"Women know clothes are important. It’s not just because our brains are full of ribbons and bustles..."

Women know clothes are important. It’s not just because our brains are full of ribbons and bustles and cocktail frocks - although I believe brain scans will finally prove that at some future point. It’s because when a woman walks into a room, her outfit is the first thing she says, before she even opens her mouth. Women are judged on what they wear in a way men would find incomprehensible - they have never felt that uncomfortable moment when someone assesses what you’re wearing and then starts talking down to you, or starts perving you, or presumes you won’t “understand” the conversation - be it about work, parenting, or culture - simply because of what you put on that day.

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In the worst case scenario, however, a wrong outfit can ruin your life. It can lead to a judge dismissing your rape case, as evidenced by the 2008 “Skinny Jeans” case (where it was claimed a woman wearing skinny jeans couldn’t have been raped, because no man could take a woman’s skinny jeans off unaided); or by the Amnesty International survey that found that 25 percent of people believe a woman is still to blame for being raped if she dresses “provocatively.”