What do I think most women should wear on casual, every day, non-work occasions? The answer (above) is simple: plain, ordinary house dresses. They look great!
Not so plain ones (above) are okay too, the important thing is simplicity and artfulness. Co-ordinating different tops and bottoms is risky. A dress consisting of a single pattern just works.
Of course you need tasteful design, which is surprisingly common in house dresses, and surprisingly uncommon in other womens wear. Other dresses often emphasize sex which is okay when it works, but how often is that? The dress above is sexy only in the sense that it communicates the intention of the wearer to be thought of that way, but it doesn't have anything else going for it. It's single focus makes the wearer seem shallow.
I know what you're thinking: why should women wear dresses at all? Why not slacks or jeans? The answer is that they're terrific, especially for younger girls, but what about the average woman? Does the 25 year-old above look that great in jeans? Not really. Maybe jeans are oversold.
The idea that jeans are casual wear that you can just slip on and automatically look good in is a myth. Lots of jeans look awkward (above) and don't work with average tops. You can fill a closet with pants that disappoint.
The truth is that about half of all women (above) aren't suited for jeans. You need to be close to your ideal weight to look good in them. House dresses are better at hiding what the average woman needs to hide.
I'll end with a question: why do women shop so much? Why all the money spent on clothes? I don't know the answer, but maybe it's because they need to shop continuously just to find a few things that actually work. Most non-housedresses don't work, and the women who buy them are always suffering buyers remorse and having to shop again. Women are paying the price for having an unrealistic idea about what makes them look good.
Interesting commentary, Uncle Eddie. You definitely have a valid point that dresses and skirts cut a certain way and fits properly are better at hiding the flaws than jeans and pants. If I'm going to look my very best, I'm going to go with a flattering dress or skirt. Even for casual spring/summer looks, a nice cotton summer skirt looks more put together than a pair of shorts.
ReplyDeleteI think the issue is not necessarily women wearing jeans or pants, but the issue is women wearing the wrong jeans or pants.
Today's style is the skinny cut, and 10 years ago, the popular style was low-rise. Skinny cuts and low-rise do NOT look good on the majority of women of all ages. The majority of women over 18 have curves (no, I'm not using that term as a euphemism for being plus size), and the only thing that skinny cuts and low-rise cuts do is make women look lumpy. Let's focus on the three women in your picture in jeans.
The first woman has a decent figure, but she is wearing jeans that are not only a little snug for her, but they are bleached in the front thighs. Not only are the snug jeans giving her unnecessary lumps (the infamous muffin top), but the bleaching is focusing on her thighs, which are looking larger than they really are. By putting her in a dark (indigo or black), straight-leg jean that fits her in the waist, and have her wear a slight heel, this will not only show off her figure properly, but it will give her a longer line.
The second woman has a figure that can get away with the skinny style - she's very thin and doesn't have a lot of curve to her figure. The issue in this picture is styling and, again, fit. The slouching in the jean tells me that the jeans are too long on her. If those jeans were the right length, or if she was wearing a boot or a heel, she would look great.
The third woman is a plus-size woman with curvy hips and thighs. She's doing the right thing by wearing a dark wash jean - it's a lot classier and more flattering - and her jean fit is good. However, she's wearing a skinny jean. Skinny jeans look the worst on women with curvy hips and thighs. No, it's not size - Halle Berry, Nigella Lawson, and Shakira are three women that I can think of that have curvy hips and thighs, and skinny jeans would look just as bad on them. She should wear a jean that has a straight leg that falls from her hip, or better yet, wear a boot cut jean. The boot cut jean would balance her figure and make her legs look long and shapely. For the shoe, wearing a heel will give her a longer line.
If a woman can afford it, she should make an appointment with a fashion stylist to find out what works best for her height, coloring and shape. If she can't afford to meet with a stylist, she should look for books by Tim Gunn or by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. These style experts wrote great books on how to style for your figure, height and coloring, and unlike books from other stylists, these three covers women of all shapes and sizes.
I must say: women should not wear boots!
ReplyDeleteSome people would misinterpret your post as being "sexist" when you're just describing your observations about the women that you have come across who either wear jeans or don't. I honestly prefer skirts and dresses too and sometimes pantyhose and leggings help to drive that sex appeal across to a guy. I also really like it when a woman decides to wear a belt with a skirt. Anything that emphasizes and draws attention to the breasts is a major plus for me. Lips are also a huge one for me and even the eyes are sometimes a factor in what I see as as attractive.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, there has been a huge breakthrough. I found a decent state college about an hour away from where I live that has the exact same engineering program as the college 3 hours away. My mother is actually completely fine with that, so it wasn't so much that she was trying to take advantage of me directly, but she was just genuinely concerned that it would be impossible to make the long 3 hour drive every week to visit. I also feel that my mother has given up employment wise and became desperate with me several times, which I can forgive her for and move on.
Had I known about this school last November when I was applying for college again, maybe I would have been able to go in the Spring semester but there was the whole foreclosure situation that my mother had to take care of and where we had to move out to the apartment, which is still temporary.
Jennifer: Wow! Thanks for the great answer!!! You seem to know more than I do about this, so I'll defer to you. I put a hold on a couple of library books by the people you suggested, so maybe I'll return to this subject when I know more about it.
ReplyDeleteI will say that one of the things I like about housedresses is the idea that they let a woman's individual character shine through. Some other casual wear comes with pre-packaged images...rock star, party girl, serious business woman, seductress, etc. If the housedress is well designed and feminine then there's plenty of room for a woman's uniqueness to come out.