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.

What happened to Trinny and Susannah?

I adored them

TBH I concentrate what I look like underneath the clothes - i.e. being fit, healthy, toned and strong. What you wear on top - make up, clothing- is just window dressing.

I don't see anything wrong with looking like a mum though.

me to ExRatty. Trinny and Susannah might have poked a few boobs and said some unkind things but they knew how to dress women for their individual shape and how to make the most of their shape without looking like you had just walked into a "fashion" shop and walked out with all the latest trends on you in one go...IYKWIM

Wearing the right bra makes a huge difference. Now DS2 is 9MO, I went on the bra intervention thread last month and thank goodness I did, I was in a 36DD, but should have been in a 32G. Wearing the correct size now makes me look slimmer and I can wear nicer tops.

I go to the gym, run, do weights and eat well but I have always believed that "window dressing" is important to me cause it is how people see me and the image I want to portray every day. It makes me feel more confident to look good on the outside and that each day I look the "best" version of me that I can. But that's just me and I know not everyone thinks like this and that's fine.

I've come to the conclusion it's anything from Boden because their clothes can be spotted so easily. I'm not thinking mumsy in a derogatory way either. It's just their clothes are targeted at women with children (with a comfortable household income). I have a few bits from there but stopped buying about 3 years ago because I decided it's very ££££ for what you actual get from the womenswear. Still love the kids stuff though because it has mileage, I buy bits in sales only, hand it down from one dc to the next, then sell on eBay.

there is nothing wrong with flat boots or ballet flats.we cant wear high heels all day.and what is wrong with parkas?
not wearing makeup does not make you mumsy.if you have good skin why hide it?
claudia schiffer and elle macpherson wear alot of skinny and boots combo,and they always looks so effortlessly stylish.
its how you wear things.
m&s do a lot of conservative clothes,thats why they always pop in mind when one thinks of mumsy style.

Reading through this thread I have come to the conclusion I'm totally rocking a cool mumsy look
Long hair in pony tail - check
Only make up, mascara - check
Boot cut jeans - check
Black boots - check
Plain black V neck T Shirt - check

HOWEVER
My hair is clean and swishy
I have good skin
Tall and wobbly bits curvy so boot cut suits my shape (I remember high waisted peg leg jeans first time a round and they looked awful on me)
I too have been on the bra intervention thread so my boobs look AMAZING in my v neck tshirt
I may loss mumsy points for the buckles and zips on my sensible boots

Where what you want, and what looks good/makes you feel good :)

Round here, lots of Mums wear Joules polos, quilted jackets and gilets with their skinny jeans, but where's the individuality? I love it when I see someone with something that suits them, that they have thrown together because they like it and not to fit in with the sheeple. There is a hippy mum that would get slated on S&B, but she looks great IMO.

I wore my parka all Winter for the walk to school because there and back it is an hour (2 hours a day then). I have to be practical. At weekends it's a different story. However, I style my hair differently every day and wear lipstick because I like to.

MaBumble you sound like me, except tall!

Rulesgirl I go to the gym 4 times a week. I normally wears topshop size 8/10. That doesn't stop me dressing mumsy. I look like a mum and I'm proud of it. I just find the whole bashing of 'looking like a mum' disgusting. Just because I wear comfy clothes doesn't mean I am fat and don't look after myself.

I have short hair but that's not the mumsy look round here - I think I'm considered a bit scary and radical.

Mumsy to me =

Shoulder length hair usually in a ponytail
Skinny jeans with boots, often slightly pointy with a low heel
Little jacket, fleece or raincoat
Orla kiely, cath kidston or similar bag
In summer, tunics from white stuff or boden, but always the more tame ones.
"Safe" choices in everything - no crazy hair colour, no crazy shades, looking as much as possible like the next mum.

I don't think it's necessarily attacking people to notice these "tribes" - I think to myself that I would rather avoid following a "look" but people could probably look at me and pin down a few cultural categories I belong to quite easily. I find it interesting. I also like to notice the non-mumsy mums at school who depart from the norm.

Also, I don't think "looking like a mum" is the same thing as "mumsy". Mumsy to me speaks of women who look unthreatening and slightly sexless - as if they were everyone's mum IYSWIM. I know plenty of women who are obviously mums but are more flamboyant, individual or fashiony, as per their tastes.

OneLittleToddle nothing wrong with looking like a mum. Never said there was. Were talking about "mumsy" and what peoples definitions of mumsy is too them.

It feels to me here mumsy is derogatory. It's the opposite of being a MILF. And it includes women in skinnies, boden, pistol/converse/ballet pumps, wearing scarves/statement necklace. This group definitely dresses like a mum, and I don't think they look like they don't look after themselves. But so many here just mock them as mumsy.

LadyBigtoes said it well. Its not about what you wear its how you wear it. You can wear any label or non label but its wearing it too suit you and your body shape that makes it work or not. If your not too bothered about how you look on the outside then that's fine. No one said you had to be. Im guessing that the OP just wanted to see what other people though "mumsy" was to them.

I hate the term MILF*
I'd rather Mrs Robinson
*as if motherhood ever made a woman less fuckable

God yes have to admit I'd rather be called mumsy than a MILF - hate that term because it is so objectifying, even down to the "I". It's not about what you look like, it's just about the lechiness of some bloke.

Also, mumsy to me means following the herd. It's a "look" precisely because it's something that people do to fit in and look "normal". I don't have to like it, and I don't, because I like originality and individuality and people wearing what they love and what's "them", not what's in or what's nice and safe.

I don't think there is one single look that defines mumsy. To me it's more about not keeping up to date and still wearing the same styles that were fashionable before you had kids, however many years ago that was (hence all the references to boot-cut jeans, low-heeled boots etc). You don't have to be a fashion victim to pay attention to modern styling and shapes, and you don't have to spend a fortune on clothes to look "with-it", whilst still being age-appropriate!

I also don't think it's anti-feminist to frown on women letting themselves go, which is what "mumsy" seems to be describing. I definitely consider myself a feminist, and I feel it's important to set aside a little time and money for making myself look and feel good, as a person in my own right, rather than being all martyr-like and self-sacrificing, simply because I now have kids!

I totally agree vitamin

VitaminC- agreed.

I think Mumsy is just a term for a very dated choice of clothes, without appreciating the little tweaks that go into making something look 'now' as opposed to 10 years back.

But also IMHO it's more about women who let themselves go- or never had it to let go of at all! The uncared for, no make up, messy hair, clothes that don't really fit anywhere, look.

The whole kind of washed out, washed up look as if they are afraid of looking remotely attractive.

So the fat, old, dwarf at the back would like to know - is "mumsy" the same as "frumpy" ? Or something different?

VitaminC - I agree. I am a mum but I am not mumsy. Happily, at 45, I am not some slavish follower of fashion either. I really think I have sorted out my own style for the first time in my life. Admittedly I am quite a "safe" dresser but it is stylish not mumsy. I really enjoy my clothes and am pleased with my wardrobe these days. I hope (and I am told) that I am doing a half decent job as a mother and I am considered to be more than capable at my job. Life isn't about sacrifice, it's about balance.

NotConnie I think there can be some overlap between mumsy and frumpy, but in general I would define them as follows:

Mumsy = still wearing the same styles as before becoming a mum (i.e. 10-15 years out of date)

Frumpy = wearing shapeless, styleless clothes generally worn by much older women, i.e. not so much old-fashioned as unfashionable. The opposite of mutton-dressed-as-lamb (Lamb dressed as mutton? )

Maybe

Yes, this!