Fashion observations from a day people watching in London

[Unicornsaregreat]

• Lots of different styles of jeans. Still lots of skinnies, with oversized tops
• Lots of bags like this picture
• A very large proportion of trainers were New Balance
• Those not in trainers mainly wore chunky flat or low heeled boots (no one in heels)

The term 'Chav' hasn't been ok for nearly 20 years. It's pejorative and always has been.

If you want to talk about fashion don't use unfashionable terms.

yep

@Mitfordian is my new crush.

also hate those long coats Not chic

@Mitfordian I think joggers have become so ubiquitous over the past number of years they've lost that association.

All black/ pirecings/ fishnets worn in specific combinations are still on the alternative side & can be read as goth or emo etc. However individual elements of these looks are also mainstream so it depends on the intensity of the look

They're not the same type of joggers though. IMO they're still awful but you're right, they're not chav as such. But the micro differences in styles and brands have always been absolutely key to fashion so it's hardly surprisingly is it?

I've just never labelled someone or something as a chav based on dress options or other reasons tbh. But like I said maybe it was where I grew up.

It's a bit like that super outdated idea that leopard = Bet lynch or tarty.

Midriffs in mid winter also isn’t new.
We did it in the 90s. And there was a fashion for trainers without socks where I was, so rain or shine we wore our Nike Air Max without socks <sweaty/cold!>.

The young don’t mind a bit of discomfort in the name of fashion!

This is great advice and I can totally relate to this (although swap shops with websites), especially since having children.

Hours spent in shops not knowing what I should wear and what would suit and being completely clueless.

Thanks you ❤️

I use whatever terms I want, thanks. You may notice that I originally used the term in quotation marks to reflect that it was the term used at the time. There was also a book at the time of the same name (by the odious Owen Jones). It was pejorative at the time but now widely accepted as a cultural moment and therefore a descriptor. I mean, you know what I mean, right?

And there was a fashion for trainers without socks where I was, so rain or shine we wore our Nike Air Max without socks <sweaty/cold!>.

i remember trying to hide my socks because I hated no socks 😁

<quick derail>

Id forgotten about LOJ’s book! God, those were the days, when he waxed on in defence of the working class instead of attacking women.

Do you work from home?
I think it's different if you go out to work and there's an expectation of smart work wear.
That can get tricky.

Also people saying they are far more fashionable than Londoners as they have international style don't you know. 😄

@Mitfordian - steady yourself - we had a load of teens over in our town from a Paris school on an exchange - they all wore joggers and leggings - seems teen fashion isn’t all that different on the continent. (Even if their mums /dads wouldn’t wear them!)

Me too! Haha. They hadn’t invented trainer socks or those little trainer sticking things back then. Poor us .

I cut normal socks to hide them in my trainers. Essentially we invented our own trainer socks!

I really struggle with the sports socks on show look, but it is far more sensible and practical!

@CallMeVal it changed my life when they came out! 😁

You forgot ‘People saying all French women are effortlessly stylish’.

Have you been to Paris lately? My best mate (old school butch lesbian) says ‘they all dress like the most boring and bland lezzer at the party’ .

If you're an adult woman and you don't work from home (I include sahm in this) then you can't wear the leggings/joggers/trainers uniform, even if you wanted to.
The challenge for many women is day to day work wear.

I really struggle with the sports socks on show look, but it is far more sensible and practical!

Yes, that was how my parents used to wear their socks a la Princess Di. It's still my instinct to hide the sock, hide the sock!

The thing that has alway struck me about people watching & fashion, is for all it is written about, obsessed over, money spent etc, 96% of people are mostly very bland and same same looking. I'm including the 25 odd years I lived in london.

The challenge for many women is day to day work wear.

I agree. The best thing about working in fashion which I did pretty much straight after uni was wearing what I wanted. I can't ever work somewhere I would have to wear some kind of suit everyday. I wouldn't know how to dress.

Joggers are the teen version of sweaty Betty leggings 😄

It's definitely odd looking at the kids wearing 90s. I always have a soft spot for the goth kids and think about how boringly normal I look to them now, although I was wearing their stuff back in the day.

Yesterday I was full on 1996: docs, flares, hoodie. But I tie my docs up properly now, so I don't slouch in them. And my hair is not death black.

I love to play dress up. I'm probably the smarter end of clothing for work and I wear what's suits me, with the odd fashionable thing thrown in. I like to channel different decades.

Out in my nearest city Yesterday afternoon I noticed mainly the hen dos. Older women tended to go blonde, blazer, skinny jeans, chunky boots, but different faces.
Young women were all noticeably orange, massive eyelashes, hair extensions, strappy sandals.

Agree with a pp who talked about students in boring clothes. A lot dress like my mum did in the 90s: soft , shapeless pastels for gardening.

I’m in a market town near a northern student city, where most people commute to.
My young adult girls and their friends all live in oversize sweatshirts or cropped jumpers and black leggings with trainers. Nike, adidas or new balance. All have either short puffs jackets or north face coats. None would be seen dead in the long gilets .
Lots of real vintage. Urban outfitters has gone from loved to try hard.
Looking round last week most older people were in skinny or slim jeans with warm outdoor shop coats of no particular brand.
Summer brings much more interesting people watching here, much more variety.

Which is actually the same as us wearing tea dresses and boots in the 90s- granny chic.