I was told this top was "ageing", is it true?

[WatercolourFlower]

I was shopping with my friend today and was having a look at the new stuff in Joules, as they ususally do lovely patterns.

I saw this top and immediately loved it (what a gorgeous and delicate pattern!). I said this to my friend...and she immediately said how ageing it would be. Here's the link to the top, in the cream botanicals print www.joules.com/Women/Tops/Harbour-Print/Jersey-Top/Cream-Botanicals?id=Y_HARBOURPRINT%7CCREMBOT

Is my friend right? I'm not ususally affected by stuff like this and wear what I want, but a man recently said I looked much older than I was and now I'm overthinking things. For the record, I'm 20 years old.

Any advice much appreciated 😊

Op, remember that the people who say it looks awful are probably older and bigger than you. That's true BUT I wouldn't have worn it when I was 20 either (and I was a leggy, super slim size 8-10 then). It's draining and looks very much like the type of tops a certain type of woman would have bought in BHS before its demise.

And I agree some clothes can be 'upstyled' successfully but this isn't one of them.

True, flowers on a top can inject some va-va voom into an outfit but this top is an 'epic fail' - what my mother would call 'wishy washy' and decidedly lacklustre. There's no getting away from it.

But nobody is the actual designated arbiter of good taste or what is 'in' or what is fashionable or sexy, are they? They just have opinions. I can't remember the last time that I let my mother tell me either.

No worries Lying

I think we sort of agree in broad terms? Maybe a better word to use about Joules, Fatface, White Stuff et al would be 'unstylish'?

That type of clothing certainly has its niche and I wore some of it back when I was a new Mum because I didn't want to have to think about what I was wearing. But when my children got older I started to get my mojo back and started to think about looking stylish again.

I'm just like you in that Joules styles never flattered me anyway, I'm much better in minimalist scandi style outfits. So I like Cos, Toast with a bit of All Saints and H&M mixed in.

I think this ‘anything can be stylish depending on what you wear it’ with rhetoric is bollocks.

Hands up who shops in Damart/Bon Marche/Eastex etc?

Exactly.

remember the last time that I let my mother tell me either My mother doesn't inform my style at all BUT she's always got an opinion on whether something looks good (or not). My style has always been totally different to hers though.

Of all my friends and relatives over the years, I can only think of one who would have ever worn that design of top. By her own admission she's never enjoyed clothes or worried about how she looks.

And yes, whilst I agree that one can sometimes find the odd 'pearl' in unexpected stores, it is a very rare occasion.

I still think that the top in question is a very draining colour and a very frumpy flower design. It would not look any better as a birthday card or wrapping paper TBQH!

Worn with seriously casual jeans, very boho, it would work. Haven't RTFT but you need to be thin with no tits for this.

I know I'm going against the grain but if you are very slim I think it would look nice with jeans, sorry but if you are slightly larger then it would look frumpy and 'older.' Please don't slate me for mentioning people's size - I'm not skinny myself, just giving my opinion.

Put that print on a cool Billibong or Roxy tunic top and you've got a whole different, younger look. Joules, while great quality, has a conservative cut. You're too young for the cut/silhouette.

You're 20. As another poster wrote, ASOS is brilliant, as is H&M. Another site that I really love is Surfdome.

At 45, I have to be careful not to try and dress like my niece. That's the damn problem with middle age! I still think I'm 24, then I look in the mirror and see a Joules flowery print top staring back at me!

I have a very similar top from New look but it has ties at the cuff. I were it with skinny jeans and ankle books and have been told I look good in it (late forties). Maybe people were just being kind :(

I have bought various Joules items over the years - and FatFace and WhiteStuff and Boden. Every single time I see myself in a photo I look like a complete frump. I think the clothes can look stylish, but on someone who is - indeed, like the OP - 20 years old. And gamine and at least 5'10" with swishy hair. If one is 5'3" and standing outside the school instead of striding round a country estate... nope.

Joules nightwear is really good. But that's fine because I don't tend to go out in a pair of pyjamas with dogs on.