When it comes to apparel style I tend to prefer casual simplicity, like the outfit shown above. I was rather taken aback when a plethora of ruffles, frays, and unusual openings began to appear on many clothing options last year. These embellishments really made me think about why I like what I like, so I thought I would list some of the fashion trends I avoid and the reasons that I do so. I am not disparaging any of the items pictured, and I have chosen from a variety of sites - obviously many women love these selections, but for various reasons they do not work for me.
1)
Frayed hems/holes on jeans - when I was a teenager, it became the fad to undo the hems of jeans and fray them, or even stitch on a piece of wildly patterned cloth and leave that frayed. If your jeans legs dragged on the ground, so much the better (after all, we were wearing platform shoes that would raise you up off the ground a few inches anyway). After tripping on these hems and dealing with cleaning the rapidly accumulating dirt from the bedraggled fabric, frayed clothing lost its appeal forever. Any old and frayed jeans I happen to own are that way because they are barn pants, and they will stay barn pants as far as I am concerned!
2)
Cold shoulder tops - not only do I have broad shoulders, I also have crooked ones (my left shoulder is noticeably higher than my right one). I do not need to be wearing a style that will attract attention to this part of my anatomy, so you will not find tops with gaping holes in the shoulders in my wardrobe.
3)
Bell sleeves - in theory this can be a very attractive and feminine look. In practice, I find this style very inconvenient. They are a nuisance to wear with coats or any outer layer with tighter sleeves, and the dangling fabric is too distracting for me. I also often like to push longer sleeves up above my elbows when I want to keep them out of the way, which is not possible with bell sleeves, so this is another trend I avoid. The shirt shown above would be doubly annoying for me as I cannot wear tight necklines, so a choker top would literally make me feel like I was choking!
4)
Ruffles - if the ruffles are large and loose, the dangling fabric will once again again be too distracting for me. If they are smaller ruffles, the extra care that may be required to keep them looking ruffly is more time than I want to spend on maintaining clothing. No ruffles for me!
5)
Plaids - this is just my personal quirk. Except for plaid flannel shirts, the only plaid I find attractive is a buffalo check, preferably red and black. I would choose a paisley print instead.
6)
Hip huggers and bell bottoms - I think they are called low-rise and wide-legged pants now, but neither style suits my body type. I have a long torso, so hip huggers hug me way too low (I do best in high-waisted pants, which hit me at the waist). And I have wide hips but short legs, so wide-legged pants make me look wider and make my upper body look longer than my legs. Fitted pants in an ankle length (which are regular length on me) are more suited to my proportions.
7)
Tight midriff-baring tops - I thought this style lost popularity a while ago, but a saw a young woman wearing a top of this type at the airport over the weekend so I thought it deserved a mention here. The young woman, incidentally, was toned and had a tiny waist, so her outfit looked great on her. My much older physique, however, really deserves more coverage than this style can provide, especially with my long torso!
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So now you know what sorts of apparel you will probably never see on my blog (and don't even get me started on shoes!). Next week I am thinking of putting together a spring travel wardrobe featuring fun and funky colors. I do love color, so we shall see what unique hues I can find!
