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~

It’s about (perceived) vanity, i would say. If you went on a forum for people who do eg quilting or jewellery making, the participants would most likely be predominantly women. But they are doing something “useful” and “good” - not like the silly airheads who paint their faces and quack on about frocks. (Me.)

@Judystilldreamsofhorses

It’s about (perceived) vanity, i would say. If you went on a forum for people who do eg quilting or jewellery making, the participants would most likely be predominantly women. But they are doing something “useful” and “good” - not like the silly airheads who paint their faces and quack on about frocks. (Me.)

That’s a good point. I guess it’s the deadly sin thing. It’s very sad though. An interest in clothes and lipstick is such an innocent pleasure.

Yes we're permitted nurturing activities: knitting, gardening, quilting, baking. But clothes and make up - they're just for your own personal pleasure and we can't have that.

[quote Judystilldreamsofhorses]@Floisme I really hate this idea that women shouldn’t be interested in “frivolous” things, and end up judged as silly and superficial - often by other women - for caring about how they look, and spending money on themselves.[/quote]
I did mention 'martyrdom' way back in this thread. And probably on some other thread pondered the peculiar phenomenon of men driving £50k cars while expecting their wives to clothe and maintain themselves (and several children) out of a meagre housekeeping/grocery budget. It does tend to breed a climate of resentment and un-sisterliness.

And male MPs trumpeting their football team allegiances and waving their 4-figure season tickets around because it makes them look 'grounded', while female counterparts who enjoy fashion and choose to spend their own money on clothes - remember that Theresa May interview? - get a kicking. And I'm not dissing football - I like it. It's double standards I don't like.

Much as I hated her racist and inept 'leadership', I never could understand the media obsession with the style and cost of her clothes. I don't ever remember any examination of the price of male Tory MPs suits, or golf paraphernalia, or hunting and shooting gear.

I'm the same age as Theresa May and I don't share either her personal style or her politics (although I applaud her for upholding the Hillsborough Panel report - I've no doubt she was under pressure to kick it into the long grass). But I do bond with her over her unashamed love of clothes and I admire her refusal to hide away under a boxy 'I don't care' suit like most female MPs of that era.

Hear, hear @Floisme.

Thanks to this thread my mind has done a 180 degree turn on jeans (easily influenced) I have loved my skinnies but this thread has made me feel the change in the air so to speak.

So I went and ordered denim top pocket flares from Boden to try them out. They arrived yesterday and the fit is great and I really like the silhouette. BUT I'm not ready for the flapping that all that bell bottom material creates!! I guess flares need to wait a bit until I've become more desensitised... In the meantime will order a modern style bootcut, I'm ready for the change even though only couple of weeks ago would have been aghast at the thought

On another note I really recommend a book by Linda Grant, called The Thoughtful Dresser.

For centuries, an interest in clothes has been dismissed as the trivial pursuit of vain empty-headed women. Yet, clothes matter, whether you are interested in fashion or not because what we choose to dress ourselves in defines our identity. For the immigrant arriving in a new country to the teenager who needs to be part of the fashion pack or the woman turning forty who must reassess her wardrobe, the truth is that how we look and what we wear, tells a story. And what a story. THE THOUGHTFUL DRESSER tells us how a woman's hat saved her life in Nazi Germany, looks at the role of department stores in giving women a public place outside the home, savours the sheer joy of finding the right dress. Here is the thinking woman's guide to our relationship with what we wear: why we want to look our best and why it matters. THE THOUGHTFUL DRESSER celebrates the pleasure of adornment

I remember being thrilled when The Thoughtful Dresser came out. Though the words the woman turning forty who must reassess her wardrobe read oddly now. I don't recall ever doing any such thing by reason of reaching a specific age. Huge locational or occupational changes are what prompts me to rethink my wardrobe.

Here's one of Susie Boyt's wondrous pieces for the Weekend FT - on buying five dresses. (I still miss her writing there on clothes.)

Oh I used to love The Thoughtful Dresser blog! Did she move it to Facebook? I know I lost touch with it and I assumed the book would be a rehash of all the blogposts so didn't bother buying, it but maybe I was mistaken?

RedHot I've not settled on flares yet either although they're looking better and the flappiness bothers me less with each passing day. I like the balloon / barrel shape at the moment. I know I keep saying this but I do think it's great - and unusual - that there's so much choice at the moment.

I really wanted to read that FT piece, has anyone got a way past the firewall? I don’t want to pay to read it.

I loved the book... but gave my copy to a friend for her daughter, or I'd lend it out.

I’ve just ordered it second hand from Amazon, it looks like a good use of £3. Thank you for the recommendation.

@MayIDestroyYou

I remember being thrilled when The Thoughtful Dresser came out. Though the words the woman turning forty who must reassess her wardrobe read oddly now. I don't recall ever doing any such thing by reason of reaching a specific age. Huge locational or occupational changes are what prompts me to rethink my wardrobe.

Here's one of Susie Boyt's wondrous pieces for the Weekend FT - on buying five dresses. (I still miss her writing there on clothes.)

For me it has been a successful weight loss and subsequently starting to enjoy the fashion again as I now have a choice of clothes rather than trying to find items that skim over my stomach.

I'm actually going to re-read the book myself as I also read it when it first came out and that's like 15 years ago now. Would be interesting to see if I read it differently now, being nearly 50 rather than in my mid-thirties.

@Floisme I agree about the available styles but have to admit it hadn't occurred to me until I read this thread!

I have balloon legged chinos on right now, I kept them but my eye hasn't got quite used to the look yet. Will persevere.

@Divebar2021

Given that most jeans wearers where I live are still wearing skinny jeans (all age groups) how can you say that they aren't on trend?

Skinny jeans might remain popular in your area but they are not “on trend”. If you look at fashion magazines and bloggers they are all ( that I have seen ) promoting wider leg styles. The question just remains how quickly new styles will be adopted and to what extent. Some trends remain niche but some like Skinny jeans and white trainers were adopted fairly universally eventually. I would say in my smallish market town the split is about 50 / 50 on the jeans question. This I think is mainly down to our proximity to London where new fashions are adopted early, a steady influx of people moving in from London with a cosmopolitan attitude ( commuter town) and a fashion / art school based here. Fashion students are obviously cutting edge and once you’ve seen fearless dressing up close the prospect of a new jeans style seems quite a modest change. In my home town which is a similar size there is only a small minority of individuals who’ve made the switch already. The town is not close to a major city and doesn’t have many incomers. Creative organisations are few and far between. ( hairdressers ??). New, major fashions do get adopted but at a much slower rate than other places.

Yes, this. In my commuter town, skinny jeans are still the most common. I went into Edinburgh at the weekend and it was filled with young women wearing baggy cropped jeans with & Other Stories style cropped knits, or velvet stretch flares (which looked amazing!).

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/may/26/north-korea-bans-skinny-jeans Saw this and thought of this thread!

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/may/26/north-korea-bans-skinny-jeans Saw this and thought of this thread!

Wow! Imagine living under those restrictions.

Don't know if this Free Thinking episode might be of interest to anyone. It's on Fashion, Art and the Body; 10pm tonight, Radio 3.

Thanks for that link MayI I didn't catch it last night but I assume it's still available.

That North Korea report is astonishing and not in a good way. I honestly thought those days were over. But it does demonstrate the subversive power of clothes - even skinny jeans.

Sorry about the FT piece, Blossomtoes - I've never quite worked out how to share their articles reliably. (As it's so old would it not be accessible in full via google? I can't test this on my devices as it would send me straight to the app.)

So I began today by excoriating yet another poor soul for attempting age-based clothes shopping. Mea culpa.

If you c&p the headline of the FT article into Google, you can access it.

Thank you both. Why didn’t I think of googling it? I’m a fuckwit! It’s a great article, I love it - and the sound of all those black dresses!

Yes, she's utterly splendid on getting dressed as a serious and valuable pursuit. For years and years, in the days when I used to race to the newsagents on Saturday mornings for the Weekend FT, her articles brought real delight to the day. They're definitely worth re-reading.