JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Anyone who reads this blog knows the Reds, as a whole, do not follow trends. No matter the forecast or season, Lucy's going to wear comfortable shoes, Hank and Hallie are going to be in black, and my clothes will be bright. Jenn will show up in jeans, Debs in a nice scarf, and Rhys will exercise her right to wear white in February, old rules be damned!
So I present these fashion trends of 2019 - reported in several different women's magazines and blogs - not to see if we'll wear them, but as a naked opportunity for snarking. Reds, what do you think of the following?
Bike shorts with Blazers
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| From Fashionista.com |
JENN: No, thank you. Biker shorts are not attractive to begin with and pairing them with a blazer does not help in the least. It just makes you look like you spilled coffee on your skirt/pants and are hopelessly improvising.
HANK: They forgot their skirts!
LUCY: I'm sorry, but bike shorts don't even look good on bikers. Just no...
DEBS: Oh, my gosh. What were they thinking? This wins the Hideous Award hands-down, especially #2. Sock and heels? And what's with the yellow visor? Vintage bank teller?
JULIA: In case you want to take a spontaneous 15-mile bike ride while wearing 3 inch heels.
HALLIE: Remember girdles? This is reminding me, and not in a good way.
Boiler Suits
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| From The Evening Standard |
JENN: I think I wore something like this to my brother's high school graduation in 1984. It was blue and white pinstripes and gave me a powerful wedgie. Pass.
HANK: What is a boiler suit? What does that even mean? How is this in any way flattering or comfortable? If you can say, wow, that's kinda unattractive but SO comfortable, well, maybe, I'll just wear it at home. Or wow, that's so uncomfortable but I look like a million bucks, I might also consider. This one is 0 for 2.
DEBS: Jenn's right. Serious wedgie. Ouch just looking at them! Not to mention not drinking anything all day, unless they come with a potty flap... And just...ugly. No one looks good in them, not even the twiglet models.
HALLIE: I think it's what you'd WEAR to repair a boiler. Or investigate a crime scene.
LUCY:
What they said...I had something like this years ago but it was
sleeveless and flowered and I thought it was CUTE. It probably
wasn't...but I kinda like the idea except so inconvenient for the ladies
room...
JULIA: I have to confess, I had a fake-workman's jumpsuit like this back in the seventies. It was bright yellow and I looked like a pre-teen gas station attendant wearing it. I'm not seeing how this coexists with today's hydration trend.
Patchwork
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| From Glowsy.com |
JENN: This fashion makes me tired. Oh, yeah, because it looks like I should pull it up to my chin and fall asleep.
HANK: I have seen patchwork things I kind of like. Maybe in 1965. But I can't get my mother's voice out of my head. "Oh." She'd sneer. "They're using up their remnants and trying to convince you it's fashion."
DEBS: The first two look like horrible 80s country-style home decor run amok. Where are the chickens? #3, I have to admit I weirdly sort-of like. Although you'd have to be seven feet tall to wear it, and then where would you wear it?
LUCY: The skirt I could wear. While kneading my whole wheat bread and listening to "Rollin' in my sweet baby's arms."
HALLIE: This makes as much sense to me as ripped jeans. I'm getting a headache looking at it.
JULIA: Now I SO want to see Lucy making hippie bread wearing this. Presumably the recipe is from the Moosewood Cookbook.
Bucket Hats
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| Fron Trendspotter.com |
JENN: I always like hats even if you can bail a boat with them. This is my first thumbs up, especially for those pesky bad hair days.
HANK: These look silly. (I do like hats, from afar, since they never work for me because my head is too big. Seriously, I can rarely even get a one that'll go on.) Number 2 here looks especially absurd.
LUCY: These are good old-fashioned pith helmets. My father used to wear one to the beach. That should be all you need to know.
JULIA: Dad hat here, too. My dad had several he would wear when sailing. I'm pretty sure he picked this style because he didn't care if one of them went overboard.
DEBS: What is #2?? Safari hat with short suit with running shoes? You have to admit she's dressed for comfort. #3, ready for a sudden shower just on her head. #4 I like the hat without the dress. And I'd wear the dress, lounging around my house, or reading a book in a hammock in a rose garden. Walking down the street, nope.
HALLIE: This is the first thing I sort of like. And if you need to throw up from looking at all the other trends, you're carrying around a handy bucket.
And finally: Big Shoulders
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| From Glowsly.com |
JENN: What? I can't hear you! The theme music to Dynasty is playing in a loud continuous loop in my head. Is big hair coming back, too? Time to invest in Aquanet!
LUCY:
I'm sorry, these were hideous when we wore them in the 80's and there's
no way to improve on them. But...I did save a black pinstriped three
piece gangster suit with big shoulders just in case. So I'll be ready...
HANK: Ah. ::ducking:: I love big shoulders. Love. Not dopey exaggerated big, and certainly not with tulle wings. But nice Katharine Hepburn shoulders? Yeah, they can work. ((Can we mention that certain leggings are only meant to go UNDER things? And not to be worn alone? Just a personal tangential rant.)
DEBS: Oh, ack! I cannot say how much I despise big shoulders. I spent a decade ripping shoulder pads out of everything, and now they're going to inflict them on us again?? Noooo.
HALLIE: Did you know you can repurpose shoulder pads as bra padding? Just saying.
JULIA: I've been waiting for these to come back for TWENTY YEARS. In my head, I look like 1940's-era Barbara Stanwyck when wearing shoulder pads. Please don't puncture my fantasy bubble.
How about you, dear readers? What's your take on the hot trends of 2019? And do you have any to share that aren't highlighted here?
Oh, dear . . . another year in which I shall be un-fashionable and hopelessly untrendy . . . .
ReplyDeleteBut you'll be in good company with the rest of us, Joan!
DeleteThe Jungle Red ladies are definitely good company!
DeleteOh my gosh! You all have had me laughing so hard, tears down my face, needing to blow my nose, hard!!
ReplyDeleteTo think that these are trends is very scary! I don't even want to know how much these designs would cost!
Thank you so much for starting my day off with a laugh!
Just think of how much money you could save by stitching a few random patches on your pants and wearing a bucket on your head, Deb!
DeleteTrue!!
DeleteI feel blessed that I had NO idea these things were trending! Gah. I'm with Roberta on the blue patchwork skirt while kneading whole wheat bread. And I owned cute green coveralls - but I wore them only while working on my car, in my twenties, not as a fashion statement. Probably braless, too. ;^)
ReplyDeleteWe want pics, Edith! I bet you were cute as a button in your green coveralls!
DeleteI was! But...where to put a pic?
DeleteI don't mind any of the above as long as I'm not required to wear them. I don't do hats, and the older I get, the less black I wear. Fortunately I don't live in a big city where black is de rigueur. It does NOTHING for older skin and hair, no matter what you think.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Hank on the shoulders, tho. I have very broad shoulders, so I look like a linebacker anyway.
My head is too big for any hat, therefore I am bareheaded in a blizzard. I do have a pink pussy hat that I trot out anytime I think I will be among the mouth-breathers, just to see them wheeze, and one of those funny expensive fold up hats for severe sun, but I rarely wear either of them.
Any garment that requires complete removal to go pee is verboten. I don't have all that much time to begin with and need to be able to move quickly.
I have fond memories of my patchwork days. Now anything with a patch is more likely to be a result of mending rather than trending. I do make lovely whole wheat bread every week while humming "Where Have All the Flowers Gone ..." Thank you Pete Seeger
We have a new neighbor who moved in across the street. I am glad she's across the street as she isn't very friendly. She wears the same thing every day, nice black pants and a silky white blouse. There is nothing wrong with this. For all I know she's a waiter or a host or a front desk person in a good hotel. Except I've seen her also carrying and spilling a bucket of paint that was aimed for her front porch. We need to get her one of those boiler suits for painting.
My fashion statement of the winter, now that I'm wearing at least two layers, one thermal and one sweatshirt or sweater, is the annual ditching of the bra. It's lovely to let the girls out for some air, and in my shapeless attire, whether they are up front and central or hanging at my waist isn't noticeable. At least I don't notice it. I do wear proper support if we go out to dinner, like that ever happens.
Ann, you and I have the same winter wardrobe! Plus sweatpants and fuzzy socks.
DeleteDitto. I can't afford to heat This Old House enough to wear fashionable clothing when I'm at home - it's thermal underwear, turtlenecks, fuzzy socks and wool sweaters for me.If I think I'll have to run to the grocery store, I'll try to make sure the t-neck, sweater and pants don't clash too badly.
DeleteHuge sweaters and stretch pants and fuzzy socks and UGGs. I’m done.
DeleteThanks for the morning laugh.
ReplyDeleteWe aim to please, Triss.
DeleteI know fashion trends are recycled, but do we need padded shoulders again? I used to rip out the big shoulder pads and replace them with the smallest I could find. Patchwork, as in madras patchwork shorts and wrap skirts? I used to wear overalls over a sweatshirt while gardening and painters pants when I had two small children clutching the hammer loops. Thigh length blazers? I look like I'm drowning in my husband's jacket. Boiler suits? Function triumphs fashion. I do own a bucket hat I wear working outside.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, you're lucky you could replace the big shoulder pads for smaller! My first professional career job was in D.C. in the mid 80s, and I needed to be well dressed. I had some beautifully made jackets and suit coats in wool and linen... and when the padded shoulders look went out, they were simply too expensive to get changed. The pads were set in, and then the jackets were fully lined - the tailor bill would have been the equivalent of buying a new piece of clothing. Sigh.
DeleteShaking my head because I just cannot believe that anyone could seriously find any of these attractive or flattering. I am all for comfort but most of them didn't even look comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI don't see them too much anymore but the "fashion" that seemed really ridiculous to me were those pants that came to about 6 inches above the ankle. Cropped? Most unflattering unless one had extremely long legs and I'm not sure if even then they would look good. Always looked to me like they had bought the wrong length or were wearing someone else's hand-me-downs.
Judi, I got some great bargains because of "cropped" pants! At the end of every season, Talbots drastically marks down some of their past-season clothing. A few years ago when cropped was the big thing, they had a whole summer collection of beautifully colored cropped jeans. But here's the thing - I have short little legs, so regular women's crop was a full-length on me! I snapped up a half dozen pairs for something like 85% off, and because they're jeans, I wear them year-round.
DeleteBrilliant!
DeleteMost of these fashion statements were just so far outside of my reality that they just left me cold. (Though I did enjoy some chuckles at the Reds' responses to them.) But I had a visceral reaction to the giant shoulder pads -- an almost uncontrollable urge to scream "N-O-O-O-O-O!!!!!" I wore those in the 80's when I was a young banker dressing for success. Big shoulders and big hair do not need to come back -- ever!
ReplyDeleteBut somehow big shoulders WITHOUT big hair seems oxymoronic.
DeleteYes to both of you. I cringe every time pics from the eighties come back. I have thin fine hair - HOW did I manage to get it to be so BIG?
DeleteHairspray. Aerosol was still okay then, and we all sprayed enough chlorofluorocarbons into the air to put a hole in the ozone layer. 80s hair has a lot to answer for.
DeleteJenn, my oldest daughter graduated from high school in 1989. There is STILL old crusty hairspray embedded in the bathroom door paint that I can't remove, thanks to her dedication to what I called "hair fantasies". That Aussie spray held hair like a vise, as long as you used half a bottle.
DeleteI like them. I say, carefully, tentatively, carefully. Not big big, just a little big.
DeleteThe boiler suits remind me of the coveralls we used to wear on my town’r Rescue squad when we went on a call. They went on over your clothes so you didn’t get blood on them. The coveralls were white and easy to bleach.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I read, Sandy, that's exactly the inspiration - workmen's coveralls. In this case, the men in NYC who fix boilers, I guess.
DeleteI Do not understand jumpsuits in anyway. There is not one good thing about them. I have spoken.
DeleteNope, right on down the line.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure we called "boiler suits" "parachute pants" in the 80s. I didn't like them then.
I don't have a head for hats, but that's the one that bothers me least.
And I will admit to "big shoulders" in the 80s, but I look back and...gah!
Yet another year where I look unfashionable and won't be able to find decent clothes. Well, not outside LL Bean and Lands End. Fortunately, I don't have to!
Mary/Liz
LOVED my turquoise parachute pants. They're in my new novel... NEXT WEEK for What We're Writing Week I'll post that excerpt.
DeleteIn my WIP, Clare has a summer party dress she got because it has pockets. maybe I'll post that. What We're Writing About Clothing Week.
DeleteWhat we are writing about clothing week! Love it!
Delete"I love your dress."
Delete"Thanks, it has pockets."
Mary/Liz
I basically wear the same thing every day: black pants, a v-neck sweater, and a gorgeous scarf. Fashion passed me by a long time ago, and I don’t care.
ReplyDeleteOoh, let's do a post on scarves and shawls...
DeleteYes, Hallie. I love scarves but cannot tie them. I need help!
DeleteI am ALL about the scarves and shawls. I asked my kids for ruana for Christmas. https://www.biddymurphy.com/blogs/dia-duit/what-s-the-difference-ruanas-shawls-sarapes-and-more
DeletePut me in the #TooManyShawlsarenotenough category!
DeleteAh, those fashion designers--what rarefied air they breathe--something we mere mortals never get a whiff of, apparently. What whimsy! What total disregard for the masses of normal women out there in the real world, yearning for something beautiful, functional, affordable to wear! The hats come closest to normal, but how many of us need a bucket hat?
ReplyDeletea bucket hat with built-in ear flaps I could get into
DeleteI like to watch "fashion" for the fabrics and the colors. I don't subscribe to any on the dictates regarding structure/form because I'm not 6'tall. I need something significantly more substantial than an A cup and I have the hips of a postmenopausal woman who has given birth. Also, I am a mad fan of the capsule wardrobe. If something can't be worn with at least three things I already own, I don't need it.
DeleteI'm with you on the colors, Lyda. For instance, a couple years ago, mustard and maroon started showing up everywhere for fall. I like those colors, and dug out a few old things I had stashed away and brought them back into circulation as part of my everyday wardrobe.
DeleteNot one of us needs a bucket hat. Truly. Look at that second one, you know? How does it even stay on?
DeleteToo funny! I agree about the fashion trends. Regarding the hats, the first photo looks like it is a cloth hat that you can fold and put in your pocket. I wonder if it is similar to the "Irish hat" in The Edge of Doom by Amanda Cross.
ReplyDeleteIf I follow fashion at all, I look at who I admire and what they are wearing. For example, I love many (not all) of the clothes that the Duchess of Cambridge wears like long sleeve dresses. There was one dress that the Duchess of Sussex wore to Scotland and I think it was a Burberry plaid (blue and green) that I liked, though it is very expensive! I have seen versions of this for less money.
Diana
Diana, I like keeping up with the duchesses' outfits, too. And doesn't Kate made an effort to wear at least some ready-to-wear affordable clothes?
DeleteKate also--gasp!--re-wears dresses, coats, etc., that she likes--just like we do!! Which I am happy to see!
DeleteI love her coat-and-coordinating dress combos, and wish I had enough occasions where I had to look smart while staying outdoors to justify buying one.
DeleteI wrote a reply and it disappeared!
DeleteDebs, Flora, and Julia, I re-wear my clothes too. I have kept some clothes since my college days. I stopped buying clothes for a while when they were selling low waist jeans because I was too embarrassed to have my underwear show whenever I sit down! So I did not buy jeans for a while. Interesting story. A few years before Catherine married Prince William, I bought a dress off the rack at Nordie's and wore it to the symphony gala with my boyfriend. After the Royal Wedding, I saw a photo of the Duchess of Cambridge wearing a similar ballgown!
DeleteI love her combos too. I always like to look presentable whenever I am out in public.
Diana
My favorite part about royal fashion watching is that they do not ever go barelegged.
DeleteI miss Diana. She was such a fashion mentor. And yes, no bare legs! I wonder if Megan wears pantyhose? I cannot picture that…
DeleteKaren, I enjoy royal fashion watching too. Hank, I remember copying some of Princess Diana's clothes. They had cheaper versions in American shops. I once got a secondhand version of a dress from a secondhand shop in London, England when I lived in England for a few months.
DeleteDiana
My, my, my . . . Since I gave up being fashionable eons ago, I view these only as a spectator sport, but still . . . The Boiler suits remind me of the jumpsuits they tried to get us to wear back in the late 1980s/early 1990s. They looked like clown suits to me back then, with ruffles at the ankles and all kinds of "fun" "cute" prints. I figured they were just another way to make career women look foolish and avoided them. Not revisiting that decision.
ReplyDeleteAbout the only thing I can say in favor of any of the above is that some of them appear to have real pockets. Womens clothing needs more pockets of a size and shape that can securely hold our phones. I was out with the dogs this morning in a jacket I bought out of the menswear side of the catalog, and was reminded of how useful and capacious mens pockets can be. I want more of them!
Gigi, I swear I saw something about that recently--women's clothes being designed with more pockets. I say YAY!
DeleteOh my God, Gigi, I had a bunch of those jumpsuits as maternity wear in the early 90s! I had completely forgotten until you mentioned the ruffles at the ankles. My only defense is that I was young then and could get away with "cute" a lot better.
DeleteAlso - jumpsuits as maternity wear? You know no woman came up with that idea. I had to peel the whole thing down to pee every 30 minutes.
Deb, the pockets thing was in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday, and I did a whole rant about it on Facebook last week. The struggle is real.
DeleteAnd Julia--Maternity wear???? You're right. No woman designed those things.
Anybody feeling a little Devil Wears Prada here? I know snark is deeply comforting sometimes but the idea of one group of women talking about the clothing choices of another group of women in a public forum is disappointing somehow. I don't know if this would have struck me differently if there were men included here or if all of the images were from runway shows (which I do think are rarefied settings designed to provoke) rather than including some shots of someone just walking down a street. Having been the person who put on an outfit feeling great and then caught a picture of it later and realized it was especially absurd makes me wonder how any of us get up and get out every day. I'm a mad fan of you all so I'm going to retreat to the wonderful bookish worlds you've all created where I am somehow capable of being fascinated by the outfits and descriptions of characters without noticing the irony at all. Crankily yours!
ReplyDeleteIf it helps any, Lysa, all the pictures are from fashion spreads, even the "streetwear" at the top.
DeleteI almost used a group of pictures of male runway models for the "Patchwork" illustration. Believe me, the men's patchwork outfits were somehow even worse than the women's.
Oh, exactly, fashion spreads. Which does bring up the question, did these women actually choose to wear these things? Which, clearly, they did not. Wouldn’t you love to know what they are thinking?
DeleteAnd remember the glamour magazine don’ts? Those always upset me. Those were real people! These are models getting paid to wear these things. They probably wear jeans and black T-shirts in real life. Or sweatpants, just like I do.
DeleteFor the record, I have never seen an actual person wearing biker shorts and a blazer. And none of us could afford one of those patchwork outfits.
DeleteBoilersuits? we called 'em jumpsuits when I wore them in the 1980s and I loved 'em. Loo time was a problem though. used to tie the sleeves around my thighs. It was an art. Big shoulders are back too? Oh, my. Need brain wash for the ear-worm. Why did I get rid of all those Donna Karan silks! Seriously, if you have tiny hips as the ladies in the pix (I never did) they look great. If you are a mere mortal woman... have confidence. I confess, I like the patchwork skirt. I'd probably wear a patchwork peasant blouse too. In the right colors. Please, bring back the original Landlubbers with big bells.... Just sayin.
ReplyDeleteYou know who else looks good in wide shoulder pads, Kait? Busty women. The width at the shoulder helps counterbalance the, um, volume in front. I STILL own velco-in shoulder pads (not huge 80s ones, just little cutlets)and I pop them in with certain sweaters to help frame up the whole silhouette.
DeleteJulia, I just snorted. Busty is not a problem I've ever suffered (sigh) but you've given me great insight into the whole silhouette situation. It's all coming into focus now.
DeleteHank, I so hear you on the leggings thing. Ladies, please stop wearing them inappropriately! They. Are. Not. Pants. And most importantly - they have NO pockets!!! How do you function???
ReplyDelete"Jeggings." The very word is an abomination.
DeleteExactly! They are not pants! Xxx
DeleteIt never stops. A bunch of fashion gurus (and who made them god?) saying to each other, Let's see what ridiculously ludicrously ugly crap we can come up with and convince women they should buy and wear. They have competitions, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteThe only redeeming factor is that I'm STILL seeing guys wandering around in public with their jeans crotch down around their knees.
(by the way, I believe they were Siren Suits in WWII Britain. All the rage with Mr. Churchill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren_suit )
Susan, I looked at the Wikipedia page. I was thinking Greek Sirens, not air raid sirens!
DeleteHank! I'm so happy to hear I'm not the only one who can't wear hats because of my outsize head. My parents' laughter as they tried to wrestle hats on my head ("we're laughing WITH you, not at you"--right) threatened to scar me for life. I even wrote a speech for Toastmasters about it recently. Redemption for me is that our grandson is following in my footsteps (head circumference in the 80+ percentile for his age), but I'm happy for him that now there is a much wider selection (thanks, Internet!) of kids' hats.
ReplyDeleteMargie, I'm another such. There's a very limited range of hats I can wear - they all have deep crowns and a brim between 3 and 4 inches. Anything else and I look like a circus pinhead.
DeleteMy best friend from high school, OTOH, has a perfectly shaped head and looks great in her gamine-cut hair. She can wear ANY hat and look fabulous. I've always envied her that.
I love hats, but have the opposite issue, my head is small. I'm the pinhead!
DeleteHa! I am a fair-skinned (kinda) redhead, so I would love to be able to wear sun hats at least. I did find one for gardening this year on the Net--size extra-large of course! I can wear visors, but they don't protect my head from getting sunburned. I guess there's a solution--stay out of the sun!
DeleteI can't wear any "one size fits all" women's hat because my head is so huge, and my older son wears the maximum men's hat size - I think its an 8. We grow skulls big in our family - and in my sons' father's family, too!
DeleteSorry I didn't chime in here. Busy closing on a house in Arizona today! And yuck. Hate them all. I'll never wear big shoulders again. I once wore a boiler suit on a plane. It was impossible to takedown in the tiny bathroom! Near disaster. Fashion trends are for girls my granddaughters' age, let them try out looks until they find their own style
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the closing, Rhys!
DeleteWe can't wait to hear about the new house, Rhys!
DeleteRidiculous. Though no one really wears this stuff, right? It's laugh-and-point fodder.
ReplyDeleteHigh fashion stuff like this will trickle down, and next spring you'll see twenty-somethings going to work in skirts from H&M with a few artfully placed patches on them. You might see a few fit college students doing the bike short look - bike shorts in and of themselves can be pretty cheap, but of course anyone with a real job (that's not in the fashion industry) couldn't wear them to work.
DeleteThe interesting trend is 'big shoulders', since changes in silhouettes and shapes CAN eventually filter down into a widespread change in the way people dress. Remember when NOT tucking your shirt in looked sloppy and undone? Now it's the usual way to wear a casual shirt... until the fashion changes and it's not.
Does anyone else follow Tom & Lorenzo? I've stopped because it got tedious, but also because what passes for fashion these days is so crazy. It used to be a lot more fun, when fewer designers took great pride in higher quality work, and actually aimed to make women look MORE beautiful, as opposed to insane.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester, and yearning for loveliness in fashion to come back. It's been missing in action for too long.
The only trend I'd embrace here, and it would be greatly modified, is the shoulder pads. I have no shoulders of my own, and really appreciated the better balance they gave my figure back in the day. They really do help with big busts, and also with big hips, I'm here to tell you.
I love hats (and scarves, and every other kind of accessory), but bucket hats are mostly silly looking.
Karen, I read TLo once in a while! Best taken in small doses. They're coverage of the Miss Universe Pageant "national costumes" is side-splittingly funny.
DeleteOh, yes! One of the best-ever reasons to read them.
DeleteAlso, their costume columns. Their analysis of Mad Men was brilliant, and also of The Crown.
Biker shorts as fashionable? That reminds me of two things. First, the pictures posted on FB showing Walmart shoppers at their fashionable best. Second, the time I fell into a water covered hole on the street in Washington, D.C. and had to immediately find some dry clothes to wear. This was close to the White House, and there was only one kiosk selling patriotic wear, t-shirts and biker shorts. Yes, I bought and changed into red, white, and blue biker shorts and a flag t-shirt. Then, I hailed a taxi, went to Union Station, and shopped there for some clothes that didn't mark me as an escapee from the insane asylum. So, I can attest to wearing biker shorts in the nation's capital and not feeling the least bit fashionable. Maybe I was just ahead of my time.
ReplyDeleteBoilersuits were known as jumpsuits back in the day, and I do remember having a blue one that I liked. However, the bathroom difficulties just made them too impractical for me to give closet space to.
Hats I like. Even though I don't really wear them often, I do appreciate all sorts of hats. I think it's genetic, as my father was a hat wearer, a serious hat wearer. He bought his hats in Cincinnati at a men's hat store, where he had his hats cleaned and blocked that were previously bought. I still have a hat box of his. And, he observed the correct hat wear for the seasons. Straw hats started Memorial Day and ended Labor Day, much like wearing white. His felt hats were for cooler weather. So, the genetic part. I am a fan of hats, and my son has always enjoyed a dapper hat, too. In fact, I just received the order of two caps for him from Duluth Trading Company. He also has a couple of my father's hats, just for sentimental purposes.
Leggings. I finally bought a pair to wear with a dress at Bouchercon, and quite enjoyed them, but I don't ever see them as a major part of my attire. Oh, and no shoulder pads, thank you very much. I did think they were lovely years ago when I wore them, but they make me shudder with distaste now.
Kathy, I love leggings--Target has some great ones this year, in a sort of ponte knit. But my legging rule is that whatever you wear over them has to come at least to mid-thigh.
DeleteHow funny. Back in the 80s I was able to remove most of the shoulder pads from jackets. And I did. The other afternoon I notice a female national newsperson commenting and she was wearing a suit jacket with pointy shoulders. I thought how unfortunate and she must have pulled that one out of the back of the closet. Now you're saying that is fashionable again? Nooooooo. I love the bucket hat. On G.W.Bailey in Major Crimes. And my dad used to wear one when he did yard work. My husband referred to it as his Mr Magoo hat. If it makes you feel any better the WSJ shows men's fashion trends and most of them are as awful as the latest women's. I feel sorry for the young male models trying to carry off the look.
ReplyDeleteI miss Major Crimes already!
DeleteMargie,
DeleteI rewatch it regularly on DVD; also Major Crimes!
DebRo
This confirms my belief that the bucket hat is a Dad Hat. G.W. Bailey is the dad of Major Crimes.
DeleteWell, after I stopped laughing I decided that the bucket hats would probably be good sun protection at the beach! As for anything else, they would be great for Halloween, although I doubt the average person would want to spend a lot of money for a costume!
ReplyDeleteThe down side of my recent weight loss is that I need to buy some new clothing, and I hate shopping. It’ll be even more of a nightmare if the items in today’s blogpost represent the best of what’s out there!
DebRo
You can probably find plenty of tops with last year's trend, shoulder cutouts, in the mark downs.
DeleteDebRo, I'm a big fan of Talbot's: they have well made classics that manage to not look dated while never being trendy. They're not cheap, but they do have great sales in-store and online, and the clothes last.
DeleteBest bit of fashion advice, thank you Hallie!
ReplyDelete"HALLIE: Did you know you can repurpose shoulder pads as bra padding? Just saying."
When I was making more of my clothes I used them to pad out the dressform to the right size!
DeleteGreat idea Karen!
DeleteI think the good news here, hilariously, is that you can wear anything you want. And that is a good thing. Xxxx
ReplyDeleteOh, and I meant to say earlier that I'm excited to have won a copy of Gail Donovan's Finchosaurus!
ReplyDeleteYay! The middle-grader in your life will love it.
DeleteOh, you all cracked me up with these comments! Most of them are pretty bad, though I would actually wear the blue patchwork skirt and a bucket hat (though not any of those pictured). Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteYes, but would you wear it while kneading bread?
DeleteI can safely say I will be wearing none of these. Of course, it helps that they are all for women and I'm a guy. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I probably won't go with any of the fashion trends for guys either. Frankly, I've rarely notice any of these "trends" making it into my world. Even here in the LA suburbs, people don't seem to follow the super trendy stuff like the fashion industry thinks they should.
Mark, I assure you, I almost put up the patchwork clothing from a men's fashion show. It looked worse than the women's, as it combined the 70s granola-hippy thing with the oversized non-fit of the hip-hop generation.
DeleteI kind of wonder why there are even fashion shows for men. The most change I think I've ever seen have been ties widening and narrowing, and the fit of suits - closer vs. looser. And even those "trends" are limited to young men.
I have to confess, I like shoulder pads. Not to the extreme as these photos but I wouldn't mind that style coming back. A big NO to all the rest.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Annette.
DeleteHahaha. Pretty bad.The 80's over again? But then I live in jeans.
ReplyDeleteI'm just waiting for the big hair to resurface, Drucinda.
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ReplyDelete