What not to wear

[klwilliams]

I've been watching reruns of "What Not To Wear", a show on TLC that takes women who dress like, well, me and shows them how to dress to look better in a variety of settings. OK, I don't dress that badly anymore, but I'm still mostly jeans and T-shirts and I'm trying to look more professional. A couple of weeks ago aberwyn and I went shopping and I got some jackets that I like quite a bit. I've actually been planning what I wear the night before, and I've worn one of the new jackets once each week since I got them. (I didn't want to wear all the new stuff at once.) I look good! Or at least people have been telling me that. Next, I want to lose the last pants size so I can focus on slacks. And I need more girly shoes.

Comments

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

And skirts, don't forget the skirts. :-)

There are decent women's shoes available these days that don't involve the high heels that Stacy London favors. Fortunately.

The problem with jeans is often the fabric they're made of. It can look really cheap even when it isn't, because the weave is so prominent and the dye jobs, uneven -- the very things that makes them look so cool for weekends and casual events. Besides which, they often have tapered legs -- I couldn't agree more with the WNTW crew when it comes to tapered legs on pants. They make one's hips and rear look prominent and large, not the look any of us want. :-)

What do they call that? The ice cream cone look or something.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I saw a pair of shoes with a low heel and open toes that I liked in Nordstrom's. I'm trying to use more of the shoes that I already have (but haven't been wearing since my Ecco's are so comfy) to see how that changes the look. And of course I can't wear black shoes with brown pants.

I still want dresses more than skirts, because I don't like the line of most skirts on me. What I really need is the $5000 gift card and free trip to New York. :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

There is, I promise you, a skirt for everyone. Next time you're in the UK, we'll find yours.
Kari, curator of the Cambridge (UK) skirt mountain.

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

Don't we all? :-)

Seriously, though, I think you have to try on more things, particularly skirts. I noticed when we were shopping that sometimes you thought you looked very different than you actually did in something. I suspect that the right kind of skirt (not those pencil things) would be very flattering.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I'm certainly willing to try.

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

I agree that jackets add a lot. And girly shoes are a definite plus to the dressed down look that is endemic to Silly Valley.

An occasional top that isn't quite a T-shirt could be a good addition.

Do you ever wear understated jewelry?

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I wear earrings a lot, but that's about it. I need some better necklaces, because the few I have are light gold chains and that kind of thing, and I want some with colors to accent my outfits.

[galeni.livejournal.com]

oooo. Shopping for significant jewery is fun. I have some turquoise and one of a chunk of jade and some others. You might find some nice things if Angelwear is at WFC.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

I have a love/hate relationship with that show. On the one hand, Stacy and Clinton do know fashion, and it's a good place to start to get basic advice. OTOH, I don't find public humiliation to be entertaining, and I also don't like the underlying subtext that women must *always* be perfectly coiffed and made up, even when walking the dog or going to the store for a quart of milk.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I agree that women don't need to always be made up, but I realized I've fallen into the bad habit of wearing some pretty ratty clothing all weekend, just because I'm not at work. I was raised with the concept of "school clothes" and "play clothes", and I fall into the worst aspect of that.

[duchessletitia.livejournal.com]

I was raised with the concept of "school cloths" and "play clothes", also. I found that, like you, I tended to wear jeans and really large, sloppy t-shirts and sweatshirts on weekends. I discovered that Target has inexpensive but nice clothes for weekend wear. I find that it is fun to look nice on weekends also.

BTW, you are looking good.

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

No one has to be perfect ever, in my view. But there's a difference twixt "perfect" and "decent." )-: Some of the people on that show wore pajamas and carpet slippers out in public.

Yay for you, good lookin'!

[d-mon-chick.livejournal.com]

I finally decided that enough was enough, I wanted to dress for success for work but I wasn't confident that I'd make the right wardrobe decisions. So, I've chosen the easy road. I buy almost all my clothes for work from Talbots. That way I know I can't go wrong.

And while full price is, well, pricey...that have great sales. So I buy my stuff at the end of the season, on sale. Since the core value proposition of Talbots is that they sell classic clothes that never go out of style...it doesn't matter if I'm wearing last season's fashions.

Re: Yay for you, good lookin'!

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

Talbot's looks interesting, but I'm not small enough yet to fit into their clothes. I can fit into Macy's now, though, which I haven't been able to do for almost fifteen years.

Re: Yay for you, good lookin'!

[martianfencer.livejournal.com]

I have discovered that Coldwater Creek has really nice clothes in a variety of sizes, and they will help you shop. I am *terrible* at shopping for clothes, so I really appreciate their suggestions.

Re: Yay for you, good lookin'!

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I'm a long-time Coldwater Creek customer. I used their catalog for years, and now there are a couple of stores near me. (They're an Idaho store, originally.)

Re: Yay for you, good lookin'!

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

What I noticed at Macy's is that the misses department and the plus size department had many of the exact same clothes, just in different size ranges. So did Nordies.

Talbot's catalogs have some "plus" sizes, as well as misses' up to 18s . . . I don't know about the stores, though there is one in the Temple of Mammon.

IOW, what size you think you are may not matter. :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Well, clothes shopping often good, but don't let the style fascists dominate you too much. If this is UK WNTW, they can be very domineering.

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

Nah, it's the USA one. I haven't seen the Brit version in years, but those ladies could be really awful -- grabbing a client's knickers, for instance, and yanking them down.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

One thing I like about the show is that even though they make snarky comments, Stacy and Clayton consistently make the point that everyone deserves to spend the time on themselves to find the clothes style that works for them and to dress to their best advantage.

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

One thing I really like about it, being a plus size person myself, is that they don't dress only thin people. Instead they emphasize that anyone can dress well and find a style appropriate to them and their context. This has always been my belief, and finally the clothing industry has caught up to me. :-)

S and C are both awful hams, is what they are, and the snarky comments are playing to their audience.

[maryosmanski.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that I'd be really curious see WNTW do a "one year (or two years) later" thing so we can see whether the women whose wardrobes/hairstyle/makeup have been done over actually keep up with that level of grooming after a while.

I'm also finding that the older I get, the less I worry (the way I used to) about what sort of impression my clothing and overall looks make on people.

[aberwyn.livejournal.com]

They've done several of those shows, actually. It looks like some people do slip back, but most don't.

[fearless-em.livejournal.com]

I have a lovely green be-griffoned addition to your wardrobe. When do I get to see you so I can give it to you?

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering that, too. Maybe some evening next week?

[sci-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

It must be fun to have a shopping buddy.
I work at a university, where I wear t-shirts and polo shirts almost every day. I wear J Crew pants in the same size and fit almost every day - just different colors. I also wear nice jeans to work from time to time when I'm in the mood. I rarely wear skirts and dresses unless I'm going out someplace special; and I've been known to wear heels about once a year, too! In the winter, I toss on sweaters or jackets. I don't own formal business suits. I wear fish necklaces and flat shoes. Sometimes, I wear flat shoes with denim skirts. I usually smell like pool chlorine and have wet or damp hair. Substitute the J Crew pants for sloppy jeans, and I'm dressing the same way as when I was in high school. Of course, I no longer look remotely the same!
It's tough to look professional, yet "girly."

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I've been working with engineers for years, and if I wore anything except jeans and T-shirts they'd either ignore me because obviously I didn't know anything or they'd ignore me because obviously I had cooties. Now I'm working more with business people and it's a chance to dress better, even though I'm still in the California casual culture.

[sci-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

What kind of day job do you have with engineers?
I started working with engineers at 17, and by 19, I learned to wear pants and t-shirts/polos for the reasons you state. Btw, I haven't heard the word, cooties, in years!

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

First I was a software engineer, then I was an engineering manager, then I was a services engineer, then I was a technical support manager, then I was an operations manager, and now I've gone to the dark side and am a product manager.

[sci-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's so impressive! Except, of course, for that last part, when you crossed to the Dark Side. I now see the need for the different type of attire.