What's your definition of frumpy?

[stripytees]

I don't know if this is an MN thing but I'm always seeing people saying clothes from brands like Boden and White Stuff are frumpy.

I don't understand.

My definition of frumpy is someone who dresses very plain and quite old-fashioned - like black or navy work trousers (probably badly fitting) with a plain t-shirt that was bought 10 years ago and got a bit out of shape, with a cardigan that is slightly too big and probably in an unflattering colour, worn with very sensible shoes like those from the Clarks UnStructured range.

Boden and White Stuff and other similar brands on the other hand sell short, colourful dresses and skirts, scoop neck tops, bright prints, high heels and colourful flats... the opposite of frumpy! But maybe I'm odd because I don't even consider M&S clothes frumpy although I think it's also possible to buy frumpy clothes from M&S.

FWIW I'm in my early 30's.

oh dear, I read my first S&B thread. You will all hate me, I wear fleece, leggings, tunic tops, berghaus hiking boots or dms.

I have never worn make up, my skin has small blemishes I let the world see, I haven't died yet from the shame. I'm nearly 40 so I think I'll make to old age now!

My skin is 10 times better than anyone elses for my age, I'm sure it is because I haven't spent over half my life caking it in chemically coloured artificial gunk.

I am obviously the definition of frumpy, & I'm blissfully happy with how I am. I would hate to be an identikit clone with fake brows, nails, skin, face etc etc following the latest trend like a lobotomised sheep.

To me it's a woman in calf length flat boots or loafers, a grey a-line knee length skirt, a blouse with a tiny floral print and some sort of brown blazer over it. Probably a wine or cabbage green coloured woolen scarf. Maybe trying to look ironically nerdy but just looking dowdy and badly proportioned.

kippers you do realise you don't have to be an 'orange clone' or 'frump' - that there's a world of choice in between? And that I've worn make up every day for 30 years and look 10 years younger than I am (so I'm told. Regularly).

It's about attitude
And whether things fit
And whether they suit you
And whether you look like you have noticed that they don't fit or suit you

You don't sound frumpy to me, Kippersmum.

'colourful dresses and skirts, scoop neck tops, bright prints, high heels and colourful flats... the opposite of frumpy!'

To me bright prints, high heels and colourful flats is often the essence of frumpy because it is all fashionable but it doesn't necessarily suit the wearer. Frumpy imo means unsophisticated (bright prints for example) and blindly following fashion as opposed to finding your own style, or relying too much on certain brands for your 'look' - the older equivalent of teenage girls in Hollister.

To avoid being frumpy go for things that fit well, suit your colouring and environment, and don't make you look like mutton dressed as lamb. A bra that fits helps a lot, and hair that looks as if you pay attention to it. Posture can make a huge difference too.

My MIL is a lovely lady, but definitely stuck in frump mode.
Daily outfit: black polyester trousers; crocs; loose knit v-neck jumper; hair (with grey roots) in a ponytail that is then pinned up the back of the head with one of these very 90s comb+scrunchie things
I'd love her to try a different look for her hair, it'd take years off her.
My mum is ridiculously stylish at all times and despairs of me
I'm stuck in a post-pregnancy rut of White Stuff tunics, waterfall cardis, leggings, & Ugg boots, and I'm a bit concerned that this may actually be the new frumpy

I always find these threads weird. And always say the same thing. It's pretty impossible to define any brand/shop/designer as frumpy because it is all about how they look on the individual.

I think not being frumpy is about wearing nice looking, well fitting clothes that don't make you look 10/20 years older than you actually are. Same applies to hair style.

The same outfit can look fashionable on one person and frumpy on another. For example I bought a beautiful sweater with lace sleeves a while ago. It was from jaegar boutique, so not a brand that would be labelled frumpy. It was just a bit too big for me and so it really didn't look good so I passed it on to a friend. It's the right size for her (she's one size up from me), she's a lighter colouring than me and has a long torso, whereas mine is short. The difference on how that same sweater looks on her is jaw dropping. I looked frumpy in this purple sweater, whereas she looks stunning in the same jumper. Go figure.

I also think the more slim, younger looking you are, or the taller you are, the less likely you are to look frumpy. Hence why young, tall, slim models can get away with wearing anything, with the right make up and hair do.

Kippers, nobody hates you. Ir is a lobotomised sheep.

You sound angry and a bit selfrighteous, but it is only clothes, just relax and enjoy what you wear. Sounds similar to what I wear!

The grungy colours which are fashionable are bluddy unflattering to most pasty white skinned people (as they are at this time of year) so everyone looks frumpy imo despite being fashionable.

My colour is brown rather than grey or black, impossible to find.

Please can someone explain what mum boots are?!

Frumpiness like attraction is in the eye of the beholder.

87 percent of mumsnetters think they know what mum boots are.

79% own a pair of boots that some other mumsnetters would call mum boots

Amy Farrah Fowler is the definition of frumpy.

Dressing like you have given up and don't care. I feel like this sometimes, will put on any old thing from my floordrobe, not brush my hair or put on make up. In fact I spent most of last year like this, as I was quite depressed - I lost five members of my family, was in a job I hated, and was diagnosed with cancer (that had killed several members of my family). So how I looked wasn't topmost in my mind.

I think if you have some idea of what suits you - fit and colour, then you are less likely to look frumpy. I'm overweight, but look awful in bootcut jeans - I wear straight jeans, which suit my figure much better. My legs are muscular rather than fat - the legacy of a sporty youth, so I will wear a knee length skirt and look fine, rather than something long and with an elasticated waist.

Footglove shoes are almost universally frumpy though.

mum boots are, I think, those ankle height black boots (flat or slight wedge or small block heel) worn in conjunction with slightly too short bootcut jeans (aka ankle flappers).

a bit 90s the whole thing.

They are the "boots of our youth" for women late 30s-40s .

For women born a decade earlier, the equivalent is wearing 80's blue eye shadow and a perm/frizz.

Mum boots are a bit like this

But now also this kind of semi welly boot

Kippers you don't sound blissfully happy - you sound defensive and angry. Judging someone as worthy or otherwise on the basis of their frumpiness is a bit daft...hating someone is clearly ridiculous - it's only clothes....perspective - a bit?

Urgh, yes, I know what you mean now, the boots on those links are definitely mum boots! I can almost smell the frumpiness. Fortunately I don't think my mum would wear those, she's too stylish! I might have a pair verging on being mum boots though... Yikes!

kippers Most make up these day is protective if it contains SPF. In fact many experts advise wearing make up for that reason alone.
I've worn make up daily since I was about 14- thanks to an uber pale skin and purple under eye circles and am often mistaken for someone 15 years younger.

The opposite of frumpy is not being a clone- or a sheep. It's insulting to say that.

To me it means dowdy and unstylish.

Classic frump is Boden, Clark's, White Stuff, jean skirts, tunic tops, teal, Ash Jalouse boots, duffle coats...

I really like Boden and have bought some really lovely dresses and clothes for my daughter over the years, always in the sales though as otherwise way too expensive! I don't think the style is frumpy at all, just that the styles and fabrics can be slightly eccentric and are not trying to be overtly sexy, I think it makes them nicely original.

IMHO the definition of frumpy dressing is just wearing clothes for the sake of it because you have to wear something, without giving any thought to whether they suit you, fit you properly, go together well etc...

so any item at all from Boden or White Stuff is frumpy? Even a cardi or a pair of plain trousers or a T shirt? And 'teal' you mean the colour? I think it's madness to class certain brands as frumpy per se; it's about how an outfit is put together. Not everyone can afford 'designer' brands or likes high fashion.

For me, frumpy is dressing too old for your age without accentuating your good points. It's also about hiding your sexuality. Some women seem to dress like old men as they age- 'slacks and a fleece' being the normal attire. Or women under 80 seem to wear droopy skirts and what may have been classed as 'middle class, middle age, acceptable wear in the 1970s' and they haven't realised fashions have changed a bit.

Twinklestein - which brands do you wear then?

Teal is frumpy? If there is a frumpy colour, it's beige or what used to be known as "fawn".

pinkfrocks
^kippers Most make up these day is protective if it contains SPF. In fact many experts advise wearing make up for that reason alone.
I've worn make up daily since I was about 14- thanks to an uber pale skin and purple under eye circles and am often mistaken for someone 15 years younger.^

The opposite of frumpy is not being a clone- or a sheep. It's insulting to say that.

Agree. I have the kind of skin that would age badly due to sun damage (pale, freckly) so since my late teens I've worn a tinted moisturiser/SPF thing. I've got great skin for my age but I know looking at family members if I hadn't protected it I wouldn't have. But just because something is functional, doesn't keen it can't have aesthetic value. And this is the point I made earlier. It takes minutes longer to style your hair than it does wash and dry it. Same with make up - takes second longer to add mascara after putting on a tinted moisturiser/SPF. It doesn't have to equate to being some kind of vacuous narcissist. But equally, choosing not to give a fuck about your appearance doesn't make someone superior with oh-so-worthy values.

Re: Boden, White Stuff, Far Face etc - I think a lot of their stuff borders on frumpy because it is cliched 'mum wear'. I really like some Boden stuff, but mainly the basics, and nothing with their annoying prints. I own a White Stuff tunic, and it's nice, but I feel frumpy whenever I wear it, so I rarely put it on. I do, however, love my White Stuff velvet coat.