What looks dowdy to you?
Trilby
few things that set the average alt.fashionista's teeth on edge. So ... I
started thinking about the way women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s often keep
wearing the same old same old stuff, when with minimal attention to a few
overlooked details, their appearance would get a real boost. So here's my
list. And I want other AFers to post theirs, so I can find out more things
I'm doing wrong.
It's dowdy to:
1. Not shape and groom your eyebrows. I've seen pictures of mothers and
daughters, and the biggest difference in their faces wasn't the lines
and wrinkles, it was the eyebrows. The daughters in their 20s have
elegant, slim, groomed, and made up brows. The mothers had
brows that were unruly, had no arch, weren't tweezed, and were graying.
2. Wear unshimmery, solid, superglossy color on your nails. Bright red or
fuschia or coral or whatever are fine on the toes, but young women are not
wearing those colors on their fingernails.
3. Wear tapered pants. Or pleats. Or tucked in tops with pronounced
waistbands for the Ed Grimley look. All bad.
4. Look like a clone. Wearing the Martha Stewart haircut (blonded, shaggy,
piecey) is better than wearing your hair in the same hippy do you've been
sporting since 1973. But it's important to make sure the cut really
flatters and the blonde works with your skin tone.
5. Wear opaque makeup on every square inch of your face. This looks very
1980s.
6. Wear the same shoes or glasses or carry the same bag for a
decade. Glasses in particular need to be updated every three years.
7. Constantly wear things because they're comfortable. That should be your
excuse once or twice a week, but not every day.
8. Always wear clothes that are classic, expensive looking, well made,
etc., etc. Lighten up! Branch out! Go to Target!
9. Wear the same old good jewelry all the time. It's fresher to lighten up
the look with semi-precious stuff and costume jewelry.
10. Wear too much good jewelry all at once. I see this on the
ladies-who-lunch all the time, and it looks sort of stuffy.
Priscilla
--
ps...@midway.uchicago.edu "Here comes the most beautiful woman in puppetland!"
A Adams
little movement.
Gold applique clothes - no, no, hell no.
Jules
it's ust not my look)
1. Open toe sandals with nude stockings
2. Eleastic waist pants in general (though I do have some) but in
particular with a blouse tucked in.
3. Ornate collars on blouses, especially silk.
4. Slacks with a lot of darts or heavy pleats that begins a few inches
below the waistline.
5. Those "comfortable" shoes, the lace up sneaker type thingys you see
older women in malls wearing.
6. Frosted lipstick, with no shine, just frost
jules
Jules
<kissm...@satx.rr.com> wrote:
And words spelled out in sequins!!!
jules
Laurie0512
You wrote a great list and I agree with each mention!
> 1. Not shape and groom your eyebrows. I've seen pictures of mothers and
> daughters, and the biggest difference in their faces wasn't the lines
> and wrinkles, it was the eyebrows. The daughters in their 20s have
> elegant, slim, groomed, and made up brows. The mothers had
> brows that were unruly, had no arch, weren't tweezed, and were graying.
I agree. Elegant brows are almost like an inexpensive face lift.
> 2. Wear unshimmery, solid, superglossy color on your nails. Bright red or
> fuschia or coral or whatever are fine on the toes, but young women are not
> wearing those colors on their fingernails.
It seems like most fashionistas wear very pale polish, like Essie Ballet
Slippers or something shimmery and light. The fun bright colors are for
toes! I rarely wear anything but pale pinks on nails anymore. I also think
weird polish colors like blue are tacky (maybe not "dowdy," but dated).
> 3. Wear tapered pants. Or pleats. Or tucked in tops with pronounced
> waistbands for the Ed Grimley look. All bad.
Eww, I hope tapered pants never come back in style!
> 8. Always wear clothes that are classic, expensive looking, well made,
> etc., etc. Lighten up! Branch out! Go to Target!
So true! It's cool these days to mix and match expensive and cheap! Yes,
you can wear your Target or H&M top with your Seven jeans or Prada skirts.
:)
> 10. Wear too much good jewelry all at once. I see this on the
> ladies-who-lunch all the time, and it looks sort of stuffy.
Yep, especially all that *heavy* jewelry. I think delicate jewelry is much
less dowdy anyway.
Here is another one:
11. Those who wear the same purse everyday. You can just tell it's an
everyday purse because it looks beaten up!
Laurie
"I'd never wear it, but I think it's really cute." - fig
ahmward
This is an excellent thread and I agree with all of your picks.
1. Denim dresses from past decades especially the jumpers with ties in the
back.
2. Elastic waist pants unless they are for exercise or very casual wear.
3. The makeup look from a former decade. Some people found their colors in
1970 and never
looked again.
4. The overstuffed everyday bag that is showing its daily wear.
5. Long unshaped dresses especially in bold prints such as the Carol Little
prints.
6. Long frizzy hair that isn't shaped at all. A lot of women still have
big hair and don't know there
are some new styling products.
7. White athletic shoes with dark slacks
Audrey
AJ
"Trilby" <ps...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote in message
news:V9iYa.19$%4.3...@news.uchicago.edu...
> 4. Look like a clone. Wearing the Martha Stewart haircut (blonded, shaggy,
> piecey) is better than wearing your hair in the same hippy do you've been
> sporting since 1973. But it's important to make sure the cut really
> flatters and the blonde works with your skin tone.
Better the shaggy clone Martha cut than what my friends and I
call giving-up hair, giving-up hair being the short hair a lot of
middle-aged women seem to favor, not because it looks good on
them, but because it requires no maintenance. (There are
women of a certain age who look great in short short hair,
but IMO they are the exception to the rule.)
I do think a lot of women as they age tend to lighten their
hair, which I don't really understand, since sometimes they look
completely monotone, with hair and skin the same hue!
--AJ
~goatini~
>5. Those "comfortable" shoes, the lace up sneaker type thingys you see
>older women in malls wearing.
I am pretty fond of my Rockport World Tour leather walking shoes,
especially on public transit. I have them in three colors.
Then again, there are those awful-looking shoes by SAS and the like
that I see on the *really* older women.
~g~
Madolyn
fine cashmere)
* Pleated pants and shorts
* Cotton dresses like those made by Fresh Produce (unless it's worn as a
beach or pool coverup)
* Tunic tops (actually, "tops" in general)
* Gold-toned accents, like buttons or trim on handbags and shoes
* Dyed hair that is eggplant-toned
* Certain sensible but very comfortable sandals (e.g., Mephisto or Ecco)
* "Teacher" dresses -- e.g., long, unstructured linen sheaths worn with
sandals mentioned above (I'm guilty of owning a linen JJill shift that
belongs in this category that I wear occasionally on hot days)
* Pretty much anything sold by Chadwick's of Boston
* Elastic waistbands (especially with a "top" tucked in)
* Women with ruddy complexions who never wear foundation of any kind
That's all I can think of for now, but my list could go on! I hope I didn't
offend anyone -- note that I've sported many of these looks at one time or
another (except eggplant hair!).
-- Madolyn
Richard Hunter
bus, Diane Hardin <dia...@naming-schemes.org> wailed loudly and
vomited the words:
<snip>
>10. dark colored bras under pale tops -- who are you, Madonna from the
>1980's?
a guy at work the other day was wearing dark underwear under
white, translucent pants. when i commented on it, he asked "does
it turn you on?" to which i replied, "well, since you don't turn
me on any other time, no."
david
--
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/derbarbier/
(ebay sales)
http://shops.half.com/derbarbier
stickneedlesinme at mindspring dot com
ami kio
<ps...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote:
-wear loose fitting tees & elastic waist pants constantly. Actually,
elastic waisted items in general.
-wear pants that cinch your torso so you're artificially hourglassed.
-paint streaks of blush on the cheeks. Especially bad when combined w/
overmascara'd lashes and solid matte lipcolor.
-wear non-capri pants that end at your ankle or above.
-sport the handpainted/denim schoolteacher look.
-wear white ankle socks with loafers.
-sport any type of helmet hair.
-brown woven leather. (never cared for this in any form so far)
ami
Guilty of #1, 9. Formerly guilty of #8.
Madolyn
"AJ" <ajfa...@att.net> wrote in message
news:BrjYa.88140$3o3.6...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
> Better the shaggy clone Martha cut than what my friends and I
> call giving-up hair, giving-up hair being the short hair a lot of
> middle-aged women seem to favor, not because it looks good on
> them, but because it requires no maintenance. (There are
> women of a certain age who look great in short short hair,
> but IMO they are the exception to the rule.)
I call the giving-up style a "wash 'n' wear" hairdo. As you said, AJ, a
small population of women can wear this and look fabulous, but most look
dowdy with it.
-- Madolyn
Jules
<goa...@pacbell.net> wrote:
Those ones are cool...I mean the latter type, usually in some atrocious
beige.
jules
Dana Carpender
Laurie0512 wrote:
>
> 11. Those who wear the same purse everyday. You can just tell it's an
> everyday purse because it looks beaten up!
>
I'm guilty of this one, for sure. The very idea of having to shift
everything from one bag to another more often than spring and fall gives
me a headache.
--
Dana W. Carpender
Howard Dean For President
Take Back the Democratic Party!
Take Back America!
http://www.deanforamerica.com
Jennifer R.
On 7-Aug-2003, Jules <lyth...@attbigwhoop.com> wrote:
> > Then again, there are those awful-looking shoes by SAS and the like
> > that I see on the *really* older women.
> >
> > ~g~
>
>
> Those ones are cool...I mean the latter type, usually in some atrocious
> beige.
Blah, my mom and grandma loooooove SAS shoes. I have tried to stop fighting
with mom over them.. at least she wears the least-ugly ones that they sell
in non-offensive colors. I *have* successfully gotten her to break away and
buy a pair or two of the Nine West cloud 9 collection, which she seems to
like a lot.. so maybe I'm making some progress yet.
Jennifer
Spud
Metallic shoes in the day time, particularly when they do not go with the
outfit.
Bad perms on 2 inch long hair.
Cancer society sunglasses.
Rancid perfume.
Claire in SF
"ami kio" <k...@cant-take-anymore-spam.com> wrote in message
news:BB5732F4.420F0%k...@cant-take-anymore-spam.com...
In offices I used to see a lot of shifts + flat red nail polish of some kind
+ lots of gold bracelets. Each are dowd in their own right. Just the
bracelets alone scream "I can't pass up a QVC jewelry show".
Wearing loose and unfitted clothing even when you have a great figure is
pure dowd. My best friend's sister, who get votes for style from almost
everyone but me, gets the award for buying very unique, finely fabricated,
pricey, boutiquey clothing with great fabrics in size zero to 2 and still
being the epitome of dowd. Dowd comes in all price ranges.
Logo t's and outfits in which the most prominent features are the logos or
company name unless it's something unexpected for you to wear or wearing it
is the equivalent of a wink.
Claire in SF
Susan in LA
-obvious hairspray
-lots of rings, lots of jewelry in general, unless it's calculated for a
specific effect
-little white tennies
-t-shirts with leggings (leggings in general, unless they're required for a
sport you're currently engaged in)
-sweatsuits or other "exercise" gear worn by people not exercising, who
clearly have no intention to exercise, and often, in all likelihood have not
exercised in many moons
-scrunchies in public
-lots of makeup with extremely casual clothing...what is this about? if you
have time to put on that face, you have time to get out of your jammies.
-someone mentioned short "giving up" hair, and I agree (and am fighting in
with every fiber of my being) but i'd rather see Judi Dench hair on anyone
than a long stringy coiff or the
not-short-not-long-hair-sprayed-into-an-indeterminate-shape 'do.
-too much style/grooming looks dowdy to me in a way...I like looking at
people who look like they have more to do than pop in and out of salons and
boutiques all day
Sierra
"Trilby" <ps...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote in message
news:V9iYa.19$%4.3...@news.uchicago.edu...
> I'm asking because on my years on AF I discovered that I habitually did a
> few things that set the average alt.fashionista's teeth on edge. So ... I
> started thinking about the way women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s often keep
> wearing the same old same old stuff, when with minimal attention to a few
> overlooked details, their appearance would get a real boost. So here's my
> list. And I want other AFers to post theirs, so I can find out more things
> I'm doing wrong.
>
> It's dowdy to:
>
> 1. Not shape and groom your eyebrows. I've seen pictures of mothers and
> daughters, and the biggest difference in their faces wasn't the lines
> and wrinkles, it was the eyebrows. The daughters in their 20s have
> elegant, slim, groomed, and made up brows. The mothers had
> brows that were unruly, had no arch, weren't tweezed, and were graying.
>
On the flip side of that, women 30+ with overly tweezed brows, too thin,
too short on either end, too arched, hooks on the inner corners, big
tadpoles, too much brow pencil, especially if its not the right color,
looks very dowdy to me. Maybe dowdy isn't the right word, but it does have
an aging affect on them. The right eyebrows definitely make the face. If
you don't notice someones eyebrows, right away, you just notice their face,
then their eyebrows are perfect.
Sierra
"~goatini~" <goa...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:98h3jvgfv7m2njl2a...@4ax.com...
> Jules <lyth...@attbigwhoop.com> wrote:
>
> >5. Those "comfortable" shoes, the lace up sneaker type thingys you see
> >older women in malls wearing.
>
> Then again, there are those awful-looking shoes by SAS and the like
> that I see on the *really* older women.
>
> ~g~
aww, my nana (my grandma who raised me) used to wear those for as long as I
can remember). She's gone now, what I wouldn't give to see her wearing
those icky shoes one more time. <sigh>
Sierra
"Susan in LA" <susa...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gxmYa.14807$uw6...@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
> -scrunchies in public
This is bad? uh oh, I'm guilty. But i don't know what else to do , when
its really hot out, with my
super thick, unruly a lot of the time, curly long hair with a scalp that's
really sensitive to tight
ribbons/rubber bands of any kind. (whew, was that even
a sentence?)
Sierra
"Madolyn" <madoly...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bgsgka$46r$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
> * Jewel-toned garments (certain fabrics are exempt from this rule, like a
> fine cashmere)
> * Pleated pants and shorts
> * Women with ruddy complexions who never wear foundation of any kind
>
with those big, big windshield type glasses. reminds me of that lady on Mad
Tv.
Sammy
This thread reminds me of the Mike Meyers' character Linda Richmond
from Coffee Talk.
I'm gonna add holiday sweaters. Really, any sweater with a theme.
-Samantha
Tinny
laughing! Our mothers can cover all of Priscilla's list! In particular
I loved Susan in LAs very astute observation about people in active
wear.
Dowdy is when you see people who are obviously wearing someone else's
old clothes. My mother _still_ wears my tops from 1986 (me aged 12!)
that say things like "Awesome!" and "Hot Pursuit". My stepmother owns
a red and black checked blouse that says "Anarchy in the UK". Now my
husband and I really did wet oursleves when we saw that. My stepmother
is a little Chinese woman who wouldn't know a Sex Pistol if it came
and kicked her in the noggin.
I saw an old woman (she had given up hair) wearing a Big Gay Al (from
South Park) tshirt and she looked just like him! So in general, all
stupid slogans on clothes.
Jjjjjulie
--anything that is overly "matchy" (v. a coordinated outfit)
--polyester pants. Even if you are in your 20s and think they're hip so you
wear them to work.
--cheap flats--you know them when you see them--especially when work with work
attire.
--overly planned "costumes" for non-costume holidays like Memorial Day, July
4th. I see these people all over DC on those days.
--applique and/or theme sweaters or sweatshirts (I know it's been said before,
but it needs to be said again)
--
Julie P.
"if you don't know what is wrong with me/then you don't know what you've
missed"--Declan McManus
Silly One
> > daughters, and the biggest difference in their faces wasn't the lines
> > and wrinkles, it was the eyebrows. The daughters in their 20s have
> > elegant, slim, groomed, and made up brows. The mothers had
> > brows that were unruly, had no arch, weren't tweezed, and were graying.
>
> I agree. Elegant brows are almost like an inexpensive face lift.
Me too.
> > 2. Wear unshimmery, solid, superglossy color on your nails. Bright red or
> > fuschia or coral or whatever are fine on the toes, but young women are not
> > wearing those colors on their fingernails.
>
> It seems like most fashionistas wear very pale polish, like Essie Ballet
> Slippers or something shimmery and light. The fun bright colors are for
> toes! I rarely wear anything but pale pinks on nails anymore.
I didn't know this but I tend to stick to pale neutrals anyway.
However I'd like to expand into pale pinks. Is Ballet Slippers a
shimmery color? I'd love to find a pale glittery pink nail color.
> > 3. Wear tapered pants. Or pleats. Or tucked in tops with pronounced
> > waistbands for the Ed Grimley look. All bad.
>
> Eww, I hope tapered pants never come back in style!
This was the first thing I thought of when I read the subject to this
thread. I hate tapered pants. I think they make the thighs look
bigger and they look dowdy on nearly everyone. I also really hate
tapered jeans. They make me cringe.
> Here is another one:
> 11. Those who wear the same purse everyday. You can just tell it's an
> everyday purse because it looks beaten up!
Hmmm. I change my purse every season, but I'll look into getting
multiple purses. It is so hard for me because I insist that my purses
be really cute but big enough to be functional, and it usually takes
me months to find "the one".
Nina
Susie Q
--sweatpants and big baggy tshirts
-shorts and big baggy tshirts
-letting your roots show for too long
-straight leg pants
-blue jean dresses
-jumpers
~I want to love but it comes out wrong. I want to live but I don't
belong. I close my eyes and see blood and roses~
~The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to talk,
mad to live, mad to be saved, desirious of everything at the same time.
The ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn,
like fabulous yellow roman candles shooting like spiders across the sky
and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes
wow~
rubywoo
Oh my...true story. Around a year ago, a friend and I both began to
suffer with pain from heel spurs. I went to a Dr. first, who began
with a cortisone shot - she went to the same Dr., same treatment. To
make a long story short(er), the 3rd shot (for me) did the trick (no
pain for over a year!) - the Dr. agreed to give me the 3rd shot if I
would agree to consider orthotics if it didn't work. I was VERY
reluctant to agree - didn't want to give up wearing cute shoes - and
luckily, I didn't have to. My friend, on the other hand, gave up, got
orthotics, and is wearing nothing but the ugly SAS shoes. Granted,
nothing is worse than foot pain (well, not nothing, but you know what
I mean), but there MUST be an alternative to these shoes! Don't get
me wrong - we are not young (50-something), but I'd search the world
over before I'd settle for wearing those shoes!
Ruby (I know, there are more important things than shoes...but call me
vain!)
Vicki in DC
> -too much style/grooming looks dowdy to me in a way...I like looking at
> people who look like they have more to do than pop in and out of salons and
> boutiques all day
I totally agree here but the other end of the spectrum I find equally
dowdy; nails chewed to the quick, extremely wrinkled clothes, runs in
pantyhose, chipped nail polish, and that "giving up" hair a bunch of
you have mentioned. Taking this a bit further, it's just as dowdy to
me to be out and about wearing clothes with stains, hems out,
rips/holes. Exception; faded jeans if they have a few strategic
rips/holes. That works on the right person at the right time.
Other looks I find dowdy:
Sloppy trenchcoat worn over evening gown or full length formal skirt.
EEEK. Some years ago I had my first big dressy event in years - a
corporate holiday party - and needed to buy a gown fairly quickly. I
also bought a dressy coat so I wouldn't be guilty of the trenchcoat
violation. Thank gawd I found both quickly and in my size.
Reinforced toe pantyhose w/ sandals. For that matter, ANY pantyhose
with sandals look increasingly dowdy to me.
Sneakers worn on morning/evening commute. Why not old broken-in
loafers or flip flops?
Those "old lady-ish" shoes, often made by SAS that Jules and some
others have mentioned. My Mom is probably a LOT older than some of
the women who live in these and if these were the last shoes on the
face of the earth, she would go barefoot rather than wear them, I
know.
Overly matching looks; sets of jewelry, matching handbag w/ shoes,
etc.
Dated looks from the 80s like extreme shoulder pads and dirndl skirts.
Speaking of the above, I sometimes still see those 80s era sweater and
skirt sets where the sweater picks up the print in the skirt. DOWDY.
Anything too 'twee like handpainted sweatshirts or sweatshirts with
lots of lace and/or ribbon trim. Again, another look from the 80s
comes to mind that I see from time to time; those floral print dresses
w/ lacy collars that - I think - were offered up to women as an
alternative to suits and floppy ties. Bleach.
Helmet hair, especially when worn, usually by some female politicians,
sometimes news anchors, with large button earrings and overly bright,
not blended well enough, makeup.
Overpowering, too-sweet scents
I think that's it.
Vicki in DC
rosie readandpost
> Better the shaggy clone Martha cut than what my friends and I
> call giving-up hair, giving-up hair being the short hair a lot of
> middle-aged women seem to favor, not because it looks good on
> them, but because it requires no maintenance. (There are
> women of a certain age who look great in short short hair,
> but IMO they are the exception to the rule.)
i LOVE this thread, thanks everyone!
can someone point me to a picture of the styles that AJ is talking about?
Mpamber
I am one of those middle aged ladies. I do cringe when I read some of these
items as I see myself in them.
I would like some creative person to start a thread on some of the funny stuff
young people do in clothing--maybe like some of that dirty wash denim, multiple
piercings, shoes you can't walk in.
It is difficult to find what is do able, comfortable, looks nice, and is age
appropriate.
I have a small build and can find clothes cheaply at garage sales teenage girls
have outgrown. So I can relax a little and don't have the head to toe Talbott's
look.
Sometimes it looks incongruous to me to see myself in mirror and see my old
face with young looking clothes.
I keep struggling. If I were to go to clothing store, I would rather have a
young woman wait on me. It seems like they are more likely to tell the truth
about what looks good on me and not as interested in making a sale no matter
what. It seems like young people have fresher ideas in regards to clothes. They
are unemcubered by experience.
Mary
"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but
planning is indispensable." Dwight D. Eisenhower
Rasta Poodle
I stopped scratching my head over all the posts that were describing
fashion faux pas instead of 'dowdy' elements, and realized that dowdy
must have a different meaning to different folks. To me it always
meant dreary, frumpy, ill-fitting clothes, in a Plain Jane way. Little
or no makeup, limp or old-fashioned hairstyle, just an overall
appearance of someone, any age, who has no idea of flair, color, style
or cachèt.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to rename this thread 'fashion faux
pas'?
(thankfully, no one would ever term me dowdy, although I have made a
few fashion faux pas in my day, and, no, I'll never tell what they
were!)
--
© Anya {{{*_*}}}
Visit my "Aromatherapy Debunked and Defended" site
http://member.newsguy.com/~herblady
Bob Marley and the Wailers album "Exodus"
named "Album of the Century" by Time magazine
Charm
>
>Bad perms on 2 inch long hair.
So you've met my boss, I see.
Great thread and I would add,
-Too much, too perfect make-up. I'm realizing that using a little less every
year is a smart move.
-Dress for success outfits from the eighties: Ancient "power suits" worn with
coordinating blouses, p-p-panty hose (!) and closed-toe pumps.
-Denial hairdo's. For instance, you have curly hair and you get a short cut
that you have to relax, blow dry, flat iron, spray, mold, clip, and threaten so
you can appear to have straight spiky hair. Or you have straight hair (like my
aforementioned boss) and you have no idea how to wear it so you keep it 2"
short and get a bad perm every couple of months and think the whole whole
wash/wear thing is genius.
-And someone else already mentioned this but my personal pet peeve is the big,
boxy men's type tee on women. I was in a spinning class yesterday and there
was a young woman on a bike in front of me and I kept thinking how well she was
doing for someone so heavy. When class was over I saw that she was not heavy
in the least. The culprit was the big man-tee worn practically down to her
knees over 80's style black full-length leggings.
I am guilty of: Non-subtle polish on fingernails. I'm wearing "I'm Not Really
a Waitress" on fingers and toes this week.
-charm
robyn
2. cotton/poly knit top with or without waistband, and some sort of theme
decoration
3. the matching elastic-waist pant/short for #2 above
4. large frame glasses
5. rose or purple tinted glass lenses in everyday glasses
6. light blue eyeshadow, as an everyday look
7. facial hair on women
robyn
MoonFancy
>items as I see myself in them.
Don't feel badly, Mary. According to this thread, my name is Beckie Dowdy, as
I have seen quite a few don't-dos that I do.
I do quite a few things right too, though, so I ain't leavin' AF anytime soon!
One thing that does bug me is when I see foundation that ends right smack at
the jaw line. It's usually a completely different color than the woman's neck,
and it looks very strange.
And sometimes I see women wearing the absolute worst shades of clothing for
their specific coloring. Olive green, for example, that makes the woman look
sick. Or beige that makes the woman's face disappear, like she's invisible.
Navy blue is not right for some complexions. It can make a woman look much
older than she is. I can put on navy blue and look 80.
-- Beckie Dowdy, happily wearing a black scrunchie today
v.rutgers
on the hinges that everyone was wearing in 1996 and only the dowdy continue
to wear.
2. Black separated combined with a bright colored top.
3. Sleeveless tops or T-shirts that are wide at the bottom. Most women
who wear these think it disguises their large hips. No it doesn't. You might
as well print "wide-load" on the back of your tush and across your chest so
we'll all see you coming and going.
4. Wearing a black knapsack purse for all occasions. This is a general
fashion crime, but I see it most frequently in my age category---late 30's.
I think it might be an age-crisis thing.
5. Too much obvious make-up. You know, runny mascara in the gym, panda
eyes when you get out of the pool, even though the product was supposed to
be water-proof.
Circe
ami kio
"Mpamber" <mpa...@aol.comnospam> wrote:
I sympathize with your situation, Mary. I frequently see women who are
either "dowdy" or dressing too young for their apparent age. Yet when I try
to come up with an age appropriate outfit, I can't come up with anything
other than a fitted tee and nice jeans or skirt. I'm getting too close to
my arbitrary "can't dress like a teen anymore" cutoff, and I really have no
idea what I'd change in my wardrobe -- I like all my current clothes! I'm
counting on good genes buying me some time. ;) I never was fond of cheaper
trendy clothing, but I forced myself to start branching out now instead of
waiting until I'm 40 and looking ridiculous.
ami
Who will be many dowdy things in 10yrs
K
it is a bad shade of gray. I am not talking silver or white here, but gray.
Chico clothing, Eileen Fisher clothing.
Hair clipped up in the back with a ficarre hair clip or a barrette in metal.
Discolored or crooked teeth. Teeth are very important and distracting if
they are bad.
Shoes that are scuffed.
Frozen hair via hair spray.
BAD POSTURE. Why women do not pay more attention to this, I will never
know. You can wear the most expensive clothing, you can be the right
weight, you can have the most beautiful face, but if your posture is bad,
forget about it. You won't look good. Everyone will be paying attention to
your poor posture.
K
"rosie readandpost" <readandpos...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8BsYa.70999$o27.1...@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
I think she is referencing your hair style.
K
"Mpamber" <mpa...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20030807100410...@mb-m12.aol.com...
> >
> >
> >>
> >> Better the shaggy clone Martha cut than what my friends and I
> >> call giving-up hair, giving-up hair being the short hair a lot of
> >> middle-aged women seem to favor, not because it looks good on
> >> them, but because it requires no maintenance. (There are
> >> women of a certain age who look great in short short hair,
> >> but IMO they are the exception to the rule.)
> >
> >
> >
> >i LOVE this thread, thanks everyone!
> >can someone point me to a picture of the styles that AJ is talking about?
>
> I am one of those middle aged ladies. I do cringe when I read some of
these
> items as I see myself in them.
>
> I would like some creative person to start a thread on some of the funny
stuff
> young people do in clothing--maybe like some of that dirty wash denim,
multiple
> piercings, shoes you can't walk in.
>
> It is difficult to find what is do able, comfortable, looks nice, and is
age
> appropriate.
>
> I have a small build and can find clothes cheaply at garage sales teenage
girls
> have outgrown. So I can relax a little and don't have the head to toe
Talbott's
> look.
>
Talbot's looks dowdy to me.
K
"MoonFancy" <moon...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030807103831...@mb-m01.aol.com...
> >I do cringe when I read some of these
> >items as I see myself in them.
>
> Don't feel badly, Mary. According to this thread, my name is Beckie
Dowdy, as
> I have seen quite a few don't-dos that I do.
>
> I do quite a few things right too, though, so I ain't leavin' AF anytime
soon!
>
> One thing that does bug me is when I see foundation that ends right smack
at
> the jaw line. It's usually a completely different color than the woman's
neck,
> and it looks very strange.
That's more of a fashion no no, rather than dowdy and is partly a wrong
foundation coloring choice.
Dowdy would be someone who lets the hair go, like someone who doesn't color
their gray, or wears non-descript boxy clothing.
K
"v.rutgers" <ish...@home.nl> wrote in message
news:bgtonr$hlq$1...@news3.tilbu1.nb.home.nl...
> 1. Those awful Gucci (or fake Gucci) sunglasses with enormous
medallions
> on the hinges that everyone was wearing in 1996 and only the dowdy
continue
> to wear.
>
> 2. Black separated combined with a bright colored top.
>
> 3. Sleeveless tops or T-shirts that are wide at the bottom. Most women
> who wear these think it disguises their large hips. No it doesn't. You
might
> as well print "wide-load" on the back of your tush and across your chest
so
> we'll all see you coming and going.
>
> 4. Wearing a black knapsack purse for all occasions. This is a general
> fashion crime, but I see it most frequently in my age category---late
30's.
> I think it might be an age-crisis thing.
I think the backpack thing is more of someone who is lazy.
ami kio
"Mpamber" <mpa...@aol.comnospam> wrote:
> I would like some creative person to start a thread on some of the funny stuff
> young people do in clothing--maybe like some of that dirty wash denim,
> multiple
> piercings, shoes you can't walk in.
- very dirty wash and extreme whiskering/fading on jeans. In retrospect,
they will induce as much "ewwww"ing as the idea of acid wash does now.
- too much gloss/shimmer: pale glossy lips paired with shimmery cheeks and
eyelids. Especially incongruous with heavily tanned skin -- it's too much
contrast for me.
- evenly spaced chunks of highlights that are meant to look natural. I
actually prefer the streaks of blue/red/purple/whatever in the 1990s b/c at
least those were meant to stand out.
- plumber's butt low rise. Basically any low rise that exposes almost your
entire hipbone. Especially bad paired in form of micromini w/ cropped top
-- too much skin.
- tadpole eyebrows. I'd rather see/have untamed eyebrows.
- older woman wearing clothes too young for her physique/attitude. You can
be older and wear young clothes, but IMO you need the confidence/attitude to
carry it off.
- this is a fine line, but occasionally the whole abercrombie & fitch look
when viewed en masse. I think that the "en masse" part is what makes it too
trendy; seen on an individual, it doesn't strike me. Stick straight hair
parted down the middle (don't know why, but I'm vaguely pleased that the
seeming haircolor of choice for this style is light/med brown) for girls and
messy beach hair for guys, glossy lips, retro logo shirt, frayed
jeans/skirt, and flip flops. When you have a huge group of people who are
all dressed like this, I get that eerie clone feeling.
- terry leisure/sweatsuits. I've never cared for this look head-to-toe.
- rugged gear made prissy e.g. High heel hiking boots mentioned in another
thread.
- trendy items worn all together so that it's too much to take in at once,
especially if those trendy items are all ornate.
ami
Who's never been guilty of any of these, oh no.... ;p
Heather and Joe
hair that has been straightened in the front and the back totally neglected. I
am anal about making sure mine isn't like this, even to the point where I'll
have DH check if I think I've not done a complete job (this is when I don't go
get a blowout).
Back home, I also cringe when I see the very very heavily permed and poufed
stuff that was big in the 80's. The teens seem to be in touch with the times,
it's the 30 and 40 somethings that can't get it together. (mind you, I'm from
very very small town, rural america and had my own reality check when I left
it)
Heather
http://www.faceonline.com
Michele317
>a
>few things that set the average alt.fashionista's teeth on edge. So ...
>I
>started thinking about the way women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s often keep
>wearing the same old same old stuff, when with minimal attention to a few
>overlooked details, their appearance would get a real boost. So here's my
>list. And I want other AFers to post theirs, so I can find out more things
>I'm doing wrong.
>
>It's dowdy to:
>
>1. Not shape and groom your eyebrows. I've seen pictures of mothers and
>daughters, and the biggest difference in their faces wasn't the lines
>and wrinkles, it was the eyebrows. The daughters in their 20s have
>elegant, slim, groomed, and made up brows. The mothers had
>brows that were unruly, had no arch, weren't tweezed, and were graying.
>
>
>fuschia or coral or whatever are fine on the toes, but young women are not
>wearing those colors on their fingernails.
i had to stop here because i've got a much different idea of 'dowdy' (the
eyebrows are, to me, sloppy but not necessarily dowdy; the nailpolish is, to
me, tacky but not necessarily dowdy). when i think 'dowdy', i think of a person
of any age whose look ages them in a bad way. it's a person who makes me think
'she'd look so much better if she wore xyz, or changed her xyz'.
with that in mind:
-baggy floral dresses with lace collars or neck bows, especially when they
reach the thickest part of the calf and extra-especially when they're worn with
sloppy flat shoes with that padding around the upper edge.
-heavy pantyhose (not tights), especially with a visible seam on the toes when
worn with sandals, extra-especially when they're meant to be your skin tone but
are clearly not, super-extra-especially when they're knee-highs and the top is
visible when you sit.
-baggy sweatshirts that are meant as sweaters (i.e., they come just below the
waist), especially when they're decorated in some cutesy way and
extra-especially when that includes a meant-to-be-clever phrase.
-terrycloth sweatsuits as 'style' (not for the gym), especially when worn with
makeup. decide decide, make up your mind!
-outdated eyeglass frames, especially when they're too large for your face and
extra-especially when the frames are so old the finish is gone and/or dirty.
-hairsprayed hair, especially when it doesn't move.
-elastic waist pants, especially when the shirt is tucked in and
extra-especially when the wearer has a tummy bulge. regular flat-front pants
accentuate that much less than elastic waist pants do.
-neglected hair, be it yellow-y gray, roots showing or long just for the sake
of being long.
AJ
"rosie readandpost" <readandpos...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8BsYa.70999$o27.1...@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> >
Rosie, I don't know of any pictures, but you'll probably see it
at the grocery or the mall. I'm not talking about women who
have carefully cut short hair or who look great in it (Jamie
Lee Curtis is one--saw her on TV this morning); rather when
women reach a certain age and no longer care and just have
it chopped off for convenience!
--AJ
Kerri Clair
>
Priscilla, your list was excellent, but I will add:
1. 'Frosted' hair, that is very light wide streaks on otherwise dark hair.
2. Hair that is oversprayed, over gelled, and stiff. Hair that never moves.
3. Short (above chin length or shorter) hair that's obviously colored *and*
permed and then sprayed into a helmet.
4. One length long hair that's parted in the middle and just hanging down on
anyone not a teenager.
5. Old 'school marm' buns, in other words hair that's parted in the middle and
then severely pulled back into a little low bun.
6. Baggy, shapeless clothes.
7. The "fat dress", in other words mummus, 'house dresses', or any other
attempt to wear yards and yards of fabric to cover up yards and yards of flesh
in the manner of Elizabeth Taylor.
8. High-heeled shoes worn with long dresses or skirts, especially if they are
long pleated dresses or skirts.
9. Those polyester/nylon stretch pants complete with a stitched 'crease' down
the center of each leg. I cringe every time I see older women wearing those
awful things. Equally bad are the polyester/nylon stretch pant suits.
10. Bright (like orange, fuschia, bright red) lipstick worn with no other
makeup.
11. Brows that are over-tweezed and then drawn back on, and drawn back on too
high for that perpetually 'surprised' look.
12. Brightly colored 'dragon-lady' length Linda Richman style fake
fingernails.
13. The too-typical 'menopause bob', in other words hair that's always kept
cut severely short for the sole purpose of no maintenance. Especially if it's
also bleached nearly white.
-Kerri
K
"Kerri Clair" <kerri...@aol.comma> wrote in message
news:20030807131942...@mb-m15.aol.com...
> >It's dowdy to:
> >
>
> Priscilla, your list was excellent, but I will add:
>
> 1. 'Frosted' hair, that is very light wide streaks on otherwise dark
hair.
>
on
> anyone not a teenager.
Both of those things describe Jennifer Anniston's hair and her hair is
beautiful.
Again, these things would not be dowdy, but fashion no nos.
kayper
formal, evening wedding several years ago and wore an
outfit that *everybody* complimented, including near-
strangers. And I felt quite chic and uniquely dressed
over everyone else (except the bride's mother, who I
think showed questionable taste by showing up in a stunning,
black velvet formal with sequins, little crystals and silk
embroidery that would have been right in place at a formal
Christmas party but rather overshadowed the bride, her own
daughter.) Anyway, I was large then, too, so size isn't
always a factor. I think just being plain, old, tired
makes a huge difference in whether a person pays attention
to the details of his/her appearance. kayper
Kerri Clair
>> 1. 'Frosted' hair, that is very light wide streaks on otherwise dark
>hair.
>>
>> 4. One length long hair that's parted in the middle and just hanging down
>on
>> anyone not a teenager.
>
>Both of those things describe Jennifer Anniston's hair and her hair is
>beautiful.
>Again, these things would not be dowdy, but fashion no nos.
>
>
You're misunderstanding. Jennifer Aniston does have wide streaks but she does
not have dark hair. Her hair is somewhere between dark blonde and very light
brown. By "frosted hair" I mean light streaks (very light brown or blonde
streaks) on otherwise *dark* hair ..."dark" meaning hair that is medium to dark
brown or nearly black. In other words, light streaks on dark hair that gives
the effect of "zebra hair" or a "skunk streak".
-Kerri
K
"Kerri Clair" <kerri...@aol.comma> wrote in message
this.
Her hair is very dark brown. Look up her pictures of when she first began
acting. Her dad is Greek. I believe she gets an all over lightening and
then streaks after that. I'm also thinking Carmen Electra and Vanessa
Bryant who have this hair coloing and it looks good. True, it would not
look good on everyone and some do the coloring wrong. An example, there is
a boxer/bagger at our Pavilion's that has pure black hair against pure white
hair and it does look like a skunk.
Also, all these women have the parted hair that's long.
Claire in SF
"Rasta Poodle" <inhibitio...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:mdm4jvofjt3jnaa99...@4ax.com...
We have a lot of "fashion faux pas" threads in which dowdy gets left out, so
I like the dowdy theme, even if people (including me) are including generic
f.p.'s instead of or in addition to dowd.
Hopefully this will be back to the dowd factor: Cotton/lycra blend short
cami dress in black (the shelf bra kind of style) that was so cute at a
casual summer party with decorated flip flops, but sadly got dowd'ed up by
the queen of dowd forcing the wearer to add a three-string large fake pearl
chocker. The next time the wearer tried to wear that dress a short
wool-blend tweedy, boxy, button front jacket was added.
Claire in SF
ahmward
"kayper" <kar...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:41wYa.59203$Vt6....@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
There is no excuse to be dowdy. Any person can change his or her look
if he wants to. Each year I am chronologically older but my style is
younger. I've left the big tees and polos for the house, and when I leave,
I want something fitted. My legs are decent so my skirts are shorter.
My hair is very blonde this summer and the cut is always a bit
different. I've put aside the heavy gold and silver "good" jewelry
for funkier styles. It's more fun to look and feel young. Exercise is
a tremendous help as is a positive outlook.
Never say you're dowdy.
Audrey
Tracy Cramer
>9. Those polyester/nylon stretch pants complete with a stitched 'crease' down
>the center of each leg. I cringe every time I see older women wearing those
>awful things. Equally bad are the polyester/nylon stretch pant suits.
Years ago, my mother wore those -- and in lime green, no less. They are the most
horrible style of pants imaginable.
Tracy
======================================
We child proofed our home 3 years ago
and they're still getting in!
======================================
mortyycia
what's dowdy:
flip flops of any kind especially on dirty feet (unless you are at the
beach)
velour track suits and/or sweat pants with silly writing on the
backside like "hottie". for criminy sakes, who came up with the idea
of velour track suits? ick
baseball caps of any kind esp with the ponytail sticking out the back
those ugly skimmer shoes, you know the ones. they come in colors like
navy blue and beige and have a really flat heel
cordoroy jumpers with turtlenecks
leggings with oversized sweaters worn with some sort of jacket that
has a sports team logo on the back of it with the sweater hanging out
of the bottom.
those goofy messy ponytails that most women think really good worn
with anything from the above list
black lined lips
"v.rutgers" <ish...@home.nl> wrote in message news:<bgtonr$hlq$1...@news3.tilbu1.nb.home.nl>...
ahmward
"mortyycia" <mort...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7977920e.03080...@posting.google.com...
> most americans dress dowdy and sloppy and messy.
> what's dowdy:
> flip flops of any kind especially on dirty feet (unless you are at the
> beach)
> velour track suits and/or sweat pants with silly writing on the
> backside like "hottie". for criminy sakes, who came up with the idea
> of velour track suits? ick
> baseball caps of any kind esp with the ponytail sticking out the back
> those ugly skimmer shoes, you know the ones. they come in colors like
> navy blue and beige and have a really flat heel
> cordoroy jumpers with turtlenecks
> leggings with oversized sweaters worn with some sort of jacket that
> has a sports team logo on the back of it with the sweater hanging out
> of the bottom.
> those goofy messy ponytails that most women think really good worn
> with anything from the above list
> black lined lips
I'm certainly glad I'm not one of those Americans.
Audrey
K
"S./NYC" <guiltyTAKETH...@hotpop.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.199c76037...@news.earthlink.net...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> charm...@aol.comnospam says...
> > -And someone else already mentioned this but my personal pet peeve is
the big,
> > boxy men's type tee on women. I was in a spinning class yesterday and
there
> > was a young woman on a bike in front of me and I kept thinking how well
she was
> > doing for someone so heavy. When class was over I saw that she was not
heavy
> > in the least. The culprit was the big man-tee worn practically down to
her
> > knees over 80's style black full-length leggings.
>
>
> expecting women working out to be decorative as well.
>
> I run in shorts and tees, and I find it hard to find running gear that
> isn't cut down to there or cropped to ridiculous lengths or full of
> flowery shit or designed to be skintight in a way that has nothing to do
> with function.
>
> -S./NYC
>
When I used to go to the gym, I would sometimes wear the big oversized Tee
shirts to cover up because I got so sick of the men looking. If I like the
man, yes, I want him to look and more, but not strangers.
Tracy Cramer
wrote:
>I run in shorts and tees, and I find it hard to find running gear that
>isn't cut down to there or cropped to ridiculous lengths or full of
>flowery shit or designed to be skintight in a way that has nothing to do
>with function.
How frustrating is this?? I never wear t-shirts (she says with one on her back),
so when I started working out again, I had to find some. I typically wear pants
that are really fitted (for yoga) but I don't want to wear a shirt that's
cropped. I put on one of my husband's tees and it just looked plain silly to me.
So, I've been on a mission to find tees that I find acceptable and it's tough! I
look for ones that will hit around the middle of my hip. I got lucky and found 2
tees with goofy prints on the front (hot peppers) at Walmart the other week for
only $1 each. They work.
I'm glad I don't wear tees more often or I have a feeling I'd be really
frustrated from the lack of options.
Maladicta1
*gold chains
*big prints in retro color combinations like blue-green, pink-orange
*makeup that's too heavy, too frosty or too colorful
*hair that needs trimming
*haircolor that needs a drabber
*accessory coordination that looks like you really worked at it.
*cutesy hair ornaments
*shiny nose
*really dark or obvious bottle tans
*yellow teeth.
Syeliab
>> fuschia or coral or whatever are fine on the toes, but young women are not
>> wearing those colors on their fingernails.
>
>Slippers or something shimmery and light. The fun bright colors are for
>toes! I rarely wear anything but pale pinks on nails anymore. I also think
>weird polish colors like blue are tacky (maybe not "dowdy," but dated).
>
Now wait just an OPI'pickin' minute here... I cannot sit idly by while someone
calls my 'Cha Cha Ching Cherry" finger nails dowdy! Well manicured, red nails
will never be dowdy or out of style in my world. You'll have to pry I'm not
really a waitress, Mat-a-dor red, and OPI red out of my cold dead hands before
I will go over to the "pale pink" side!
-
-
Carol-
(remove Nospam to email)
Maladicta1
>extra-especially when the wearer has a tummy bulge. regular flat-front pants
>accentuate that much less than elastic waist pants do.
I was trying to figure out the objection to elasticized waistband pants, since
I wear a lot of them. I think what's dowdy are Kmart elasticized waist pants
with thick waistbands and a lot of gathering at the waist. My stretch denims
have no gathering, a flat front, a narrow waistband and I always wear them
with a top hiding the waist. They look indistinguishable from any other pair
of jeans except they are (oh horrors) really comfortable and don't require
alteration like my other pants do.
rosie readandpost
"K" <kthy...@aol.com> wrote in message news:bgubu0$sudpc$1...@ID-203179.news.uni-berlin.de...
> ........................ I would sometimes wear the big oversized Tee
> shirts to cover up because I got so sick of the men looking.......................
yeah right!
ROTFLMAO!
K
Yeah right what? You have me at a loss. Do you think men didn't want to
look at me or that I actually wanted them to look at me? If so, please ask
yourself why you are doubting or even care what an online person is
thinking.
Geri and sometimes Brian
>calls my 'Cha Cha Ching Cherry" finger nails dowdy! Well manicured, red
>nails
>will never be dowdy or out of style in my world. You'll have to pry I'm not
>really a waitress, Mat-a-dor red, and OPI red out of my cold dead hands
>before
>I will go over to the "pale pink" side!
>-
>
>-
>Carol-
> (remove Nospam to email)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>I cannot sit idly by while someone
>calls my 'Cha Cha Ching Cherry" finger nails dowdy! Well manicured, red
>nails
>will never be dowdy or out of style in my world. You'll have to pry I'm not
>really a waitress, Mat-a-dor red, and OPI red out of my cold dead hands
>before
>I will go over to the "pale pink" side!
>-
Indeed!! Red nails are classic.
~~Geri~~
Go Huskers!
Go Halos!
ahmward
"Syeliab" <sye...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20030807163650...@mb-m17.aol.com...
I have dowdy Chanel dream gloss on my nails and my toes. It's their newest
coral.
The pale nails began to bore me.
Audrey
K
"Geri and sometimes Brian" <gple...@aol.commotion> wrote in message
news:20030807170524...@mb-m03.aol.com...
Exactly and shimmery are tacky.
K
"rosie readandpost" <readandpos...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:u_yYa.68213$7O4.1...@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
>
Rosie,
If you're trolling for a fight, look elsewhere. If you'd like to discuss
fashion, I'm your girl.
canihearanamen!
Hair--I love it! To me dowdy is dressing with an eye to comfort and
propriety with no regard whatsoever to your figure, coloring, age or
to current fashions. So even someone wearing popular fashions can look
dowdy: capris with platform slides when you have heavy calves, for
example. Other crimes: hiding under shapeless clothing; those long
velvet dresses in dark colors with fake "antique" jewelry for dressy
events; L.L. Bean clothing for anything other than outdoor sports or
other distasteful pursuits like camping.
I hope someday to be the kind of old lady who would rather walk
barefoot than wear dowdy shoes.
Dana Carpender
Vicki in DC wrote:
>
>
> Sloppy trenchcoat worn over evening gown or full length formal skirt.
> EEEK. Some years ago I had my first big dressy event in years - a
> corporate holiday party - and needed to buy a gown fairly quickly. I
> also bought a dressy coat so I wouldn't be guilty of the trenchcoat
> violation. Thank gawd I found both quickly and in my size.
This is given special mention in The Women's Dress For Success Book.
They refer to it as "the peasant formal."
Dana W. Carpender
Howard Dean For President
Take Back the Democratic Party!
Take Back America!
http://www.deanforamerica.com
AJ
"Dana Carpender" <dcar...@kiva.net> wrote in message
news:3F32C5F6...@kiva.net...
> Vicki in DC wrote:
> > Sloppy trenchcoat worn over evening gown or full length formal skirt.
> > EEEK. Some years ago I had my first big dressy event in years - a
> > corporate holiday party - and needed to buy a gown fairly quickly. I
> > also bought a dressy coat so I wouldn't be guilty of the trenchcoat
> > violation. Thank gawd I found both quickly and in my size.
>
> This is given special mention in The Women's Dress For Success Book.
> They refer to it as "the peasant formal."
The other trick is to have a coat in the car and get dropped
off! It's worked for me.
--AJ
Susan in LA
Susan in LA (who doesn't own a dressy coat...too warm here for the
investment!)
"J Rogow" <JRo...@SpammenotNewsguy.com> wrote in message
news:bguab...@enews3.newsguy.com...
> X-No-archive: yes
>
> S./NYC wrote:
> > x-no-archive: yes
> >
> > Nickycha...@yahoo.com says...
> >> "Susan in LA" <susa...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> >> news:<gxmYa.14807$uw6...@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>... Sloppy trenchcoat
> >> worn over evening gown or full length formal skirt.
> >> EEEK. Some years ago I had my first big dressy event in years - a
> >> corporate holiday party - and needed to buy a gown fairly quickly. I
> >> also bought a dressy coat so I wouldn't be guilty of the trenchcoat
> >> violation. Thank gawd I found both quickly and in my size.
> >
> > Strongly disagree.
> >
> > If one wears formal wear twice in a decade, having to buy additional
> > pieces that one will wear not just only once, ever, but once ever for
> > less than five minutes in public is a bit much. Nice if you do it, but
> > making it a requirement is swallowing the marketing without
> > considering
> > where it's coming from.
>
> A nice cape or shawl that can be worn with less formal clothing
> is always an option.
>
>
Geri and sometimes Brian
>other distasteful pursuits like camping.
I must confess to being dowdy, then. I love L.L. Bean sweaters. There could
be worse things in the world than being dowdy, I guess.
rosie readandpost
discuss fashion with you?
your the last person i read..........................you just happened to be in a pretty terrific thread!
--
read and post daily, it works!
rosie
"new clinical studies show there are no answers."
..........................................dr.norma van der plaas
> >
> > "K" <kthy...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:bgubu0$sudpc$1...@ID-203179.news.uni-berlin.de...
>
Userb3
news:f6343b1e.03080...@posting.google.com:
> I hope someday to be the kind of old lady who would rather walk
> barefoot than wear dowdy shoes.
Hope you're an old lady who only needs to walk around indoors or in
carefully manicured lawns!
Maladicta1
>I have dowdy Chanel dream gloss on my nails and my toes. It's their newest
>coral.
>The pale nails began to bore me.
>Audrey
>
Red, berry, wine, or garnet polish is more flattering to certain skin shades
than pale pink.
Trilby
ahmward <nospam....@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>I have dowdy Chanel dream gloss on my nails and my toes. It's their newest
>coral.
>The pale nails began to bore me.
>Audrey
>
non-shimmery flat color goosed up with lots of shiny, shiny topcoat. To
me, it's a very ladies-who-lunch look that I never see on young women.
Priscilla
--
ps...@midway.uchicago.edu "Here comes the most beautiful woman in puppetland!"
Ellen
>From: "K" kthy...@aol.com
>Date: 8/7/03 1:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time
>Message-id: <bgubu0$sudpc$1...@ID-203179.news.uni-berlin.de>
Why do strange men look at you?
Ellen
Maladicta1
>> barefoot than wear dowdy shoes.
>
More accurately, if you wear toe-cramping fashionable shoes for years and
years, your shoe options later in life will be very limited. And it's really
fun to be around someone who's always complaining that her feet hurt.
Madolyn
"Maladicta1" <malad...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030807165142...@mb-m14.aol.com...
I included elastic waistbands in my list (not the post quoted by Mal) in
reference to thick, gathered elastic waistbands. I rather like skirts and
pants with flat elastic waistbands, though I don't see them too often. Like
Mal, I wouldn't wear them with a shirt tucked in.
-- Madolyn
Maladicta1
>>the big,
>>> > boxy men's type tee on women.
I wear big, boxy Ts and no makeup to the gym. It's five in the morning and no
one is social so who cares?
Maladicta1
>reference to thick, gathered elastic waistbands. I rather like skirts and
>pants with flat elastic waistbands, though I don't see them too often. Like
>Mal, I wouldn't wear them with a shirt tucked in.
>
>-- Madolyn
>
elasticized pants that scream KMart have a gathered waist and elephant legs.
It's impossible not to look enormous in them.
rosie readandpost
> Why do strange men look at you?
Ellen
ROTFLMAO!
--
read and post daily, it works!
rosie
"new clinical studies show there are no answers."
..........................................dr.norma van der plaas
"Ellen" <ellen...@aol.com> wrote in message news:20030807175449...@mb-m13.aol.com...
Jjjjjulie
--overly straightened hair
--
Julie P.
"if you don't know what is wrong with me/then you don't know what you've
missed"--Declan McManus
Michele317
>
>>isn't cut down to there or cropped to ridiculous lengths or full of
>>flowery shit or designed to be skintight in a way that has nothing to do
>
>>with function.
>
>
>back),
>so when I started working out again, I had to find some. I typically wear
>pants
>that are really fitted (for yoga) but I don't want to wear a shirt that's
>cropped. I put on one of my husband's tees and it just looked plain silly
>to me.
>So, I've been on a mission to find tees that I find acceptable and it's
>tough! I
>look for ones that will hit around the middle of my hip. I got lucky and
>found 2
>tees with goofy prints on the front (hot peppers) at Walmart the other week
>for
>only $1 each. They work.
i know what you mean... for workouts like yoga, i want something tight so i can
check my alignment (and so they won't slide up when i'm inverted) but for
running, weight training or using the machines, i prefer a looser t-shirt. what
works for me are kid's t-shirts, which i buy large so they're loose, yet still
only come to my hip.
Michele317
>>extra-especially when the wearer has a tummy bulge. regular flat-front
>pants
>>accentuate that much less than elastic waist pants do.
>
>I was trying to figure out the objection to elasticized waistband pants,
>since
>I wear a lot of them. I think what's dowdy are Kmart elasticized waist
>pants
>with thick waistbands and a lot of gathering at the waist. My stretch
>denims
>have no gathering, a flat front, a narrow waistband and I always wear them
>with a top hiding the waist.
my negative image of elastic waist pants is the kmart image. the flat-front,
elastic-back pants don't seem to visually split the body at the waist, which is
what i don't find flattering.
Jjjjjulie
>From: mpa...@aol.comnospam (Mpamber)
>I am one of those middle aged ladies. I do cringe when I read some of these
>items as I see myself in them.
Well, it's all relative as one man's meat is another's poison. Everyone brings
a different eye to this, and no one person has the answer. For example,
responses have included jewel tones and large prints, but this month's
_Harper's Bazaar_ highlight both jewel toned clothes and patterned blouses
(highlighting one from Prada) as in for fall '03.
Furthermore, and more to the point, this is alt.fashion. If you're here,
presumably you--apart from the trolls--have an interest in fashion. So threads
which point out where folks might be going down the wrong fashion track are
both to be expected. And useful. (so are the ones which challenge our
positions for that matter) It's a bit disingenous to complain in this
newsgroup about threads which are critical of or describe what people think is
unfashionable attire.
>I would like some creative person to start a thread on some of the funny
>stuff
>young people do in clothing--maybe like some of that dirty wash denim,
>multiple
>piercings, shoes you can't walk in.
But that's an entirely different point of view than this thread. That's
following fashion; this one is about not following it.
Maladicta1
>elastic-back pants don't seem to visually split the body at the waist, which
>is
>what i don't find flattering.
>
I never wear mine with the waist showing anyway. They truly just look like
ordinary jeans. I also think the denim leggings that are really leggings
rather than pants are muy dowdy.
Silly One
Really?
Sodalis
>Message-id: <bguf7s$rqgk5$1...@ID-203179.news.uni-berlin.de>
> If you'd like to discuss fashion
You mean like "What is Kiehl's?" "What is Stila?" "I bought my daughter some
new clothes at Sephora." "Today I am wearing a leather miniskirt and leopard
print heels because my husband likes me to dress like a Bakersfield truck stop
hooker."
> I'm your girl.
You're not a girl.
Jjjjjulie
>From: girlieg...@yahoo.com (canihearanamen!)
>You people are really hitting some good nails on the head: Giving Up
>Hair--I love it! To me dowdy is dressing with an eye to comfort and
>propriety with no regard whatsoever to your figure, coloring, age or
>to current fashions. So even someone
I disagree--I think there is a difference between not making and effort and
looking dowdy. In fact the dowdiest person I can think of makes a tremendous
effort every day with her sausage curls sprayed as soon as the curling iron
leaves her hair, sky blue eyeshadow, pale pink lipstick, and matching top and
bottom "outfits". She's not dowdy because she doesn't care or because she
wears clothes that don't fit her correctly, for she does and they do.
MoonFancy
Muy dowdy? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!
I love that! -- Beckie
K
Exactly! That's my feeling now. Who the heck cares what I look like when I
work out. I am there to improve my appearance, aren't I?
K
"Trilby" <ps...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote in message
news:1VzYa.33$%4.7...@news.uchicago.edu...
> In article <ggidnQBkZIM...@comcast.com>,
> ahmward <nospam....@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> >I have dowdy Chanel dream gloss on my nails and my toes. It's their
newest
> >coral.
> >The pale nails began to bore me.
> >Audrey
> >
> The thing that looks dowdy to me isn't color on the nails; it's
> non-shimmery flat color goosed up with lots of shiny, shiny topcoat. To
> me, it's a very ladies-who-lunch look that I never see on young women.
>
> Priscilla
I think you are confusing young versus mature. Young can be dowdy too, but
mature does not mean dowdy. Those nails are very classic looking and never
dowdy.
K
"Silly One" <sill...@altavista.com> wrote in message
news:f701c2eb.03080...@posting.google.com...
> > -straight leg pants
>
> Really?
I love straight leg pants.
laura
it's "cute" to say ugly things to Kathy? I don't, plus, you're way too old
to be "cute"!
"rosie readandpost" <readandpos...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:u_yYa.68213$7O4.1...@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
:
: "K" <kthy...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:bgubu0$sudpc$1...@ID-203179.news.uni-berlin.de...
:
: > ........................ I would sometimes wear the big oversized Tee
: > shirts to cover up because I got so sick of the men
looking.......................
:
: yeah right!
: ROTFLMAO!
:
:
Trilby
Anything so stylized that it's completely non-functional. Teeny tiny
backpacks that would hold about half a cup of stuff; flip flops on a 6 or
8 inch platform (poor things can flip when the soul is that
thick.) Rhinestone trimmed pale pink sunglasses that don't block any sun.
Wearing too many logos at once. Last winter I saw a woman wearing the
Burberry bucket cap with a Louis Vuitton monogram Speedy bag and Versace
sunglasses. Too many logos!
Wearing things that defy weather conditions. Trying to survive a Chicago
winter wearing only last winter's ubiquitous leather car coat. Wearing
head to toe black polyester in August. Wearing cargo shorts when it's 40
degrees outside (I see this a lot on high school and college boys.)
Bascially, anything that screams "fashion victim!!!"
Trilby
Trilby <ps...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
>Anything so stylized that it's completely non-functional. Teeny tiny
>backpacks that would hold about half a cup of stuff; flip flops on a 6 or
>8 inch platform (poor things can flip when the soul is that
>thick.)
Whoops! I meant "sole."
Am I going to go to Hell for that typo?
K
> In article <aLBYa.35$%4.8...@news.uchicago.edu>,
> Trilby <ps...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote:
> >
> >Anything so stylized that it's completely non-functional. Teeny tiny
> >backpacks that would hold about half a cup of stuff; flip flops on a 6 or
> >8 inch platform (poor things can flip when the soul is that
> >thick.)
>
> Whoops! I meant "sole."
>
> Am I going to go to Hell for that typo?
>
> Priscilla
No, you are going to Heel.
selkie
I'll get a lot of argument on this, but I'm going to say knee-length skirts.
selkie
K
"selkie" <wild...@swva.net> wrote in message
news:3F3305AB...@swva.net...
>
>
> I'll get a lot of argument on this, but I'm going to say knee-length
skirts.
> selkie
>
Only if worn with knee socks or bobby socks and loafers. ;-)