to want to meet some fellow scruffs?

[IntergalacticHussy]

Maybe I'm just having a bad day, but lately i've started to feel like i'm the only person in the world who doesn't look like they've just stepped out of a catalogue

I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that, if it's what you want, but didn't there used to be other ways of looking?

I was going to this meetup, (i'm new round here) organised by the Other Place, and i'm afraid I just bottled it. Probably says more about my judgypants than anything else, but my heart sank when I saw everyone else turning up, perfectly groomed in brand-new looking clothes, immaculate and pushing buggies that looked like they'd been purchased yesterday. I just suddenly felt like i'd spend the whole time feeling apologetic and uncomfortable so i sort of skulked away feeling crap.

It's not that i look terrible (i hope), i just don't mind if my jeans are a bit faded, or i'm wearing a top I bought two years ago, or if dd's going around in a pushchair that's seen better days. I quite like having things with a bit of history to them; second hand stuff/ the odd vintage thing. I avoid ironing if i possibly can and think dd2 looks perfectly ok in dd1's slightly worn hand-me-downs, unless we're off to a wedding or something.

And please dont' think i'm just having a go at other mothers, it's bloody everyone; all dads under 45 seem to dress the same way, all teenagers have the same floppy, assymetric haircut... when i were a lass we had actual subcultures; grungers, skater-punks, indie-kids, goths, trendies...

i know it's ironic to be a non-conformist wishing she knew some other non-conformists, but i can't help wondering if anyone else feels the same?

Very Scruffy
Also Very Happy
Can look ok when it requires. But I do it on my terms. (which isnt too often!)
Not in slightest concerned if others think I'm looking good or not.

Scruff here too! Just appraised what I am wearing right now....slobby jeans that have frayed bottoms and a four year old t-shirt. Was at a job interview this a.m. and had to be smart for that....now I'm exhausted with the effort!

Had to smile at my hairdresser the other day. Have managed to educate her that I like a simple haircut that I leave to dry naturally and do no styling with whatsoever. I mentioned that I have a friend's wedding coming up and wasn't sure what to do with my hair.....she mentioned that it might be an idea if I just had my hair more 'organised'.....lol @ my 'disorganised' hair!

I like (clean) scruffyness. I actually find a bit of casualness about appearance quite sexy. We don't all have to buy into the whole appearance hype and pressure.

I cut my own hair. It looks all right! Anyway, much better than those awful "mum" cuts you have to hand over £40+ for at the hairdresser's. Nothing more ageing, imo, than a "hairdo".

Are u sure ur not kidding urself it looks alright gramercy?! Wish you'd come and cut mine then!

I didn't realise I was so out of touch.

I didn't realise you had to straighten your hair in order to look good. I thought people straightened their hair because they liked straight hair.

I have naturally curly hair (like Detective Bonasera in CSI New York, only hers is neater) and I like it! Why would I want to straighten it??

I am scruffy. I generally wear jeans/ tracksuits. I like to be clean, though.

(And I don't even own any make up)

Scruff here.
Currently wearing wooly socks, Khaki shorts, blue T-shirt. Hair is tied back in pony tail. I'm about to do teh school pick up.

I like T-shirts, rugby shirts and sweatshirts, jeans, walking trousers and shorts. Seldom need to wear anything fancier.

I'm definitely a case of bipolar appearance syndrome.

The vast majority of the store bought stuff I own consists of five year old faded really scruffy Primark stuff.

On the other hand I own a lovely selection of stunning handmade vintage style clothing in silk, wool and other high quality material.

I usually keep them more or less apart - however I have been known to leave the house in a pair of paint stained worn out stretch jeans, a pink back button silk satin blouse, red leather heels and a Tesco carrier bag in lieu of a clutch. Eye makeup fully done but lips not even conditioned.

I may have actually turned up to work like that too. :o

Another scruff signing in. T shirt, jeans and trainers for me too, rarely wear make up, and when a friend came to stay recently she forgot her hairbrush and thought she'd use mine. She wasn't shocked to discover that I didn't own a hairbrush

I'm a scruff. I try not to be, but I just am. Being fat and wobbly doesn't help - clothes just look shit on me and my hair does all sorts of weird things, even after it's been clubbed into submission. I buy expensive clothes but I make them look like I've picked them up at a jumble sale. Having a 3 month old baby doesn't help,either - I spent hours making myself tidy to pop into work the other day for the obligatory visit with child. Within seconds of my arrival, my daughter had puked six gallons of milk down my lovely black top.

I'm a scruff in the sense that I'm always in casual clothes (jeans, plimsolls, T-shirts), but I'm usually clean(ish). I wear mascara and face powder unless I know I won't be leaving the house and my hair is v. short so needs minimal styling.

I'm also lucky to work in a job (when I'm not being a SAHM, that is) that doesn't require me to dress smartly. I just wear exactly what I would at home.

scruff here!!,, staple clothing diet of jeans, converse, flip flops, t shirts & vests, and happy!!!!

I'm usually a scruff too. Worse now my course has started so I'm wearing dusty builders trousers and safty boots. It's hillarious on public transport to see people trying to move away from me so they dont get dirty, so I move even closer just to wind them up. (just a little something to keep me amused on a long journey home).

same i am a scruff
would like to look nice but have straggly hair specs and still get occasional spots
will never look polished the only time i ever looked polished in my whole life was my wedding day seven years ago and its' been downhill ever since
love Primark and hate ironing

oh and rushed out the door the other day dropped DS off then headed up to town feeling GOOD/FREE only to realise had put top on inside out and backwards!!!

Gramercy - 'One problem of being scruffy is that the look does not age well.'

Yes, I think that is what I am trying to avoid facing up to - while jeans, converse, t-shirt, no make up, pony-tail etc... looks cute and sassy on a twenty year old, it looks a bit tired and washed out on a lumpy old bag lady like myself (nearly 40).

But the only other options I see for non-work, non-dry clean everyday clothes are (1) boden-bonkers/Ab Fab crazy colours or (2) frosted boufant Per Una suburban blah.....there is a real dead zone for style for the 'middle aged lady' [yuk].

I think this is what Mary Portas and Trinny & Susannah etc... are getting at... but I don't want to wear leather trousers or wide sleeved tunics ffs. Just not practical.

I guess i am not quite scruffy-and-proud but a little bit scruffy-and-mildly-frustrated.

I just can't afford clothes, except a six-monthly Primark raid which always ends in me buying three items for £30. Absolutely traumatised by changing room mirrors and loathe shopping.

I have only had one bottle of perfume in 20 years and I found that on a skip. it was very nice.

Can anyone recommend a catalogue so I can avoid shopping? I need cheap clothes - but not cheap-looking - and I don't like frilly, girly stuff, heels or stuff for 'ladies', like Per Una

Scruff here too :D

I often cut my own hair too..it isn't straight so tis pretty forgiving. Also have no brush although mil often accidentally leaves hers behind hoping it will inspire me. I only have two pairs of trousers and a handful of tops. As they die they get replaced. Also my jeans and goodies are all men's like my boots and trainers. My dh could incidentally think of nothing more attractive thaN hoodie boots and jeans. Do we all have such partners?

I often cut my own hair too..it isn't straight so tis pretty forgiving. Also have no brush although mil often accidentally leaves hers behind hoping it will inspire me. I only have two pairs of trousers and a handful of tops. As they die they get replaced. Also my jeans and goodies are all men's like my boots and trainers. My dh could incidentally think of nothing more attractive thaN hoodie boots and jeans. Do we all have such partners?

I wish I could do casual a bit better. I look terrible in casual clothes. Like an extra out of eastenders or something.

I like to dress up and can do that pretty well but its not really appropriate for every day wear is it?

I just feel crap when I put a pair of joggers or jeans with trainers on. Maybe its because I was a teen and in my twenties in the 80s

I would like to look relaxed and casual without looking like a boy or bianca jackson.

I hadn't really thought about it until this week. My friend told me yesterday that her friend (who I know a little bit) is going to do a Gok style makeover on me and find me a bloke .

I think I've just been put in the scruff group which, until reading this thread, I thought was not a good place but actually I now think it is!

My hair is straightened with straighteners though, every time I wash it. Am I still ok to think of myself as a scruff?

I love clothes, shoes and bags, I just have no idea how to match them together or choose the ones that suit me.

Hmm, I always cut my own hair. Been doing it for so long that I'm actually good at it by now. Have graduated to layers :o.

To be honest, if I didn't know how to sew I'd be all scruff instead of semi scruff.

The good thing is that I work in software development. My co-workers are stereotypal computer geeks. Think balding on top, pony tail in the back, beard, beer belly, living on coke and delivery pizza.

Thanks to them I'm still the best groomed person in the office even on a scruffy day. All thanks to a full head of hair.

BakeliteBelle, give the H&M catalogue a try (sign-up online). It's not perfect by any means and all those giraffe-like models are a bit nauseating, but it's reasonably priced and has some good stuff. (I do the desperate Primark dash every few months as well, and end up with crap!).

I'm with MrsDeVere. Look OK when making hte effort with a dress/heels, but try as I might, daytime... These days (in my old age) for work I put on a bit of make-up, jewellery, a jacket and maybe an artfully flung scarf. That's it. With my jeans. Feels like a big effort, therefore must look better than no effort. Shame about the CamillaPB hair. (Nothing seems to change that, any cut looks like her once I've left the hairdressers )

I think a lot depends on where you live. In London (or worse, Paris, where even the bag-ladies look stylish) you might feel that you're in competition with all the stylish people, but here in deepest Devon people live in fleeces and strange cord trousers.... once I put lipstick on for the school run and was asked if I was having an affair!

Mogs0, did you mean gok would find a bloke for you, or that he would do a makeover and find that you are a bloke? It could read either way