What does mumsy look like?

[appletarts]

What do you think of when you think mumsy? I'm interested in opinions and pics if anyone finds something quintessentially mumsy. It's my fear, looking all mummy.

Short hair, mousy and "easy" to wear. Baggy anything. Fleeces. Frosty pink lippy. Shapeless jeans that are nice and comfy. Anything that is "comfy". Shoes that look like Cornish pasties. The hair is the worst though.

IMO it's mainly ill fitting in dreary colours or sipid florals. Pastels in odd lengths. Blousy and twee are excellent mumsy phrases too. If any of those three spring to mind climb in a boat, row to sea as its easier to swim back than change without gok Wans help!

Oh god the hair..... My way it's pony tails, low slung.

How do I know all this? I'm looking in the freakin mirror!

I used to have style, but then I had time and money then too.... ;)

Oh yes, of course: pastels, weak florals and patterns, especially if the fabric isn't very nice. Sparkly bits in inappropriate places: very ageing.

I think there are a few different kinds of mumsy. But the first thing that comes to my head is high waisted jeans and plain bobbly knits and ill fitting tops. Dressed for comfort rather than style.

Hair in a short bob that doesn't move, shapless jeans, trousers/jeans too short, boots with a little heel, fleeces, metallic shoes, polo shirts with the collar turned up.

Jeans worn with regatta jackets because its so practical.

I kind of try to look mumsy sometimes... Hopefully in a good way. I'm paranoid about looking like a skanky overdressed mum so I have toned down a lot...i am fairly young (27) and most 'mums' i know are in their late 40's so i want to fit in but still look nice and a bit more conservative than the 20something style...
I don't know really what mumsy looks like but maybe just sloppy... Velour Track suit? Leggings that are see-through (as though you haven't looked in the mirror after getting dressed) messy hair... Home died blonde with black routes? Or frizzy mousy hair in one of those claw clips or a scrunchy

A bob that has no movement, especially one with a fringe.

Bootcut jeans and black boots with heels.

Fleece.

Is it really about short hair though? I have short hair because I look mumsy with long hair!

ankle skimming bootcut jeans is about as mumsy it gets round here. Most of the mums I see are dressed to the nines at 7 in the morning. I don't know how they have time to look so perfectly made up and dressed so early

Shapeless clothes
Tatty/boring boring shoes
Lots of black/beige/denim and no colour
No accessories
Visible lack of care/effort (as opposed to low maintenance style)

Larahusky do your DC go to our school??

I think Mumsy is anorak....leggings and a tunic....a long bum covering cardy and a "nice" necklace.

Hair is always MID length...not too short and not too long...booooring.

Mumsy isn't what you wear, it's how you wear it
IMO it isn't even necessarily unattractive or ill-fitting
It's more like a timidity in taste.

I feel quite uncomfortable reading this thread .

It feels a bit like 'Yeah, let's slate Mums for looking like Mums' or 'Let's slate someone off for not having the same priorities / amount of money / amount of time as I have.'.

For every one of you that posts, I bet there are 6 or 7 lurkers that read the thread, think it describes them, then leave feeling a little bit worse about themselves.

I dress like a woman, not like the young girl that I used to be. When I think of the money that I used to spend on clothes, I feel very silly.

Timidity in taste is a great way of describing it - not any kind of 'look' at all.

A fleece. Typically blue.

Shapeless stone wash jeans.

Plain comfortable shoes.

Hair that has no life in it.

Oh fuck!

Oh and very little makeup. Not the natural look. The didn't have time to put makeup on look.

I'm not judging them! I don't think bad of them for it. The thread is asking for a summary of a common look.

This will not end well.

But I think its pretty hard to give real examples, coco said eg metallic shoes well I love metallic shoes and don't think I look particularly mumsy. Someone else said mid-length hair - well that could be Alexa Chung hair - not mumsy in my opinion.

But anyway I think its perhaps better to give ideas for what looks good rather than listing things that we consider mumsy [gets off soapbox]

You know the Next catalogue? That.

I always think of White Stuff - you know, bright tunics that look a bit like pinafores - the kind of clothes that look a child's