Women spend 8 hours picking out their Christmas party outfit

Women spend eight hours planning their Christmas party look – more than double the time they actually spend wearing it, a study has revealed.

A poll of 2000 women found just over eight hours is spent planning what to wear, browsing and buying the outfit and accessories and getting ready for the night itself. But with the average Christmas party or night out lasting just three hours and 32 minutes, women are spending more time getting ready than actually wearing the outfit they plan.

It also emerged the average woman will attend three parties over the festive season, with nine in 10 wearing a different outfit to each one.

A spokesman for online clothing retailer AX Paris, which commissioned the research, said: “Christmas parties are an important date for many in the annual social calendar and everyone wants to be looking their best. But it can be a stressful and daunting experience trying to find the perfect Christmas party outfit – particularly if you have more than one event you need to buy for.

“There are so many things to consider such as the dress code, what other people will be wearing, what suits you and what style you like that it can be overwhelming trying to find the ideal dress.”

The study found women will spend two hours and nine minutes thinking about what to wear, browsing sites like Pinterest for inspiration or trying on clothes they already have for each party they attend. Another two hours and 17 minutes is spent browsing online retailers or going into shops for ideas, while two hours and 16 minutes is taken up shopping and actually buying the items they decide on.

Over the course of that time, women will go on two different shopping trips, either in-store or online, visiting a total of eight shops or websites in the hunt for their party outfit. They will also try on four different items of clothing and end up returning one after changing their mind.

Finally, one hour and 20 minutes is spent getting ready on the night itself.

The study also found 59% of women look forward to planning and shopping for their Christmas party dress. 71% even went as far as to say they have times where they prefer the outfit planning and getting ready to the night out itself. But 81% admitted they have occasions where they find it stressful searching for the perfect party outfit.

It also emerged that 89% think women tend to dress to impress other women rather than the opposite sex. While 67% dress to make themselves feel good, almost one in 20 admit they dress to impress others. One in five even said they would rather get a compliment from another woman than a man.