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When wedding season comes, the bride, groom, and their invited guests start to think about what to wear and how they can look marvelous for the grand occasion.

For the wedding ceremonies and the evening of the reception, many women spend a lot of money on expensive clothes, make up, and accessories. They believe it will bring them prestige and honour, as well as make them stand out among the others.

Ning Muly, 20, is a second-year student at Institute of Foreign Languages. She said that she spends around $US130  on clothes, accessories, and even make up for weddings.

“It is like packaging a gift. If we package it well, the outside of it looks elegant,” she said, adding that she values outside beauty. “If you look attractive in those clothes, people will value and respect you, and if your inner beauty is good, it will be even better.”

Ning Muly said that women have to care about their styles. “The color of the shoes has to go together with the dress as well as the accessories,” she said.

She also discussed the new and emerging styles of men at weddings. “It is not only women who care about their look, but some men also care a lot of what they should wear to the wedding,” she said.

“Men now are different. They seem to care more about how they look during the wedding. They wear make-up and do hair styles.”

Ning Muly is enjoying this change in men’s styles and their new looks. She thinks it brings them a unique value, and prestige. “Some people wear the same clothes and style to different events all the time, and that’s very cliché and conservative,” she said.  

Ning Muly commented that she would feel more comfortable talking with men who dress with a smart and cool style during weddings.

19-year-old Cheath ChanTola, a second-year student at Cambodia Mekong University, agrees with Ning Muly that men should know how to dress well.  

“They should not be too stylish, following Korean style,” he said. “They should know how to dress for school, dress for a walk, and dress for a wedding, since that adds value to [the person].”

Cheath ChanTola said he spent up to $US100 on stylish clothes, make-up, and shoes for wedding events.

“If we are untidy, no one is going to value us, so we need to spend money to have a great look at an event,” he added. “When I walk into any wedding, I want to be cool and attractive, so people would think that I have my own honor and come from a good family.”

As younger generations become more conscious of their looks, Mrs. Yan Viphearoth, 40, a research officer for the Culture and Art Department at Royal Academy of Cambodia, encourages stylish trends if they stay simple.

“Sometimes [men] do makeup and overdo their hair, and that can make them lose their masculine characteristics – and also make them look like girls,” she said. Mrs. Yan Viphearoth believes all that men need to look attractive are nice clothes and a good watch. On the other hand, she still sees fun and excitement in these new stylish trends – as long as they aren’t too much.