Farewell, Farshion (for now)

[GarlicMetre]

It must be about five years since I started seeing thick-soled platform shoes (not 'stripper heels') in the shops, after hankering for a year or more. For me, it felt like turning the corner of an overly long road to find home laid out before me in a lush, green valley 😄 At the same time, high-waisted trousers with wide legs made their way back into the public consciousness: this was a language I knew! My repressed 1970s self danced to the fore (ska, if you've got any, DJ), grabbing her 1990s revival by the hand.

I loved everything - the boxy sweaters, the enormous shirts, the voluminous dresses. I loved the eclecticism, the experimentalism ... and the shoes. I have so many giant-soled shoes now!

I went on a long, joyous spending spree (by my standards) and I'm not even ashamed that I still haven't worn everything I bought. It had to stop. It has stopped. Now the zeitgeist of fashion - the modegeist? - is changing and, this time, I shan't be coming.

I don't believe in being too old or too fat for any style, but I am too old and fat to do justice to a waistline on the pubic bone or a slim cut designed to cling where I wobble. My old feet enjoy being far above the pavement, and they're begging me not to balance on narrow heels, even low ones. When I put on my new, super-chunky sandals today, I looked down and thought 'orthopaedic'. Then I thought 'And? So fucking what!'

I plan to go gently out of fashion as the next few years unroll. There will come a time when I observe myself in a seven-year-old outfit of anachronistic bulk. That will coincide with a fresh spate of longing for something - and that something, assuming I'm not going to stop paying attention, will be coming into fashion. My budget should have recovered by then and I can start all over again.

There's no point to this mini-essay; I was just thinking about it this morning and felt it might strike a chord somewhere. I'll miss the shopping, though!

Oh I don’t know, op. I remember getting into a towering rage when I was about 14 because mini skirts had been declared over. No way, I announced, was I going to give them up. If I’d known the phrase about prising them out of my cold dead hands, I’d have promised that too. And then what happened? Out of the blue came midi skirts that unbuttoned up to the thigh. My mum hated them far more than minis and I can see her point now but I fell in love with them.

And then came hot pants.

And then I did a straight 360 degree U-turn into Laura Ashley.

And so it’s been ever since. The last time jeans / trousers got insanely low waisted, I switched to dresses for a while and wore them with biker boots. (I’ve worn flats pretty much my whole adult life.) It was good fun.

So normally I feel pretty sanguine about change. I’ve never been unable to find something, somewhere that I wanted to wear and I’ve no reason to think that’s going to end. And if it does, then feel free to point and laugh! Hope you’ll carry on posting regardless.

I love your story, Flo, thank you!

@GarlicMetrei am with you. I am no longer a follower of fashion that requires any dieting or discomfort, I’ve done that for the last 35 years and as I head towards 60, I’m going to be sticking with my massive dresses and chunky soles! Will watch the young and slim rock their low slung styles with a great deal of pleasure, and remember my heyday with a happy feeling of knowing I did it well at the time. I loved your post, thank you ☺️

Hmm … I’m probably addicted to the stimulation of novelty. I really don’t buy much - but I like trying something I don’t already have. So for me (early 60s) it would be quite worrying if I lost interest in incessant browsing and experimentation. (At the same time, I have no difficulty in swerving anything I don’t find … persuasive.)

@GarlicMetre i love your post!

@Floisme I remember the freedom of mini skirts and dresses. I would wear them now if I could! My legs are great but I am an old lady now....

Great post OP. I feel like high waisted
bottoms and a cropped boxy top half are my only language now. I can’t imagine hipster jeans again. I get you.

I won't be wearing hipsters either - aside from anything else, I find them really uncomfortable! I just think something else will come along (or more likely, come around again) that I do want to wear.

I've never been a massive fan of skinny jeans, for example, but the last time around I really liked a lot of the things that came in with them - the slouchy knits, the ballet flats and the biker jackets (although I went off them after a while). I even liked those huge necklaces.

It might be skirts next for me.

(Edited cos of typos)

Oddly enough I prefer hipster trousers. Maybe because I’m very short waisted, high waisted jeans or trousers feel as if I’m being stifled.

Anyway, despite being a self-defined eager follower of fashion, my actual shopping is probably driven by more obscure imperatives. Yesterday I woke up with a banging headache - and found myself ordering an ice cream coloured stripy dress, even though I generally despise pastels. Today, as I’m waiting for it to arrive, I’m realising it probably appealed because everything else was literally hurting my eyes.

I agree with @Floisme, there's always some fashion that works. I was 18 at the turn of the millennium, but I never had the figure for hipster jeans and whale tail thongs. There was the boho trend for those of us who didn't want to dress like Britney.

My body looks better now than it did then (got to look after myself and do yoga in my 40s, not spend all night drinking cider then going for a curry), but I'll never have the abs for low slung jeans. There are other current styles for me though.

I like your non-invasive choice of pastels, @BeetledBrow 😄 I hope you like it when you try it. You never know, it might open up a new world of possibilities to be enjoyed without a headache!

I hate high waisted trousers because I have really short torso and no waist- love low cut, love baggy and comfortable. I just wear what I like and what suits- it’s all second hand anyway so I have no issue finding cheap stuff that has gone out of fashion!

FWIW, DS works in high fashion and said no one in high fashion takes any notice of trends. They develop their own style and stick to it. It may evolve over the years and coincide with street trends but is never led by them.

That's the thing, @Stormroses - if you're interested and aware, your personal style tends to 'evolve' in line with trends or somewhat ahead of them. Such people, after all, steer the trends. It's not a coincidence, it's a natural outcome!

When I worked in fashion, I tended not to notice this happening; it was continuous and ubiquitous. That was a long time ago. I'm more conscious of it now, and definitely slower. I've learned, though, that it's still wise to sit on my instincts until they make it to the high street or I'll be searching too hard and paying too much. If this makes it look like I'm following trends, I don't care.

This is so interesting. I aspire to that in lots of ways. Having the self knowledge or self vision to make a consistent personal look happen must be cool.

Perhaps it's my age, but I do find anything goes these days. In particular youngsters wear a whole range of stuff, and various decades styles appear in the shops frequently, not on any logical rotation. So I dress for my bodily comfort and in my colours, and what tickles my fancy on vinted.

See I love the idea of having a consistent personal style and I admire those who do. But the reality is, I get bored with my clothes, even with my absolute favourites. Take wide leg trousers and jeans, they're probably my all time favourite style, the swishier the better. But I still don't want to wear them all the time and right now, having worn them pretty solidly for the last 7 or 8 years, I can feel myself beginning to peak. It's not something I'm particularly proud of but it happens every time.