Every day we get up and get dressed. We shower, style our hair, apply makeup, and spend a good amount of time deciding what the perfect combination of "pants, shoes, and shirts" is for that day.

We're girls. Some of us wake up half an hour before we have to leave, and some of us get up a good hour and a half before we would even have to get in the car: however long it takes to look good!

But why do we have to look the way we do? Why do we spend the time on the makeup and the hair? And why do we feel compelled to buy drawers full of expensive clothes?

Even when we say we're going to pull a "lazy day" and come to school in sweats, that typically will consist of a pair of stylish sweatpants and a fitted tee, sometimes with hair styled in to a perfectly loose ("sloppy") ponytail and neatly applied mascara.

Supposedly we do it all for the boys. It's girl against girl, and with only a limited acceptable male population we have to strive to look our best so as to win over the attention of the guy (or guys) we want. But is it all really for the boys?

I would argue that girls dress to impress other girls more so than they dress to impress their male peers. What do boys care about the brand, so long as it looks good?

A girl can go to a pricey, high-class, well-known store and buy the most expensive polo there. When she shows up to school displaying her new purchase, she can tell her friends where she bought it, and no doubt will they be impressed. Not only does it look nice but it has the name to go with it! I find that guys, on the other hand, often couldn't care less.

If two girls stood side by side, with black lacey shirts on, one designed by Dolce and Gabanna and the other purchased on sale at the mall, and a guy was asked which of the two he liked better, my guess is that he would actually judge based on appearance (not taking into account the brand name whatsoever). What does it matter, so long as it looks good, right?

Yet, nonetheless, girls still enjoy shopping at the high-priced, name-brand stores. Why buy a pair of Victoria's Secret underwear when you know your man would be happy to even catch a glimpse of the $.99 pair from that small, unknown store across the street?

Girls are significantly more judgmental than guys. You're expected to be able to wear something that accentuates your best features but won't get you called names like "slut" and "whore." Sure, wearing that bright-pink bra underneath a see-through shirt might get you the attention of the boys in your English class, but all day long the girls will be giving you dirty looks and whispering to each other as you walk by. And that would just be so embarrassing!

We've established so many unwritten rules, and each day we feel the need to make sure everyone has stayed in check. You wear eyeliner to make your eyes look nicer, but not too thick otherwise you're a slut. You're supposed to wear shorts and skirts that make your legs look nice, but not too short otherwise you're easy. You have to have healthy glowing skin, but not too-tanned otherwise you "fake bake." The list could go on forever.

Guys, on the other hand, have only one real rule: It has to look good. There don't seem to be a lot of complicated, intricate sub-rules to go along with that.

I'm not saying guys aren't judgmental. And I'm sure there are guys who highly respect those expensive name brands. It just seems to be more prevalent amongst girls, and therefore as girls we're more concerned with meeting each other’s standards. It's not as hard to get a guy's approval as it is to get a girl's.

Although we claim that the time we spend on our hair, makeup, and clothes is all for the hot boys in second hour (which could be true to some extent), the majority of our efforts are really aimed more toward pleasing each other.