Current fashions are ugly-I blame Paris Hilton

[Guinastasia]

Today I had to go shopping to get something appropriate to wear for my cousin's First Communion on Sunday. Now, I normally hate clothes shopping, so it really doesn't help that everything is butt-ugly.

Everything is floofy little flippy ruffled skirts in hideous pastels with sequins, fake-satin camisols, and these truly ugly cotton tennis dresses with ruffled bottoms. All of the dresses have more gathers and shirring than the lining of a casket, with layered ruffles or handkerchief hems (which I normally like), and it looks like someone is determined to bring back in the 1980s.


And I blame Ms Hilton*. EVERYTHING looked just like the ugly duds she used to sport on The Simple Life, with her fake orange tan, her bleached processed hair and her pink eyeshadow. Nothing simple. There was barely a trace of that age-old staples, The Little Black Dress.

And if it wasn't Hilton-Ho-Wear, it looked like something that women in their 80s wear. I'm not a teenybopper, or a great-granny, and I'd bet neither are most women. But you wouldn't know it by the fashion industry.





*Not really. But I want to blame someone, and she's the easiest target

[Harborwolf]

She's too skinny to be an easy target.

[alice_in_wonderland]

I just looked and there are 2 jcrew stores where you are. They have some lovely things - here's (http://jcrew.com/catalog/category.jhtml?id=cat70271&navAction=jump) a link to their dress page - any of these with a little coat sweater would be very pretty for a Christening.

[TitoBenito]

I just looked and there are 2 jcrew stores where you are. They have some lovely things - here's (http://jcrew.com/catalog/category.jhtml?id=cat70271&navAction=jump) a link to their dress page - any of these with a little coat sweater would be very pretty for a Christening.

Just don't ever shop there for Men's (http://jcrew.com/catalog/category.jhtml?id=cat70173&navAction=jump) clothing... at least in the summer time.

[RFBluesValentine]

And where the hell are jeans that AREN'T low-rise? :mad:

[Guinastasia]

Well, luckily I found a nice pair of black pants that would go with a top I have, and some new sandals.

alice, those are beautiful-but WAY out of my price range.

[Daisy Mae]

And where the hell are jeans that AREN'T low-rise? :mad:

Personally, I like low rise jeans but here (http://www2.victoriassecret.com/collection/?cgname=OSCLODNMWST&cgnbr=OSCLODNMWST&rfnbr=1843) you go.

Just one suggestions

[Queen Bruin]

Thanks to the ugliness in fashion, I have only bought two articles of clothing in the last year: My first leather jacket from Wilson's, and a pair of AC/DC pajama bottoms. If I ever wear one of those godawful ruffle miniskirt monstrosities, will someone please put me out of everyone's (including my own) misery? Thanks.

Oh and Guin: Newport News (http://www.newport-news.com/) has a lot of junk, but even more really nice and versatile pieces. I'm saving money for part of a new wardrobe from there (always hit the clearance link!). I know it's not before Sunday, but for future reference. ;)

[RFBluesValentine]

Oooh, cute! Thanks, Daisy Mae!

I actually do own a pair of low-rise jeans... I just don't like the way they make my tummy look, or the fact that they're so trendy it hurts.

[alice_in_wonderland]

alice, those are beautiful-but WAY out of my price range.

Yah - I was wondering. $159 is a lot to pay for a summer shift dress for only one occasion.

I ordered a few items from them, and been very pleased with the quality, so if you're looking for more staple items, they might be a good choice to save up for. :)

PS - I'm glad you found an outfit.

[gum]

Ooooo, The Sausage Creature, Thanks for that Newport link.
Actually....No.
Bugger for that Newport link.
Now I see all kinds of dresses I like and I don't know how to get them. :(

This (http://www.newport-news.com/shop/Product.asp?gpcatID=2&pacatID=1649&subcatID=1686&catid=4751&superstyleID=170288&productindex=12&firstpagetypeid=&pageindex=12) or similar styled stuff is what I wear and what suits me. Sadly they're not for sale over here. And the price! Very reasonable!

[jabiru]

I can't remember the last time I bought a dress so I can't comment on the frills/ruffles etc which is purportedly back in "fashion" but I'd like to know which colour blind galoot decided that baby-poo brown and icky orange would be "in" again this winter. Have they forgotten that these colors were so vile and sold so badly a few years ago? Or are the just recycled garments they couldn't offload onto us poor suckers last time?

[NoClueBoy]

What stores are you all going to? Every time I've been captured into going shopping with one or the other of the women in my life, there are some lovely things available at places like Dillards, Foleys, and Macy*s. From basic to nearly formal. Sure, there's some dreck to choose from, but them wimmins always walk away with something that suited them.

I will say that we guys do seem to have it easier when it comes to dressing it up. In a three or five button suit, I don't ever have to worry if I look either too frumpy or too sexy/slutty.

BTW, glad you found something, Guin, and have fun storming the christening.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Ooooo, The Sausage Creature, Thanks for that Newport link.
Actually....No.
Bugger for that Newport link.
Now I see all kinds of dresses I like and I don't know how to get them. :(

This (http://www.newport-news.com/shop/Product.asp?gpcatID=2&pacatID=1649&subcatID=1686&catid=4751&superstyleID=170288&productindex=12&firstpagetypeid=&pageindex=12) or similar styled stuff is what I wear and what suits me. Sadly they're not for sale over here. And the price! Very reasonable!
You don't know how? A friendly Doper can order them for you and then ship. If you're serious, I'll do it. Email's in my profile.

I had to shop yesterday for Dave's high school reunion tonight. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I'm 33, not 17 or 57. Ugh ugh ugh.

[Guinastasia]

It's a communion, not a christening. But thanks. It should be nice, we're going out to brunch afterwards.

I can usually find staples at the local Fashion Bug, but Penney's was having a sale, so I went there. *sigh* I have a really cute sundress, but it's too dressy-not to mention it's not going to be warm enough to wear it.

See, this is why I want to learn how to sew.

[amarinth]

Oh and Guin: Newport News (http://www.newport-news.com/) has a lot of junk, but even more really nice and versatile pieces. I'm saving money for part of a new wardrobe from there (always hit the clearance link!). I know it's not before Sunday, but for future reference. ;)I tried Newport News once. I ordered two items, neither came within a month.
Eventually, the first item showed up - in the wrong size and color (it went back, but I had to pay for shipping) the second didn't come with it, which was odd.

I called, and they said they had oversold it, and if I waited a few weeks, I'd get it. Finally. I waited a few weeks, called again, and they told me to be patient. So, I waited some more, called, and they told me they'd cancelled my order because they weren't going to get any more of the item. They did not, however, plan to tell me that I wasn't going to get my purchase.

I was not impressed overall.

[Cerri]

Hm..I order from Newport News all the time (several times a year going back at least 8 years now), and have never had a problem, for what it's worth. Decent quality, low prices, and fashions that don't look *way* too young for me (I'm 33).

I get most of my wardrobe from Newport News and Dress Barn, personally. Love their stuff.

[TVeblen]

Ugh ugh ugh.

Sing it. Shout it, in fact.

I've never liked frills, ruffles, flounces and eye-bleeding colors. Part of that's probably because I'm 5' 10 1/2" barefoot; fairly slender and very fine-boned but just godawful tall no matter how ya slice it. Anything but clean, classic lines and I look like a giraffe wearing a clown costume.

It's hard enough to find things that fit. In fact I like and wear much the same type of style that Sausage Creature picked out--though anything with sleeves can be tricky, given my ungodly long arms. Why is it so damned hard to find clothes that just might possibly fit, or at least adapt, and flatter a body that doesn't belong to a mythical 15 year old? IMO, damned few teens can carry off the stupid styles at the moment--and that's sad. The kids are pretty; the clothes just suck.

Lord knows 'styles' bounce around in silliness--and I've lived through more than a few bizarre quirks--but it's getting harder to find basic clothes that don't err on the side of extremes. Why are the bones of classic, flattering clothes so hard to find, and/or so pricey? I can update through accessories and layering, though none of 'em will be lime green and/or geranium pink, thenk yew veddy much. Just give me basic fit and good lines. Is that so damned much to ask?

Lanky, pissed and shopping-impaired,
Veb

[Guinastasia]

If I could just find a nice little cotton swing dress or a cheong-sahm. They're so pretty, with the embroidered silk.

OH, and I am LOVING Newport News, "Beauty of a Dress". Feminine without being too girly. Beaded 1920s type dresses. Now THAT'S more like it! (http://www.newport-news.com/shop/Product.asp?gpcatID=2&pacatID=9&subcatID=5850&catid=5856&superstyleID=174009&productindex=3&firstpagetypeid=&pageindex=0) And sixty dollars is NOT bad!

[racinchikki]

Old Navy is the higher end of my clothing budget - I have to buy pants etc. at Walmart unless they're on clearance at Old Navy - so I don't have a lot of options when it comes to shopping for fashionable new wearables. Old Navy used to be my favorite place to shop, because they have relatively long-wearing clothing (I have some basic t-shirts from them that I've had for five years or more - I don't remember exactly when, but I'm wearing one of them in a photo taken when I was a junior in high school) and they USED to carry some cute stuff.

The last few times I've gone in there, there have been items on the racks made entirely out of layers of ugly ruffled flounces of crappy slightly-sparkly jersey cloth. I honestly do not know whether those were skirts or tops. Most of the things that are readily identifiable as tops this season come down to mid-thigh and remind me of the "unisex" "futuristic" clothing of the '70s. I don't mind the colors - they're cheerful and spring-ish - but the STYLES would be horrid in any shade.

[Queen Bruin]

I'm in love with this (http://www.newport-news.com/shop/Product.asp?gpcatID=2&pacatID=9&subcatID=5850&catid=5854&superstyleID=188124&productindex=33&firstpagetypeid=&pageindex=27) but it's way too expensive and I don't know where I'd ever wear it, but MAN could I wear that dress. But they have a lot of very cute seperates for not too much. I can't wait to go shopping, I'm down to 4 pair of pants that fit me. :(

My sister-in-law turned me on to NN and got a few things but didn't have any problems. Mail order can be awfully hit or miss, though.

[Go You Big Red Fire Engine]

Chances are, no matter the fashion, chaces are I probably won't like it. I switched to op-shopping. Hard to find a size you want, but there's every style you could ever imagine. And you're not scared to modify them yourself since they cost you like two bucks. Used to make up the majority of my wardrobe.
Unfortunately, with my move to a capital city, op shops aren't in my part of town, and there are a lot of other shops with different styles.

[racinchikki]

op shop?

[Go You Big Red Fire Engine]

op shop?
Ummm, 2nd hand store? Thrift shop?

[racinchikki]

Is the op short for anything? I've never heard that term before.

[CanvasShoes]

At least it's feminine-looking. The styles of the last few years have been horrendous for being boxy, clunky, too small in the wrong places and too low in others, and not in flattering or sexy ways either.

I like the little flirty pleated skirts. If I were young and hot enough, I'd wear those. Now that I'm over 35 (thanks a LOT Stacy and Clinton, I could have lived without that rule!), I sure miss mini-skirts...sigh At any rate, I really used to like cute skirts.

I didn't really like the J. Crew dresses. To me, they made even those models all look really big around the hips.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Paris Hilton is a buffoon of the highest order, but I think a lot of her outfits are really cute and above all FEMALE for crying out loud. Good riddance to bad rubbish with the crap that was passing as "fashion" before now.

[Go You Big Red Fire Engine]

Oppurtunity. I'm not sure whether that means it's a great oppurtunity for you to get clothes, or whether it creates oppurtunity for others (ie; through charity, since most of them are charities)
Anyone know the etymology?

[lorene]

Agreed with all of these complaints, I want to feel feminine and pretty in my clothes, not silly.
My husband, incidentally, blames Sex and the City and Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe from the show.

[Cerri]

Op-shop = Aussie for Second Hand/Thrift/Charity Shops. Like Goodwill or Salvation Army here.

[Indygrrl]

I find that Express and The Limited always have classy clothing that is appropriate for women over the age of 21. And the Victoria's Secret clothing catalog is also great for that kind of stuff. Express has jeans that aren't low-rise, in fact, that is just about the only store I can buy jeans that are made to fit my curves.

Kohl's used to be ok, but lately they have succumbed to the trendy stuff. And their clothing is cheaply made, which is fine for something you only wear a couple of times, but bad for anything else.

Marshall's, Burlington Coat Factory, and TJ Max also have some decent stuff since they are close-out stores. But, it's off and on. Sometimes they are full of great bargains, other times not so much.

I skip the Junior's section these days. I'm only 31 and can still fit in anything, but I would feel silly in most of the stuff they sell in those areas.

[Nocturne]

The trendy look of the ruffled-miniskirts and Ugg boots is a little...disturbing, but I can deal with it.

The thing is, I love ruffles. I look good in ruffles and bows and satins and laces and very over-done girlish things. So the current fashion is perfect for me, especially since I am neither very tall nor very short.

I'm also quite happy about the 80s coming back in. I love New-Wave fashion and it's fun to do. To be honest, I find the way Americans dress to be very boring and bland for the most part. You can have your J Crew, your Little Black Dress, and your khakis. I am sure you will look great in them, but I'll be over here either in the replica of a Victorian formal or in a bright yellow mesh skirt, a black skirt with an asymmetrical hem, black fishnets and bright yellow pumps. With blue eyeshadow and a femme-hawk.

[Guinastasia]

Oh, I like ruffles too. I loved the floppy sleeved blouses that came in just a few years ago. I have about four or five of them. It's the shirring with the ruffles with the fugly colors and cheap sequins all on one garment.

But see, I like most fashions from prior to the mid sixties. Little Audrey Hepburn dresses with big hats. Kicky '40s style swing dresses with mary janes and long slinky bias cut Harlow gowns.

[Tracy Lord]

I've been on a (somewhat Ingrid Bergman and Donna Reed inspired) Quest in the last few weeks to bring the waist back up to the waist, which I think is much more flattering and much more forgiving. Here's one (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1083/Mptv/1083/3339-0316.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Bergman,%20Ingrid) and here's two (http://www.fantasticthings.plus.com/Autographs/donna_reed.htm): now tell me that's not more attractive than anything sported by Ms. Hilton (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/scrapbook/46/Sbk/46/parisheather.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Hilton,%20Paris) or Ms. Parker (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/2651/Events/2651/MatthewBro_Mazur_1218396_400.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0159206).

[Nocturne]

Oh, I like ruffles too. I loved the floppy sleeved blouses that came in just a few years ago. I have about four or five of them. It's the shirring with the ruffles with the fugly colors and cheap sequins all on one garment.

But see, I like most fashions from prior to the mid sixties. Little Audrey Hepburn dresses with big hats. Kicky '40s style swing dresses with mary janes and long slinky bias cut Harlow gowns.

Yes, I agree. Hepburn styles are nice, as are swing dresses, and Harlow-and-Hayworth-wear. :)

[belladonna]

I swear by secondhand shopping. I get all my dresses at goodwill, estate sales, and even ebay and I get compliments on them all the time. People seem to really get a kick out of seeing clothes they remember from three or four decades ago being worn. The garments are better made than modern stuff too, especially if you can find good homemade items. It definitely requires a bit of a time investment looking around, but I always know no one else will be in the same outfit as me.

[Dung Beetle]

I spent all day yesterday shopping and I could have written any of the disgruntled posts in this thread! Apparently, I can dress like a twenty-two year old going out to the club, (I'm 34), or like my great-grandma going to church---no middle ground. Like Indy, I can wear what's in the Juniors section, I just don't want to!

I finally decided to quit looking for jeans that come up to my waist. I can buy a ton of low-rise jeans at the thrift stores for five bucks apiece. My plan was to buy tops that were long enough to cover my stomach. Unfortunately, I would also like to wear a bra. Everything I saw at the mall was either see-through, had spaghetti straps, had no straps at all, wasn't long enough to cover me, or was appropriate for granny. And every last bit of it was fugly to boot!

It's back to the thrift shops for me next weekend.

[Dung Beetle]

Also, I'm trying to talk my 13-year-old into being a clothing designer when she grows up. If y'all can just hold on another ten, fifteen years....

[Guinastasia]

Oh, we had a GREAT Salvation Army store around here-and bonus-Baby Sis worked there, so I got a discount! Then the stupid place they rented raised the rent like they do on every business which has ever moved in there, and they had to close. And the nearby Goodwill is extremely scuzzy.

[threemae]

The trendy look of the ruffled-miniskirts and Ugg boots is a little...disturbing, but I can deal with it.

The thing is, I love ruffles. I look good in ruffles and bows and satins and laces and very over-done girlish things. So the current fashion is perfect for me, especially since I am neither very tall nor very short.

Um, cite?

I doubt this very much.

[Go You Big Red Fire Engine]

Um, cite?

I doubt this very much.
I think you quoted the wrong post there, threemae.

[threemae]

No, right post. I doubt very much that this current fashion trend fits anyone.

[Go You Big Red Fire Engine]

No, right post. I doubt very much that this current fashion trend fits anyone.
oh, you were just trying to be "witty". :rolleyes:

[CanvasShoes]

No, right post. I doubt very much that this current fashion trend fits anyone.
So you're asking for a cite proving to you her opinion on what she likes to wear? After all, she never made any factual statements. She said "....perfect for me....".

Further, she made it clear she wasn't talking about all of it, but that which she described in her post.

[Already in Use]

Ummm, 2nd hand store? Thrift shop?Hell yes, and even Ebay can be good for clothing shopping if you're willing to risk not being able to try stuff on. My girlfriend recently got two absolutely STUNNING '60s mod dresses off of Ebay for relatively cheap.

[threemae]

So you're asking for a cite proving to you her opinion on what she likes to wear? After all, she never made any factual statements. She said "....perfect for me....".

Further, she made it clear she wasn't talking about all of it, but that which she described in her post.
Well, since we're in the pit, screw you, and you too Fire Engine.

I don't care who she is or what she looks like or that in her opinion she looks good in the described fashions. In my opinion, nobody looks good in those things so I'm disagreeing with her. Fer'chrisakes, ruffles, people, ruffles!

[Scoundrel Swanswater]

Around here all girls seem to dress like rejects from the 80's.
Legwarmers? Neon-colors?
Now the thing I hate most is knee-high boots over blue jeans.
That is just the stupidest look ever.

[Dung Beetle]

Oooh, I remembered one more thing that kept me from finding any tops...Anything I found that had sleeves, the sleeves were so short and tight that as soon as I put the top on, the sleeves would wink up into my armpits. I hate short tight sleeves!

After awhile, I started looking around and really paying attention to what other people in the mall were wearing, since everything on the hangers was crap...lo and behold, everyone looked awful. I didn't see a single person wearing anything that looked even remotely attractive. In fact, no one appeared to be wearing clothes that fit. People were either wearing clothes so baggy they had to hold onto them, or clothes that were so skin-tight they were bulging out of them. :(

[CanvasShoes]

Around here all girls seem to dress like rejects from the 80's.
Legwarmers? Neon-colors?
Now the thing I hate most is knee-high boots over blue jeans.
That is just the stupidest look ever.
No. Actually, the stupidist fashion look EVER is the tube top-like, hanky hemmed dress thing over ratty blue jeans (or new blue jeans or even plain ole slacks for that matter, it ALL looks horrific).

Good God, who dreamed that hideous combination up? Not even shoulder pads can beat that for FUGLY. Not neon, not leg warmers. I'm afraid that style tops anything the 80s could possibly have dreamed up for stupid, clumsy, unflattering ,and just plain ridiculous looking "fashion".

[Dung Beetle]

Thank you, CanvasShoes. My mother came this close to buying me one of those against my will!

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Still worse are those terry cloth tube-top things that are tight on the boobs, but loose the rest of the way down. Attention to girls wearing those: No matter how bone-thin you are, you are going to look at least 6 months pregnant while wearing one of those!! If you are even mildly chubby, you're going to look like you're carrying twin past their due date!! I've not seen one person that was able to get away with wearing one of those, unless they were actually pregnant.

And this is just a general fashion gripe, not really having anything to do with current fashion. Too-tight clothing does NOT make you look thinner. It only makes what fat you do have spill over the tops and sides of your clothes, emphasising it! Not pretty. If you simply broke down and bought the jeans one size larger, you'd actually look a lot thinner. I'm sorry, but a denim sausage is just not sexy.

[TheFaerie]

I had the same experience as the OP this weekend, myself. I'm 38, not a teenager, or an old woman. Even things that would have looked good on me shape-wise were in HIDEOUS sherbert/clown colors. Blech! I like color in my wardrobe, but come on folks! Everthing was either way over the top or so subdued that just looking at them aged me 10 years. On the other end of the spectrum were the things I liked, in colors that flattered me, but were waaay out of my price range. Sigh. I hate clothes shopping.

[CanvasShoes]

.............. I'm sorry, but a denim sausage is just not sexy.
OUCH....dammit..choking here!!!

denim sausage...I can hardly wait to be able to use that in real life. That's too funny.

[EmeraldGrue]

Re: the "denim sausage" effect badbadrubberpiggy mentioned:

Sighting. (http://individual.utoronto.ca/pang/pix/fugliness.gif) (not to mention another fashion travesty, those...boots.)

[Guinastasia]

I like hankerchief hemlines, but the bodice should be very simple-not shirred to within an inch of its life. It looks less Hilton, more Flapperesque.

[fushj00mang]

"Fashion is the only thing so ugly it has to completely change every three months." (I forget who said it.) In other words "That's Hot."

[Shana]

I've gotten some really great things from Boden....It's an English clothier that now has a catalog in the U.S....I love their stuff - stylish, current, but still relatively classic.

www.BodenUSA.com

[gum]

You don't know how? A friendly Doper can order them for you and then ship. If you're serious, I'll do it. Email's in my profile.

Oh man, That's so kind of you. You've made my day! :) :)

But: I'll explain in email, okay?

THANK YOU. You're the best. :cool:

[zephyrine]

I've gotten some really great things from Boden....It's an English clothier that now has a catalog in the U.S....I love their stuff - stylish, current, but still relatively classic.

www.BodenUSA.com

Yes! Yes! Yes! They aren't cheap, but the quality is wonderful.

[CanvasShoes]

Re: the "denim sausage" effect badbadrubberpiggy mentioned:

Sighting. (http://individual.utoronto.ca/pang/pix/fugliness.gif) (not to mention another fashion travesty, those...boots.)
yup, Yup, YUP...You got it. And that's that kind of jean on a SLIM girl.

[PinkMarabou]

There was barely a trace of that age-old staples, The Little Black Dress.

snip



Little black dress at little price. (http://www.oldnavy.com/asp/Product.asp?wdid=200831&wpid=292904)

[Guinastasia]

Little black dress at little price. (http://www.oldnavy.com/asp/Product.asp?wdid=200831&wpid=292904)

Thanks for the tip!

[jabiru]

Now the thing I hate most is knee-high boots over blue jeans.
That is just the stupidest look ever.

I dunno about that. I think jeans with stilettos would give that look a run for its money in the 'stupidest look ever' stakes.