Help me understand this fashion

[even sven]

You know you are getting old when the current fashion is not just ugly, bit unfathomable. When you simply have no idea what the heck they are trying to convey.

What is baffling me now is, I think, a variation of female hipster fashion. The look involves a variety of soft neutrals- beige, shell pink, grey and black. There are a lot of stripes and 90s style tiny florals. Crochet, lace and tulle are big. The clothes themself are shapeless or very oddly fitting. People wear them with lots of layers and accessories. Also, all of this sometimes involves rompers.

I don't get it. Can anyone help me understand what is going on here? I know there is some kind of retro involved, but what? Some of it seems kind of delicate and feminine, but then the bizarre fits throw that off. Some of it recalls lounging on a beach, but again, not really.

So, fashionistas, can you help me out. What is this look supposed to evoke (besides the bargain bin at the thrift store)? I can't help but think it is ugly on purpose...is it? Are there any rules to this look? Where did it come from?

Thanks!

[DrFidelius]

Linky to pics, plz?

I don't believe I have noticed this (I am fashion blind the way some folks are colour blind), but your description sounds a little like Annie Hall plus 35 years.

[Kimstu]

Got any pictures or links? Hard to know exactly what look you're talking about unless it's something we can look at.

[Biggirl]

This is how my daughter dresses, except no tulle. Or perhaps she hasn't found a piece of tulle pink or purple enough. She's 24. I'd post a picture of her but, no.


Boho chic (http://www.pretty-dresses.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/1310297956-51.png) were the search words I used to find this.

Other things my daughter wears: feather earrings, graphic t-shirts, ballerina shoes, scarves, tight jeans. But I think any young girl wearing any style wears tight jeans.

[Hello Again]

Sounds like a reprise of the early "material girl" look. It was supposed to look scrappy and trashy and had a punk-inspired "I-don't-give-a-fuck-so-sue-me" aesthetic. Also as featured in "Flashdance": oversized, unfitting jersey sweatshirts with the collars cut out and sagging (http://clothesonfilm.com/flashdance-jennifer-beals-dance-casual-wear/1978/), men's sweaters worn unflatteringly by women, combined with fitted dancewear leggings or tights.

ETA: agree with the boho look, but the addition of tulle, lace and lots of necklaces, puts it into material girl territory. I think.

[salinqmind]

I really need a picture of what you're talking about.

[even sven]

Sorry. I am technologically unable to link to anything (travelling with no real computer.)

But check out the Urban Outfitters website for some ideas. I used to like that store, but last time I went on it was full of baffling and seemingly purposefully unstylish stuff.

Ok, I can see the Flashdance influence, and the boho influence. It seems all a bit too sloppy to really be material girl- its not at all sexy, as far as I can tell- except that may the odd fit of stuff exposes some skin The accessories are more like lots of scarves or an oddly sized belt on a garment you would not normally belt.

I have a friend who dresses like this. I know intellectually she is stylish, but I just can't parse the look. She will wear stuff like a loose navy and grey striped harem legged jumpsuit with a thin elastic waist and the back straps tied to be like a racer back. There are also high waisted pleated shorts, dresses with oddly fit tanktop styles uppers, high waists, and short poofy flowered skirts, and lots of odd sleeveless long shapeless vest-things worn in layers.

[Kimstu]

Sorry. I am technologically unable to link to anything (travelling with no real computer.)

:confused: Okay, but if you can post on the SDMB, and you can see other sites on the internet, how can you not be able to at least cut-and-paste or, at worst, hand-type a URL into a url tag?

Like this for Urban Outfitters women's clothing:
[ url="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/category.jsp?popId=&navAction=jump&isSortBy=true&navCount=15&id=W_EARLYFALL11WAPP&110808wapp" ] [ / url]

(real link: ) Urban Outfitters catalog (http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/category.jsp?popId=&navAction=jump&isSortBy=true&navCount=15&id=W_EARLYFALL11WAPP&110808wapp)

Anyhow, it looks to me as though what you're talking about is just the latest mutation of the recent fashion trend neo-grunge (http://www.noexcusesfashion.com/2010/04/come-as-you-are-neo-grunge.html). (The link is an article from April 2010 but I think you'll more or less recognize the look.) No, it's not particularly pretty, but nobody seems to think it's supposed to be. As one blogger put it, the idea is to "Be the mess you perceive in the world." :dubious:

[Zsofia]

I keep seeing rompers on Go Fug Yourself. No, I don't get it.

[salinqmind]

OK, I think I sort of know what you're talking about. I have a 20-something daughter and she dresses rather... creatively. Naught to do with me, she frequents Forever 21 and I'm looking in the 'mom clothes' shops. :( I've seen her in: skinny tight jeans, boots, two or three tissue-paper thin tank tops, several necklaces and big fluffy scarves, topped with (get this) a lacy babydoll nightie (that I wore when I was her age and gave to her!)... They're just having fun. There's time enough for dark Anne Klein business suits with knee length skirts and sensible pumps, or any other work uniform.

[njtt]

Fashion is supposed to make sense?:eek:

[TheTerribleTako]

I see this style all the time in the Portland area. It's just hipster thrift-store fashion that went mainstream. It probably started off with poor college-aged students and broke twenty-somethings who made style out of discards from Goodwill. Most of the hipster types I know are rather avid thrift, sorry, vintage store shoppers.

The style itself makes quite a bit of sense if you think about it from this view. A nice fashionable coat for the winter will probably start at around $100, but for that price, you can buy several different sweaters and shirts plus a few different scarves, add some leggings and a nice antique skirt or two and you have a warm and interesting wardrobe for the winter as opposed to one boring coat.

There's still no excuse for rompers, though.

[salinqmind]

Yes! Coats are dull! My kid walked around all winter in layers of sweaters, like a bag lady. (No rompers, though! Or jumpsuits!)

[Sarahfeena]

The hipster scarves are what get me. I went canoeing last summer, it was hotter than hell, and saw several people--also canoeing, mind you--dressed in shorts, tank-tops, and those stupid hipster scarves, looped around and pulled tight on their necks. WTF?

[CrazyCatLady]

You know you are getting old when the current fashion is not just ugly, bit unfathomable. When you simply have no idea what the heck they are trying to convey.

What they are trying to convey is this: I wasn't old enough to wear this stuff the first time around 30 years ago.

Also, by that standard, I've been getting old since I was 12.

[BaneSidhe]

The hipster scarves are what get me. I went canoeing last summer, it was hotter than hell, and saw several people--also canoeing, mind you--dressed in shorts, tank-tops, and those stupid hipster scarves, looped around and pulled tight on their necks. WTF?

And don't forget the knit caps ["watchman's caps"?] pulled down over the eyes in 100 degree weather.:smack:

[even sven]

:confused: Okay, but if you can post on the SDMB, and you can see other sites on the internet, how can you not be able to at least cut-and-paste or, at worst, hand-type a URL into a url tag?

Like this for Urban Outfitters women's clothing:
[ url="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/category.jsp?popId=&navAction=jump&isSortBy=true&navCount=15&id=W_EARLYFALL11WAPP&110808wapp" ] [ / url]

(real link: ) Urban Outfitters catalog (http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/category.jsp?popId=&navAction=jump&isSortBy=true&navCount=15&id=W_EARLYFALL11WAPP&110808wapp)

Anyhow, it looks to me as though what you're talking about is just the latest mutation of the recent fashion trend neo-grunge (http://www.noexcusesfashion.com/2010/04/come-as-you-are-neo-grunge.html). (The link is an article from April 2010 but I think you'll more or less recognize the look.) No, it's not particularly pretty, but nobody seems to think it's supposed to be. As one blogger put it, the idea is to "Be the mess you perceive in the world." :dubious:

Posting from a Kindle in South Africa- it's not great with pictures and there is no cut and past.

[Tarwater]

Even Sven, what you're seeing is the standard uniform of the American hipster. Early fomenters of the style wore clashing, thrift-shop clothing because they were trying to be ironic and kitschy. Occasionally, people still dress ironically, but it's often difficult, or even impossible, to tell who is trying to be clever and ironic, and who is earnestly following the trend to fit in.

The hipster scarves are what get me. I went canoeing last summer, it was hotter than hell, and saw several people--also canoeing, mind you--dressed in shorts, tank-tops, and those stupid hipster scarves, looped around and pulled tight on their necks. WTF?

Those "hipster scarves" are Keffiyah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh) and you're supposed to wear them as protection against sun exposure, so there you go. I wear them all the time when I'm hiking and floating on the river.

[elfkin477]

Okay, so can someone explain another thing I keep seeing? I can't give you pics because I can't give search engines descriptions that produce results (mostly because the new google image search is a lot less narrow than it used to be and constantly barfs up things that have no relation to what words you entered)

Anyway, it's always girls between mid-teens and mid-twenties. They wear jeans and tight tee-shirts, which they for some reason pull down to mid-hip level, which always makes them look a. fat and b. oddly shaped since the shirts aren't cut to go over the hips so hem of said tee-shirt digs into their hips/top of their rear end in a really unflattering way. What are they trying to do with this look??

[DrFidelius]

I have got to get out of the house more, or hang out at different places, because I do not believe I have seen any real people wearing the described outfits, ever.

[Nava]

Most of the hipster types I know are rather avid thrift, sorry, vintage store shoppers.

Which is how the Material Girl look came to be, Madonna shopped at thrift stores because she was broke and then some. Or at least that's what vague memories from the mists of time tell me (I was in my teens when Desperately Seeking Susan came out; the vague memory is from stories about that movie).

[Biggirl]

Okay, so can someone explain another thing I keep seeing? I can't give you pics because I can't give search engines descriptions that produce results (mostly because the new google image search is a lot less narrow than it used to be and constantly barfs up things that have no relation to what words you entered)

Anyway, it's always girls between mid-teens and mid-twenties. They wear jeans and tight tee-shirts, which they for some reason pull down to mid-hip level, which always makes them look a. fat and b. oddly shaped since the shirts aren't cut to go over the hips so hem of said tee-shirt digs into their hips/top of their rear end in a really unflattering way. What are they trying to do with this look??

I've noticed this too. Jeans and tees that show every bump and bulge. Even girls who are not in any way fat look like sausages in clothes two sizes to small. And each one of them thinks they look hawt! It also helps the hotness if, when they bend over, the tee rolls up and exposes haunches.

Around here this look started out with the many Central and South American teens. They love, love, love to wear synthetic material pants (think pertroleum based shiny) that are stretched to the breaking point at the seams. The look seems to emphasize moderate love handles on purpose.

At least the baggy jeans that show underwear are finally going out of style. Even the black guys are wearing skinny jeans these days.

[Eyebrows 0f Doom]

At least the baggy jeans that show underwear are finally going out of style. Even the black guys are wearing skinny jeans these days.

Not around here. What they do now is sag their skinny jeans. Looks exactly how you would imagine.

[Ferret Herder]

Those "hipster scarves" are Keffiyah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh) and you're supposed to wear them as protection against sun exposure, so there you go. I wear them all the time when I'm hiking and floating on the river.
Some of them are like that, but some are a shorter, narrower, girlie version - like a scaled-down lightweight pashmina.

[BigT]

What's to get? It's supposed to look ugly. Apparently it does to you. Though I am surprised you are seeing it where you are, even sven...

[even sven]

I'm in Cape Town right now, which is hands down the hippest and most vibrant city I've ever been in. I keep trying to shop at all the trendy botiques, but I keep finding clothes from this look. I still don't quite get it.

A prime example- walking down the street were two girls. One was in mid-calf leggings, flats, and a giant shapeless grey-brown crocheted sleeved square shaped shit that hung limply to her knees. The other had black leggings, an oddly fitted brown mini skirt that kind of flared out over the hips in an unflattering way, and a cream and yellow floral print (like something you'd find on grandma's sheets) racer-back sleeveless turtleneck.

I can see the thrift store aspect, but it still seems odd. In my thrifting days, we picked out the stuff that was neat in a retro way, not just randomly inflattering stuff.

I'm beginning to suspect the look is actually about saying "I'm young enough that I look hot even in a drab sack."

[salinqmind]

My kid has gone so far as to beg her grandma for some of her old cotton blouses, with tiny floral prints, the kind K-Mart used to sell for $5. Then cinch it with a 6" wide belt over leggings, etc. Everytime I see her in one of those things, I think: that's the blouse Mom wore the time we went out to buy fertilizer for the shrubs.

[Bryan Ekers]

I thought fashion shows were supposed to showcase clothes that were ridiculous but attention-grabbing, since the clothes themselves were a loss leader to the merchandise and accessories (purses, perfumes, shoes) with the company's logo.

I used to catch the occasional televised fashion show with my girlfriend (who is a graphic designer and thus has a professional interest in fashion and architecture and advertising etc.) and the only designer who presented outfits that looked attractive and wearable was Armani. Everyone else was just... silly.

[Lamia]

At least the baggy jeans that show underwear are finally going out of style.This has been puzzling to me for years -- not that the sagging jeans fashion exists, because there's really no logic to fashion trends, but that it's lasted as long as it has. This was a dress code issue back when I was in middle school, circa 1992, and I was not living in a really fashion-forward part of the country. I would assume this look first appeared in NY/LA at least a couple of years earlier. Other early '90s fashions eventually passed so far out of style that they're coming back in again, but for some reason boxer-revealing jeans on guys was the look that hung around for roughly two decades.

I thought fashion shows were supposed to showcase clothes that were ridiculous but attention-grabbing, since the clothes themselves were a loss leader to the merchandise and accessories (purses, perfumes, shoes) with the company's logo.The OP is talking about clothes she actually sees regular people wearing out in public, not things presented in fashion shows.

[Bryan Ekers]

Huh, I stand corrected.

[MrDibble]

What's to get? It's supposed to look ugly. Apparently it does to you. Though I am surprised you are seeing it where you are, even sven...

Hey! We have hipsters. This (http://www.neighbourgoodsmarket.co.za/market-snapshots/)is where they hang out...this (http://www.onesmallseed.com/) is what they read

[MrDibble]

I'm beginning to suspect the look is actually about saying "I'm young enough that I look hot even in a drab sack."
I think you have nailed it.

[Lamia]

Not around here. What they do now is sag their skinny jeans. Looks exactly how you would imagine.I noticed this for the first time IRL just this evening. On my drive home I was behind a guy on a moped who was wearing skinny jeans sagged so low that in his sitting position he was exposing not only his boxers but an inch or so of his bare legs.

[elfkin477]

I've noticed this too. Jeans and tees that show every bump and bulge. Even girls who are not in any way fat look like sausages in clothes two sizes to small. And each one of them thinks they look hawt! It also helps the hotness if, when they bend over, the tee rolls up and exposes haunches.I'm glad that I'm not crazy, but sad that this trend isn't localized. I'm also frightened that they could possibly think that they look good.

[Mesquite-oh]

Sometimes it is just fun to be young and sloppy. Even if it took you a while to pull together the look, you want to be cool and look like you don't care. When I was a young man in the 80's, it was fun to go to thrift stores and find weird t-shirts and jackets for a buck or two each then show up at parties with a different look every time. When I first met my wife, she would wear baggy boy clothes from thrift stores and Sears and somehow she still looked pretty damn hot. Then we had to grow up and start shopping at Banana Republic and Ann Taylor and wear stylish but sensible shoes so that we can walk around the office all day. Ahh youth, dress as stupid as you want to because someday soon you will have to sign in your kids at preschool and you can't look like an idiot.

[Sage Rat]

The goal of most fashions that appeal to the young isn't to look good. It's that you look good despite the fact that your sunglasses are too big, or your shirt looks like it was mangled by a bear, or whatever else.

As an example, if you find a picture of Brad Pitt in a 70s style lounge suit (probably in Ocean's 11), he looks pretty good and the suit seems sort of hip and cool. Now you put Paul Giamatti in that same suit, and he looks like a low-rent mafioso who sidelines as a used car salesman. The poorly shaped suit just makes everything worse.

If you're young and/or beautiful, you can get away with wearing just about anything. Things which should, by all logic, look stupid end up looking cool and quirky.