to think that most people do not know how to dress well for warm weather

[KiteKit]

It is a beautiful sunny warm day here and I am working (boo!) but took my lunch at a place where I was able to indulge in a spot of people watching and it struck me as I was sitting there that the vast majority of the people walking past me looked awful. I know that is a harsh thing to say, but on the whole they were wearing badly fitting, unflattering summer clothes with acres of red sunburned flesh on show.

I saw every combination of vest top and shorts on both men and women etc. I started looking for anyone who looked good to my taste and in the space of 40 mins only about 2 walked by out of the many who passed my table and they both looked Italian as it happens!

It does sound very judgemental and I certainly do not hold myself up as a champion of summer dressing whatsoever, it is because I struggle to find nice, heat appropriate clothes for a very pale skinned 45 year old that I am especially tuned it it I think.

I really wish we could go back to olden days when clothes were elegant - I love the style of the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's - after that elegance sort of went out the window imo!

For what it is worth a vest top with spaghetti straps, bra straps showing underneath, fleshy upper body (it was also surprising how many overweight people there were) spilling out of it, cargo shorts and ecco style walking sandals may feel comfortable but my god they look bad on 99.9% of those I saw today!

It is a struggle isn't it? Or is it just me? I want to find beautiful summer clothes that make me feel great and I don't seem to be able (I am wearing a cream cotton shirt with cream embroidery, dark skinny jeans with the bottoms turned up - my nod to the warm weather today and snake skin flat sandals -hardly setting the fashion world on fire!)

TedAndLola

I LOVE that picture. So true!

I find the 'shoulds' on this thread depressing and coercive. Far be it for anyone to feel they have to dress according to my notions of what looks nice, or that the doors of Zara and H and M should automatically slam shut, preferably with a siren going off, should an over 40 attempt to enter without the caveat of buying for a teenager.

Serious question - where are women over 40 supposed to shop for clothes?

I like clothes, but I have very few, because I'm fussy about fabrics and colours, and keep them very carefully. I'm mostly wearing stuff from years ago. In hot weather, that tends to be well-cut, wide-legged trousers (some in linen - I think you can get what you pay for with linen, I have two gorgeous pairs of very soft linen trousers which were from Quinn and Donnelly in the mid-90s, which don't crease much, somehow) and blouses, bretons or very good-quality plain teeshirts in white or grey with heavy silver necklaces. Some jeans (sometimes with kameez tunics), some baggy drawstring Indian trousers, some old Faroese cardigans or shawls when it's cooler, and a couple of silk shawls made from old saris. And I have a million scarves.

I don't wear shorts except on the beach. Personally, I think they look a bit strange in town, but that's entirely my personal view.

I'm over 40. I buy loads in H&M mainly t-shirts, tops and jumpers and I got my winter coat there last year.

Marisota and Simply Be... shudder

no women over 40 should be shopping in Zara or H&M

I just pissed myself laughing. Must be because I'm a certain age.

Have we mentioned the dreadful scourge that is the massive maxi dress yet? They do NOT look good...unless you're over 5.8 and a size ten...they don't "cover up the lumps and bumps" they MAGNIFY them.

As for white linen trousers of indeterminate cut...NOOOOO!

Lilac and lemon

Really I thought it was a very obvious piss take

Ha! Oooops.

I did think to myself, lilac and lemon sound vile but she's clearly a disciple of Colour Me Beautiful so best leave her to it.

Have read the thread with a morbid curiosity.
Just wanted to say, wear what you like, who cares? Other than the OP obviously.

Colour me Beautiful yes that's the company I couldn't remember their name. There is a few colour pushers style consultants on mn

yes I think at 48 I should be shopping in the classics range of M&S or Bon Marche.

I know what you mean about skirts, the top is never the right length or the right length t shirt bit the dust but the skirt is still going

Most clothes that work well in warmer weather look pretty crap on me. It doesn't help that colours that don't get hot in the sun simply are not my colours.

While I do cringe at acres of lobster red shoulder I try not to judge others for how they look in clothes that they might only get to wear for a few days each year.

That's a mighty fine set of red pyjamas, limited :o

I now need to fret about how crap the OP will think I look on a mild day, when it's pissing down. Frumptastic and red faced in my waterproofs, I'm sure.

ouryve, pastels, which seem popular in the summer, look horrendous on me. I am more of a winter person, I think.

Same here, though as I'm allowing my dark hair to grey naturally, light blue is beginning to look OK on me.

Thankfully, we have more torrential rain than heatwaves here up north.

You are very judgemental tho. I am a perfect size 12 and fit my clothes but I would have the audacity to wear a vest top with bra straps showing. It's that or floppy boobs . There are lots of people who could do with a tad more fabric sometimes, but they aren't hurting anyone!

I've never minded bra straps showing under vests. Sometimes a pretty colored bra strap can look nice. It's only if the straps are a dirty white and have seen better days that it looks nasty.

slipper, if I didn't wear a bra with a vest top I would be carrying them round in a wheelbarrow

And ITA about a pretty bra strap. I don't wear vest tops, but I do wear tops that sometimes flash a bit of strap, so I make sure I wear one that I'm happy to have showing.

That's a mighty fine set of red pyjamas, limited

For a heart-stopping moment I thought you could see through my screen, ouryve .

Then I realised you were talking about the Nancy D pic I posted and not that I was still wearing my red pyjamas with Scottie dogs on them. I'd changed into my working-from-home wardrobe of navy sports vest and running pants, covered in cat hair btw.

I favour flesh-coloured micro-fibre bras with underwire. They are very flattering under sheer or clingy clothes and you can whip them off when you need to.

I have a selection of coloured bras with pretty straps I've chosen deliberately to wear under strappy tops because I can't go bra-less, but they are a bit too lumpy and bumpy for normal use.

Meanwhile, back to the Greek Euro-crisis

a) We wear too many bright colors.
b) We wear too much blue.
c) We are obsessed with stripes.

I expect anyone who advises those things takes themselves too seriously and wears dull colours, black or neutrals instead of the less solemn blue, and plain clothes instead of anything more interesting or creative