Why do we give every new female acquaintance the 'eye drop' - that near-imperceptible once-over-up-and- down glance - when we're being introduced? Or crane our necks to watch an immaculately dressed woman climb out of a taxi? Or buy a magazine because we like the look of the cover girl? It's because women love to look at women. This isn't a sexual thing at all. I prefer to think of it as educational. "When men stare at women, it's purely and simply a question of sex - they normally want to sleep with them," says psychologist Dr Dorothy Rowe. But women look at each other to compare and to learn from what the other woman is doing and wearing." We're always asking ourselves vital questions like 'Would that skirt look good on me?' 'Would she benefit from a couple of sessions at the gym?' 'Her hair looks fabulous, I wonder who cut it?' 'Where on earth did she get those shoes?' We absorb every detail, from the millimetres of regrowth on her highlights to spotting the evidence her Prada bag is fake. Yet despite the firm male belief to the contrary, we don't look at women to be bitchy. Often, our stares betray nothing less than slack-jawed admiration. We don't just want to look like the women we admire, we want to be them. Who's that girl? But why? Why do women stare at women - all shapes and sizes? I don't mind confessing I once followed a stranger through three floors of a department store because I loved the elegant way she wore her trench coat. A friend of mine failed her driving test because she kept staring out of the window at passing females. "Well, one was wearing a hideous skirt. And I really liked another one's shoes. People are just interesting to look at, aren't they?" she protested. But, according to experts, it's not that simple. Some claim idle gawping is part of our sexual evolution. "I believe it's Darwinian," says psychologist Dr Lance Workman. "In most species of mammal, the women don't have to compete for male attention, they just have to sit and look decorative in order to mate. But with humans there's a more subtle dynamic. Women are, in fact, as competitive as men, they're just more skilful about it. And human females tend to compete more among themselves than other animals - they look at successful and beautiful women to see how to do it."

         She's got the look...

But apes we ain't. Our choice of visual heroines reveals a lot about our priorities - like how, actually, we're not that interested in being sexy in a male pin-up way. While men pant for Pamela Anderson or Samantha Janus, those images leave us cold. Instead, we pine for the gamine chic of Audrey Hepburn or Christy Turlington's cool, intelligent beauty. Kate Moss, effortless in heels and a camel coat, is an icon. Very few men would pin Kirsty Young to their wall in place of Melinda Messenger, but to us, her trouser-suited style wins hands down. A bare-faced, big-coated Helena Bonham-Carter once stopped me in my tracks in Camden Market, but a thousand male passers-by didn't even turn their heads.

Straight men are baffled by this objective appraisal of our own sex. "Isn't she gorgeous?" I mouthed at my boyfriend the other night, indicating a Prada-clad Florentine drinking cafe latte at the table next to us. He blinked at me, not quite understanding how to react. "Do you think her husband's handsome?" I asked him. He stuttered, frowned and secretly wondered why I was casting aspersions about his sexuality. "How should I know, I'm a guy?" he said. (<-- my favourite part of the article. How typical of men!)

Dr Workman believes men don't appraise each other because they're 'hunters', not brought up tp appreciate aesthetic detail. Me? I think the reasons are far more basic. Man-watching is dull compared with scrutinising other women. "Oh look, there goes another pair of Levis!" they'd cry from their caves. At a black-tie ball, there's little in a sea of tuxedos to ignite interest, but oh, the joy of pink chiffon, a silver chain mail, hair piled precariously high and shoes patently designed never to be walked in.

The allure of fame And our obsession stretches from strangers in the street to celebrities. We follow Madonna's every change of hairstyle, and scrutinise Posh's growing bump. Now, I don't want to be Posh Spice, or even Madonna, but there are elements of their style and their fantasy lifestyles I do envy. A tiny part of me (Dr Workman calls it the 'cathartic exhibitionist') would have loved to be on that stage in the Gaultier bra. And if I could afford a Gucci dress, I'm sure it'll look better on me than on a Spice Girl. Women are good at obsorbing details. Some anthropologists say it's because, as mothers, we have to discern our offspring's every change of expression and mood. We use those skills in other ways, too. Daughters wonder if they'll look like their mothers in 25 years time. We look at our younger sisters and marval at the clothes we'd secretly kill for if we weighed eight stones again. And who's never fantasised about giving another woman a makeover? We never grown out of the Cinderella syndrome. A quest for self-discovery? "We compare ourselves because we're constantly trying to assess where we stand in society," Dr Rowe adds. "In the same way as troupes of animals have a 'pecking order' that tells them how to behave, we conform because we don't want to be expelled from the group. On the other hand, we want to stand out, but not so much that we seem odd. As we get older, we look around us more, to see how we're doing, whereas a 15-year-old is so self-obsessed, she tends to be far less interested in her peers." But is this obsession healthy? Recent research showed women felt more depressed and dissatisfied after looking at pictures of models. And yes, I confess there are times when looking at a lean-thighed, 6ft beauty causes me stabs of envy and disappoitment. But those times are out-numbered by the pleasure my own sex - in all its diversity - provides. By staring at other women in the gym and changing room we learn our cellulite isn't so terrible, other women have stretchmarks, too. We learn compassion for ourselves and our bodies. Women are naturally interested in others - we're born to be sensitive to their feelings and thoughts (honestly, it's the way our brains develop) - so our fascination with other women's appearance is just a part of our interest in each other's lives and experiences. And while there will always be women I can never hope to resemble (more's the pity), I take comfort in knowing, somewhere out there, there's always someone having a worse bad-hair day than me. By: Miranda Levy

                 
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (60's & 70's)

Everyone remembers Jackie Kennedy looking always beautiful and elegant in gorgeous dresses and charming suits. With Oleg Cassini as her one and only designer, he had a perfect vision for the demands of Jackie's position as the First Lady, and an eye for a look, a continuity of style only she could carry off. Jackie's cultured and educated eye for style, worked well with Cassini, and together they were able to create a distinct look for her that never failed to make her stand out in a crowd. Jackie had the height, the figure, and a love of the finest quality and simplicity in all things. Wearing sleek, simple clothes in sumptuous fabrics, everyone else inevitably looked fussy and overdressed in comparison - even when they were trying to copy her style. Basically, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, had redefined class. It is something revolutionary, and it is there for anyone with the nerve, the brains and the grace to have it.

                 
Princess Diana (80's & 90's)

Being the Princess of Wales, Diana's fashion sense was analyzed from the moment she stepped on the public stage, and as the most photographed woman in the world, she gave fashion critics plenty to ponder. She could wear her jewelry in some of the most unconventional ways, but it was always outstanding and unique. Diana's beauty, elegance, and charm was always captured in photographs wethear the outfit was a working wardrobe, diplomatic dressing or casual chic. In 1997, I thought she looked down-to-earth natural in a sleeveless blouse, jeans, and moccasins as she toured the landmines in Angola. She had fulfilled her aim in life to become a 'work-horse' not a 'clothes-horse'. She may be remembered as a modern-day Jackie Kennedy. The two women's lifestyles were more quite linked if you think about it. From the constant commentary and fascination with the clothes they wore, to the love of couture, and jewelry, and the similarities of classic style, both in public and informal situations. Neither of them was much ingested in fashioned novelties, preferring, in Diana's later years at least, clean classic lines, the secret of style that doesn't date, and an image that will endure the test of time.

                 
Gwyneth Paltrow (present time..)

The name Gwyneth paltrow used to precede such phrases as Brad Pitt's fiancee or the daughter of Blythe Danner. These days, however, that name clambers up onto the movie screen and across covers of magazines all by itself, and with increaing regularity. At 26, Gwyneth has joined our pantheon of style setters - part Grace Kelley, part Audrey Hepburn, and still pure Gwyneth! Even before her screen star took off, Gwyneth's patrician shoulders were pushing models off glossy pages more easily than a Hummer among bumper cars. Suddenly it was Paltrow the instant icon, the Audrey Hepburn of her generation - the woman every thimble-brandisher longed to dress. It's more than the refined features, the knowing smile, and the lanky, sophisticated silhouette that make her fashion-muse material. What sets Gwyneth apart from her contemporaries is her assurance, her cool, her confidence. "I never wear one person's clothes head to toe," said Gwyneth, "Right now I'm wearing my favorite T-shirt by Mark Jacobs. The jeans are Diesel. My boots are D&G, the coat is Armani. Mixing the elements is what personal style is all about." And such freedom in fashion won her an award for Best Female Personal Style. No wonder she was Brad's fiancee, eh?

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