The Decline of the Well Put Together Lady

[VintageBee]

With me, it's the fact of having been a bean pole for the first 40 years. I now have curves (which I adore....and so does my hubby!) and jeans don't fit well nor look good on me. I do own 2 pair of flannel lined jeans that are vintage-looking but I adore my skirts and dresses, whether vintage or reproduction. I love wearing nylons as well...I feel more lady like and confidant too! Plus, I get a lot of doors opened for me at stores

 

[Vera Godfrey]

One of my goals for the new year is to build a better wardrobe. I so often fall into wearing jeans and a button down blouse (which doesn't look bad, but it's not great either). I always feel so much better in a skirt or dress!

 

[sheeplady]

Same to you! As I get older I realize heels and dresses are just me. I find I'm having little use for jeans, not sure what's sparking this change.

For me, jeans are uncomfortable. (Actually, I find pants uncomfortable in general.) They wear out relatively easily for what they are made of and are expensive. Skirts can be warmer if layered correctly, cooler if worn with socks and flats (or sandals), and take no extra time to put on. You can do anything in a skirt you can do in jeans, except maybe jump hurdles. Then if you had a short enough skirt you'd be fine...

 

[Vera Godfrey]

My jeans are actually a bit too big (!), but they are elastic waist and were fairly inexpensive. They are not my favorite thing to wear, I just find myself grabbing them and I think I've figured out why (though it seems very silly!)

My favorite look is 40's. That being said, hair and make up is done in that style, but the majority of my clothing is 50's inspired (not intentionally...just is. For example, I have a fantastic wool circle skirt and a cardigan that looks smashing with it). I just feel weird mixing up the era's like that. Silly, isn't it?

As for the jeans I do have, I have an idea to take out the elastic and make them into high waisted, 1940's style jeans to wear when I'm out doing yardwork.

 

[LizzieMaine]

For me, jeans are uncomfortable. (Actually, I find pants uncomfortable in general.) They wear out relatively easily for what they are made of and are expensive. Skirts can be warmer if layered correctly, cooler if worn with socks and flats (or sandals), and take no extra time to put on. You can do anything in a skirt you can do in jeans, except maybe jump hurdles. Then if you had a short enough skirt you'd be fine...

Same here. I've never had on a pair of jeans that felt like something I wanted to wear all day -- they bind where I don't want to be bound, they chafe where I don't want to chafe, and they rub where I don't want to be rubbed.

A cotton dress with a flannel slip under it and a sweater over it is plenty warm for winter, and flexible enough for whatever I need to do. And if it makes me look like somebody's grandmother or first-grade teacher, I couldn't possibly care less.

I do have a suit of oversized denim overalls for filthy work like crawling around in the cellar or under a car or whatever, but that's about all I use them for.

 

[sheeplady]

My jeans are actually a bit too big (!), but they are elastic waist and were fairly inexpensive. They are not my favorite thing to wear, I just find myself grabbing them and I think I've figured out why (though it seems very silly!)

My favorite look is 40's. That being said, hair and make up is done in that style, but the majority of my clothing is 50's inspired (not intentionally...just is. For example, I have a fantastic wool circle skirt and a cardigan that looks smashing with it). I just feel weird mixing up the era's like that. Silly, isn't it?

As for the jeans I do have, I have an idea to take out the elastic and make them into high waisted, 1940's style jeans to wear when I'm out doing yardwork.

Considering I was once dressed very very 1950s and got the comment, "Oh, you are so cute dressed just like a flapper!" I think you're OK. Just remind yourself that most of the population thinks you're out of the Great Gatsby movie before you leave the house. haha

 

[Vera Godfrey]

Considering I was once dressed very very 1950s and got the comment, "Oh, you are so cute dressed just like a flapper!" I think you're OK. Just remind yourself that most of the population thinks you're out of the Great Gatsby movie before you leave the house. haha

Oh my! lol! I'll have to remember that!

 

[Megan Steigerwalt-Guise]

I prefer dresses since they're a complete outfit, it's just so much easier to reach for a dress on a busy morning. I've never been a jeans person either.

I haven't gotten a Great Gatsby comment yet, but I have a feeling most people think that I'm trying to look like a Mad Men extra.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I prefer dresses since they're a complete outfit, it's just so much easier to reach for a dress on a busy morning. I've never been a jeans person either.

I haven't gotten a Great Gatsby comment yet, but I have a feeling most people think that I'm trying to look like a Mad Men extra.

That's why I like dresses too....one and done.

The downside of these shows is that people may think you are so impressionable that you change your wardrobe to match the show. I have never watched or read Gatsby, Mad Men, Downtown Abbey and only watched around two episodes of Boardwalk Empire so I always hope that when people see me in my hats that they don't think that I am trying to mimic the fashion of these shows.

 

[MissMittens]

I don't mind the Gatsby comparison......when I was more 40's than 20's I did hear that "the war is over"..... :lol: :lol: :lol:

I must admit that was original compared to some things I heard.

Hopefully the decline is ending. I've noticed more people recently who care about their appearance....mostly hipsters who have grown up a little and are now late 30's. Maybe this trend will be 'catching' on soon

Kelsie

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I don't mind the Gatsby comparison......when I was more 40's than 20's I did hear that "the war is over"..... :lol: :lol: :lol:

I must admit that was original compared to some things I heard.

Hopefully the decline is ending. I've noticed more people recently who care about their appearance....mostly hipsters who have grown up a little and are now late 30's. Maybe this trend will be 'catching' on soon

Kelsie

I don't think the decline is ending. We're in the technological age and people are just more casual now more than ever before.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Same here. I've never had on a pair of jeans that felt like something I wanted to wear all day -- they bind where I don't want to be bound, they chafe where I don't want to chafe, and they rub where I don't want to be rubbed.

A cotton dress with a flannel slip under it and a sweater over it is plenty warm for winter, and flexible enough for whatever I need to do. And if it makes me look like somebody's grandmother or first-grade teacher, I couldn't possibly care less.

I do have a suit of oversized denim overalls for filthy work like crawling around in the cellar or under a car or whatever, but that's about all I use them for.

Lizzie just out of curiosity, do you wear pants at all or just dresses and skirts? I don't consider myself a "vintage wearer", but when I look at my wardrobe it closely matches that of the 20s to early 30s. I wear a lot of silk charmeuse skirts and dresses and just about all my pants are wide legged. I know that wide legged pants were what women back then wore. I remember I bought a pair of wide legged pants off ebay that the seller described as either Katherine Hepburn or Lauren Bacall trouser pants, can't remember which one but it was the actress that was known for wearing pants designed like those of menswear.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I wear a pair of Army surplus "Mountain Pants" when I shovel snow, but for everyday I don't have any pants. My proportions aren't good for pants -- I'm long-legged and short-waisted, and my waistline is constantly fluctuating, so it's pretty near impossible for me to find pants that actually fit like they should. I gave up looking a long time ago -- cotton dresses are a lot more forgiving.

 

[vintageTink]

I like the look of wide legged trousers and did make a pair in navy cotton with white buttons up the sides.

I also would love to add more dresses to my wardrobe.

 

[Stray Cat]

I wear a pair of Army surplus "Mountain Pants" when I shovel snow, but for everyday I don't have any pants. My proportions aren't good for pants -- I'm long-legged and short-waisted, and my waistline is constantly fluctuating, so it's pretty near impossible for me to find pants that actually fit like they should. I gave up looking a long time ago -- cotton dresses are a lot more forgiving.

Hear! Hear! :cheers2:
Folks at work ask me "Do you always wear skirts?". I answer: yes.
They then ask "Why?". I answer "Why NOT?"
There's nothing truly admirable in trousers, and just like you Lizze, I can not find the ones that fit, for the life of me. :huh:

I also would love to add more dresses to my wardrobe.

One can never have enough dresses.

 

[leslie1021]

Women have lost much of their grace and poise over the past few decades. The 60's really marked the turning point of the decay of the lady and the emergence of the modern woman. I can't imagine how someone could walk into a court room and expect anyone to take them seriously if they don't first attend to their overall appearance. If one isn't capable of minding the minor details in their outfit and overall look, how can someone trust that they will have the ability to mind to the minor details of a particular case.

 

[Lily Powers]

Women have lost much of their grace and poise over the past few decades. The 60's really marked the turning point of the decay of the lady and the emergence of the modern woman. I can't imagine how someone could walk into a court room and expect anyone to take them seriously if they don't first attend to their overall appearance. If one isn't capable of minding the minor details in their outfit and overall look, how can someone trust that they will have the ability to mind to the minor details of a particular case.

I don't disagree, especially in regards to a court room trial setting. However, it could be said that the rumpled attorney was so dedicated to preparing her case the attention to own attire took a backseat. Having said that, I observed high school students in our local courtroom on a class assignment. They had to describe the attorneys, the questioning, what the case was about... one of the girls wrote that the defense attorney looked sloppy. She was right, the woman did look like that. She always looks like that. But I liked that the student noticed it. And juries notice it too.