A stylish person you once saw who you can't forget

[iCod]

Me, Southwest West France about 1979
We were still agog by topless women, but there was this one woman who had a gold chain around her tiny waist and she looked brilliant and I just thought today she must be dead by now
Who do you remember seeing that made an impact?

I was part of the MN Vogue long running thread and went on a few meet-ups. Sadly little style to be found on any occasion but one MNer stood out. Petite and black with bling to beat the band. It wasn’t so much her clothes but the jewellery - she had an extensive and pricey collection. Really lovely too which added to the whole vibe.

There was a girl at 6th form, she wasn’t ‘conventionally’ attractive, was a bit bigger than the usual 90s twigs and I can’t even remember what she actually wore, but whatever the ‘X’ factor is she had it in spades - she looked cool every day. Someone else could have been wearing the same outfit and look meh, she just had something about her.

I have a reverse experience where I was told I looked stylish by the editor of Paris Vogue!! She had employed me as a nanny for 2 of her children. I was wearing chinos, a long cream linen shirt, a wide brimmed black straw hat, black gladiator sandals & simple gold jewellery.

A group of older people in the cafe at the Prada Foundation in Milan, beautifully cut trousers, skirts and cashmere tops. The men were the epitome of casual Italian style too. The women had the typical chunky Italian gold jewellery and had immaculate hair and make up. My DD said the Italian version of the u3A had style!

I also remember seeing the most chic older women with poodles when I first went to Paris in the late 70s. No one looked that chic in London when they took the dog for a walk!

What a lovely thread.

In about 1980 once, on a quiet local train, a young woman who was sitting opposite aged about 20.

She had long, brushed, dark blond hair, and was wearing a black jacket and matching midi skirt with a simple, plain white blouse underneath, and long length elegant tan leather boots. Her clothes were pared back and simple but of the finest quality.

She was writing in a bound notebook, her handwriting a beautiful italic style.

I felt she might be American, someone like Caroline Kennedy, because of her understated elegance and gloss.

A Spanish family at an airport who were waiting for a flight to Madrid. Parents so good looking they looked like models. Beautiful children. All impeccably dressed in casual but very smart clothing in muted colours. The mum had minimal make up on, perfect hair. None of them looked harassed or hot. But I think they had a nanny with them so that’s probably why they looked relaxed. The poor Nanny wasn’t as good looking or stylish.

Marriage material clearly!

Meh, there were two packs. I was sent to the other one, probably because it didnt have Mrs Watts running it.

That kind of style, but less forced.
Unless Audrey worked in Leeds in the early 2000s?!

It is nice to see that well styled silver or grey hair is a feature of so many of the women discussed here! Not necessarily all on older women, but mostly.

This is a fantastically distracting thread on a day of uncomfortable travel.

In 2003, I saw a very slim, beautifully tanned young woman in a mint green Juicy velour tracksuit, pure white spaghetti strap vest top, huge sunglasses and tiny handbag nestled in the crook of her arm.

I thought she was the most stylish thing on planet Earth. It was 2003. I was 17.

I tried to replicate her look but I looked like a string of sausages in washed-out pyjamas on my way home from laser eye surgery.

I still have the tracksuit and actually wear it quite a lot now its 'vintage' 😂

We had a teacher at school in the mid-1980s, her name was Mrs (or Miss) Denham, she used to come to school with her long hair tied back really sleekly, and she wore long, often knitted, dresses, she was so stylish. The rumour was that she used to be a model, she was certainly tall enough to be so. The other rumour was that she wore long dresses because she had lost one of her legs, I sure it was only a rumour (weird what kids come up with!) but she certainly had a certain something about her. She dressed so differently to all of the other teachers, who were either sporty or mumsy at that time.

"Mumsy".
What a crime against style these Mums are.

Oh for goodness sake, I meant they dressed more with longer, flared skirts, heels, very coiffered hair, and had more matronly figures! (sorry if that description offends any matrons out there!) It was the 1980s, we were kids, our teachers didn't generally look fashionable or model-like.

No. It's the "mumsy" comment.
For goodness sake. Plenty of mums are really stylish.

Years ago (1990s) Denise van outen sat at the table next to me in a London restaurant. She was wearing a white miniskirt and a baby blue leather top.. I know this sounds like a horrific combination but she looked fantastic.. Tiny and lovely hair/makeup.

She was absolutely gorgeous. Still is!

Mumsy has a dictionary meaning that goes beyond just "like a mum."

Yet the component part is "mum". It's the internalised misogyny of the language, isn't it?
Dull, unstylish, frumpy, dowdy..."mumsy".
It's never used in a flattering way, is it?
I understand that I'll be a lone voice one here. Of course. I just hate the use of that term.
You go ahead though.

I agree, it isn't flattering - but it does capture a certain vibe, which is that of a woman who has begun to opt for more practical clothing suited to a role of putting others first and has ended up making some dowdy and unstylish choices, which, in a way, is kind of a reminder and for me a helpful description of a style, even if not flattering. I mean a bet a lot of men know exactly what is meant by a "dad-bod!"

I do understand what you mean, but I tend to feel we need to work on behaviours not descriptors, as they can be helpful when analysing concepts. I don't think it is an "empty" or superfluous word, like lots of "s" words for women which we have more than enough of.

Yes, I think those are fair points.
I'm very interested in etymology and language, and how it's used against women and girls. Even by women, and often on Mumsnet.
Anyway, I don't want to derail what is a nice thread, so I'll leave it for now!

Agree.

I think though there is a balance, and we don't want to take out of use words that actually describe something that is there to convey.

But I agree we have loads of redundant terms and slurs that simply are not needed.

Two middle aged ladies in African dress, duku head wraps, glorious colours. They walked into M&S slowly, gracefully, like queens, confident and serious. I wanted to bow my head, they were so awesome.

You're clearly on a mission to find fault. Well done, do you feel better now? Geez! I was talking about the 1980s, I was talking about how people would have been described then when they dressed in this way. Find somebody else to school, I don't need it, thanks.

I don't actually think that - but it's a very distinctive stylishness which is more eclectic than a lot of the looks described here