Is DD right about this dress? (Light-hearted)

[ShiningShimmeringSplendid]

https://joanieclothing.com/celia-birtwell-x-joanie-golden-slumbers-flared-sleeve-ruffle-neck-wrap-dress.html

I bought this for various Christmas parties. I love it, having a weakness for hippyish, Stevie Nicks-in-the-1970s getups. My daughter (8, sarcastic, only prepared to wear black leggings) made a horrified face on seeing it. Which of us is right? (In case it helps, I'm slim and pretty flat, so the volumising effect of the ruffle isn't too problematic to my eye).

@Absentosaur , I doubt I'd look gorgeous in anything, but I can feel good in it.

It's certainly eye catching.
If you like it then wear it.
I think things worn with confidence tend to look lovely even when the dress itself is fugly.
Its the confidence that makes the difference.

My stuff has all worn really, really well. Plus they dont use wool which is a big plus for me for ethical reasons!
Ive bought some amazing dresses off Vinted from Joanie which have also been in great condition (I do wonder if some people are just 'aggressive launderyists' to have so much problems with quality).
Plus its a UK brand which is affordable and ethical which ticks my boxes!😀

But I can see why all that colour and pattern might not be everyones cup of tea. Not to mention the dangers of the dangly sleeves when it comes to washing up!

Wool is probably more ethical than a lot of materials.
Joanie seems to be fairly conscientious about sourcing responsibly.

Life's too short.

Wear the dress!

I love it. I am precisely the wrong shape for dresses like this and if I were not, I’d have several. I bet you get compliments.

232 posts on this one dress!

😂

It's the colours, good lord! I thought they were evil ladybirds at first glance.
It's fine really, you will probably look lovely in it.

What I like about that site is that it has images of real people wearing the items.

It sounds like it would suit your colouring and if you're slim, I think it would suit a bit of a 60's sleek look in the hair and makeup.

I like it 🤷‍♀️ If you like prints and something a bit different, you might like Jayley, too.

Well obviously you're both right, taste being entirely subjective etc.

I also think that body shape is nothing to do with 'rightness'. I do get tired of people saying x item of clothing only suits tall or slim people. I'm sure other body types get tired of assumptions about what looks best on them too.

What stands out for me is DD's reaction - classic! We all know that parents in the 'wrong' attire can send the youth into paroxysms. So reach for the stars OP. Buy the dress, and twirl into DD's room trilling "All your life, you've never seen a woman taken by the wind..."

Driving down the road this morning I spotted a lady wearing a gorgeous, bright, patterned skirt and plain, colour matched jacket, then everyone else seemed to be wearing all black or navy. I’d much rather be the bright lady! Go for the dress!

@MixedFeelingsNoFeelings , but some clothes look a lot better on some shapes than others. Someone with a boyish figure wearing a dress designed for an hourglass shape won't look good, but they'll look wonderful in something that is cut for their body type.

I think the dress in the OP would work for any shape.

It just doesn't work for me though @Emanwenym. I'm objectively tall and slim(ish) so I see a lot of mention of clothes that everyone thinks someone like me would look great in, that I know wouldn't. Fit and 'rightness', for want of a better word, is a much more subtle thing than that.
Eg I'm supposed to look great in widelegs, and I do like them, but I think my shorter friends look just as good if not better in them - more shape, less stilt-like flapping!

Your colouring sounds perfect for the dress. Bet you look stunning in it!

For Abigail’s Party 🎉

@MixedFeelingsNoFeelings , I don't think wide-legged trousers look good on many. Most models are tall and slim. It's also easier to cut clothes for a small bust, so cheaper clothes will suit that shape better.

Cheap clothes usually don't look good an women blessed in the posterior. Skirts don't hang properly.

That's the thing. I always notice the people who stand out too, not the classic neutral set.
Even if I don't like the outfit I still think 'good for you!'. Self confidence is attractive.

Agree. People having their own style are more interesting than people following the crowd.

I find that quite shallow. I don’t feel how people dress is what makes them interesting, I’ve met some shockingly bad dressers, who were interesting as well as dull as ditch water, and some very stylish people who also were in either bucket. And certainly I wouldn’t consider someone wearing a Joanie dress as having their pwn sense of style, it’s touted on here all the time it’s as sheepy as it gets.

Every time Joannie is mentioned on here it brings out the usual selection of
(a) "hilarious" comments about nighties or curtains or (b) the tediously inaccurate "you have to be young/ tall/ slim/ a model to wear that" comments or (c) the puzzled "it's nice, but where could you wear it?" ones so I would disagree that anyone wearing a Joannie dress doesn't have their own sense of style, given they seem to scare and discombobulate so many posters on here.

I do tend to look more favourably on people who are dressed in an outfit that stands out than something dreary, safe and neutral [here's looking at you Sezanne]

If I saw someone in Joannie Laura Ashley or Celia Birtwell collaboration that would be a person I'd likely find interesting.

I suppose decades of the assumption by some people that because I'm fabulously dressed and love clothes I must be thick and shallow tends to point me in the direction of other "shallow thickos"

We only have your word that you are fabulously dressed @IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle , but I agree with most of your post.

I've nothing against Sezanne, Me+Em etc but they're just not me. They look nice but safe. I think I'd feel like I'd borrowed someone else's clothes.

Your daughter is never going to be the audience for the dress because she lacks the cultural reference points.

You allow your daughter to judge, make faces at, and judge others clothing? I suppose that explains the S&B frequenters, raised poorly