What makes someone look / seem classy?

[scruffyandlockeddown]

Not rich / expensive (although those threads are a great read).

But that more intangible serene class / grace / elegance?

Audrey Hepburn looks like a 12 year old in that photo, she was also styled by other people to an inch of her life. And, dare I say it, she couldn't really act (ducks for cover).

Puffalicious 'tis true though. She couldn't. (Neither could Grace Kelley.) Those films are like Mills & Boon novels... which is why I was watching them in lockdown

I also agree about the neck like a giraffe... I DID say that things that look good on film are exaggerated and ugly IRL, right?

Agree with Grace Kelley too Standandwait

Classy: good hair, decent manicure, brows kept, subtle make up

Classless: mini skirts (especially women of a more mature age - sorry but IMO it’s mutton), fake tan, too much make up, unwashed lank hair (this is neither hip nor in, it just makes you look dirty),

@MitziK nice body shaming there.

@stella1know

Height, thinness, willowy . . . I agree that that is how we have been trained to see things.

Also agree it essentially comes down to money: money for childcare so you are not frazzled all the time. Money enough to not have a furried brow with worry. Money so you are less stressed. Money to not have to use public transport, carrying a big rucksack with spare clothes, nappies, toys, water, snacks and umbrellas and rainwear. Everything is in your massive car and you only need carry a smile and the keys as you ethereally stride about in your delicate elegant leather shoes and light down coat. Or you are rich And lucky enough to live locally and only need a few steps or one tube stop to that lovely playground and cafe, not three uncoordinated buses within tour borough.

So we shouldn’t stress about not looking classy, it is one more thing to stress about, and thus look less stressful. Be warm and happy and the inner glow will find you.

Stella I love you - class is about being yourself !

@Flaxmeadow I wouldn't rely on Liam Gallagher to define classy for me!

I used to go to yoga with a lady who gave off the impression that she lived in a big Manor House and was probably a Lady. There are a few people that give off that vibe - Charlotte Rampling springs to my mind.

For me proper class is a mixture of exceptional intelligence, impeccable morals, beauty, self assurance, kindness and cheekbones.

When I read these descriptions of classy, the person who comes most strongly to mind is Melania Trump. That is not an aspiration for me.

@PolkadotGiraffe- it’s no secret that many stars of old (and very probably now) were made to feel as though they had to be very underweight, and so developed eating disorders.

@Zebracat

When I read these descriptions of classy, the person who comes most strongly to mind is Melania Trump. That is not an aspiration for me.

But surely she ticks some of the ‘not classy’ boxes that have been repeated here a lot? I’m sure she fake tans, has acrylic nails etc? She also wears quite heavy make up.

Satsuma
Yes, of course you are right.

[quote PolkadotGiraffe]@MitziK nice body shaming there. [/quote]
It's common knowledge that Audrey Hepburn was anorexic so that's not something to aspire to.

[quote PolkadotGiraffe]@MitziK nice body shaming there. [/quote]
Indeed.

JaneJeffer

PolkadotGiraffe
@MitziK nice body shaming there. hmm

It's common knowledge that Audrey Hepburn was anorexic so that's not something to aspire to.

Nevertheless, if someone posted in similarly derogatory terms about a person who was overweight or obese, they would be pounced upon. Doesn’t seem to work the other way.

A few years ago I was unwell and lost a lot of weight and I can say for me personally it is not a good look.

@JaneJeffer

A few years ago I was unwell and lost a lot of weight and I can say for me personally it is not a good look.

Exactly the same here, but the strange thing was that I got regular compliments, all from women, and all implying that weight loss was inevitably a good thing in itself. They can’t have looked carefully, because I looked gaunt and haggard, but they were still saying ‘You look great! Have you lost weight?’ as if the two things were the same.

[quote PolkadotGiraffe]@MitziK nice body shaming there. [/quote]
What the fuck is bodyshaming about saying 'I'd have to weigh just over 6 stone to be her highest BMI. And that's not elegant or perfect. That's unhealthy'? At just over six stone, I'd be ill. Desperately ill - not elegant or perfect/with a figure/appearance to aspire to.

Pretty but ill isn't my idea of elegance. It's shit being ill.

@JaneJeffer

A few years ago I was unwell and lost a lot of weight and I can say for me personally it is not a good look.

Strangely I get told I look too thin accusing me of having an eating disorder, and I think my bmi is 22 ish (I don't often weigh myself) some people just like being unpleasant. I've also been told I look mannish, usually in the summer when people catch sight of my rather awesome shoulders, biceps and triceps. I should probably take more gym selfies

Never been called classy though

Hepburn had lifelong issues with food because her digestive system was ruined by years of starvation as a child. She was the most glorious, elegant creature and for me is class personified.

And I’ll have you know @Standandwait, my ever present red lipstick looks awesome!

@VinylDetective

Hepburn had lifelong issues with food because her digestive system was ruined by years of starvation as a child. She was the most glorious, elegant creature and for me is class personified.

And I’ll have you know @Standandwait, my ever present red lipstick looks awesome!

It doesn't matter what caused the illness. You're still lauding somebody for being pretty/ill. Would you say to somebody with cancer 'Ah, well, on the bright side, chemo really suits you'?

I’m not. I didn’t mention her weight. Someone said she was anorexic. She wasn’t.

She would have still have been beautiful and elegant if she’d weighed a couple of stone more.

@MitziK that wasn't the part of your post I objected to, as I'm sure you could work out.

You said " I don't think that somebody who reportedly weighed no more than 7 stone 5 pounds (according to her son), so whose BMI at her highest weight was 16, is 'perfect'"

Everybody knows that BMI does not function well at the tall or short ends of the scale. It is an indicative approximation only. To say that nobody can look good or be healthy with a BMI of 16 is simply untrue and is a form of body shaming. If someone is tall and has a naturally slim build it can be their healthy weight (it was mine for decades and I ate a lot).

Hepburn may have had an eating disorder, or not. But many people without an eating disorder struggle to put on weight due to metabolism etc (just as others struggle to lose it) and your post was unkind and thoughtless. When I was very slim I frequently received nasty comments from other women implying that I must not eat much etc.

Extrapolating someone else's BMI to what your weight would be at that BMI given your height and with your build or body type and whether you think that would look healthy for you is disingenuous because it doesn't work like that, we are all different.

[quote PolkadotGiraffe]@MitziK that wasn't the part of your post I objected to, as I'm sure you could work out.

You said " I don't think that somebody who reportedly weighed no more than 7 stone 5 pounds (according to her son), so whose BMI at her highest weight was 16, is 'perfect'"

Everybody knows that BMI does not function well at the tall or short ends of the scale. It is an indicative approximation only. To say that nobody can look good or be healthy with a BMI of 16 is simply untrue and is a form of body shaming. If someone is tall and has a naturally slim build it can be their healthy weight (it was mine for decades and I ate a lot).

Hepburn may have had an eating disorder, or not. But many people without an eating disorder struggle to put on weight due to metabolism etc (just as others struggle to lose it) and your post was unkind and thoughtless. When I was very slim I frequently received nasty comments from other women implying that I must not eat much etc.

Extrapolating someone else's BMI to what your weight would be at that BMI given your height and with your build or body type and whether you think that would look healthy for you is disingenuous because it doesn't work like that, we are all different.[/quote]
I didn't say she looked [insert derogatory phrase here]. I said that I did not think she was 'perfect' because she was unwell. Even you are saying she was - she had literally been a victim of famine and had apparently suffered permanent damage as a result.

Look at any thinspo over the last few decades Christ knows, I looked at a lot of them even before it was online and before it had the name thinspo and comments such as that are used in conjunction with photos of her. Even in the context of this thread, there are posts saying classy = thin. Thin like Hepburn - thin like somebody who was undoubtedly significantly underweight and ill, whatever the cause but I suspect the 60-odd fags a day also had something to do with it