Advice and tips

Today I'm wearing skinny jeans tucked into knee-high boots. Is this acceptable? I feel like I'm about to go horseback riding. . .

haha - i knew ILS needed some kind of style tip column

i think this is perfectly acceptable, s!

I am going to a black tie event on Saturday. Can I wear Dr. Martens boots? It's either that, buy new shoes, or wear trainers.

i am wearing a purple dress over jeans that makes me look like violet beauregarde but i really like the color. how do you make shapeless dresses look good? is there a way? or is it just hopeless. i don't want to give it up bc it has pockets.

Susan: A most personal issue! Ally makes this style work, I am staunchly opposed to it. Ally also has the legs of the century, so as far as I'm concerned even something that DIDN'T work would be fine on her.

I think Lauren will be somewhere in the middle of this continuum.

Caek: I feel like DM's could be kookily charming at a black tie event if yr cultivating a sort of "can barely feed himself without help" ne'er-do-well outsider charm. If paying for new dress shoes isn't an option right now, then rock what you have proudly.

If you want to be mistaken for a grown-up and have some dosh, I suggest buying new shoes.

Perhaps M White et al can speak more learnedly about exactly what shoes send what msg in men's formalwear, that is beyond me.

can I tuck in a light v-neck sweater?

Only if you're sporting a bling name-plate belt buckle that says "Kanye"

can I tuck in a light v-neck sweater?

I think this is too individual to the circumstances to rule on! Prob has more to do with how the pants look and how rest of outfit looks, proportionally, than it does with whether the top is a sweater or a V-neck.

xpost, I was joking. I'm the last person you should take fashion advice from.

you can make shapeless dresses look nice by making sure that at least one attractive contour of your body is well-displayed: an ankle, a well-turned calf, boobs, etc. the rest is implied.

at least this is what i tell myself when i wear shapeless dresses.

neck/clavicle also counts as an attractive contour

I am going to a black tie event on Saturday. Can I wear Dr. Martens boots? It's either that, buy new shoes, or wear trainers.

No (unless it is an especially raffish academic crowd or you care not at all about the impression you give). Buy shoes or rent (ew?) them - there are particular shoes that are (though certainly need not be) worn with black tie.

can I tuck in a light v-neck sweater?

Yeah, I don't know, I must have short torso or something since all my v-necks (whic I wear pretty often at the office) seem much too long - hence, ugly

have you inverted the sweater bottom?

i think it's possible to get away with tucking in if you are svelte and wearing wool trousers and the sweater is fairly form-fitting, but it's dicey

If the weight of the knit is very, very light, you stand a better chance of tucking in. If it adds really any noticeable bulk to yr hips, I think "no". Tucking in a sweater will also raise the stakes about 5x on how well your pants fit, whether you use a belt, etc.

Should have said: the crowd is very academic. It's black tie because it's the theme is old Hollywood, rather than because it's a formal event (it's essentially an office Christmas party). I feel like most people wouldn't even notice. I know I'll need a pair of dress shoes in the long term, but I think I can spin it out for one more year.

academic xmas party=u can totally wear docs

yes, you can wear docs. it's a good idea to have at least one pair of dress shoes. tho.

(not that docs are very old hollywood)

haha, I'm actually wearing a lounge suit, not black tie for this. I've never worn black tie in my life, despite going to Oxford.

Tucking in a sweater will also raise the stakes about 5x

yup. my first instinct is that there are so many ways this could end up looking horrible that it's better not to try it.

imho, having a slightly long sweater is better than a tucked-in sweater that puffs out around the midsection or adds bulk to your hips under your pants or whatever.

who tucks in sweaters? the last time i remember doing this was like 1991 and i was in high school and the pictures prove that it was a bad idea even then.

I think Lauren will be somewhere in the middle of this continuum.

and you're right! i think it's fine, depending on the person. i usually only tuck in with my rain boots when necessary, because even though i'm not exactly short, i'm really long-waisted and anything that emphasizes the length of my legs is not a good look.

Q: I work with a group of young people ages 12 to 18. They constantly give me grief for tucking my sweater into my dress pants. Is this a fashion no-no?

A: Yes and no-no. My best-dressed co-conspirator, the dapper Hooman Majd, wears his trim cashmere V-necks tucked into his trousers, which are cut with a fairly high rise (i.e., the pant waist approaches his anatomical waist) and are not tight. This is a great look often seen on such paragons of impeccability as Messrs. C. Grant, G. Cooper and F. Astaire. Given the current styles of most American men’s sweaters and trousers, however, the tucked-in look does not work; sweaters are too baggy and trousers are almost hip-huggers (hence the endemic American “plumber’s butt”). Majd adds, “To be tucked in, the sweater must be fairly thin. Forget tucking in a cable knit. And don’t tuck in your sweater if you’re wearing braces—unless, of course, you work at Microsoft.”

I took out the pants. Just didn't feel comfortable with it, which is of course the key to style.

i am wearing a purple dress over jeans that makes me look like violet beauregarde but i really like the color. how do you make shapeless dresses look good? is there a way? or is it just hopeless. i don't want to give it up bc it has pockets.

― very quotatious (tehresa), Thursday, December 11, 2008 10:01 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

belt? if for some reason it's unbeltable, La Lechera is right, i think. i am much more tolerant of shapeless dresses than i used to be because it's true about the body contour stuff.

it is not beltable, really :( that thought did occur to me. i am wearing skinny pants (not like super tight... but not baggy or boot cut) but i am afriad it just ends up looking super top heavy.

but the pockets are just so fun.

i had to junk a really nice tunic/top thing from french connection that had no belt or empire waist or anything after seeing a photo of myself wearing it and looking 12 months pregnant.

Ally makes this style work

haha i am wearing this style today.

re: docs, i think for that event it would be fine. bf wore docs with his suit just this past friday to a (not formal) wedding of a close friend of mine, and he looked fine and was even once complimented on the shoes. he was smarter than i was, i wore more appropriate fancy red heels but didn't consider that i was going to a filipino-italian wedding and four-inch heels on me means i towered over virtually every other guest :(

i am sketchy with tunics and shapeless dresses, i feel like they hang off my boobs and just make me look pregnant. i have a cute turtleneck dress from AA (not the skin-tight one but the swingy one) and it's just slightly too big and i'm just not sure how to wear it. i keep wanting to belt it but i don't have any fashionable wide cinchy belts, just low-slung shit with big buckles and i dunno. help?

I almost wore a tunic-y top and a wide black belt today and then I thought "I look like a publicity/editorial assistant" and changed.

So basically I can't help you here because that's not a look that I like.

i wore DUCK BOOTS today

GENERAL Q:

tailoring of shirts

have you done it, what do you recommend, is it worth it, what to watch out for

Advice and tips, basically.

^^^ i want to know about this, many shirts are too big for my waist when they fit my chest and vice versa yet the ladies i know on this board all seem to manage not to have this happen to them

i got around that problem by not wearing anything but knit shirts. i have yet to find a button-down shirt that fits me on top yet isn't tent-like everywhere else.

xpost

I do too. No real solution except I usually sew up the front of button-ups so they don't gap, pop open.

I don't wear broadcloth shirts. they're always way too tight in the waist and upper arms. This working girl has to sit at a desk all day, my waist does not stay the same shape as when I'm standing. Dresses and knit tops only.

However: MEN. HAVE YOUR SHIRTS TAILORED.

If I never again had to see a billowing tent of a Midtown Blue dress shirt being blown across the sidewalk by a stiff breeze, I would be so grateful. Nothing says "frat boy" like an oversized dress shirt.

oh man i would love to be able to wear a pretty button down shirt - i've been searching for the right one, in navy, forever. i have this amazing tie i found at a thrift store for $1 about 4 years ago and i just can't find a shirt to go with it. small shoulders + huge hips + comparatively small waist = difficult to find shirts that don't make me look dumpy.

i got around that problem by not wearing anything but knit shirts. i have yet to find a button-down shirt that fits me on top yet isn't tent-like everywhere else.

― lauren, Thursday, December 11, 2008 1:27 PM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yes, exactly. it's kind of a relief that other women do this, too.

MEN. HAVE YOUR SHIRTS TAILORED.

otmfm. I remember my first tailored shirt, the second I put it on I knew I'd switched my style up one million percent.

[technically it was off-the-shelf, but an off-the-shelf tailored for tall skinny guys like me]

I do make it a point to never buy a shirt that has sleeve seams that fall on my arm.

Always at my shoulder.

yeah, men don't have shirts 'tailored'; they buy them that way, whether cut in a slim fit or made-to-measure

not that the fratboys in billowing buttondowns care what you think

^^^ someone's feeeeelings are huuuuuuuuurt

i wear slimfit shirts and am not a fratboy, btw

No, really, per ledge, the problem here is solved by buying the right and most flattering fitted shirts, much more than actually taking things to a tailor for that last 15% of perfection. I don't think I know anyone who actually goes to tailors with shirts (I don't know any super-rich guys, I guess); the ones with good shirts are just shopping carefully and buying fitted things, basically.

Whereas the fratboy problem is going to chain-type stores and grabbing shirts just because you like the print and then thinking "sure, this fits" just because it's loose and comfortable, even though it makes you look like a wall and/or balloon

(especially given that common chain-store shirts are usually cut to accommodate / camouflage soft physiques and beer-bellies and such)

schef, i have tons of issues w/stuff fitting properly though i am almost flat chested, just really wide shoulders. i got a super nice top & trousers from APC on sale, have to return them because.. of course, shoulders are too small and body way too big on the top, so it is completely unflattering, and the trousers fit except where they hit right @ the hipbone which is never going to get any smaller! so annoying. i am pretty sure i can't actually ever buy anything except t-shirts and sweaters from APC, it's all cut for people who are much more small boned.

at least i live in a city now where i can actually find some clothes that fit, it was impossible back in high school @ small town (and college, middle of nowhere), you had to drive an hour and a half to even buy jeans at the gap, nothing from the crappy mall ever fit right. at least the grunge era made it acceptable to wear dad's old sweaters, baggy jeans and docs most of the time.

private sale at APC tomorrow... aah...

anyway I love this board, really

a) unless you are wearing hella padded bras you are not "super flat-chested"
b) do i have a b?
c) i guess i'm fucked

When i wear boots over jeans the jeans get really bunchy around the knees--tips for this? More tight, stretchy jeans?

I have also taken a sabbatical from button downs, because, even though they are my favorite shirt in the world, the ones that fit around the shoulders are going to be tight around the midsection.

I have a weird dress that I wore today--it's a combination sack+clingy+belted. I can't tell if it's shapeless or fitted--but I don't feel self-conscious about it, and it reminds me of Broadway Boogie Woogie.

but i do feel the big boned thing-- a huge issue that i have (because i'm not astronomically endowed either) is that i have big shoulders and a big rib cage. it's just odd how they cut shirts -- i was just super hoping the secret was buying big shirts* and then tailoring the waist but now i'm just gonna keep wearing what i wear i guess :(

* this made me think of the big suit.

xpost mine get bunchy on knees too. i think the solution is "tighter jeans" but we're now talking those awful "legging-jeans" you see girls wearing that even look bad on the skinniest 20 yo nyu cokeheads...that the last time i wore them i was 11 and it was '91.

I've been happy with the Levi's 531 Low Skinny, I think I've said. The short length is really better for me but if I'm going to scrunch them up over my boots, I can also wear the regular length bunched around my ankles. That jean fit is tapered w/o being the stretch nightmares of which Ally speaks.

Ally, I think it's worth at least trying a bigger shirt and having it tailored? Women's shirts are fitted way differently from men's (obv), much less one-size-fits-all, as in most clothing. If you want to wear button downs, that seems like the way forward.

I remember reading in some mag about a designer who was doing women's shirts in like 5 different fits (same shirt, different cut) but they were $120 apiece and sold at Sak's or something like that. Still, it would be v luxurious to have a non-stretchy shirt that looked sharp and fit.

i need to google for that. i'd really like a more basic button-down for some variety. the only one i have is a boxy, pajama-style shirt that's really nice but not very versatile. it's bronze silk and makes me look a bit like a flapper on dress-down day.

That doesn't sound like a bad look.

I don't think I know anyone who actually goes to tailors with shirts

bcuz like gabbneb sd youd just get them made-to-measure rather than buy a shirt and have it tailored. i do think that made-to-measure stuff is more than a 15% better fit btw

my q was really about cost vs getting the right fit. i have a whole bunch of great older well-made shirts i got 2nd hand (or as gifts) that range from a good-but-not-great fit to near-tentlike. is tailoring a good way to get a perfect shirt out of them, or should i not bother and just buy more new?

ftr i don't even know what my measurements are, i'm a clothes idiot.

it really depends on where the shirts dont fit e.g. its a lot harder to say fix the placement of the armholes than it would be to create a slimmer torso