Do you really care what people think of your clothing choices?

[Broadband]

Just been reading a couple of threads in the Style board. It seems that there are people out there who really care what people think of their clothing/style choices, and also lots of people (me included) who wear what they like and really couldn’t care less if their clothing is deemed unstylish, inappropriate or otherwise tasteless.

For context, I’m a skinny 70 year old with charity shop tastes and budget, who lives a very outdoor type of life (rural home, dog, horse, garden) so a lifestyle where practicality and function trump elegance and style. But I do enjoy dressing up for social occasions - even if that means my choices are a bit eclectic 😀

I’m very much in the “if I love it, I don’t care what you think” camp, but fully accept that to other people their choices are much more considered.

So which camp are you in?

I'm like you poster,70s, village,dogs, gardening, very unglamorous! For my recent birthday we went to a nice pub restaurant,I wore a dress,was only glad because it was so hot,tiny dining room,log burner, everyone else was wearing jeans, and I felt overdressed. I'm old skool, black for funeral unless otherwise stated. Smart and definitely no black or white to a wedding. Mostly second hand and charity shop buys. I do have a classic cream trench Mac and camel jacket I've had for over 40 years. I like to look neat and tidy, I have one friend who looks like she got her clothes out of a skip, another who always looks fantastic, I feel like a bag lady when I go out with her! I find health issues dictate the wardrobe a lot these days. I've got some gut issues and can't wear my size 10 skinnies because of pain, indoors,no bra again upper gut issues.

As above have already said I’m another, dress comfortably but appropriately person and go for jeans/tops and a few dresses for work.

I have never knowingly judged anyone (sometimes I may be jealous - that they look so well put together!) & the labels are lost are me! (My husband on the other hand notices things - he will say did you see the watch they wearing….’me they wearing a watch?!?!)

Im interested in style and fashion although I’m more interested in developing my personal style nowadays. I think about what to wear a lot - it’s probably the first thing I’d think about when I’m invited somewhere. I record what I wear in a app and I make efforts to wear everything I own. I’m not actually too bothered by other people’s opinions about what I wear or care about what other people wear although I notice it.

Clothing is quite tribal and communicates quite a lot about a person. I went to an exhibition yesterday about Tim Burton and quite a few other people were wearing Burton-esque type clothes. ( eg black and white stripes ) If you go to a equestrian three day event there will be a distinct style of clothing that you would rarely see in an urban setting. ( those fur ring hats for instance ) - you’re not trying to tell me that a fur donut on your head is the most practical way to keep your head warm?

Since being over 40 I care a lot less about what others think and I tend to wear what I like, sometimes it’s a bit wacky and different but that’s what I like. I get some comments (mainly good I think 🤔) but I really don’t care if people like what I’m wearing or not.

I don’t like the style and beauty threads, I have posted on them a few times and am always recommended highly expensive boring clothing that I wouldn’t ever wear.
it’s good to have your own style and to be comfortable.

I think people who think other people actually pay any attention or care about what they're wearing are largely mistaken.

Aside from the very occasional exception when an item someone is wearing catches my eye, I just don't notice. I've just been in a hotel restaurant with maybe 200 people and couldn't with a gun to my head describe any item any of them were wearing.

As you have probably already guessed, I don't care what I wear nor what people think of it. I wear things that I think are nice, couldn't give a toss what is 'in'.

I am Woman at M&S with my clothing choices .
I wear a uniform at work.

On S&B , when someone asks "What shoes with this navy dress" and the replies are Lime Green or Mustard I think "Are you having a laugh or what"?

I want to be warm/cool/dry/covered up as appropriate /
On holiday when it is Formal Night and I do get dressed up there are loads of people who don't bother, that is up to them if they CBA but I don;t look down on them .
Though people in the buffet resturant in swimwear Cover up . I don;t want to be looking at your thighs and belly . If you want to wear that then go to the outdoor food area , not the indoor seated one

I have various items in my wardrobe. From a decent quality Chanel style tweed jacket to a Japanese multi coloured smock dress with giant cats on that I rather like. From many gaming T. Shirts to very good quality silk blouses and tops, my favourite being one with butterflies printed along the bottom. I have always hiked a lot so have a lot of outdoor gear as well.

This week I wore lined hiking trousers with a very long jumper most of the week as it’s been really cold. For lunch out yesterday I wore leggings and a smock dress with a big cashmere wrap and a woolly hat.

I do love hats, in the winter I have a selection of wool ones and also a horrendously expensive Italian tweed hat. In the summer I have three straw hats on the go that get replaced occasionally.

So I dress very much like the op very outdoorsy but also have some eclectic single pieces. I have complimented people on their outfits. Mainly if people are wearing hats. I’m in either Millets or Go outdoors or after very good quality pieces in charity shops. I can do alterations as well so it’s helpful.

for Me it’s more important to dress for my religion/god than others.

Not a hoot.

I’m very much in the “if I love it, I don’t care what you think” camp

Yes, I'm in this camp with you, OP!

No. Although I wouldn't want to upset people by being inappropriate (so I wouldn't turn up to a fancy wedding in jeans, for instance). But I don't care about being in fashion. I also don't care about being that mysterious thing "frumpy", because I don't really understand what it means!

Well, I'm nearing 50 and have no interest whatsoever in what anyone thinks of my clothing. I'm comfortable and warm and the clothes are easy to wash and tumble. That's it.

I dont really care what people think but I do like to dress nicely for me.
I have zero reason to dress up (lifestyle is just dog walking, trips to Sainsbury, etc) but I will still wear full make up and a nice dress if I feel like it.
I dont do 'on trend' though...Im more a retro, vintage type.

I never used to care but I think I do more as I've become older. But I've also become a lot more interested in understanding what suits me too.

I dress for the occasion and am clean. That's it.

I wear different clothes in the house than out. We were raised to not wear sweatpants outside. I still don't.

I love clothes and I do care about trying to look good when I go out anywhere. But I wear what I like and I’m not bothered if that’s not to other folks tastes. Having said that - my choices are very classic and safe- so probably a bit boring.
The S&B pages amuse me. There are posters there who seem to think they are gurus of style and fashion. But the clothes they suggest are usually outlandish and shapeless , and not something I could imagine anyone wearing around the area I live. And it’s clear from the other suggestions that taste varies hugely.
I can certainly admire clothes on other folk that I wouldn’t wear myself. I do think it’s sad when you have a very narrow ( and pompous) view of what’s acceptable on the style front

It depends.

I dress to impress:

• on a date
• at important client meetings / dinners
• black tie / formal parties

I'm 35.

Any other scenario and I don't care. Day to day I live in activewear, which the S&B board is very against as it "should only be worn at the gym". 😂

I make a lot of my own clothes, which is a slow process. So style matters more to me than fashion, as by the time I’ve finished something fashion may well have moved on!

I don’t really care what people think of what I wear, but I do like looking at what others are wearing just in case there’s some ideas I can incorporate in my own makes. That’s not really done in a judgemental way though. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no rights or wrongs and everyone should just do what they want.

Hmmm... I don't see these things as incompatible. It's not, either I buy the clothes that I like, or I buy the clothes that I think other people like.

Generally, I buy the clothes that I like and that make me look and feel good. Generally, other people tend to agree, and I get a lot of compliments on my outfits, but I don't buy them considering what other people might think.

Unfortunately, whether we like it or not people judge us on what we are wearing.

I used to work in an admin type role in an office and always wore very smart tailored clothes. Not because I had to, but because I had worked out that a very smart almost severe way of dressing suited my style and my figure.
My boss on the other hand who was a similar age and shape had a more hippy vibe.

I would say 99% of the people who came to the office and didn’t know our respective roles, would default to assuming I was in charge.
So I would say wear what you like but people will judge on first impressions.

I’m with @Divebar2021 in that my clothes would be the first thing I’d think about if I were invited somewhere. (Love the rest of your post, too!)

I would be thinking what I’d wear from what I’ve already got, I wouldn’t be pondering a new outfit. I’ve got everything I’d need whatever the situation - wedding guest, work dinner, pub drinks, office day, posh dinner etc etc - and I never need to update clothes because I wear what I like and what suits me.

Sometimes fashion catches up with me. I’ve been wearing wide leg trousers since forever as I like a ‘40s vintage vibe. I knew they were ‘in’ when I noticed lots of people in similar and also because someone once said ‘Goodness those are some trousers!’ apropos of nothing when I stood to leave a train carriage 😄😄 whereas now nobody looks twice.

So I am firmly in the ‘wear what you like’ camp. As long as I don’t look unclean, unkempt or uncomfortable because it doesn’t fit, I’m happy in both my own skin and my clothes.

The issue of fashion I think is ridiculous - how can you say that something was good to wear 3 years ago, but will now look stupid or silly or out of place? Long term there are sufficient changes to make that so: if you show up now in a dress from 1910, you will indeed look 'dated'.

For many years, I was subjected to critical remarks from relatives outside of my immediate family about the way I dressed. I wasn't dressing inappropriately for the situation: what they disliked was my style (insufficiently 'feminine' in one way or another, too practical, not tight and short enough etc.). This never once made me consciously want to dress in another way, that they approved and I rejected as ugly, impractical or objectifying, but only made me upset and angry.

I do some things in terms of my clothing for the approval of others. I never wear a bra at home, but I do put one on to go places, except sometimes to places like the shop when it's cold enough for layers and I won't be undressing. My bra is a minimal one, so there's not necessarily change re: the nipples, but it is for the 'shape' of a bra. That's out of self-consciousness about others.

Otherwise, I would divorce inappropriateness from the concept. I spend most of my time in jeans and a t-shirt with a graphic on it, but there are more formal situations where I wouldn't go dressed in this way. That is 'caring what people think of your clothing' in a way, but I think the concepts of caring about particular clothing choices within a certain level of formality is different than caring about where people roughly fall on the formal scale at the event, at least where the relative formality of the event is clear.

I sometimes think people following certain fashion trends look stupid, but I don't suppose they care for my opinion on that. Things like asymmetric tops and cut-outs on the fabric look ridiculous to me, while a lot of makeup looks grotesque. If I see sometimes people who look stupidly dressed to me, presumably I might look oddly dressed to them likewise. Why should either of us care for this view of the other?

Yes and no. I consider fashion and clothing both an art form and a hobby. I love putting outfits together and I definitely refer to and keep up with what's in, but I also know what I like and what my style is and don't go for stuff I just don't like. That said, I'm less worried about what is 'flattering' and more about creating an effect with texture, colour, line, detail. I'm definitely clothing-as-art over clothing-as-function.

I know I have flair and I know when I look good and feel good and I don't really need other people to reference it, although it's nice when they do. I would not deliberately dress inappropriately or out of keeping for an event, but within those boundaries I wear what makes me feel fabulous.

If you don’t care what others think of your appearance, would you be offended if they told you their opinion?

Interesting, I don't give a hoot about the men but I care enormously about what women think, very happy if someone pays me a compliment (a woman, mens opinions mean nothing). I really love clothes but am a bit useless at pulling a look off unfortunately.