Has how to look expensive / polished changed?

[Newpeople]

Inspired by the Chanel bag thread which is a great read.

The many previous threads on here describe (to me) what seems like a very dated look. Even a bouncy blow dry now seems old fashioned.

Anyone fancy discussing what makes someone looked polished / expensive these days? In my experience (people I know and have met) it’s vastly different and much more casual these days.

How many posters have said you need to be thin/white/straight? Direct your ire to those posters and not the entire thread.

Except I wasn’t. I was responding the other person who bought up race. I responded directly to the person who brought up hair type and directly to the person who brought up weight. Then I responded to the person who interjected race into the trio.

So I have done that, thank you.

Oprah famously straightens her hair. Chris Rock interviewed her on his Good Hair film. She talked about what a huge amount of work it is.

How do people who struggle so much with differing opinions cope in the real world, I wonder.

By discussing them openly and not being rude and obtuse. It’s very simple. You could try it.

And this is a question you need to direct towards yourself, considering you can’t seem to handle those who have different opinions to you.

Yes, most black women in the public eye have to, because otherwise they are not considered polished. Michelle Obama has gone back to her natural hair, now she is not First Lady.

I can see posters don't want the thread to be derailed, but it's interesting nevertheless.

The level of self-loathing and victimhood on MN never ceases to amaze.

Probably because of how so many people seem to think straight hair is best, which is clear from this thread. But apparently saying this out loud means you ‘just can’t handle different opinions’ rather than confronting the issues within our society which target certain demographics.

The image I have of Oprah looking her best is when she has BIG hair. Definitely not straight

No one is saying it’s not a topic worth debating, but this is an S&B thread asking for people’s opinions, which people gave. You weren’t happy with those opinions so you threw your teddies out of the pram.

How would you have liked this thread to go? People lying and denying their lived experience just to appease the over-sensitive victim-complex brigade?

Should the poster who described the wealthy charity gala have pretended everyone at the table was fat?

Again, people asked for opinions, other people including myself, gave our opinions. The only person throwing toys out of their pram is you, I’m discussing style - what I said was that other types of hair can also be classy and that other body types can also be elegant. And then someone else inserted race into it and yeah, I referred to that to because let’s face it, society leans towards a certain aesthetic that is commonly identified with a certain race. You have an issue with me stating these opinions, that’s your problem. I will continue to discuss the issue and you attempting to make petty remarks isn’t going to put me off.

And @Usernamen you’ve clearly not understood the thread - it was a thread about what looks polished and expensive. It’s acceptable for others to say ‘women who aren’t white, aren’t straight haired and aren’t thin also look expensive and polished’ - why do you have a problem with that?

I follow 'Lady of the Manor' on instagram. She always looks polished, elegant and understated. She looks good in clothes from high end shop but also in clothes from Peacocks and Sainsburys.
She wears a lot of layered neutrals.
She's also tall and slim which I think helps.

You need to be about 20, a size 8 and live in Paris. And have lots of money to wear very expensive, but understated pale hued clothing. Fresh skin, perfect smooth hands and nails, casually messed hair and light-touch makeup.

I'm out of the race as I'm 41, fat and wear tracksuit bottoms to the school run.

I think there's actually a difference between looking polished and looking expensive. You can be both, or just one.

I recently invited to a ridiculously fancy hotel in the country side for a sporting event. what really struck me afterwards though when we went for a drink was that the guests (not us) all looked EXPENSIVE. I can't even fully explain it but you could see it. A friend took a little wander round the hotel shop and came out looking a bit green - she said the prices were INSANE although she was tempted by a pair of cashmere shorts - at £300 or so! I didn't even know you could buy cashmere shorts!

Polished is about wearing clothes that fit, clean shiny hair, good skin, well looked after nails etc.

Okay wait, I just remembered one woman - she was wearing a plaid short a-line skirt of some sort and leather boots in a sort of white colour.

I could tell, just looking at them, that those were not cheap knockoffs from River Island but very expensive boots and ditto the skirt.

Speak for yourself.

Picture of at the time 51 year old Nicola Walker playing hot shot family lawyer in the Split. Not a size 8 either.

If you choose to make no effort with your appearance thats a choice. But stop the misogyny of saying a woman can't look good unless she is size 8 and 20 it makes me ill.

We get enough of it from men without women doing it too.

I think it was just a lighthearted, self-deprecating comment, Balls.

There’s ’old money’ polished (country clothes but not more expensive than Barbour and the coat is usually 10-20 years old but generally a bit scruffy).

Then there’s ’new money’ polished (lawyers/bankersh which is usually Burberry coats, Alturzarra dresses/ DVF/ Alexander wang - no obvious labels but anyone who knows fashion knows it’s expensive).

TBH the people I find the most ‘polished’ are the old money country types. They usually have better manners than the new money types and class - which money can’t buy, so the new money ‘polished’ always seems a bit skin deep

Again it's her choice to be fat and wear tracksuit bottoms. Doesn't mean women can't look good at her age.

We know... it's just a bit of relatable humour

No. It's always been about wearing what's in fashion, toned down enough to not be too 'out there' and being slim with good skin, hair and nails. I'm far from slim and have rubbish skin, hair and nails but have nice clothes and shoes yet never look polished 😅😅

I did very much like Nicola's look in the Split. Also Wendy Rhodes in the early seasons of Billions.