Do you dress to stand out or blend in?

[Thinkle]

Just that really and I suspect this has been asked before. I include hair, makeup accessories etc.

I dress etc to stand out, not in a wearing all the colours of the rainbow way. I work full time and have a professional job with responsibility but I like to think that there is one thing about my outfit that stands out each day.

I like to stand out for going out, but I feel OTT and try-hard if I wear anything remotely eye-catching on the school run, at Tesco etc. I don't enjoy being looked at despite being fairly attractive - not a stealth boast, I know it sounds big headed but basically if you are tall, slim and have a pretty face then if you also dress to stand out on top of that, it's like you are bigging yourself up somehow in a "look at me" kind of way and I'm not a "look at me" kind of person. It makes me feel self conscious and shy.

Going out on a night out, I do the full shebang but it's because I know it's just for the night, it's more acceptable to dress up at night time, other people have the full works on too around you etc so you blend in more at night time with others who are also dressed to stand out. But daytime, no. I blend in as much as possible usually.

what an interesting question-

I def am never try9ing to stand out. I never want to be the most "dressed" person at a function

My style is very much breton stripey tops with jeans and superga trainers.
My DD was about 4 when she saw another mum wearing similar and said "oooh mummy there is someone else in your mummy uniform"

I'm definitely a "blend in", and its because I've never felt confident about my looks particularly due to my weight (which goes back to my childhood - thanks Mum). I therefore always want to make sure that I'm wearing the appropriate clothes for any situation, to avoid attention. Which means I can spend some time over-thinking about new events/situations and what might be "right" for them. And I always feel a lot more confident in these situations when I look at what other people are wearing and realise I've got it right.

Having said that, I've got a strong sense of what works for me both in terms of colours, styles and my body shape, and I wouldn't buy anything that didn't work for me.

I prefer to dress to stand out, but I will dress to fit in if I'm with a group of people who are all very "safe" dressers and have form for saying "Oh wow, that's... unusual." Luckily a lot of the people I spend time with aren't like that, and the chances are they'll also be wearing something quite creative and we can get ideas from each other.

I don't want to be "overdressed" in the sense of being too smart/glamorous for an occasion, I just want to be different, memorable. I'm more likely to do that with interesting colours, shapes or textures than high heels and jewels.

I'm 53 and quite large, and I have no intention of becoming invisible.

Great question. Probably a bit of a mix - but I'm a fairly causual/classic dresser so don't stand out. Often in jeans but I like a nice bag and coat. Love clothes and makeup (mostly natural makeup though sometimes a swipe of red lipstick and I'm rubbish at doing my hair so it's mostly shoved in a ponytail) and enjoy seeing how other people put an outfit together.

*casual

Day to day I might wear any old thing eg jeans and t shirt but for an occasion or a night out I definitely dress to stand out and put a lot of effort into it.

Blend in. I always wear grey/navy /black and any colour is muted or pastel. I used to like more vivid colours and patterns but now I just don't want to stand out. Its just simpler if everything more or less goes together. I've also gained a lot of weight since having kids and feel quite self conscious.

Bit of both? I like very plain, simply cut clothes in neutral shades so much of my wardrobe is Cos, White Company or b.young. But I like to rock it up a little by accesorising with leopard print ankle boots or a bag in a vivid colour.

Strange question really. I dress to please myself and do not give others a second thought. Today I am wearing shorts and a denim shirt, very casual with my hair scrapped back.

I like to dress differently, I don’t want to look like everyone else but also don’t want to look ridiculous either. I dress in a mixture of things, at the moment I’m loving my tie dyed leggings and dm’s With a baggy black top but then other days I will wear skinny jeans and a basic top. I find it hard to find clothes I like as I don’t to flowers or bright patterns. I guess I dress slightly hippy/alternative and other times just boring mumsy.

Stand out definitely. I’m a size 18 hourglass and if I was to attempt to wear skinny jeans with a Breton top, scarf and cool trainers I feel it would emphasise my weight and all that would come across is how much worse I look than everyone else in that outfit. As a teenager I was desperate to wear jeans and a vest top like all my friends but I felt I had to cultivate a bolder style so that if people were looking at me it was for the right reasons.

Even when I lost weight, as an hourglass shape I think it’s so very difficult to dress casually. I also have lots of curly blonde hair which generally looks a bit wild so it’s easy for me to look a total mess if I’m not careful.

I’ve always been complimented on having an unusual dress sense, being permanently overdressed and ‘dressing for my shape’. I would really like to be able to pull on jeggings and a slouchy t shirt and look amazing like I see lots of women do, but it will never work for me.

I love autumn because I feel I can put together outfits a lot better. I have a lot of midi skirts/dresses which I’m wearing with ankle boots at the moment, cropped cardigans with brooches, bold colours and quirky prints with bright lipstick every day. It feels like a lot of effort but I do love clothes.

I relate LaserShark. I'm an overweight hourglass and I have never been able to carry off a casual look. It's pretty conservative where I live. I'm not interested in fitting in as such if that means dressing in a way that doesn't suit my shape or colouring. If someone says this is boring, then they are most likely to be a lucky soul who can wear a wider range of styles and still look good. I know what shapes and colours suit me and that's what I look for. I have striking colouring but everything else about me is ordinary. I need jewel colours. So a mix of fitting and not fitting.

Stand out definitely.

I think I have always spent a lot of time and energy on clothes and how I look.

I have a bit of a thing lately about aiming to looking elegant. (My new boyfriend is an extremely elegant man). I think for me that’s paring back what is in my wardrobe and buying good quality classics hopefully without being boring. Aiming for arty elegant.