I've probably made a lame attempt to explain.

Brigitte Bardot

Francois Hardy