What does "frumpy" mean?

[lljkk]

People on MN use the word a lot. I am a foreigner so I don't get it. For frumpy I think

">50-ish woman in shapeless dress, no tights, lifeless breasts, flat personality-less shoes, probably growing a mustache. Short salon-curled hair."

What does "frumpy" mean to you?

Anything shapeless and very beige.

All relative.

I feel frumpy.

I used to be slim and wear fashionable clothes (bought clothes all the time - single person's disposable income etc etc). Now I wear a lot of jeans/comfy shoes/tops that don't cling to my fat tummy combinations, don't have nearly as much money or time to spend on my looks and generally feel less attractive. Definitely linked to being a bit of a chubster, too (for me).

Funnily enough, DH still thinks I look 'like a temptress' (his words ).

For me it means shapeless hair and fat hips. That is when I feel frumpy.

'Lifeless breasts' - hee hee. I do fear mine are moribund.

You have just described me lljkk.
I have all the allure of a wet bap.

I prefer 'chic messe' myself .

But then what's the difference between frumpy and scruffy (which I think of as low maintenance) -- or is there no difference?

Sorry laundrygoblin!!

i think you have described it perfectly,poetically even...if not a little harshly.

(i dont think it is possible to have a sexy frump.a sexy frump would become something else,like a chic geek)

frumpy is totally different from scruffy. scruffy = no effort, frumpy = misguided effort. frumpy = somewhat uptight e.g. tan tights, clumpy heels, calf length skirts, high necklines etc.

scruffy can be sexy - or so I like to think Yanking on a pair of well-fitting jeans and a lovely cashmere sweater, old converses, slightly tousled hair and minimal make-up can be very effective.

Frumpy is trying to be neat and tidy, but with no taste.

OP fairly near the mark IMO, however for 'no tights', substiutute 'thick 20 denier-ish 100% nylon tan tights, if wrinkly then even better'.
Frumpy = mismatched, shapeless, possibly?

i put a lot of effort into looking scuffy actually

frumpy

frumpy can be having no idea what suits you as well - I link it with being clueless... and unfashionable as well.

tis not the same as scruffy as far as I'm concerned.

frumpy = badly-fitting underwear that does not flatter at all; shapeless; boring; colourless and/or ugly-looking clothes

But what's the difference between harleyd's look and the stereotypical "chav" outfit? I would have thought the stereotypical "chav" look is also neat and tidy but "misguided".

(I know, I know, I'm putting WAY too much thought into this).

Lands End catalogue is frumpy.

Per Una is frumpy.

at Sarah Ferguson being a 'chav'.

Invisible androgynous bland shapeless blur!I think we all go through periods of this

Emma Thompson in Love Actually. Pure frump.

I'm with OrmIrian, Frogfishpsychedeia and Lawks.

I'd go further. Clothing is partly about making a statement about who you are and how you live, which can be read by other people.

The scary thing about "frumpy" is that, when you see it, it tends to imply someone who has failed to make a connection with the zeitgeist or has lost that vital "zing" that livens their clothes up.

It often implies a certain conformity (the good taste thing,) that isn't lightened and individualised by imagination or a personal "twist", which then implies that that person has lost a little of that in their lives.

Re. "Per Una"; it can imply someone who has sublimated their appetite for life, their keen desire to make an individual imprint on general life and their sex appeal into a sort of bundle of textured fabrics, "feminine" accessories, flounces and frills.

I think that's why we get so worried that we are "frumpy". And I know that I, quite regularly, do all the above.

Your post is depressing but true Cherry.

I am a frump.