To ask what do you consider timeless clothing?

[letsjog]

Hoping for traffic to see lots of opinions!

What pieces would you or do you have in your wardrobe that are always "in" and look lovely regardless of the current trends?
Be it shoes, jackets or general clothing.
I'd love to hear some examples as I'm in the process of adding a few things to my wardrobe and would really like to go for timeless and classic staples (both everyday and formal/occasion wear) that will stand the test of time rather than be out of fashion in a year or so.

So can I ask the wise MM community what would you recommend I look for?

[quote Mara2021]@Orangeblossomscent So you think it's acceptable and professional for healthcare managers to wear leather skirts and silk blouses to work?[/quote]
Yes I would have no problem with that. Can they do their job? Have they a good bedside manner? Are their skills and knowledge up to date?
I'd care about those things more.

I'm probably a bit late to this thread but I really think that if you get the basics right anything will look good on you.

I eat well, exercise and spend my money on my skin and hair care.

I buy almost all my clothes from M&S, Gap and (when I can afford it) The White Company.

I also wear a diamond necklace and earrings that I inherited from my Godmother with everything.

Clothes to me are very secondary to having good looking skin, teeth, hair and jewellery!

The only things I have in my wardrobe that I’ve had for years are a tailored pair of black trousers (that I’ve worn about 4 times), some long summer dresses and a super expensive leather jacket that never seems to go out if fashion.

I think there are very few truly timeless clothes styles. I am a fairly classic dresser but after a while things just start to look dated. I keep reading about crisp white shirts and I can tell you that the crisp white shirt of the 1980s would not look timeless today. Also the idea that everyone looks good in said shirt is odd. Just about any colour bar beige looks better on me.

How would you describe 'dated' and 'on trend', not as individual items, but as concepts?
Where do you think trends, as worn by masses, come from?
How would you describe 'style'?

[quote Mara2021]@Meowchickameowmeow For a cocktail party or similar semi-formal party, that sounds very smart, if I was a bit taller. At my height and build though I'd look like an escaped top heavy penguin. ;) (In my next life I'm going to be 6 foot 3, I've decided.)[/quote]
God no it’s cold ankle length or 3/4 pants everywhere if you can’t hunt out xtra long leg lengths. (I’m 6 foot. Buying pants or maxi dresses is frustrating as they are never long enough)

I’m coming back as a 5 foot 2 “average” next time.

Sadly the only thing Truly timeless seems to be some kind of corset/support garment.

Whether is a whale bone monstrosity pulled so tight you can’t help but swoon (from a lack of oxygen mostly), a thick Minoan belt, a 50’s rubber girdle or the modern equivalent in Spanx or those bloody awful “waist trainers”, any form of clothing designed to make a women’s shape into what is deemed desirable (no matter how uncomfortable) is the only timeless clothing item.

Yes, some people continue to dress in the style they dressed in during their prime. For a lot of posters, that seems to be the 1990s

Hmm, unfortunately I'm about four sizes bigger and so those little satiny slip dresses that I used to waft about in have long been consigned to the charity shop

@Mypathtriedtokillme as a fellow tall woman I am finding the current vogue for short trousers or “ankle grazers” infuriating....they might graze your ankles if you’re 5’4 but I look like a child who has outgrown their uniform!
I don’t have a timeless or fashionable style, I’m a permanent wearer of floral dresses, cardigans and doc martens. It may date me massively but I think I look better in that than the ubiquitous crisp white shirt! And I totally agree with @RapidFire that having good hair, skin and teeth is a much better investment as far as long lasting style goes.

@DaphneBridgerton I agree - if I had to pick just one shop to buy my clothes in for the rest of my life, I'd be quite happy with The White Company.

It would of course be very capsule though as it's so expensive!

I sympathise with the tall women - trousers are totally impossible to buy - ankle grazers I wish! More like pedal pushers - I was over this trend 3 years ago but it’s relentless, every season I hope for a change. Coats? Get used to cold wrists. Dresses - the waist is half way up my rib cage. Am a slim hourglass - to add to my dressing woes - so little I try on fits properly.

@Orangeblossomscent I think that one reason we don’t have timeless classics, is that are so many different heights and body shapes.

The ankle grazers leave you tall women looking like you outgrew yourself school trousers in June and mum doesn’t want to buy more before the summer holidays.

But they leave me (short!) looking like I’m not on trend, because they’re trailing in the mud! And of course it’s not a case on just taking things up, as then they’re too wide for “fashion” or anyway the waist / crotch isn’t quite right... etc!

All the gorgeous just above the knee dresses that I see? Frumpy and dumpy when they sit on or under the knee on a short person like me.

Just all this nonsense about classics... it’s all a bit built round a woman who is 5’7”, slim, small, rectangular or hour glass body shape.

If I were a millionaire, I would have all my clothes bespoke tailored.

*small breasts

I look like shit in ankle grazers. My height isn't the problem, my Californian redwood legs are!

And they're timeless? I'm sure that trousers absolutely had to be full length in the 90s, just as skirts needed to be short or maxi, nothing in between?

And if something looks boring, is it really timeless?

I’m 5ft 1 and hate ankle grazers. There’s nothing elegant about them at all and unless you’re wearing them, with appropriate shoes ‘at all times’, they just make you look stupid in your slippers at home.

And just to add, ‘timeless’? My arse is timeless .

@Tonty

And just to add, ‘timeless’? My arse is timeless .

Mine is so vast that it disrupts the space/time continuum. Does that count?

@DrSbaitso

I'm another one who doesn't like ankle grazers.

I find ankle grazers provide a practical solution to the footwear issue. You can wear with flats or heels and don’t have to worry about the bottom of your trousers scraping the floor when you take your heals off. I find any full length trousers that are fitted to wear with flats just look stupid with heels.

I hate ankle grazers. If you've got long legs like me then it looks like you've bought too short trousers. It's full length or a deliberately cut 7/8 leg that's I've hemmed to end at the right place for me.

Some of what's described as timeless conjures up an image of identikit clothing choices where it's almost a stereotype of itself / people are wearing particular items because they've read somewhere that it's a versatile item or a must have timeless item rather then because they inherently love their personal style. Of course that could also be my response to trying out several 'must have timeless' pieces over the years and found them boring and not my style.

Until relatively recently, I'd have said that full length straight cut black trousers were pretty timeless, but then the skinny cut trend hit around 2011 and it's taken nearly ten years to kill that thing. Almost nobody looked good in it and I lived a decade in skirts and dresses because I couldn't find a pair of effing trousers that didn't make me look like the Titanic. Even things that said they were flared or bootcut or straight leg were just leggings with maybe an inch or two of give somewhere below the knee. Straight cut trousers may have looked much better but they certainly weren't in fashion for a long time.

Pencil skirt
White blouse
Cocktail dress
Black stilettos

For timeless style + quality you can't go wrong with Cos. But you do need to be fairly tall to carry it off.

Nude, micro fishnets from Wolford make your legs look I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E. Trust me.

A properly fitted bra + matching knickers.

A well cut, navy peacoat that sits just below hip level. Boden do a good one most seasons.

A real leather/sheepskin, black aviator jacket worn one size too big.

A well cut, navy peacoat that sits just below hip level Don't do "just below hip level" if you have big thighs and this is their widest point - best going higher or lower than to cut across your widest point - and also the above advice is one (there are many others) of the reasons you should never blindly follow other people's clothing advice - we are all different, shapes, sizes and lifestyles matter.