Women Only - Musings of a Former Fashion Diva (the best, property, clothes)

[ellie]

I'm not a spring chicken anymore either and have started hitting the sales in places like Chicos, Ann Taylor, Talbots, etc. (they're all in the same shopping center in my town) Some of it is a little too "old lady country club" for me, but surprisingly, I've found nice items in all of them. Larger department stores also carry clothing lines for adult women who still want to look attractive and up-to-date.

Shop sales early, carry an armload of coordinates to the dressing room, and try to mix and match between stores on a single shopping trip.

Some of these more upscale places will also help you select clothing you may have never considered wearing. I always try to balance their desire to make a sale with my need to look more polished and still not spend a fortune. It's tough, but you can be successful.

I also do better and have fewer mismatched separates when I buy a small seasonal wardrobe all at once, rather than buying just one thing and not taking into consideration what I'll wear with it.

[findinghope]

i sometimes see that in catalogs like newport news and spiegle, they have the same or similar items every year and still look in style. maybe that is also a good place to shop.

[Cecilia_Rose]

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

I thought about posting this under the Fashion & Beauty Forum, but those looked to be really serious discussions about fashion and makeup. And I mostly just want to vent my frustration with the fashion industry. So thanks for letting me wail about my last shopping trip, trying to find a decent pair of jeans and a pair of khakis.

Okay, I admit it. I’m not 25 anymore and I no longer tip the scale at 114 lbs, either. But I still want to look my best. I watch “What Not to Wear” faithfully and try to follow Clinton and Stacie’s advice about how to “pick clothes that will flatter my body type”.

So WHY can’t I find ANYTHING that looks good on me! Is it these few extra pounds I’m packing, or is the fashion industry out to sabotage my “look”? Here’s just a few of my pet peeves:

Pants with back pockets. Come on, now. When was the last time you gals put your wallet in your back pants pocket? Do designers really think we want to draw attention to our backside? Plus, I love it when the pocket lining gets kind of crinkly – makes us look like we’ve got a major case of cellulite. NOT a pretty picture.

Shirts with tight little sleeves. Very flattering on my Size 2 daughter. Not so flattering on me, when my arm starts turning blue because of the tourniquet effect.

Belly shirts and low-rise jeans. The only women wearing these are the women that shouldn’t. Do they really think the muffin that somebody poked their finger in looks good hanging over the top of the jeans that must have taken an hour to “slip into”? While I’m not into this “look” right now, I am reserving it for the finale of Biggest Loser when I’m svelte and fit again.

Stretch jeans. Is the addition of spandex to a pair of jeans so that they’ll “hug my curves” really necessary? Stacie and Clinton tell me I should look for straight-legged trouser jeans that float past my “trouble spots”. Anybody EVER seen a pair of those kind of jeans??? If so, please DM me – I’ve been looking for a pair for the past 6 years.

Am I alone on this, or do other women think that designers “just don’t understand us”?

I totally agree with everything except the stretch part. A little give is nice. But I dont want any hugging. Speaking of pants. The last time I went lookng I carried 32 pairs into the dressing room. I came out with ONE. And I think Im taking it back. Im just about ready to start visiting the seamstress again. But I hate to spend the extra on casual clothes.

Originally Posted by findinghope

i think anytime you see clothes in a store, they look like only a 16 yr old girl can wear them, or you have to shop where a pair of pants is $200.
look past the fads. everything right now is "empire" waisted--shirts, dresses. i cant wear any of them without looking pregnant, so i just dont wear it even if that i the style.
i try to find stuff that you cant really tell what year it is.
i empathise--beleive me

Im really sorry. But when I see one of those tops all I can think of is that poor crocodile in Fantasia trying to llift that hippo in a tutu over his head. And those big skirts remind me of that doll with the big dress that sits on the back of the loo and hides a roll of TP under her bum. .

Originally Posted by blue62

I sympathize girls. I hate shopping for clothes..I need summer clothes, badly..So I went shopping..Did I just saunter into Penneys and pick out a few really nice outfits that hid my upper arms, that hid my knees, that hid my scrawny neck, and saggy tush...Nope..Not this year either!!! So ,this summer looks like I will continue to wear three quarter sleeved blouses over my tees and my capris that come just below my knees...I did find three pairs of summer shoes and a purse that really look beautiful on my body

Im an old bird too. Also Im 5'10 and I weigh 199 & 7/8. So I cant shop where you normal peeps do. For the life of me I cant understand this shrunken clothes thing . All my life Ive tried to find clothes that fit. I have plenty of stuff already thats shrunk and doesnt fit. Why would I want to spend money on more. .

Also just because something is in style doesnt mean YOU should wear it. Personally I dress to fit my body type. Im an hourglass with a tad more sand in the bottom. A lot of the clothes out now make me look dumpy. If I dress the body I have I look much better.

In my younger thinner days I used to be a color consultant and do classes on scarf tieing and proportion dressing and all that happy stuff. Im saying this so you will know I do know what Im supposed to be wearing. Hell if I can find anything that fits for a reasonable price. Oh and Stacey doesnt live in the real world. . I clean houses. I am not wearing $200 pants and stilettos to clean in. But just because I clean doesnt mean I want to look like a hag.

Ive basicly given up on womens tops. Theyre way too short to cover up that muffin top Im forced to show cause I cant find proper pants. For casual I wear mens shirts. Im tired of looking for summer tops so Im taking some to the seamstress to put some boob darts in the right places for a DD. All the summer blouses are fitted for short peeps. The boob darts are under my chin.

I confess I too have a lot of shoes. Sometimes you just want to buy SOMETHING. I collect vintage purses but I end up wearing the same one till it dies too. To look at me now you would never know I used to wear suits.


Its been a while but Ill share what I remember of my class stuff if anybodys interested.

[kaykay]

I feel your pain. I can relate to everything you are talking about. I have found quite a bit of stuff I like at Dillards as of late, however.

[Redrover]

Ladies, you're singing my song. Let me say however that not everything that the make-overs on WNTW buy is expensive. Sometimes it might be a $15 pair of walking shorts or a $75 dress. But one thing I have learned from them is to fit the largest part and tailor the rest down to fit. I am a plus-size (14W) and between Talbots and Macys am usually able to find more than enough pants to take me to work and for weekends (although khakis are a problem for some reason) but I have to have them shortened, pockets sewn shut and cut off and occasionally have some leg fullness reduced. But I only look for the wider legs such as flares, boot-cut or sometimes full and they are my best bet. Tops however are a much bigger problem. Y'all are right about those empire waisted tops looking like maternity wear or if they aren't too full, they accentuate the midriff in a not pretty way. Little fitted jackets may be the Holy Grail for Stacy and Clinton but here on the Gulf Coast we would be one giant sweat stain for most of the year. So like one of the other posters here, I end up wearing the 3/4 sleeve button front shirts with pants to go to work and on weekends.

And what the heck's with those tight, baby-doll short sleeves they are trying to foist on us this year? It's like putting a rubber band around a sausage and thinking it is "cute" and stylish. My other big gripe is how many dresses in the larger sizes are sleeveless; what brainiac thinks that those of us who need a little extra room around the middle have upper arms that we want to flash?

Jeans - a dark wash with a slight boot-cut and a touch of spandex. The spandex keeps the shape of the jeans instead of allowing them to stretch out and stay that way after you've worn them for an hour. My best ones come from Talbots.

We're gonna be seeing a lot of ugly clothes next season at places like Marshalls & TJ Maxx which is where unloved clothes go to find new hope.

[lionking]

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Belly shirts and low-rise jeans. The only women wearing these are the women that shouldn’t. Do they really think the muffin that somebody poked their finger in looks good hanging over the top of the jeans that must have taken an hour to “slip into”?

actually a little of that stirs up my desires............if ya' know what I mean

[poconoproud]

Originally Posted by lionking

actually a little of that stirs up my desires............if ya' know what I mean

Hey, you're sneakin in on the Ladies!

My clothing pet peeve, is that I can't find one pair of sweatpants that doesn't say
or something like it across the butt.

[Gretchen B]

Speaking of sweat pants - I remember a card I got from a girlfriend that said something like: Good news/bad news is when the elastic waistband breaks on your sweatpants . . . and they still stay up!

[VillageLife]

You know,Gretchen,just to make you happy,there are 25 body types. The designers should follow the 25 body types to get a good fit for everyone. The model types are always going to look like a model with no tummy.

[mystree]

I agree with all of you,my problem is I'm too petite and jeans and pants are the worst. They will fit everywhere and be dragging on the ground or the length and everywhere else will fit but the waist will be huge and the waist are cut so low you feel as if your giving a peep show everytime you sit down.