Most Arab cultures have social events with women only.
Jewelry and dress are flaunted behind these closed doors.
So THATS why I wasn't invited.
Seriously, though; when you have a party with friend (you don't invite strangers, right?), that's not nearly on the same playing field as what women go through picking a swimsuit for a day at the beach. Now guys couldn't care less about the color, the fit - they simply throw something up that doesn't bind, create a rash and meets whatever decorum standard they have. Why else do you see a hairy version of Shamu wearing a Speedo on the beach? Men don't care.
Same thing with men looking at a woman in a bikini; we don't care about the color, the texture, we are looking and straining out eyes to see as much skin as we can, and what we can't see we imagine. We are pretty basic creatures, we are as subtle as a dog, and far less romantic than a dog as a whole.
However, when women have a party with jewelry and dresses being flaunted, they are probably flaunting the cost of their stuff, not the body beneath. In beauty pagents they won't have a prayer, as the pagent judges thier bodies, their faces and their poise - not the dress and jewelry.