Weird, self imposed style rules!

[mellatronella]

That you realised were bonkers and limiting?
Do you have any?
I tend not to abide by them nowadays as I have grown older, but could be inexplicably harsh with myself as a younger woman. Some of mine were/are:

• Always wear clothes that hide thighs (sadly they were slim and quite nice, what a fool)
• wide legged jeans/trousers make me look fat.
• A jacket must cover my bum entirely.
• Shorts are for other people.
• Never wear hair loose in wind/breeze (it's porous and flyaway)
• The baggier the better.

I am not like that at all now, and these would feel so limiting. Now I am in my 40's I wear shorter jackets (and it looks better on me), leave my hair to blow wild, have stared wearing shorts this year and have some wide leg jeans in the post! Life is far too short for so many rules, and it seems sad that I didn't have more confidence when younger. I also prefer slimmer fit clothing now, so long as it's soft and comfy. It's like I was hiding for so long. I have also been generally slim and decently proportioned, so god knows why.

I never wear black. No idea why really and it makes life harder for some occasions but it's become my thing 😆

No v-necks or scoop necks (I'm quite flat chested and they just don't look right). No pastel colours, especially blue and no purple ever.

Sorry, I suppose those things aren't especially limiting but the neckline thing makes buying tops tricky!

Would never buy anything size 16 or larger when I was a teen. Now on a diet to get back into size 16 trousers (and smaller).

Always used to buy clothes in the size I thought I was - now realise that sizes can vary enormously and it’s best to buy what fits.

Oh yes, loads of things!

Must avoid any sign of having a belly is the number 1 thing. As if people couldn't guess by looking at me that I don't have washboard abs 🙄

Also straightening my hair every day when I was 19 because my hair looked unacceptable otherwise was utter madness. I looked fine!

wow yes there was a time i wouldnt be seen dead without having used my ghd's
I dont even own any now, but I do have a hotbrush!

No red, lime green or animal print
Legs must be covered at all costs as they are too fat and too white
No fussy collars

Actually, only the 2nd of mine is weird and self-limiting. The other 2 make perfect sense (for me anyway)

Polo necks make me feel strangled. High crew necks make me too booby. I've started feeling a bit muttony in a short skirt.

I have loads and loads of rules that govern my style, but this is more about personal preferences and looking a certain way. The only one that is really limiting is that I will not wear sleeveless styles without a cardigan (which will not be removed under any circumstances). I actually went to a cafe today with bare arms because as previous poster mentioned, it's not like people assume I have super nice arms just because they can't see them 😂

I also felt very strange being bare -faced if I was 'out' (e.g. pub) and would not be able to enjoy it. But now I can, just maturity I think.

Never wear yellow (it makes me look sick)
Never mix patterns (like floral and stripes - yuk)
Never wear horizontal stripes

All of the above I stand by.

When I was younger:
Only wear baggy clothes to make yourself look slimmer. This is a myth - I look slimmer in fitting clothes - and I'm not as fat as I think.

Always have a full face of make up when going to the hairdresser.

I always used to wear mascara and khol on my waterline if I was leaving the house. I now rarely wear make up an never either of these. Mascara makes my eyelashes touch my glasses these days, I suspect mascara is more lengthening than it used to be rather than my eyelashes have grown. I haven't seen any khol in years and anyway it always ended up in black sleepy dust.

The only rule I do stick to is - legs or cleavage, but never both.

My rules are probably;

• Never wear yellow (read once that it makes your teeth look yellow)
• No puffy sleeves (makes me look very wide and chunky. Annoying as every single dress atm seems to have puffy sleeves!!)
• can't wear two baggy items. So either has to be baggy trousers and a tight top, or baggy top and tight trousers (no idea where this one came from)
• can't mix navy and black (i hate myself for this one, because I love it on other people but it's just something my mum told me once and it stuck)
• Lipstick or blusher. Never both. So if I wear blusher I just wear a balm or a gloss. And if I wear lipstick I abandon the blusher. (Read it in a magazine when I was like 15 and it stuck)

I'd like to add that I've never ever thought anyone wearing yellow had yellow teeth! So I've no idea why that one has stayed with me!

No animal print.
No red.
Don’t wear nail varnish very often but if I do then hands must not match feet.

I NEVER wear varnish on fingernails (chips immediately and looks cheap, also makes my fingers look fat 😳)

I do always have varnish on my toes though.

Never wear pastels , high neck jumpers
Or Elasticated waist skirts
Knee high boots or high heels

Back in the day double denim was only for Shakin’ Stevens and BWitched. Never moved past that.

No shiny fabric of any description.

No brown or beige since I’m now over 50 I don’t want to look 70

I'm quite small, but I will not wear clothes that are labelled as being a children's size on principle, VAT saving or no VAT saving. This caused me a dilemma when I was buying a sports club hoodie and the kit co-ordinator advised me that the smallest adult size would drown me. I got over it when I discovered that several of the other women were wearing age 12-13 and I hadn't even noticed.

As I have gotten older ( late 50s now) I have abandoned a lot of the “rules” and it’s quite liberating!
I know what suits me - large of boobs so boat neck most flattering...But , have found that I can wear good quality cotton t-shirts with crew neck if they are oversized and rolling up the (oversized) short sleeves.
I think patterns and stripes look great together! eg patterned skirt with Bretton top - as long as the top has some colour in combination with the skirt.
Pink and Orange are a match made in heaven and have abandoned the “blue and green should never be seen” mantra, as depends on shade and proportion.
Somebody said lips or blusher ? Never been aware of this but sometimes I will use the teeniest bit of my lip shade as a blusher and works well! I do tend to emphasise either eyes or lips ... but I am hopeless with eye makeup so usually it’s the lips and as I have gotten older I am bolder with lip colour!
I am lucky as I can buy good quality ( even if second hand) and that makes a difference - I definitely believe in cost per wear!
I also believe that clothes are fun.

no open toed shoes

ever

No cut outs, backless etc in high summer. Think of the acres of suncream!

Eyeshadow is for evenings only.