What makes a women look frumpy

[Wherecanitbe]

I am considering an overhaul of what I wear and my hairstyle. I am feeling a bit down and frumpy at the moment so thought this would be a positive change.

My overhaul is not going to be a drastic change , I cannot afford to purchase a whole new wardrobe of clothes,shoes and accessories. So please could you give me your items of clothing and / or hairstyles that in your opinion makes a women look frumpy.

This post is not meant to be offensive in anyway, I believe a person should wear whatever they wish regardless of whether another person thinks it's frumpy.

42isthemeaning

Clothes should only ever be about the person inside them.

We can all bemoan our lot a bit and poke fun at ourselves but the above still stands.

If a woman is comfy and feels ok in what she is wearing then she will be grand.

To some, my kaftan is the shining example of frump. To me? It is just like Dolly’s coat of many colours. It reminds me on my childhood and happy times. And I love the very waft of it.

🌻

It isn't controversial at all. What's controversial is assuming there's a list of items which make all women become a word that means next to nothing anyway.

Frumpy is indeed a very controversial word. And people can indeed wear what they want.

I prefer dated. When someone - can be a man or woman actually - has neither found their personal style (where it transcends time) nor kept up with current trends (you only need a nod), coupled with being older.

Or someone who just looks like they’ve given up caring. Frumpy gets used in relation to mothers sometimes, where they look like they have devoted all their time to their kids and not given themselves a second thought. They grab the same long sleeve top and jeans every day.

Hair that is too styled.
Jeans and trousers in dated styles.
Jewellery in dated styles such as large beaded necklaces.
Scarves (at the moment, might be back in fashion).
Mainly a lack of thought and any kind of glamour.
Thinking everything goes with black.
100% dressing for comfort (comfort is in at the moment but it doesn’t always look fashionably intentional).

Inevitably trends change and although you can argue that’s the fashion industry trying to sell us stuff, it ends up leaving people behind. Same as some people lose touch with contemporary music. Some don’t care, some do.

FitYeDaeinYeMadRadge thank you!! I appreciate your comment!

It does piss me off that despite all the achievements, challenges and work that women have, one of the most heinous crimes is to not look sexually attractive to men all the time!

To me, it is an overweight lady in a floral blouse that comes to mind when I think of the word 'frumpy'.

Old fashioned hairstyle.Poorly fitting bra. No make up. Dowdy looking clothes.

I often get stopped in the street by strangers to compliment me about my clothing and general look. I’m mid-50s, cut my own hair, don’t wear much makeup, if at all, and never wear a bra (due to mastectomy). My clothes are always second hand from charity shops; there are great ones near me. But I’ve got a good eye, and I’ve got good posture. I dress with style. I look expensive, even though I’ve spent very little. I don’t do “fashion”.

I think no make up looks good, if it can be carried. It’s better than loads of contouring.

I never wear black. I think this is way more ‘frumpy’ than sage green. It takes confidence to wear colours, lots of people hide in nylon black.

Not that l give a shit tbh. Women should wear whatever makes them feel
comfortable.

@FitYeDaeinYeMadRadge i do think wearing a colour that doesn’t suit skin tone is a big issue at any age. There are some natural beige tones that make me look washed out, they did even when young. Dying hair the wrong colour can make people looked drained as well especially sticking to the same colour as skin tone changes as we age.

I think many women just don’t wear decent enough supportive bras. There is a small independent underwear shop in my town they were really helpful. Bras are expensive so I can see why people don’t replace often but weight and hormonal fluctuations affect fit a lot.

For me the biggest challenge is how big my breasts have gotten, they were always large but now 34h. I’m only 5ft 2 so they rather dominate and it’s hard to look elegant. Ideas welcome!

One of the most stylish women I work with has a grey Bob and often wears cardigans.

I think frumpy is one if those things where you know what it when you seeing, but it's hard to describe.

Where you know it when you see it

Bloody spell check.

Wear Cos clothing. Guaranteed you will never look “frumpy”.

Never ever wear leggings.

Over weight
Leggings
Cardigans

I am overweight since Covid and I'm grossly frumpy

This is an interesting series of pictures, for those who think that, "Not skinny = 'frumpy'"

Wow, Remus she looks great! Not "frumpy" at all!
She actually looks better than Kate Moss in those comparable outfits.

I look frumpy these days simply because there is no hiding the menopausal middle aged spread which is compounded by the fact I am short. No amount of Cos clothes will do anything for me - I still look frumpy and middle aged, simply because I am middle aged. If you are taller, an hourglass rather than an apple, thinner, there are more ways to be avoid being frumpy. Also discovered that varifocals also make me look frumpy no matter what the style. I do have a good haircut though

I suspect the cos clothes won’t be helping. I find them incredibly unflattering on me. I was discussing cos with a colleague and she cannot get on with them either.

Put that on a middle aged, greying woman and you will see how it is frumpy. It looks frumpy even on that model who is fairly striking with strong features. It is precisely the colour that makes you bland and tending towards invisibility. And it is ugly, too. There is no joy in that colour.

Joyless and frumpy - right.

If your grandma would wear it, put it down and walk away.
Anything recommended on here, especially Boden.

God Remus

That lass looks amazing.

It's such a beautiful dress - and would remain a beautiful dress, whoever wore it. It wouldn't suit me - but that doesn't mean either the dress, or the colour (or, indeed, me) are frumpy. That's why threads like this annoy me so much.

This meanwhile, even on a beautiful, slim, young woman, is fucking horrible and would be fucking horrible on anybody. Frumpy? No, because the word means nothing. Fucking horrible? Absolutely.