Clothes we all said we want, that are not daft and we can wear for work - modest???

[herecomesthsun]

modest dressing

Am over 50, profession, like clothes.

We all have said, come on Marks, stop it with the frills, polyester, stupid colours, can we have clothes we can actually wear?

But "modest" sounds a bit, well, Amish.

I want clothes that fit in with my life, that look good, and don't have stupid frills and are in decent fabrics.

Personally, I like stuff with arms and below knee hemlines as it is more professional and I am choosing what suits me.

I really really do not want to be modest, yuk!

Do modest people really buy a sleeveless turtleneck for £570 and jacket(s) for £685, belt for £270 etc.? That turtleneck costs more than my Mulberry handbag, and I thought that was a wee bit expensive as it was, but everything is relative or so it seems.

Fwiw I had hear that "modest" is being reclaimed as a new waive of feminism - a long awaited backlash against 90s ladette and twerking. Frankly I am happy to get behind that

Op I am entirely with you on the dressing front in particular for work. I also hate screaming labels. Most of what I buy is from the fold or Massimo Dutti

Re cost, magazine/ newspaper clothes always cost silly money. Otherwise these look ok to me.

"modest" though sounds like you are defining yourself under a male gaze.

As though this were the other alternative to "flaunting" as per Daily Mail.

I just want to wear stuff I like, that is comfortable and suis me.

For ME.

I'll be honest, regardless of feminist new waves, i would not wear any of that at work.

I wear below knee dresses. Some are loose fit, some tight. Some sleevless, some have sleeves. The majority are v neck as i feel it flatters my figure which i feel happier in.

On the feminst point, i dont feel we need a backlash against ladette culture or twerking. I was the right age for the 90s ladette culture, but wasnt part of it. It wasnt for me. I chose to be me instead.

Feminsim is about women having choices. Being a 'ladette' is a choice in clothes and behaviour. Let women have the choice. Dress 'modestly' if thats what you want. Dont frame it as a backlash as against other women and their choices.

Modest makes my sh!t itch. I want practical. Pockets. Zips/fastenings I can do up myself. Sleeves that don't cut off at the least flattering length. Fabrics that stand up to wear and don't bobble if I wear a bag strap on them.

Consequently, I now seem to have amassed several denim dresses in range of styles - shirt, tunic, pinafore, fitted shift. I love how robust they are and have usable pockets.

Aaaand, just grabbed one of these to try m.boden.co.uk/en-gb/womens-dresses/day-dresses/ww211/womens-freya-denim-dress

never mind the modestly - the price of that stuff in the link is outrageous!

Apart from the fact that most of the clothes in that link are hideous, I'd say 'modest' dressing describes what I'm looking for in a professional wardrobe. To put it another way, if my male colleague wouldn't expose that part of his body then I don't want to either. That includes things like open toed sandals, low cut tops, sleeveless tops, short skirts with no tights, etc.
I just want to look smart and professional; a lot of women's work wardrobes really don't.

The use of the word "Modest" is about the male gaze. The approving gaze from the Middle East which is becoming an increasingly important fashion market.

There's also supposedly a trend that as women get more powerful (politically and financially) they are less likely to wear body con clothes and are more likely to invest in more architectural clothes. I'm not entirely convinced about this and I certainly don't think it's a feminist movement. Powerful men often ignore clothes all together, think about Steve Job's turtle neck and chinos uniform or indeed what appeared to be David Cameron's two pair of rather scruffy shoes.

There's probably a bit of a backlash to the frills and cold shoulders of the summer as well.

Oh, and FWIW feminism is not about choice. It's about women having equal rights and opportunities to men. No 'choice' is made in a vacuum and there are some choices that are less feminist than others because our choices impact on other women. That's not to say you can't be a feminist if you shave your legs or buy high heels or whatever. But if 90% of women choose to shave their legs it makes the choice to not shave their legs harder for the remaining 10%, think about the threads on here when primary age girls are being teased because they haven't shaved their legs.

Oh, and FWIW feminism is not about choice. It's about women having equal rights and opportunities to men.

Yes and men have choice. The fundamental problem is that women have less choice.

Men have the choice to have a few buttons of their shirt open and not be judged for it.

I agree choices do not happen in a vacum. However having a fashion backlash suggests that another fashion choice is not ok. That itself is not feminist.

If you choose to dress 'modestly', do it. But dont use it as a feminist platform to put others down.

I agree that the word 'modest' has connotations that I'm not crazy about. Perhaps we need another word. I dress 'modestly' for work. I'd feel uncomfortable and unprofessional dressing otherwise.

I just want soft and comfortable 3/4 sleeve, A-line, knee-length dresses.

With pockets.

Is that too much to ask?!

I will not have it dictated to me that I must be modestin order to be respected and taken seriously. I will not play into that age-old game.

The word 'modest' makes me shudder.

I don't want to show off cleavage and thigh at work (anywhere, to be honest).

But I'm not going to cover up my female shape in order to be 'take seriously'. Boardroom blokes arent worried about offending with a beer belly under their Savile Row shirt. Nobody is going to die if they see the outline of my arse in a fitted dress.

If you choose to dress 'modestly', do it. But dont use it as a feminist platform to put others down.

I agree with you here. As I said above I don't think 'modest' fashion has anything to do with feminism. Not sure any fashion has anything to do with fashion. Possibly Chanel when she first came on the scene and was creating comfortable and practical clothes for women. But that's about it.

@Appuskidu

I bought almost exactly that from Roman recently. It was cheap and might not last well but I love it at the moment.
www.romanoriginals.co.uk/loose-fit-dress-80980ind

I like the freedom of knowing I'm covered should I wish to bend down to do something, i.e. I trust my clothing choices to protect me from showing my cleavage and ass whatever time of year, and knowing I can run for a bus if need be. I like showing my silhouette in summer and, in winter, I like long cardigans and scarves. I find these requirements easy to shop for.

I will not have it dictated to me that I must bemodestin order to be respected and taken seriously. I will not play into that age-old game.

Exactly this.

I dont know anyone who actually thinks this though in RL. I have never known a woman who covers up neck down be taken more seriously based on her clothes only.

Do muslim women feel they are automatically taken more seriously and respected in the work place?