A thread for those who want boho chic but end up looking like pigeon lady in Home Alone.

[spottybaghottyhag]

I'm very aware everyone on Mumsnet is beautiful, stylish and model like. This thread is for the outliers

I love a certain look online, but unfortunately boho chic on a model translates on the real me as homeless pigeon feeder lady in Home Alone. I've tried Aladdin trouser things (can't remember the name, I'm that far off the mark!), cashmere wraps (my teen DC said I looked like an old sofa) and a colourful, chunky knit that made me look like a wannabe circus performer. I'm not aiming to look fashionable or stylish, but something a bit more put together rather than eco warrior jumble sale shopper would be nice.

Can anyone else relate?

Yes. I look like I’ve walked into a charity shop and grabbed random things in a supermarket sweep kind of way when I try and dress like that. I’m tall and size 14, so in theory can carry off a wrap or pashmina…I just end up looking like an Eastern European peasant from the 1930s.

Just remembered when I invested in a camel coloured suede jacket with sheepskin collar thing, someone very merrily told me "oh that's lovely, you look very like Pat Butcher!". Not really the look I was hoping for, but hopefully this will give you an idea of my attempts of style versus reality.

Welcome to our new club 💃

I get you OP! I love the boho look but it would now mean a whole wardrobe revamp and I certainly used to end up looking like a bag lady when I attempted it.

Hahaha delighted with this thread! I adore Free People and buy so much from there then end up looking the opposite of the models (and chic mum friends) - pigeon lady is a good description 😂

Following with interest!

I love the boho look but I always end up looking like 'vegan squatter at an illegal rave' rather than boho princess. Free People have lovely boho clothing but the quality is hit and miss and you really need to be able to style an entire outfit to be able to pull it off. I haven't managed it yet!

My only success has been overpriced dresses from free people. But that's a very specific look that's only workable for about 3 weeks in the summer (or somewhere hot on holiday)

I would take vegan squatter at an outdoor rave but I'm not thin enough for that. Tbf all you need is one of those horrible "tibetan" style knitted hoodies and a pair of ripped combat trousers.

My friend looked amazingly put together in a recent photo and I asked her were her trousers were from…. Beyond Nine. £150!!

Stylish boho is expensive 😩

I think having a tan and long flowing hair pulls off boho well

It’s weird. Some people can carry things off.

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s style is revered but someone else could look drab. “Sensible” not stylish.

I remember a colleague obviously trying to channel Carrie from Sex and the City one summer. No idea why the skirt and vest with strappy shoes combo didn’t work on her when it would’ve looked great on Sarah Jessica Parker given she was a similar size to Sarah.

I am reminded of the Classics thread here where someone tried a black leather jacket and looked “like Suzi Quattro’s fat Nan”.

I dreamed of long swishy hair. I finally achieved the long bit of the brief. However as soon as I put my specs on I am channelling Garth from Wayne's World...

I'd love to be able to look semi decent in this cardigan. I'm not going to waste my money though, the optic will fall somewhere between a Stop the Oil pensioner and just-arrived-in-the-country-and-received-a-charity-bag.

I'm apple shaped with a fat/rounded back, more stomach than boobs and peri menopause has thinned my hair terribly. A relative saw my picture recently and assumed it had a man filter. I'm a lost cause!

This thread is making me snort my morning cup of tea! Brilliant! I'm sure everyone looks beautiful and stylish! 🥰🥰🥰

But that cardigan looks terrible on the model. It's a mess. It would never look better on us average women.

I'm a big boho fan BTW - ask my friends

@bumphousebump
Alas I am not tall but find that I frequently resemble a short, dumpy, Soviet era peasant.

This thread has given me a great laugh with all the descriptions. I often find that I have a picture in my head of what I will look like in an outfit and then it arrives and I remember I'm not a willowy model but a normal human.

Im submitting my application to this club. Your OP perfectly describes my thoughts to my style.

Love the look but I'm just too short (and getting smaller) and dumpy (and getting fatter) I'm in danger of becoming cube shaped.

Bonus of the membership is even if I don't gain any style from this club, I'm here for the descptions 🤣

I like a bit of Boho and also minimalist Japanese oversized stuff, which in my minds eye, looks cool chic and severe. However, this does not translate well to a round, midsixties woman. I just look like i should be in a field, with a man stood outside calling "roll up, roll up".
Also funky glasses. Su Pollard's younger sister.

Thats a different sort of Boho and the one I usually end up doing as I'm not stylish enough for the elegant kind.

I live in Harem pants, Uggs, and cardigans. Its not elegant and I probably look like I'm going to sell you weed. I've tried the long flowy dress and boots combo but it looks ridiculous on me.

<Welcome to the club all, no applications necessary>

It's not just the boho chic I've failed at, other attempts have been:

athleisure wear = Vicki Pollard's grandmother
Fairfax & Favour = butch Hovis seller circa 1900s
Barbour/Tweed = Miss Trunchbull

I love a boho hippy style but generally all I achieve is a 'got dressed in the dark' look!

I don't care, I just embrace it these days. I've lost loads of weight so no longer look like humpty dumpty when I wear a jumper and that's a win for me!

I'm a terrible shopper who just buys things because they are pretty colours and the brighter the better for me so I know where I go wrong but i just can't seem to dress like a grown up person.

Today I am wearing green dress, blue top underneath, orange cardigan with grey tights and olive boots. Even I am wondering what the hell I was thinking this morning. Yes it was dark but i chose my clothes yesterday when i was daylight yesterday!

It’s really annoying isn’t it! Sometimes I feel like a glorious boho princess swishing around my house and then I catch sight of myself in a mirror and a look like a toddler borrowing all of mummy’s nighties at once... I’ve decided I’m a bit short for most of it but I’m calling it ‘a vibe’ and enjoying swishing around anyway 😂

Go on girl 💃 I'm not bothered if I don't look particularly pleasing to the eye, but would rather not look as off the mark as I do. It's so strange that two people can be the same height/weight/proportions, yet look so different in the same outfit. I'm losing weight, but still more Humpty Dumpty than Cinderella.

I am here for this! This thread is brilliant!

I have spent hours on Vinted attempting to pull together the look I have in my head. Recently noticed a woman in Lidl carrying off the exact I’m imagining. I was brave enough to ask her where her jeans were from.

id be over the bloody moon is someone asked me this. Said woman was a bit nonchalant! Anyway they’re from BUYUKD. I’ve taken the plunge and ordered them.

They’ve not yet arrived but I’m imagining my dreams will be shattered and I’ll look like I’ve been under the bonnet of a 20 year Old Ford focus attempting an oil change.

Ah well…