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Style and beauty

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Original poster

Fashion vs what really suits

42 replies

Witchywitch · 08/04/2014 10:07

I am a slim size 12-14 but larger on the thigh, hip, bum than some. I've pretty much relegated my boot cut jeans to the cupboard in the sky as I think they're just not really the style anymore. ( feel free to disagree!) although I know that the style actually suits me and balances out my hips.
Skinny jeans weren't really designed for my shape but I wear them anyway, as I'm stuck for what jeans to wear now the boot it's have gone and to be honest, I like them. Currently loving the next relaxed skinnies by the way.
My question is this, is it better to wear clothes that you don't really like because they suit your shape, or is it better to embrace a fashion style that doesn't look 100% right on you?
I am very much against the school of thinking that you can't wear certain things unless you are a size 8, I really hate that. I'm not a slave to fashion but I enjoy wearing clothes, have lots of different styles, skater dresses, ankle length trousers, pencil skirts, etc etc. there are some things I definitely wouldn't wear if they look dreadful on me, but I do wear things I like, even if they aren't perfectly made for my shape if you see what I mean. I'd be interested in what other people think, is everyone looking at my massive thighs in my skinnies, or am I just showing my own style?!!! X

OP posts:

Dumpylump · 08/04/2014 10:17

I think you should wear whatever makes you happy! I'm a not so slim nearly 50year old and I still do most of my clothes shopping in River Island and Top Shop - with forays to French Connection and All Saints when I visit nearby bigger city.
I do tend to steer clear of v short things and v revealing things, but that was never my style even when I was a 20something size 8.
If you're wearing things that you don't like, or don't make you happy, then you're never going to feel right and surely that will have a knock on effect on your mood?

princessdave · 08/04/2014 10:25

Personally I hate skinny jeans, I feel very uncomfortable in them (runners calves feel strangled for a start) so regardless of whether they are on trend I just avoid them. Maybe I haven't found the right pair of skinnies (CBA to look) but it also means I avoid all jeans as the majority are skinny. I was looking for some maternity jeans in H&M recently but it was all skinny and super skinny. I tried some on and they got stuck at the ankles of all places. No pregnant woman needs to be wrestling with jeans at the ankles trying to get the blasted things off!

If you love bootcuts and you know they suit your shape then I vote still wear them - you can alternate with the relaxed skinnies you love from Next for the best of both worlds. There are plenty of fashionable/on trend tops and tees you could wear with your bootcuts to feel current. I don't think anyone is looking at your thighs - we're probably all too busy worrying about our own

Nocomet · 08/04/2014 10:35

And I'm a big arsed 16 who probably looks like a parsnip in skinny jeans, but my extravagance is long boots not handbags.

Wear what gives you pleasure not what fashion demands, wear it with confidence and a smile and you'll look good.

HazleNutt · 08/04/2014 11:09

Fashion can, for the most part, just sod off. I have strong legs and ankles and big boobs - you will not see me in this year's cropped tops and skinny/cropped trousers, no matter how fashionable I might look. I would also look like a box with sausage-legs and cankles.
If you don't think skinnies suit you, but find bootcuts too old-fashionable, then what about a compromise and going for a straight cut?

PrimalLass · 08/04/2014 11:17

I feel like I never have to look at another pair of jeans now that I have found Next relaxed skinnies I think I wear a pair of them every day (self employed so no dress code in my house).

I do think that I change my mind about what suits me, too, depending on what is 'in'. I will never wear high-necked dresses though as they send me straight to frumpsville.

Original poster

Witchywitch · 08/04/2014 15:07

Thanks all. I suppose the trick is to tailor what's in fashion ( aka what's actually available in the shops) to your own look that suits and feels comfortable. Hopefully that's what I'm doing! X

OP posts:

GiniCooper · 08/04/2014 15:33

Boot cut jeans are back though aren't they?
I saw loads in the shops at the weekend.

Original poster

Witchywitch · 08/04/2014 16:01

Are they Gini? That's interesting, all I've seen is skinnies. Will keep my eyes open

OP posts:

JustBecauseISaidSo · 08/04/2014 17:25

I agree with most of the comments of wear what makes you happy. I find with jeans the key is a mid to high waist to keep the muffin top in check. After that it's just about finding the right pair which means trying loads on until you strike gold. Good luck!

Twinklestein · 08/04/2014 20:22

It's not actually true that bootcuts are out. All the top jeans designers still do them. If I like something and it suits me then I wear it regardless.

I have the following cuts of jeans:

Skinny, bootcut, boyfriend, flare. All my bootcuts and flares are skinny to the knee.

Flares are the funkiest at the moment.

Skinnies have been around so long that they're not really fashionable they're just a sort of staple. And I think bootcuts are flattering on a wider range of women than skinnies.

Twinklestein · 08/04/2014 20:32

Yes Gini's right - there are lots of bootcuts and flares around. Checkout:

J Brand, 7 For All Mankind, GoldSign, Current Elliott, MiH, Paige Denim, Citizens of Humanity, Victoria Beckham etc

Some differentiate between bootcut and flare (the latter having slightly wider kicks) and some just lump them all together as 'flares'.

Floisme · 09/04/2014 07:07

Oh definitely wear what you like. For what it's worth, I think very few women look good in skinnies. In years to come, I'm sure we will look at photos and wonder what we were thinking. But sometimes it's just fun to wear something different, even when you know it doesn't suit you.

Besides it doesn't matter right now. Our eyes have adjusted and skinnies have become such a staple that we don't notice them anymore. So no, I'm sure no-one is looking at your thighs (or mine) .

MarshaBrady · 09/04/2014 07:17

Wear what makes you feel good.

I'm not sure boot cuts make any difference anyway, much like the long tunic over hips thing.

I'm sure you look fine and normal in skinnies.

Floisme · 09/04/2014 07:26

I think boot cuts are over rated anyway. The low rise was hideous; a lot of them were/are way too tight on the thigh and, not being a heel wearer, I never managed to work out the shoes.

MarshaBrady · 09/04/2014 07:37

Yep me too. And that low rise yep, bad too. VB can do that long slim boot cut in skyscrapers now but the older type are not a nicer shape anyway.

BriarRainbowshimmer · 09/04/2014 10:27

Personally I hate skinny jeans, I feel very uncomfortable in them (runners calves feel strangled for a start)

Yes! Someone else like me!!
I hope there will be a larger variation in jeans types soon. Right now skinny jeans seems to be a standard.
I wear Levi's Curve, slim leg. So they're slim but not skinny, the legs don't get strangled.

SilkStalkings · 09/04/2014 10:45

I'd be very miserable if I wore the current fashion for nasty cheap fabrics and blouses that look like the old Boots uniform ones. And visible waistbands, tucked-in t-shirts - eugh! Apparently having an elasticated waist is no longer shameful but having done care work I just can't bring myself to wear that look. Come to think of it, a lot of 20somethings are dressed like longterm institutionalised mental health inpatients at the mo - I just don't get the appeal.

specialsubject · 09/04/2014 13:30

while it is probably extreme to go back to crinolines and corsets, wearing what is 'in' when it doesn't suit is how the phrase 'fashion victim' was coined.

Eatriskier · 09/04/2014 13:36

I can never be bothered with what's stylish, having always preferred what suited me and fit me well. The way I see it is that sometimes fashion comes round to me

Original poster

Witchywitch · 09/04/2014 15:43

Thanks all, some interesting replies. I think I'm going to stick with what I'm doing. I don't wear anything that looks awful on me of course, but to be honest, I think we're programmed these days to think that clothes only look good on size 10 women and I refuse to bow down to that. so I'll wear my skinnies and anything else which I like to wear if I think I can carry it off and look nice in it, regardless of whether I think it would look better on my skinny mate. I suppose if I worried too much about that, I'd never wear anything!

OP posts:

Scarletohello · 09/04/2014 16:33

I love fashion but have big boobs so have had to accept that most fashion just isn't designed for my shape. I now know exactly what works for my shape and tend to go for that. I don't want to wear something that makes me look pregnant/ fatter than I am/ tarty/ ridiculous. Ok so it makes shopping harder and is v frustrating but for me it's about accepting my body, knowing what I will look fabulous in and rejecting the rest!

princessdave · 09/04/2014 17:48

High five briarrainbowshimmer

RockMummy · 09/04/2014 18:48

Ladies who wear clothes which suit them and don't slavishly follow fashion fit my definition of style!

Petal02 · 09/04/2014 18:56

I'm a size 10-12, and whilst I can't wear the same stuff as a 25yr old (I'm in my 40s) I still find all sorts of modern, on trend clothes that are flattering. This year I'm into Boden, Wallis, White Stuff, Phase Eight and quite a lot of Next's SS14 range is really good.

Floisme · 09/04/2014 18:57

There's an article by Hadley Freeman where she talks about how one of the joys of fashion is looking back on some of the horrors you wore years ago and having a good laugh at yourself. I think she gets it spot on. Most of the time I do stick to what suits me but taking a risk now and again can be fun. If that makes me a victim then so be it. Fashion really isn't meant to be that serious!

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