What is wrong with looking mumsy?

[bouquetofpencils]

Just that really.

What is mumsy? I associate mumsy with being comfortable. In which case I was mumsy long before I was a mum.

And yes, the irony of my last two posts together isn't lost on me

TheZeeTeam I agree with both your posts - it's why I love Style and Beauty

I know mumsy when I see it. It describes a style.

Not my cup of tea, but everyone can dress how they like!

What is the equivalent for men?

Dadsy? Shorts, stripy polo andcrocs, you know the look!

There is nothing wrong with looking mumsy, if that makes you happy. I, however, do not wish to look mumsy.

For me, the term mumsy suggests a woman who has subsumed her identity in to her children/family & is too preoccupied with taking care of every one else to focus on her appearance. So, everything is chosen for practicality, not for how it looks.

It suggests a kind of mummy martyr approach to life that holds zero appeal to me. However, some women may not give two hoots about their appearance and love losing themselves in motherhood - it takes all sorts.

Men in funny mid blue shapeless jeans and polo tops

But Wipsglitter how can one ever walk a long way in comfort without 'squashy soles'? Maybe it's just me. Still as I'm over 50 I guess I only need to avoid looking 'gransy'!

Mummy is an awful word. Sort out takes the person and any hint that they might be at all individual, sexy etc out of the equation...they are just a mum so need to look tired, boring, shapeless.

Women over 40 do not have to be mumsy or mutton. They can also be stylish.

I'm 50, and am the latter

Re Angelina and her 'Mumsy' appearances-

I suspect that Angelina's fashion choices have been influenced by several things- her recent surgery (and she may have had her Oophorectomy recently for all we know) and the need for non restrictive clothing and her travels as a UN Ambassador. She meets with people from different cultures who may not have the same willingness to work alongside her if she was serving up tits n ass out all the time in public.

I also think she has experienced something of an epiphany in her psychological life which has rendered her less complicit with the male gaze. It seems to be on her terms now as opposed to somebody elses.

The fashion press is full of women describing themselves as not 'Mumsy' as if this is the worst thing anybody could ever be despite the fact that they appear to collectively think that a uniform of trainers/skinnies and sweatshirt/T shirt/blazer is living on the fashion edge.

And you get Kate Moss stating her husband has warned her against ever looking like a 'housewife' or 'mum'. To my eyes she looks like somebody covered her in glue and rolled her through six seasons-ago All Saints.

I think Kate Moss looks fantastic - certainly not mumsy.

The comments about Angelina Jolie were just on one dress choice, which achieved the seemingly impossible of making the super slim AJ look a bit shapeless. Bad choice of outfit, that is all - AJ normally doesn't look mumsy.

This is nice

this is mummsy

Fussy top and loose round the tummy, Shouts look at her saggy boobs and overhang!

I'm perfectly happy being a size 16, with a big arse and a bit of a tummy. A lot of childish detailing doesn't distract from my imperfections it just draws attention to them.

That's what I call mumsy, clothes for women with less than perfect figures that at best don't work and at worse make us look PG when our youngest DC is 13.

Those are both mumsy and I am late 40s!

Just showed DH a photo of Angelina at the Oscars and he said she looked "incredibly elegant, not frumpy at all".

I agree with him...

However, I also agree with noddy about those mantaray tops.

I wouldn't say having no interest in your appearance = mummy martyr, ithaka, I had no interest in my appearance long before kids were on the scene. Just like some people have no interest in driving a flashy car/living in a show home/whatever floats your boat.

Teenage me thought: Hmm, I could spend oodles of cash and swathes of time primping, plucking, dyeing, dieting, accessorising, styling, working out... in order to look marginally less crap than I do naturally? Fantastic! Where do I sign up?!

...and my style philosophy was born.

oh dear, Angelina's dress is a perfect example of getting the detailing and fabric draping wrong

It's stunningly bad.

Ok Noddy, or anyone else, a non mumsy, practical long sleeved cotton T.

Not totally plain (I get grease marks on them) and not Breton stripes, I have 4.

Min iron and doesn't need tucking in.

Believe me they are hard to find.

Noco, the first top is defo mumsy, the second gransy, imo.

I would wear the first top happily on a "mumsy"day though.

I also have a Joules polka dot tunic, that whenever I catch myself in the mirror I think "playgroup helper". Tis mumsy, but hey

Noco, what you ask for is a complete description of a mumsy top!!!! .

All youf requirements are practical, non about style

Get thee to Boden, Joules, Fatface or Whitestuff

Slightly off the point, but why do strips have to go round instead of up n down? Round = wide up and down is more flattering....surely? I stay clear of anything not black and plain! Just call me a frumpy goth and that sums me up!

YY Bailey re those mums in uniform who live on the fashion edge in skinny jeans with converse and a top (with or without blazer).

On the 'mumsy' thread that was linked it mentioned lack of accessories as being mumsy - I tend to think accessories can add to the mumsy look.

To me, the skinnies tucked in boots with fecking scarves or statement necklaces are more mumsy than a pair of bootcut jeans, because it is the 'mum uniform' (sort of "look at me, I'm so 'unmumsy', I always make an effort" iyswim).

To me it doesn't make any impact as to what someone is wearing, it is how they wear it that makes me covet their style.

Nocomet, I really like the Gap Bowery super soft Ts, currently on sale. I've got them in a variety of colours, but will generally wear them with scarves etc to look more interesting. Wash v well, and long enough in the body without riding up too.

Bag of nuts, horizontal stripes are much more flattering, as the stripe doesn't change with curves, whereas if you have vertical stripes, they wil emphasise every bulge and curve trying to be disguised as the stripe is distorted around it.

Boulevard I did say in my post that some women do not give two hoots about their appearance and there was nothing wrong with looking mumsy - so there is no need to be defensive.

This is Style & Beauty, so a lot of us do care about how we look. That is our choice, there are no rights or wrongs here, just different ways of presenting ourselves depending on our personal preference. However, Angelina Jolie is a movie star at an awards ceremony , so we can be pretty confident that mumsy was not the look she was aiming for.

I'm sure I read something recently where they'd done some sort of experiment and found that horizontal stripes=fat was in fact bollocks. They certainly don't make me look fatter

Mumsy is a hard one to put your finger on. I went to a kids party a couple of years ago (held in a house at the weekend so not likely to involve major mess or crawling around the grass for the parents!) and there was such a distinct look amongst the rest of the mums that my DH even noticed!

It was very much some sort of flat shoe (maybe converse), not very nice nor well fitted jeans, and a patterned tunic which was rarely a flattering shape. Not accessories (apart from a changing bag!), or jewellery. No make up, hair not styled and in a very dull cut which had clearly been chosen for convenience rather than style. Individually those things aren't wrong it was just the overall look of "I've given up on me" that came across.

That room pretty much defined mumsy IMO.