Mumsy and Frumpy

[HelenSkeleton]

I hate the terms mumsy and frumpy and am using it for convenient shorthand. I don't know how else to describe it.

What makes people think someone dresses in this style though? It's more than wearing old fashioned clothes as there's stuff in the shops that look dated. Vintage and old fashioned aren't the same.

How do you avoid it?

“Matchy” doesn’t mean coordinating. It’s that look with exactly matching bag and shoes, this.
It's when you go to a certain brand and buy shoes and handbag that match each other. It can look great but generally doesn't.

Anything 'flattering' is likely to be frumpy.

those awful slip on Skechers that Myleene Klass advertises are very frumpy

There are some colours that make the MK shoes look frumpy.

To me "mumsy" is (a) not a nice description and (b) signifies someone who has had children and is maybe not as young, slim and in fashion as she once was. I'd say anything that is designed to cover up "flaws" probably just draws attention to them and makes the wearer look "mumsy". I'm thinking certain stretchy "flattering" dresses, empire line tops, fussy frilly bits down the front to hide your "mum tum" etc. I look like a sack of spuds in everything since developing diastasis recti so I just own it now by wearing what I feel like wearing and can afford.

Why all the hate for Skechers?

Right. Don't most women buy flattering clothes? Are we all frumpy?

Dunno.

All sketchers are frumpy. I’ve a pair of the white lace up trainer ones, and as comfy as they are and I can walk for miles in them, they are the least stylish shoes I own. The slip on ones are even worse. They have their place, if you’ve foot issues, or need to be on your feet a lot, but stylish, nope, they are the opposite.

Anything from Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

What would you recommend for a comfortable but stylish everyday shoe? @Rumpledandcrumpled
Asking for a friend.

Sketchers = frumpy.
Bet Myleene has the freebie ones in the back of her closet.

I think actively “mumming” ie having small kids is “mumsy” (in the eyes of men) even yoga-pants-swishy-ponytail-women.

The only “Sexy Moms” (yes, sounds vom) are divorced over-45s, who’ve found their mojo again. They always look good.

@KatyaKabanova She was really nice but she just said it. She was slight and slim and slightly geeky. It made me think 'blimey, it must be bad'.

I don't take offence generally.
Friends will tell me if I look frumpy.

I don’t really like the terms used either but see where the OP is going. For me it’s ’practical’ clothes I can’t stand.

I was on a train the other day and there was a woman who just looked frumpy but she was probably in her 30s, pretty and nice figure.

Fat Face jersey dress, leggings, walking boots and a fleece. But she was going out for lunch with her kid not on a hike (I heard her chatting). If that’s what she likes then good on her but it did scream ‘I’ve given up on any sense of style’.

See also, zip off trousers and ugly back packs.

Ok. Your call. Would she be ok if you were negative about her outfits?

I think some people are confusing a ‘mum uniform’ and mumsy which are different. To me, someone could look ‘like a mum’ wearing Lucy and yak or Sezane like Manon Legreve. They would look like mothers but not mumsy. I would say mumsy is when you look like you don’t care what you’re wearing, e.g. clothes that don’t fit and don’t go together.

Also, maybe, it’s about how you carry yourself? One person wearing leggings and a hoody could look mumsy and another might not.

That’s the difference - she’s thin so you don’t notice as much!

It’s so liberating, not caring what anyone else thinks!

They never are!

True, but not a style I would want to emulate!

No, I most definitely noticed how awful Julia looked, not so much Anne, I think she faded into the background a bit.

I'm thinking about how old men used to dress when I was a child. They used to have the shape of their vests showing under their shirts. They used to have a massive belly above the waist that was down to their privates. Things like combovers. There are definitely frumpy men!

You said dressing like her signalled a lack of personality! I would disagree with that! I never said it was a style to emulate.

I guess I'm a bit frumpy because there are times when I just have to choose the practical option like Sketchers and many layers of thick clothes because I feel the cold.

I haven't RTFT so sorry if she's already been mentioned, but I think the best example on TV is Amy from TBBT. They put her in old fashioned clothes that don't suit her age, flat hair and colours and layers that don't match.

@KatyaKabanova She always dressed nicely. Sort of 'Next' look.
I wouldn't comment negatively on anyone's appearance.
I'll comment if something looks good.

They're not called that, though, in common parlance.
"Ooh, have you seen Trevor Ollerenshaw? Sooo frumpy!"
"Did you notice how dadsy Neville Watkins is looking nowadays? Let himself go"