Is it wrong to want to look glamorous?

[Appalonia]

I've always loved dressing up, love wearing make up, beautiful colours and luxurious fabrics. I loathe the current fashion for lounge wear and sports wear. I was on the bus recently and it stopped at a university, and all the young pp were wearing dark coloured leggings or jeans with dark coloured puffa jackets. God, it makes me feel so depressed! It's like a drab uniform with no individuality. When I was a student, we didn't have much money, but we went to charity shops and found amazing things to wear and pp really made an effort. That's never left me and I love expressing myself through clothes and jewellery. Why do so many pp, especially young women just want to look so drab...?

I get where you’re coming from OP. When I see young people dressed like that I think, ‘you’re wasting your youth!’. In 20 years you’ll look back and wish that you’d made the most of it. As much as we like to pretend that you can wear anything at any age, there comes a time when certain clothes start to look a bit mutton. Youth is the time for experiment. They’ve got plenty of time to look dreary later in life.

Their choice though. I think a lot of young people just lack the confidence to be individual these days.

And when I was a teen the approval of my peers was what I dressed for.

And that will always be the case!.

I can’t say that I really see a lot of 30/40/50 year women swanning about looking super glam day to day? Most people seem to dress casually or in workwear. Your post conjures up the women of Dynasty type style! 🤣

I don't agree with any of this. I look much better in my clothes now than I did in my youth. Better eye, nicer clothes.

We’re of an age, @Appalonia - and I would have hated getting dressed as a young woman right now.

If by "glamourous" the OP means "not dressed like everyone else but wearing clothes which are different and interesting and looking as if they get fun from their clothes"

In my office that is about half a dozen or so people ranging from early 20s to me at mid 60s, including 2 men, one early 20s, one mid to late 30s.

I agree with you TheLeadbetterLife.

Nah, we all had that skin. I was looking at some old uni photos yesterday and marvelling at our plump, shiny faces and bright eyes. The late nights, coffee and gin had no effect in those days.

Agree. I travel on the bus everyday and think the same.

I think the fun is the most important thing. I've got rid of anything that doesn't make me joyful—even my yoga and gardening clothes feel good to wear. My partner says I look like Tom Sawyer when I garden—I do, and I love it.

When I was a student, we didn't have much money, but we went to charity shops and found amazing things to wear and pp really made an effort

Tbf to the students of today, they’re living in a more pessimistic time, lived through a pandemic that significantly harmed the economy, have to take loans rather than receive grants so need to be much more careful with their money and unlike back in the day, charity shops aren’t quite so full of the vibrant luxurious textiles as in your day. Many are cheap fast fashion brands and anything half decent they’re priced out of due to even charity shops hugely increasing their prices. Unemployment amongst graduates is at an all time high also or if they’re in work it’s not the work they studied for so current students may have anxiety about this also. Consciously or unconsciously this may all affect their mood which comes out in their clothes perhaps.

I think young women can't do right for doing wrong on MN.

In the next thread, they'll be berated for wearing shorts showing their arses and crop tops. Plus the usual comments about brows/ eyelashes and lip filler.

I'm glad my daughter wears what she wants, just like I did.

@Appalonia I was a teenager in the late 70s, early 80s and fashion was so much FUN then!

I was a teenager in the 80s and 90s and fashion was so much stress.

I think you'll find that "wear what you like" is pretty much what everyone does, absent compulsory uniforms.

I quite like some of the fashions around at the moment, and I appreciate the comfort of it, but I do miss seeing people in beautiful clothes and heels like I used to see in the 90s and 2000s. It’s all quite samey at the moment. One of my friends just dresses up all the time regardless, and even wears high heels to the supermarket. Absolutely not following fashion, just doing her own thing, and she does look great I must say.

Agree, but also totally get why they dress in what they do. I dressed the same as my friends in my teens and early twenties. Lounge wear is in fashion

I love to dress up and I’m often slightly overdressed for every occasion. It actually probably ages me as younger women wear lounge wear not dresses and heels.
I do also love my jeans and hoodies too.

Generally someone who is glamorous still looks glamorous in sportswear!

I was a 90s teen & loved 90s fashion

There more homogeneity now but that's social media & the high street has declined.

The mainstream trends post Covid have been athleisure, neutrals, oversized everything but I do think the tide is finally turning. I was at an event recently attended by women of all ages and the majority were wearing fabulous outfits - lots of colour and variety.

About a year ago I decided that I’d had enough of always being casual and dressing only for comfort, so I started to “overdress”. Even going to the supermarket or running errands. It wouldn’t work for everyone but I love it. I feel like the best version of myself when I’m dressed well.

Well you sound like a judgy person so I think it's fine for people to judge you back.
I don't care what people wear. but if somehow you think you are more interesting than those that aren't glam because you spend effort and money on looking glamorous I'm afraid you're mistaken.
Some of them most interesting people I know look like they haven't seen a mirror in days. Some if the most dull look immaculate. Nothing more dull than someone telling you about their nail technician or where they bought their skirt from.
That said I normally look a bit shite and probably am dull as hell so it's not an exact science.

Ive seen quite a few with their arses hanging out their skirts which is pretty bold 🤢

The thing you're describing us called the clean girl aesthetic

Interestingly I work with a lot of artists and they look the opposite of what you would imagine. Jeans and joggers, fleeces, plastic trainers, old hoodies, no accessories, no haircut

I wear fairly drab clothes. Because I don't really care about clothes. I like seeing glamorous women but don't want to be one myself. We are all different. Fortunately.

I think today’s youngsters are wonderful, and I’m really in awe of their confidence. My dd lives in hoodies and leggings or jeans. She pulls her hair back and doesn’t wear makeup, but when she’s going on a night out she looks like a supermodel.

I look back to when I was early twenties, how much time and effort I put into carefully styling my hair, worrying about my clothes, always feeling that I wasn’t attractive enough. I wouldn’t even nip to the newsagents on a Sunday morning without a full face of slap. It’s great to see young women being comfortable in their (very beautiful) skin.