What happened to S&B?

[janlevinson]

I used to browse this topic regularly several years ago and I enjoyed the recommendations of Ash high tops, Net A Porter sale items and high end make up, amongst other things. Loved reading what LetThemEatCake had been buying.
I've been having migrating over to here again recently after a long time away and it's all Roman Originals, granny sandals and things that "wash well".
WTF happened?
~lighthearted~

@MapleMay11
Not sure which comments you mean, even though you've quoted mine. Maybe you missed the tone - I was being lighthearted. You sound a bit defensive. Glad you enjoy fashion. So do I.

FunnyWonder I quoted that because the comments on that coat were so predictable. So many people on here claim to wear the same brands...Hush, Cos, Arket, Toast, Me and Em, Baukjen etc etc. I find it hard to understand why anyone would want to wear what so many other people are wearing. To me, fashion is about creating a unique and individual style to make an impact.

@Divebar2021

It must have been a long time ago if people were recommending Ash hi tops.

I love Ash Hi tops! I only found them last year. Aren’t they ageless like Converse ( hopeful).

As I pointed out on the leggings thread, what one person considers stylish may be frumpy/ugly/unstylish to someone else. Style is a personal thing. And it's pretty hard to be stylish if you're uncomfortable and feel as if your clothes are wearing you, and not the other way around. Being stylish is about looking and feeling your best for yourself, imo. Others may disagree and that's fine. Each to their own.

The cottagecore/Sunday school teacher aesthetic mentioned upthread is massively popular now, as are dad trainers and mom jeans - all stuff that lots of posters here might consider dull or frumpy. The people who wear that stuff would likely look at your Hush and your Mulberry and think the same.

And yeah, lockdown. We've got used to comfort and we don't necessarily want to sacrifice it. Happily 'frumpy' shoes are fashionable and so are leggings under dresses

Thanks to this thread I've just had a look at Roman Originals. Oh my eyes!!!

What is cottagecore?

@SeaShoreGalore

Thanks to this thread I've just had a look at Roman Originals. Oh my eyes!!!

It's popped up as an ad on every webpage I've visited since I posted 😂 serves me right 🤣

I had a look too and ended up buying a navy 3/4 length sleeve tshirt for work. It's actually a bit dear for what it is but I had a code.
It's not here yet so I can't rate the quality.
I'm branching out from black to navy for the summer

cottagecore is a fashion that celebrates an idealised and whimsical rural life. Gathering roses in your country cottage garden whilst wearing a big gingham frock, type of thing. Very soft and feminine and chaste and anti-anything urban or modern.

Oh thanks. Not me then 🤣.
I tried on one of the flowy dresses last in in M&S and looked like a fat Amish crossdresser.

If I had to go in the witness protection programme I'd dress cottagecore. No one would ever suspect it was me cos that Mennonite look ain't for me either!

What is cottagecore

It’s a kind of fetishising of an English country cottage aesthetic. Floral dresses, roses around doorways and dropped scones cooking on an aga. ( I can’t think of anything else!!!!). I also discovered Dark Academia was a thing. Saying that I don’t know a single grown up woman who would say that either of those were an actual influence.

Ash hi tops? They were always much more expensive than Converse... like really expensive. I had a pewter pair 12 years ago. I don’t find the brand as appealing as Converse but I think there might be enough time between that trend and now for them to be neutral.

@Divebar2021

What is cottagecore

It’s a kind of fetishising of an English country cottage aesthetic. Floral dresses, roses around doorways and dropped scones cooking on an aga. ( I can’t think of anything else!!!!). I also discovered Dark Academia was a thing. Saying that I don’t know a single grown up woman who would say that either of those were an actual influence.

Ash hi tops? They were always much more expensive than Converse... like really expensive. I had a pewter pair 12 years ago. I don’t find the brand as appealing as Converse but I think there might be enough time between that trend and now for them to be neutral.

I discovered dark academia recently, too. Unwittingly it has been my own aesthetic for the past 30 years

Oh I've just looked at dark academia. quite like that! Donna Tartt must surely be one of their icons. I love her look.

Dark academia just looks like a pair of checked trousers and a nice jumper.

Donna Tart is where it all started based The Secret History. I’m not Dark Academia because it’s a bit “Yale” for me but I do like “blue stocking” -Librarian chic and in fact have a Pinterest board of that name. One of my inspirations is from Gosford Park with the female characters in a shirt and tie and wide leg trousers.

Here’s my Librarian chic / To the Manor Born inspo. Does anyone else play around with looks are you all quite settled on a particular theme? Eg Parisian chic. My friend is very cool and very Scandi chic and can make very ordinary items look good. That’s very definitely her look though. I’m very variable and will chop and change according to mood. I’m sure the world just sees middle aged woman ( or doesn’t see should I say) but in my head I’m Grimy Americana in a vintage western shirt or Married to Nick Cave ( one for you Vampire Wife 😏). I don’t want to settle on a uniform with my capsule wardrobe even if it does save me time getting ready in the morning.

And yeah, lockdown. We've got used to comfort and we don't necessarily want to sacrifice it. Happily 'frumpy' shoes are fashionable and so are leggings under dresses

That's exactly an example though! Totally agree with you that 'style' is totally personal and not about following the latest trend. But fashion is more changeable and it's a bit disconcerting to have people on a Style board saying that leggings under dresses are fashionable when they're really really not. Leggings yes, but not under a dress.

It matters to me is because while there are plenty of days when I want to wear my 2015 skinny jeans and ancient slip-on shoes and do the school run, sometimes I like to dress up to go out or for work and do want to be a bit on trend, because I'm single and in my 30s and don't want to feel timeless or elegant, but young(ish) and fun. And I'd love a place to get advice sometimes but just don't feel like I can trust 'fashion' advice (as opposed to 'clothing' advice) on here any more, and don't have anywhere else that isn't trying to sell me something (like Instagram or Thread).

I'm not the only one either, plenty of women post outfit pictures and it seems ok to say something is unflattering, yet if someone says it looks a bit dated, they are often jumped on by other posters. Not everyone cares if they look skinny, and it's ok to want to make at least a nod to fashion. And now I feel like Meryl Streep when she goes on to Andie about the blue jumper

@Peanutbuttercupisyum

My most annoying is the need for “natural fibres”... who cares?!! I want cool, on trend stuff that makes me look thin, I don’t care about natural!!

laughs in perimenopause

@Divebar2021

Here’s my Librarian chic / To the Manor Born inspo. Does anyone else play around with looks are you all quite settled on a particular theme? Eg Parisian chic. My friend is very cool and very Scandi chic and can make very ordinary items look good. That’s very definitely her look though. I’m very variable and will chop and change according to mood. I’m sure the world just sees middle aged woman ( or doesn’t see should I say) but in my head I’m Grimy Americana in a vintage western shirt or Married to Nick Cave ( one for you Vampire Wife 😏). I don’t want to settle on a uniform with my capsule wardrobe even if it does save me time getting ready in the morning.

I love everything about this post, including your style inspo!

I couldn't bear to be constrained to a 'look', although I admit my teenage goth self haunts my wardrobe and has a huge say in everything in it. Your style sounds right up my street! Mrs Nick Cave (obviously ), 1920s art deco, Victoriana, Brideshead, Tom Waits dive bar barmaid, Siobhan Fahey in the Stay video, 90s riot grrrl... Getting dressed should be fun and my clothes have always been an expression of how I feel on any given day. There's a theme running through all my clothes (hiya teenage goth) but the idea of a capsule wardrobe makes me want to go to sleep.

it's a bit disconcerting to have people on a Style board saying that leggings under dresses are fashionable when they're really really not. Leggings yes, but not under a dress

My DD (early 20s) would disagree

Grazia agrees with DD

From that article, on leggings under dresses:

'The street style have already got the leggings memo. They wear their frothy dresses with stirrup hem styles and XXL blazers with slimline lycra leggings'

and

'Look to leggings like tights' cooler sister for this combo'

I think the best way to end the leggings debate is to say that some people like them, some don't, sometimes they're fashionable, and sometimes they're not.

I'm going to carry on wearing my footless tights under sequinned/lurex dresses because I love that look. So there

This is my take on it. I think this looks pretty cool and can see this working on different ages.

Yeah but that’s all not the same as a Joules or Boden dress with thick black leggings though

Is it

I really think it depends what dress your wearing the leggings under. Structured Scandi like the picture above? Yes. Lagenlook drapery? Yes. Delicate chiffon pretty or body con smart? Probably not.
Way too many variables and options to be black and white about it.
As with many things in fashion, it work best went out is very deliberately part of the look.