I don't get the shapeless dress look

[Houseplantmad]

I follow a few "style" people on Instagram and it's full of these shapeless dresses that are in lovely prints but look like grannie's nightie! They don't do anything for those wearing them - in fact, they make them look dumpy and frumpy - and I just don't get why they're so popular. Can anyone explain please?

I haven't seen them but they sound great! Comfy and no need to worry about bloating! Where can I get one?!

One of my friends is a devotee. She wears with blundstone boots.

It is a great look on her [hearteyes]

Comfy

Yep, they're horrible. I don't wear figure-hugging stuff, and I agree that women shouldn't feel they have to show off their silhouette. But these old-fashioned print, shapeless, bag-like dresses look like they belong in a dressing-up box or a jumble sale imo. They make all figures equal by flattering none.

Want there an identical thread to this one only yesterday? Except a bit more judgemental about the women who like and wear these dresses

True but older generations have always complained the new fashions are hideous.

Oh @TheMarzipanDildo me too. Me too. And I forgot for ten seconds and ordered the most beautiful dress online...car crash. Utter car crash. I looked like a Victorian prostitute pall bearer. At least it gave my pals a laugh...

These dresses actually sound great - can anyone link to an example? :)

I have this one.
Nice and breezy for warmer days, can wear my thermals under in the winter.
Extremely comfortable. I like it 🤷‍♀️

I am never fashionable these days unless fashion changes and something I like wearing happens to be "on trend".

I layer shapeless dresses and skirts and tops in asymmetrical styles with chinky flat boots/ Mary Janes and coloured tights

I like Oska, Neslay Rundholzen, Ewa i Walla, Out of Xile, Sahara though I will buy anything I think will suit me if it is a bargain.
I buy second hand clothes and keep my clothes for a long time
I love Cos but my breasts are far too big to suit the cut.

I thought these dresses might suit me but even though they seem shapeless they look their best on tall slim women.

I NEVER wear patterns (apart from a Joules hoodie) so it's the floral material and the floaty nature that puts me off.

I do love to look on Pinterest and Insta with admiration and a smile at how they are styled. It's right that every generation gets to own a particular look. My absolute favourite is New Romantics/80s, though I hardly think I could go to work in a fitted suit, 4in Bally stilettos and a red hat with a veil these days!

I worked in libraries 😳🤣💕

I bought a lovely short one the other day from Fat Face - looked fantastic on the model.
Sadly at only 5ft tall & size 8-10, I looked like a very short sack of spuds....
I don't know if it would look different if I'd taken up the hem but the dress just looked like it would fill up with air & blow over my head at the slightest gust of wind.

Don’t wear them then. People have a very rigid sense of what they should wear based on old fashioned rules of attractiveness. It’s very Trinny & Susannah. No one cares. It personally doesn’t look great on me but it looks great on other people - I would wear it anyway if it made me feel good. ( and yes... big derrières are fashionable )

When I was in Singapore all the petite females were wearing them. They hung off them and looked great. I bought some from there and just does not look the same.

I don’t “get” body con dresses that show every lump and bump. I’m very glad that fashion has passed.

@MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously

I don't get it either. I know women don't have to look attractive all the time but why spend money on something that makes everyone look ugly? It is possible to make dresses which are both comfy and nice.

A bit of a sweeping statement. I'm 5'9" size 8 and I look good in mine. Couldn't care less what anyone else thinks.

They hide a multitude of sins - quite handy after our lockdown indulgence, but I agree that if they're too big and baggy they're not flattering. We choose clothes for comfort as well as looks.

I have been wearing shapeless stuff for years. It's what I like. Other women are always saying but oh you have a lovely figure, why not show it off. Like as women we should always be revealing our silhouettes. Or believing that slim deserves recognition in some way

YY. Not everything in life needs to be about being attractive to men.

They’re horrible, I can’t wait for the trend to be over! Shapeless long dresses and the huge puff sleeves

I love them although being short it can be hard to find a good length! They don’t need to be patterned either, I am currently wearing a black jersey one and it’s soooooo comfortable.

@Ginorwine30

They’re horrible, I can’t wait for the trend to be over! Shapeless long dresses and the huge puff sleeves

Is someone making you wear them? I can’t see them going anywhere any time soon. As someone said upthread, this is feminism in action.

I've liked "sack" dresses for years - be they short or (current trend) long in length. As I've got older, I enjoy dressing in a way that is not always highlighting my "assets".

I don't think that "flattering" = showing off the slimmest parts of my body. Fashion has been through the male gaze for so long, women have internalised that too.

I like the body skimming silhouette. My eye is drawn to the fabrics, the shape of the clothes, that sort of thing pleases me and that's what I wear.

When everyone could travel a bit more, I used to wear these shapeless dresses (Cos are good for these) as I bloat so much on planes. Some elegant shoes and nice fluffy scarf artfully draped helped me (I hope, but probably not!) look a bit more stylish. But really it was a comfort thing.

I looks terrible in them as am short and have big boobs so make me look bigger than I am so have avoided like the plague. I do like them though. But as with a lot of fashion you have to be tall with small to average style boobs.
I have adopted the style a bit wearing patterned dresses that are above the knee

@MoltonSilver

Everyone's figure looks the same in them. There could be anything going on underneath. It's actually quite freeing . There's never a question of is this too tight, is my tummy too big. You can forget all of that. Just pick a pattern/colour you like and off you go. I'm all for it.

I don't think this is true, though - I think a lot of the appeal of big, oversized, shapeless dresses to young and trendy bloggers is that they make toned, thin arms and legs look even slimmer by contrast (the same reason celebrities love huge bags and sunglasses!). It's a really different look on someone who is bigger all over so I don't think it looks the same on everyone and is some kind of leveller.