I see the uniform of floaty dress, white trainers and denim jacket has survived the pandemic

[homemadefries]

so true

I was looking around our city yesterday & there were fewer women wearing this look than I'd expected even though it was a lovely warm sunny day.
I think in total I only saw about 5 versions of it & they spanned from teens to middle aged.
I think it's a comfortable option but I'm not sure it's really all that flattering to most average middle aged bodies.
Which is a bit of a dilemma really. I have dresses but v rarely wear then during t e day & I've never worn them with trainers. I'm late 40s 5ft 9 size 10 / 12. I am not a fan of the tiered smock style dresses on me as they make me feel v shapeless. I like a waistband.
I wish more designers / shops actually really thought about what was comfortable AND stylish for women & that we had more options to choose from.
I'm wearing mainly wide legged trousers, jeans from Sezane, pretty blouses, jumpsuits & flat leather sandals or summer brogues
Trainers with 7/8 jeans / trousers
I don't have a denim jacket & have not had one since I was in my 20s & even then I wasn't very keen on them
Looking at European websites - French/ Italian etc I think the summer clothes are more elegant or timeless in some ways..but I totally accept that it entirely my own opinion.

I agree with a lot of that Unreasonably. I'm also mainly wearing wide leg trousers, silk or linen shirts and brogues or plimsolls (although I do have a denim jacket!).
However I also think we sometimes worry far too much about what's regarded as flattering. I don't dislike the floaty dress as a style, I just don't feel like me if I wear it.

This is the thing. I think the look will recreate my youth. Then I look in shop windows in passing and there is this rotund matron in flat sensible shoes and a frumpy dress. Just not the look!

Absolutely this!!! I tried on the ‘jumper with pleated skirt’ combo earlier in the year thinking I could easily pull it off. Holy moly - I really couldn’t!!! It was awful

I think I agree with you @Floisme perhaps we (I) worry about what's flattering too much. And I just don't feel like me in long smock dresses either
But on the other hand I refuse to accept that we can have so few options between uncomfortable but 'stylish' and shapeless/ trainers but comfortable? There has to be something else surely?
I just don't know exactly what that is

@UnreasonablyPissedOff

I think I agree with you *@Floisme* perhaps we (I) worry about what's flattering too much. And I just don't feel like me in long smock dresses either But on the other hand I refuse to accept that we can have so few options between uncomfortable but 'stylish' and shapeless/ trainers but comfortable? There has to be something else surely? I just don't know exactly what that is

But what is “uncomfortable but stylish”? On several occasions *@Floisme* has made the very valid point that it takes time for your eye to become accustomed to a new look. Perhaps the same applies to your body? If a voluminous frock doesn’t “feel like me”, it’s probably because you’ve never worn one and it’s a vicious circle.

I never, ever thought I’d wear trainers, flat brogues or Birkenstocks once. Yet here I am, not only wearing them, but not having worn anything else for at least a couple of years.

The other thing is that it takes a lot of angst to come to terms with an ageing body and accept it. Premenopause, I was an hourglass - everything that fitted on the hips was way too big in the waist. Now I haven’t got a hint of a waist so nothing’s going to look the way it used to.

@Friendofdennis

Floaty dress. White trainers. Hat in hand. I love having a teenager to admire from afar

Her hair is stunning!

it takes time for your eye to become accustomed to a new look

I don’t think I agree with that. I’m 52 now so tend to know what I feel good in and what looks awful on me - and I’m fine with that. It’s quite liberating to know that I don’t have to succumb to the pleated skirt/jumper combo, or the trainers/floaty dress outfit - because it makes me look dumpy/huge of nork and arse/etc. I’m happier to ignore the advice (as per the paperbag trousers - oooft!) and wear what instantly makes me feel good rather than preservere with something that doesn’t, but might at some point maybe.

I agree @MaMelon! I'm (very) late 40s & work in a creative sector & always have. I'm not conservative what it comes to style but I don't succumb to every passing fashion either & I, broadly speaking, know what suits my body so I wear things that I feel good in & that suit me (at least I think)

I no longer wear skinny jeans etc & haven't for quite a while now.

I just know that the tiered smock with white trainers & denim jacket is not for me & that's fine.

As for the question of what it stylish and comfortable? For me, in summer, it's well fitting dresses in nice fabrics, often plain, or small patterns, with leather sandals. The sort of look you might see on a French/ Spanish/ Italian woman in her 40s. It's harder to find here than you'd think!
Again I totally accept that this is only my singular opinion on what is stylish & comfortable.

I don't think most of the smock dresses are particularly stylish (again subjective) and I absolutely don't think cycling shorts / cropped tops / skin tight sports leggings / trainers are a good look either but I see them in abundance!

At the risk of sounding like the prophetess of doom, Ma, I also thought I knew what looked good / awful on me at 52. Then the menopause hit me, my body changed and I had to start all over again.
It never ends, and the lesson I took from it was to always keep an open mind about any look.

But I also agree it can be very liberating to ignore a trend. As regards this particular one, I quite like it on others but I've no desire to try myself.

(And I'm quietly a bit peeved that flat, comfortable shoes are such a big thing right now because sooner or later they're going to fall out of fashion and I'll be left still wearing them )

@Floisme I'll be right there with you in the flat comfortable shoes as I've always worn them & I'm pretty certain I always will
I do wear some heels but only ever at night & even then never stilettos

But I also agree it can be very liberating to ignore a trend. As regards this particular one, I quite like it on others but I've no desire to try myself.

Absolutely this but I love this trend and am very happy to embrace it. I had my liberating years ignoring body con dresses and stilettos.

See I quite enjoyed a bit of body con for a while as it coincided with me acquiring boobs, and thereby also a waist for the first time in my life (courtesy of the menopause fairy). I got bored with it though. And I never, ever wore stilettos!

At the risk of sounding like the prophetess of doom, Ma, I also thought I knew what looked good / awful on me at 52. Then the menopause hit me, my body changed and I had to start all over again

I am that menopausal woman Flo! So while I've had to start again in some ways, I also know that my lack of height and my body shape lend themselves to certain styles and others less so. A quick look in the changing mirror tells me all I need to know.

White trainers always look clumpy on me as I'm short and my feet are quite big for my height (yes I'm a hobbit) so I prefer converse as they're daintier.
I think it's great that we can be comfy and fashionable!

Ah the bodycon years were my 20s pre-kids and my word that was wonderful.

I've just bought a handful of sale dresses from new look, loose floral things. Quite pleased with them!

Oh wait, my 3 year old has just informed me I look like 'a genie or a wizard' in my new floaty dress.

Feeling decidedly less pleased with myself

@MaMelon

At the risk of sounding like the prophetess of doom, Ma, I also thought I knew what looked good / awful on me at 52. Then the menopause hit me, my body changed and I had to start all over again

I am that menopausal woman Flo! So while I've had to start again in some ways, I also know that my lack of height and my body shape lend themselves to certain styles and others less so. A quick look in the changing mirror tells me all I need to know.

It sounds like you have a better eye than I do! I don't know what it is about mirrors but I think I must often look in them and see myself as I was 20 years ago, as opposed to how I actually look now. I'm increasingly finding a camera more useful as it doesn't trick my brain in the same way, although sometimes I wish it did!

A camera is a really good idea - harsh, but good! My hairdresser does that to show me the back of my head once she’s finished working her magic that I’m not able to recreate at home - the 2021 version of the mirror I suppose! I nod and make approving noises in the usual way.

@MaMelon, @Floisme - and others!
Have a look in this month's Vogue - Emma Thompson (62?) is rocking some avant garde looks - cheered me up no end! (especially after Billie Eilish in corsets, latex and suspenders/stockings/high heels )

My point is that the menopause and after can be a bit of a downer, but you can still experiment with colour and style. Even be a little bit eccentric/alternative!

Thanks Maireas, I missed the Billie Eilish edition but the last time I bought Vogue I only noticed when I got it home that the woman on the cover had her hand up her own dress. Call me old fashioned but that's not what I buy it for! I'll look out for it.

@Floisme 😂😂🙄 I know what you mean!
It's the edition with Billie Eilish on the cover, but there's good style inside if you ignore that section. Emma Thompson is a bit of a style inspiration!

Haha that's my summer uniform.

Although no jacket yesterday.

And deviating to denim shirts today....is that ok?

Shorts....not denim shirts