14 DAY TRIAL // Starting early November, most women have gone on a pre-Christmas diet, meant to ensure they look their best for the big night, statistics say. However, preparations for the office Christmas party don’t stop here – quite on a contrary. A new survey cited by the British publication the Daily Mail says, on average, women need 312 hours, meaning 13 entire days, to get ready for the party.
That includes the time spent looking for the ideal look, window-shopping and the actual shopping, time spent at the hairdresser’s and the beauty salon for waxing, manicures and pedicures, time spent in front of the mirror to apply makeup and, of course, the hour needed before the actual party, for the finishing touches. The results, quite surprising even for people in the industry, reveal that women have a wide range of choices available, which only means it takes longer for them to decide.
“On average they will spend 72 hours shopping for an outfit, 96 hours getting in shape and 23 hours beautifying themselves. Women will also spend 63 hours taking advice from friends, 48 hours shopping for accessories and 12 hours on hair styling, including cuts, dying and blow-drying. The study revealed that 10 hours are spent looking through magazines for inspiration and six hours spent preparing and perfecting the right make-up look. Another two hours are spent exfoliating, moisturizing and tanning. Final style changes take up two hours and one hour is spent waxing,” the Mail writes on the findings of the study commissioned by Clothes Show Live.
“The Christmas party is the highlight of everyone’s festive calendar. As the last party of the year, where people get a chance to let their hair down with their colleagues and forget about their troubles for an evening, the Christmas party is the perfect excuse to shake off those winter blues and hit the dancefloor. Magazines, shops and brands know Christmas is an important time for retail, with people willing to spend more money on their friends and family than at any other time of the year,” Gavin Brown, managing director of the Clothes Show Live, says for the same publication.
Fashion expert Louise Roe, who presents Clothes Show Live, says that the time women spend to get ready for the office party shows, almost beyond any doubt, that they see it as a chance to show off their style, which is something they can’t really do on regular days. Otherwise, she believes, women would spend at least half the amount of time to get ready for family get-togethers as well.