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.

I have a beautiful silk Union Jack shirt dress from Boden. Wear it with spotless white plims.

not frumpy. I may be a bigger build but I feel and look bloody fab in it. It drapes beautifully.

There's a Boden advert on my page right now. Has it been said 3 times on the thread and popped up like Beetlejuice?

😂😂😂 it keeps being said!

See this is what I think of as frumpy; and the models are young/slim/attractive. Geometric prints, cap sleeve, childish florals, ‘mum’ dresses usually worn with a vest top underneath. It’s not that overweight or older women are inherently frumpy but in my experience overweight or older women are more likely to choose these kinds of styles - but as you can see they look frumpy even on young/slim women.

What, in the name of sweet Jesus and all his little pixies, is a, 'Childish floral'?

Frumpy usually occurs when the main consideration is that clothing be 'serviceable' (to quote Marilla Cuthbert) rather than stylish. Slacks, sketchers, hip length raincoat and nylon Kipling bag. That kind of thing. I find that the wrong length on a cuff or hem can take something from cool to frumpy.

Grey hair can of course look lovely but often the examples given of lovely grey hair, such as the image of Helen Mirren upthread, aren't exactly natural grey tones. More like platinum blonde with lots of toners. A pretty high maintenance look.

A Union Jack shirt dress. Wowzers. The world would definitely be treated to the sight of my bare white arse if that were my only clothing option

Oooooh yes the Kipling bag!!!! 🤮

Sage is one of my most flattering colours. I’d wear that dress with my white silky (not frizzy) hair and olive skin. Probably no make up.

l’d rock it!

This is probably a ‘childish floral’. But it’s a dress for a toddler. 🤷🏻‍♀️

What bag do you use?

Childish florals are floral prints that are too small, cartoon like and in bright colours.

Another woman who has incredible dress sense and not at all frumpy in her 50s with several kids - Sam Taylor-Johnson. I LOVE her clothes and I’m in my early 30s!

I have a Kipling bag 🤣

I bought it because my favourite bag is leather and weighs enough on its own.

I have to carry a lot of stuff for a lot of reasons and the Kipling lets me do that being very light.

If I carried everything in the love of my wardrobe bag, the left hand side of my body would be dragged along the pavement.

I like sage and am not that keen on green

I probably look frumpy at times

I try to look reasonable when I am working

It is harder as you age but I try to do some fitness each day

Me too, @SheldonesqueTheBstard!
It's waterproof, board marker proof and I get get stuff in it for work. I save the chic clutch for evening wear!
However, I think we're committing a cardinal sin here -
being practical!

The model looks fabulous.

(Have you ever seen a potato sack??)

I've just looked up Theresa Coffey who has been mentioned a few times on here.

I think a better bra would work wonders, as well as dropping the scarf which does look as if she is wearing to disguise excess weight. A scarf does need to be worn-not look like a mis-matched piece of material just hanging around the neck any old how.

It makes her look as if she is not very confident about her appearance.

So, yes- I suppose she does look frumpy-in the way that most of us know exactly what that term means.

Of course, it doesn't matter-she is a highly educated woman with an impressive career but I think it does matter to her because she tries to disguise things about her physical appearance.

Maybe she should stop wearing elasticated print skirts and mismatching scarves if she is bothered but if she isn't, then who cares.

As I say, she has some brilliant qualifications and has held her own in the world of politics but somehow, despite all that, I think she looks uncomfortable and that's a shame-if I'm correct and that's a big IF.

You soothe my soul maireas 😘

Do you know… that is probably a big part of the misogynistic undertones to frumpy as a concept. How dare women be focused on practicality and dress for purpose rather than ornament. It’s why the concept never applies to men.

Therese Coffey is bloody nuts and a nightmare to work with (there are a lot of interesting ‘civil service neutral’ descriptions for her). That would be true even if she were more stylish.

🙂

@SizzlerFizzler 😁 I wish my arse was fit for baring

it cheers me up - and I sincerely hope I get a ticket so it’ll get an airing at next year’s Eurovision. 🇬🇧

But @SudocremOnEverything on this thread, we are discussing things that make a woman look frumpy and trying to define that term.

Is Truss frumpy?

🙄 not everything is ‘misogynistic’

men have their own word ‘slob’. To mean overweight men who wear sweatpants etc